Vol. 1, Issue 1 April 30, 2013
Tech News Tuesday weekly eNewsletter
TECH NEWS TUESDAY
| Vol. 1, Issue 1 - APRIL 30, 2013
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WEEKLY ENEWSLETTER PROVIDING INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY STAFF RESOURCES
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Cool Tool of the Week Page 3
www.mcs4kids.com/edmodo Edmodo is a social learning platform for teachers, students, and parents. It has the look of Facebook but with educational applications. On Edmodo, teachers are at the center of a powerful network that connects them to students, administrators, and parents. In Edmodo’s secure environment, teachers and students can collaborate, share content, and use educational apps to augment in-classroom learning. These powerful capabilities enable teachers to personalize learning for every student. Edmodo is free and has won the 2013 Best Product award from EdTech Digest.
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MODESTO CITY SCHOOLS HAS A DISTRICT-WIDE DEPLOYMENT OF EDMODO:WWW.MCS4KIDS.COM/EDMODO Page 5
Resource Links: > EdTech Digest article with the CEO of Edmodo > Edmodo video tutorial playlist with 21 lessons > Edmodo MCS Teacher flipped Website for teachers to share Edmodo resource, tips, and tutorials
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Modesto City Schools | Office of Instructional Technology www.mcs4kids.com/mcsit
TECH NEWS TUESDAY
| Vol. 1, Issue 1 - APRIL 30, 2013
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ISTE NETS S for Students 
Student Tech Mentors of the Week by Joe Tornberg, 6th Grade, Shackelford
The students I would like to recommend are Jonathan Garcia and Robert Velazquez. Both of these students have gone above and beyond to help other students with their projects on Word and PowerPoint. They are always of great value to their peers when they need help with saving documents. Where these two have been a huge help is with the implementation of Edmodo. Some aspects of the program can be challenging to some students. I know I can call upon these two individuals to help teach their peers how to use the content on Edmodo.
Online Resource of the Week
(weekly words of weekly wisdom)
MAKE
Edmodo is a socia learning platform for teachers, students, and parents. It has the look of Facebook but with educational applications. On Edmodo, teachers are at the center of a powerful network that connects them to students, administrators, and parents. In Edmodo’s secure environment, teachers and students can collaborate, share content, and use educational apps to augment inclassroom learning. These powerful capabilities enable teachers to personalize learning for every student. Edmodo is free.
SOLVE
USE
FIND
Modesto City Schools has a districtwide deployment of Edmodo. TO LEARN MORE VISIT:
www.gcflearnfree.org Keep up with technology with GCFLearnFree website featuring over 750 free lessons and 250 videos for self-paced online training. Courses include Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Windows. iPad and iPhone training and social media lessons for using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Skype. Also lessons on Tech Savvy Tips and Tricks, Google Search, Chrome, and Drive, and Information Savvy skills. They even offer mobile apps to take your learning on the go. The site also includes topics for math and reading skills, job searching, and money management. GCFLearnFree website is provided by the Goodwill Community Foundation. Spanish version of the website: www.gcfaprendelibre.org Modesto City Schools | Office of Instructional Technology www.mcs4kids.com/mcsit
TECH NEWS TUESDAY
| Vol. 1, Issue 1 - APRIL 30, 2013
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ClassDojo
Mobile App of the Week
www.classdojo.com ClassDojo is a classroom tool that helps teachers improve behavior in their classrooms quickly and easily. It also captures and generates data on behavior that teachers can share with parents and administrators. Better learning behaviors, smoother lessons and hassle-free data – and its free! Additional tutorials and tips for using ClassDojo in the classroom can be found at: www.mcs4kids.com/classdojo
> iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad app > Android app
Watch Gregg Eilers teacher at El Vista Elementary School use ClassDojo in his classroom.
www.mcs4kids.com/microsoft Office Tip of the Week
Free Online Courses for Microsoft Office 2010 for Modesto City School Employees can be done on any computer with Internet access. The Microsoft online course trainings offer rich, engaging interactive learning methods to allow you to learn in the way that works best for you by reading, watching, and receiving guided help. Visual indicators let you know which tasks you’ve completed, allowing for hands-on training tailored specifically for you. View the flyer
Observe Mode: allows you to watch and listen to a task as it is being completed Practice Mode: allows you to follow guided arrows and hear audio prompts to help visual learns know how to complete a task Apply Mode: allows you to prove what you’ve been learning by completing a task using helpful instructions
Modesto City Schools | Office of Instructional Technology www.mcs4kids.com/mcsit
TECH NEWS TUESDAY
| Vol. 1, Issue 1 - APRIL 30, 2013
Presentation Tip of the Week Recommended Books Beyond Bullet Points by Cliff Atkinson www.beyondbulletpoints.com
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TOP TEN SLIDE TIPS FROM GARR REYNOLDS www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/slides.html
> Goodreads.com review
------------------------------------------Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations by Nancy Duarte www.duarte.com
> Goodreads.com review
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1. Keep it simple 2. Limit bullet points and text 3. Limit transitions and builds (animation) 4. Use high-quality graphics 5. Have a visual theme, but avoid using PowerPoint templates 6. Use appropriate charts 7. Use color well 8. Choose your fonts well 9. Use video or audio 10. Spend time in the slide sorter
Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences by Nancy Duarte www.duarte.com > Goodreads.com review
Modesto City Schools | Office of Instructional Technology www.mcs4kids.com/mcsit
TECH NEWS TUESDAY
| Vol. 1, Issue 1 - APRIL 30, 2013
GAFE Tip of the Week
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Upcoming issues will focus on Google Apps for Education (GAFE) in this section. We started out with a couple neat Google search tips for this issue. www.google.com Check the weather Search weather followed by a U.S. zip code or the name of any city in the world to get the current weather and forecast. Enter weather by itself to get the weather report for your current location. Get number conversions Convert any measurement -- like miles to kilometers or ounces to liters -- by typing in the number and unit of measurement.
Search within a specific site Precede your search with site: if you know you want your answer from within a specific site or type of site (.org, .edu). For example: site:edu or site:mcs4kids.com Calculator Use Google as a calculator just type in the math equation and Google will calculate the answer. Adding and subtraction use + and – but for multiply use * and division is the forward slash / which can be found on the right side of the keyboard on the number key pad.
Share with us
We would enjoy hearing from you for your feedback, ideas, input, and resources you would like to share: Visit the Tech News Tuesday feedback page
Modesto City Schools | Office of Instructional Technology www.mcs4kids.com/mcsit
TECH NEWS TUESDAY
| Vol. 1, Issue 1 - APRIL 30, 2013
Video Link of the Week
Let’s use video to reinvent education – Salman Khan
About This Video Salman Khan talks about how and why he created the remarkable Khan Academy, a carefully structured series of educational videos offering complete curricula in math and, now, other subjects. He shows the power of interactive exercises and calls for teachers to consider flipping the traditional classroom script -- give students video lectures to watch at home and do "homework" in the classroom with the teacher available to help. Links: www.khanacademy.org Overview of using Khan Academy
Mission Statement Tech News Tuesday is a weekly eNewsletter that provides MCS staff a variety of tech related news items about innovators and cool to use tools. Resources in this publication can be readily put to use, and are offered in the spirit of collaboration. Please consider sharing your tips and techniques with your MCS colleagues through this weekly forum. TNT is edited by Matthew Ketchum and Jim Gain with the MCS Office of Instructional Technology www.mcs4kids.com/mcsit Current and Previous Issues: http://issuu.com/mcsit
Modesto City Schools | Office of Instructional Technology www.mcs4kids.com/mcsit
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