Students Explore, Discover and Engage during Hanby's Magnet Power Hour

Hanby Magnet School implemented Magnet Power Hour this year with their students in first through fifth grade. Hanby Magnet Power Hour is a special hour of learning where students  “Explore, Discover and Engage”.

Hanby Magnet School teachers have offered their students exploration time during Power Hours to integrate the Science, Technology, Arts and Math (STEAM). During this hour students explore questions and find interesting and relevant subjects that inspire them to learn more.

Hanby teachers ask their students: What do they want to learn?

Students are allowed time to explore their ideas with guided instruction.  Power Hour is schedule once every six days and the students look forward to this special time for learning.  Students choose what they are passionate about and spend time discovering.

An example project by our first grade students in Mrs. Smith’s class included exploring various coding activities.  Some of the sites used for these activities are as follows:

1. Code -Learn to code, for students
2. Espresso -Coding–for youngers
3. Hopscotch -Programming on the iPad
4. Scratch Jr. -Coding is the new literacy!
5. Tynker -Tynker's online courses make programming fun.
6. Kahn Academy -A personalized programming learning resource for all ages

Mrs. Plumb, a Hanby 3rd grade teacher lead a project on  Antarctica. Students  in various grades discovered  animals and explored their habitat. Each student documented their findings with Google Docs.

 STUDENT FEEDBACK:

What do you do during Power Hour?

• “We get to do candy experiments, create animations and study reptiles” said Ella, first grader.
• “I like Mrs. Smith candy experiment and how we get to journal.” said Nana, third grader.
• “I like Power Hour because I’m learning about reptiles, painted turtles and how the shell grows,  it’s my favorite class.” John, third grader.  “We also used Google Docs to show our research on Antarctica.” Nana, third grader.

Hanby teachers offer student choice during Power Hour.  Students love Power Hour and look forward to it every week. Power Hour gives Hanby students choice, time to explore, discover and engage.

Starry Night

Sunday’s Starry Night will Fuel Imagination through Art and Science

On Sunday, April 10, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., families are invited to the 4th annual Starry Night learning festival, sponsored by Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the Westerville Partners for
Education. The event will take place at Westerville North High School, located at 950 County Line Road. The festival will offer dynamic learning experiences with experts from Columbus’ premier educational, business, and community organizations.

The Festival is geared toward students in preschool through grade 8, along with their caregivers and families, the event will highlight the connection between arts and science. The theme this year is, Art
and Science – Fueling Imagination.

Generous sponsor support brings diverse exhibitors together under one roof, including
Nationwide Children’s Hospital Performing Arts Medicine and “Stinky – U”; Otterbein Physics
and Biochemistry; The Ohio State University’s Electrical Engineering Outreach; Insect Petting
Zoo; Byrd Polar Research Center; Westerville Parks and Recreation; Musical Instrument Petting
Zoo; Westerville Electric’s Energy Bike; S_E_A Engineering; Coding with the Girl Scouts;
AvcomSMT; Westerville Arts Council; Dramatic Impact with Candace Darman; ZenKidz;
Walnut Springs Maker Space; Laser Cutting; a Trash to Fashion show; and much more.
Westerville Partners for Education organizes this event as an annual opportunity for families to learn together and develop relationships with community organizations.

Engage Your Students with Digital AIR®-aligned Ohio Practice Test created by Edcite!

Do your students need additional practice with online testing? Do they need immediate feedback on their answers?

Edcite enables teachers to create high-quality, easily customizable, interactive content to fit their class or use their pre-made “ODE Air” like test.  These test are available for your students to practice and try now. The product addresses a critical issue for students who are unfamiliar with online standardized assessments.

Click the link below and start a practice test. Website: http://edcite.com/lp/ohio

New Ohio State Practice Test created by EDCITE

OH practice test created for you!

WCSOH EdTech Camp 2016 is now Open for Registration and Call for Proposals

We are excited to announce WCSOH EdTech will host our annual EdTech Camp on June 1st and 2nd at Blendon Middle School from 8:30-3:55. Come learn, share and have some fun as we continue to implement the 21st Century Roadmap transforming our classrooms into student driven blended learning environments.  EdTech Camp will offer a full day of technology integration topics ranging from novice level sessions including how to use Google Apps for Education and Schoology to advanced sessions including supporting Blended Learning in your classroom and exploring communication practices and tools beyond your classroom walls.

In addition to attending EdTech Camp 2016, we are looking for presenters.  Are you comfortable teaching your peers how you use Schoology, Google Apps for Education or another tech topic?  Have you created a Google Form or another digital tool to collect Formative Assessments? Have you created a Book Study in Schoology? Have you invited  an expert using Google Hangouts or Skype to present to your class?  Have you implemented an innovative lesson using technology tools to support student learning? Then we are looking for you! Please think about presenting at EdTech Camp 2016!  This is a wonderful opportunity to share how you have implemented technology in your classroom with your peers.

To register for EdTech Camp go to EdTech Camp 2016.

To submit a Call for Proposal go to EdTech Camp 2016: Call for Proposals

New Online Videos to Help Parents Support the Third Grade Reading Guarantee

Have you seen the three new videos to help parents help their children practice reading? Reading on the Go, Reading for a Purpose, and Reading on the Screen, all less than three minutes, give parents concrete, easy tips to help their children become stronger readers and meet the Third Grade Reading Guarantee.

They are perfect for sharing during parent nights and come with a collection of companion flyers with even more tips. Find them all on INFOhio’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee page.

The flyers and videos were developed by INFOhio, the State Library of Ohio, Ohio Educational Library Media Association, and the Ohio PTA. They are available to all Ohioans for free download.

Please share with your parents by using the sample messages below in school newsletters or on the school Facebook page or Twitter feed.

Sample message for school newsletters:

Reading can happen anytime, anywhere!  You and your children can explore the joy of reading together with this series of “Reading ‘Round the Clock” videos that gives easy tips for working reading practice into everyday activities. These three videos—Reading on the Go, Reading for a Purpose, and Reading on the Screen—give great tips on keeping your family reading and preparing your children for Ohio's Third Grade Reading Guarantee. Link to the videos and to companion flyers with even more tips on the INFOhio Third Grade Reading Guarantee page at https://www.infohio.org/students/parents/resources-for-the-third-grade-reading-guarantee. The flyers and videos were developed by INFOhio, the State Library of Ohio, Ohio Educational Library Media Association, and the Ohio PTA, and they are available to all Ohioans for free.

Sample Tweets and Facebook posts:

Watch the short video Reading for a Purpose to find fun ways to emphasize reading at home. https://vimeo.com/149091464 #INFOhioWorks

Always on the go? You can still help your child practice reading. Learn how in this short video. https://vimeo.com/149151093 #INFOhioWorks

Make screen time reading time with your child. Learn how with this short video. https://vimeo.com/149151138 #INFOhioWorks

Help your child breeze through the Third Grade Guarantee with these short videos and tip sheets http://bit.ly/1aDg4kb #INFOhioWorks

Baby Eagles!

A live cam of the eagle’s nest from the Rhodes Tower in Columbus is available here.  

Here is another one from the nation’s capital in DC. An excellent source of information on eagles can be found at the National Eagle Center's website.

You can also check out all of the digital resources on INFOhio.org to find educational information on eagles -- World Book Kids, Explora, ISearch for starters!  Search your CAT also. What books does your library have on Eagles? – perhaps a display idea!

Using Google Forms to Create Poems

At Alcott Elementary, Mrs. Amici's 5th graders recently completed a Google Form to answer the question, "What makes you special?" Students were instructed to share the first positive thing they thought of about each of their classmates. This was accomplished by Mrs. Amici creating a Google Form with every student listed.

"Using Google Forms made the process of collecting student responses much easier," said Mrs. Amici.

Under each student name, the class had to write their one positive word to describe their classmate and submit the Form.  Mrs. Amici then shared the collected positive words with each student and they wrote and decorated a "What makes you special?" poem.  The poems were then shared with each student and parents to celebrate how each student is special and unique.

Google Form used to collect Student Responses

Google Sheet used to Compile Student Responses

Google Art Project Combines Art, Life and History

Google Art Project is a collection of digitized art from around the world.  The Art Project provides users with 738 collections from around the world including 13,106 artists and 245,009 items showcased in the collections. Users can search by Collections, Artists or Artworks as well as by featured Projects such as Art Projects, Historic Moments and World Wonders.

For example, search Art Projects, Collections and choose MoMA, The Museum of Modern Art. The Collections gives users a description of the museum, any available Exhibits, a Museum View which allows users to virtually walk through the museum, and all Items available in the digital collection.  The first piece shown is "The Starry Night." When the user chooses the artwork, the artwork appears, a description is available in the details as well as any available videos and audio files and a map of where the artist lived. 

Another example, search World Wonders, and navigate to the Grand Canyon on the map.  The collection will open to show scenery from the area in Street View as well as images including paintings and photographs from the location.  

If you have not checked out Google Art Project we strongly recommend doing so. It is a powerful way to connect art, life and history.

Using E-Portfolios in the Classroom

For years teachers have displayed their students' work on school walls and bulletin boards. However with the new digital age and more schools going paperless student work has become more easily shareable, accessible and more easily organized.  

Both students and educators need to share their achievements and to reflect on what they learn. Portfolios provide them with the ability to quickly and easily collect, organize, and share their work with others.

Schoology makes this feature fun and streamlined with their new e-PORTFOLIO feature. Located in your Schoology personal profile, portfolios make it easy to showcase students’ work, interests, and talents.

Above is a sample collage of items that were easily shared in the student’s Schoology portfolio. 

If you would like to try the ePortfolio feature but would like a help getting started, please contact your EdTech Integration Coach.

EDCITE Digital Content Reviews Are Now Published at SpotOnReviews.org

During the 2014-2015 school year, over 70 Westerville teachers participated in EDCITE:  Evaluating Digital Content for Instructional and Teaching Excellence project.  The intent of this Straight A grant funded project was to address the critical task of transitioning Ohio's school districts from print to digital curriculum. Through the EDCITE collaboration of five school districts, we were able to develop reviews of 300 core course products that will help educators make informed content selection decisions.

After wrapping up the EDCITE grant, we have transitioned to SpotOn™ The Classroom Content Selector (www.spotOnReviews.org). SpotOn is an initiative of The Ohio State University’s College of Education and Human Ecology, and is separate from the Ohio Resource Center, who we worked with primarily during EDCITE. SpotOn will use the reviews and rubrics developed during EDCITE and will continue reviewing digital content through academically validated methods. By fall 2016, SpotOn will host reviews of many types of K-12 digital content including paid and free material, ranging from core-courses to games and apps.

You can see the reviews today at www.spotOnReviews.org. We are adding new reviews continuously so be sure to visit the website often to find ideas for new resources for your classroom. SpotOn is continuing to contract with educators to perform reviews. If you or a certified educator you know is interested, please contact the Director of Professional Learning, Tanya Parisi at parisi.17@osu.edu.