G Suite Training Extension Reminder

This is an update to an earlier post about G Suite Training.  We wanted to send a reminder that all staff and students have access to the G Suite Training Extension.  The Extension loads into your Google Apps for Education account and gives the user easy access to help tutorials.  The best part about the Extension is it automatically switches programs as you move within your Google account.

If you need to know how to set this up in your account, please watch the following video.  If you have additional questions or issues with the Extension, please contact your EdTech Coach for support.

Making Education:

Designing Activities for Transformative Learning

The Maker Movement is beginning to transform learning in our schools. Makerspaces are areas designed to support the Maker Movement.  These creative spaces are where students can gather to create, invent, and learn.  This fresh approach emphasizes creation, creativity, teamwork and communication in order to prepare our students with skills for the 21st Century.   Museums, libraries, community centers and after school programs have designed physical and virtual "Makerspaces" to host communities of supportive peers and mentors invested in creating everything from cutout designs and webpages, to jewelry and robots . . . and now, even school curriculum.

One example of this movement is an after-school program beginning this year at Pointview Elementary. Pointview students are encouraged to join the tech club to experience wonderful hands on projects where this digital tool becomes part of the learning process. Several teachers including Ben Ashwill and Bill Goldner are leading this discovery adventure for students. Here’s a link to the Club’s introduction:

https://youtu.be/3HlLPLuVJdM

Another example of this style of learning is occurring at North High School.  North HS Warrior Learning Center now houses a special room called the “Imaginarium”.  In the Imaginarium, students have been creating and making new objects.  Buttons,  bracelets, origami, cutout designs and also learning about virtual reality. Every Monday, this space is open to students from 10:00 to 12:30PM for students to choose a learning activity.

The “Collaboratorium” and “Wonder Room” at Hanby Elementary opened this year with two exciting design challenges for students. The Collaboratorium is a available for students to make use of their science and math skills to solve problems.

The Wonder Room is used by students to create and discover art and technology.

In a recent Collaboratorium lesson, students were presented with a  Math and Science challenge called, The Penny Boat Challenge.  Students used the Engineering Design Process to design a boat for the Hanby Boat Company using aluminum foil that would hold the most cargo possible.

In the Wonder Room students were challenged to use the items in their brown bag to build the tallest structure possible.  Each Hanby class discovered the fun and excitement of building a tall structure with spaghetti and tape with a marshmallow on the top.    

Mrs. Brown, Hanby’s School Principal, is encouraging teachers, parents and community members to use these two new rooms to expand the Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) experience for every HANBY student. Students enjoy the learning experience and are looking forward to their next design challenges.

How will you implement the Hour of Code?

The Hour of Code is Coming During Computer Science Education Week: December 5-11!
 

In a world where technology is changing everything, the Hour of Code movement has introduced over 100 million students to computer science. Help Code.org reach every student with critical 21st century skills. 

The Hour of Code activities webpage has just been refreshed with new content, an updated look, and a filter tool that will allow teachers to find the best activity for their classroom.

Please visit Code.org to learn more!

Teacher Chromebooks have been distributed!

Teacher Chromebooks are here! By now WCS teachers have started to receive their Chromebooks.  If you have not received yours yet, it will be coming soon.  Please begin using the Chromebooks by logging in with your long Westerville username and password.  Below are a set of links to learn how to operate, care for and use your Chromebooks.

Chromebook Operation and Care

Chromebook Keyboard Shortcuts

Chromebook Touchpad Operation

What’s that little star on the bottom right of my Google Doc, Sheet and/or Slide presentation?

It’s the new EXPLORE feature in Google!

September 29th, 2016 Google introduced this new feature called Google Explore in Docs, Sheets and Slides to bring you insights, design tools and research recommendations so you can create better work, faster.

Explore uses Google smarts to help you create awesome presentations, spreadsheets and documents in a fraction of the time they used to take.  Create your documents efficiently and effectively with Explore.  Learn more here... Google's new updated blog.

Google Docs now supports Columns!

If you have not noticed yet...Google Docs now supports Columns!  Yes, you heard that right. We have waited and asked for this feature for years and Google has finally added it.  Check it out by opening a Google Doc and choosing Format.  You will have a choice of 1, 2, or 3 Columns.

Google Help Pages - Columns

How can WCS students log into District programs from home?

Westerville City Schools is working with Clever allowing students to log into their District provided programs at home.  Clever is a service that uses a student's Google account information as a portal to log into different technological tools that the district has provided to it's students. Clever provides student access at home to the following programs.

• Dreambox
• Lexia Core 5
• Tenmarks
• Schoology
• Studies Weekly
• Learning A-Z
• Gale Learning
• Code.org
• Khan Academy
• Typing.com
• Vocabulary.com

Please go to our Clever Update page for further explanations, directions and a printable handout with directions to send home to your parents.

 
 

Attention Westerville Educators!  Would you like to present your expertise in Ed Tech at the state conference?

Ohio Educational Technology Conference:  Call for Workshops, Sessions, & Displays

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 OETC is seeking innovative and fresh workshop, session, poster and display proposals for the 2017 conference. Presenting at OETC17 offers a unique opportunity for Ohio educators, technology experts and industry experts to gather and collaborate on ways to improve the quality and delivery of education to all Ohioans. 

The deadline to submit an Education Session proposal is September 30! Workshop submissions end this Friday, September 9th!

Click here to visit our Presenters’ Page for information on how to submit a session proposal.

If you are interested in submitting a proposal to present at the state conference- email Jen Fry.

Schoology Professional Development

Online PD opportunity!
Schoology is offering a series of Back to School Webinars for both the new user as well as the experienced user.  These webinars take place August 2nd- August 18th.  You can sign up to attend a session and will be sent the playback link if you miss it.


Read more about this here.

Announcing Technology Solutions!

Westerville City Schools Technology Solutions

As part of the Learning and Teaching Roadmap, we have purchased both devices and digital content to support the district’s vision for educating students in a 21st Century Learning Environment. As the use of technology tools in our district has grown tremendously, so have the number of requests for repairs and assistance to the IT and the Ed Tech departments.  In order to provide staff with a user friendly and timely experience in having their technology needs addressed,

The IT and Ed Tech departments are pleased to announce

the “Technology Solutions” help desk!

The cornerstone of this initiative is a new ticketing system that will allow us to quickly receive, respond and resolve your technology requests, such as:

• Hardware (Computer, Laptop, Chromebook)
• Software
• Google Apps (GAFE)
• Projectors
• Network or Internet issues
• Copiers/Printers
• Phones/Voicemail
• PowerSchool (including PowerTeacher and the Parent Portal)
• Digital Content (Schoology, Lexia, Dreambox, Clever, TenMarks, A/R Star, etc).
• Technology Integration Professional Development (Technology Integration Coaches)

So that we may efficiently and effectively address your technology issues,

it is extremely critical that ALL requests are submitted via our new ticketing system:

Click HERE for the link to the help desk

Your login for the ticketing system web portal will be your Windows/network username and password (ex: BaileySh).

Once logged into the system, you will be able to:

• Submit your own ticket to Technology Solutions using the website here.
• Receive updates through e-mail or SMS text
• View a history of tickets you have submitted
• Access FAQ’s addressing common issues

The new ticketing system will be available for you to use beginning June 1st.

Thank you for your cooperation as we bring to you the Technology Solutions help desk!

The following video provides more information on how to submit a work order: