I have been playing with YouTube Playlists recently and I have found it to be a useful tool in creating and saving a series of videos. For example, I found the Schoology Channel, subscribed to it and saved their "Schoology Knowledge Base" Playlist. In doing so, I now receive updated videos from Schoology and I can share the Playlist with others through Social Media, email or embedding the link on our web site.
Creating a Playlist is a great tool allowing you to easily direct your students to a series of videos supporting a topic. If you are interested in creating and saving Playlists to your YouTube account, check out these directions. Click our Playlist to view what we have saved.
We have received a number of questions recently about connecting to WCS network. Let's look at two scenarios.
First, which network should my teacher Chromebook be on? All teacher Chromebooks should be on the WCSINet network. If you find your Chromebook is not, please contact your EdTech Coach to log you into the network.
Second, how do I connect my phone to Westerville City School's Internet? All staff and student personal devices should be connected to the WCS network. Directions to do so are listed on the Document, "Staff Connection to WCS Wireless." Using the WCS network will give you greater access to the Internet than using the WCS-Guest network.
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.
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:
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.
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 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.
I have been playing with YouTube Playlists recently and I have found it to be a useful tool in creating and saving a series of videos. For example, I found the Schoology Channel, subscribed to it and saved their "Schoology Knowledge Base" Playlist. In doing so, I now receive updated videos from Schoology and I can share the Playlist with others through Social Media, email or embedding the link on our web site. 
