January EdTech Monthly Newsletter
Jan 2025 Ed Tech Monthly Newsletter
Happy New Year and Welcome Back!
Happy New Year!
We hope that you have a wonderful break and got some well deserved rest. We have lots of great news coming for this newsletter from After School Tech Tips to help with accessibility, new Google Workspace updates, new resources for teachers to support the RUTA and digital citizenship, a Minecraft Education video series launch, and more!
Paege Hrdlicka is a dedicated science educator at Beacon Heights Elementary, where she teaches K-6 through a project-based learning model in a makerspace classroom. With a passion for exploring new technology, Paege integrates innovative tools into her learning environment to enhance student engagement and expand future career opportunities for her students.
As a science teacher, she values the experimental process and is intentional about fostering a mindset of inquiry and exploration in her students when introducing new technologies. Paege believes in the power of collaboration, both among students and with her colleagues. She has actively worked to connect schools within her catchment area through catchment collaboration groups, supporting the sharing of ideas and strategies for utilizing technology in the classroom. She is also facilitating a “Makerspace Takeover”, designed to support students' transition to Junior High School by bringing together feeder schools.
Paege is particularly enthusiastic about teaching science through a maker and art lens, recently incorporating robotics, printmaking, sublimation printing, 3D printing, and laser cutting into the Division 2 science curriculum. She is excited to see how this approach will help students understand the content of their learning and facilitate opportunities in their futures! She encourages EPSB members to reach out and pop by for a visit to explore what we have been doing!
After School Tech Tips for January
Check out our After School Tech Tips Playlist weekly on Wednesdays at 3:45 PM. These videos can also be found on our PL Calendar. Subscribe to our channel to get all of the updates. The lineup for January is:
January 8th: Closed Captioning during Media, Google Meet and Google Slides
- To supplement this video, here is also some information shared by the division's Audiology team:
January 15th: Read and Write for Chrome - Features for Everyone
January 22nd: Comparing Google Translate & Google Gemini’s Translation Service
January 29th: Translate in Google Docs
TIPS also continues to offer a variety of professional learning resources and opportunities for the 2024-2025 school year with sign-up in PDR.
AutoDraw!
To learn more about how teachers and students can use this product, check out our AI page for more information.
NEW Teacher Version for the RUTA (Responsible Use of Technology Agreement)
WAIT! This document is familiar; it's the EPSB Responsible Use of Technology Agreement!
Yes, and this is the new version for TEACHERS! The three student versions of the RUTA have been updated with a teacher resource for each positive action statement including: lesson plans, student activities, websites and reference materials. Check them out and share them with your colleagues and catchment!
Google Workspace Update
- Adding granular control options for who can respond to Google Forms: Form creators can limit response access to specific users, groups, or target audiences—similar to how file owners can restrict the sharing of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides or Sites in Drive.
- Introducing a refreshed library of high-quality Google Slides templates that elevate your presentations: A new collection of modern, professionally designed templates in Google Slides is now available to help users build presentations much faster. These new templates cater to a wide range of use cases that provide users with the perfect starting point for their presentations.
- New rule based notification options in Google Sheets: Create custom notification rules to track a variety of specific changes to your Google Sheets and even notify others when changes are made.
Minecraft Education Support Series
This week, the TIPS team launched a new Minecraft Education Support Series on our YouTube Channel. These videos will help guide teachers and students to utilize the platform in ways that are relevant to our EPSB context. You can access EPSB’s Minecraft Playlist here as well as explore our current episode guide. If you’re looking for an engaging tool for your students to collaborate with their peers for interesting projects, Minecraft Education might be the tool for your classroom. New episodes will launch each Wednesday for the month of January. For more information regarding Minecraft Education, please visit our website.
Want to keep up to date with technology tips and tricks or hear more TIPS updates?
- Click the "Subscribe" button at the bottom of this newsletter (if you're not already subscribed)
- Join our Google Space for regular technology announcements - EPSB EdTech Announcements
More Questions? Looking for technology PD for your school? Email the TIPS team or connect with your TIPS team member directly. Bookmark our TIPS.epsb.ca website for more updates and resources.