INNOVATE ASD
Spring/Summer 2024
As the year wraps up and you head off on a well-deserved break, I wanted to share a few updates from the tech department as well as summer resources to explore....
AI made a 💦 big splash 💦 this year, appearing in tools like Toddle, Canva, and Google—and it’s not slowing down. Below, you’ll find articles and podcasts that dive into the opportunities and concerns surrounding AI. This year, we adopted a "go slow to go fast" approach with AI like many Western Slope districts, prioritizing data privacy and safety. Any AI tools we implement at ASD will continue to be rolled out with care and purpose. To raise awareness, I presented our district's AI guidance to AHS and AMS staff, the DAC, and the BOE. You can view the slides [here], and I’ve included a journal article below on the importance of using AI critically in lesson planning as well as some other articles and podcasts that you might find interesting...These publications definitely caused me to think critically about the future of learning!
This year I launched an innovation committee aka "Innovation Working Group" made up of community members interested in the topic. Since we began this half way through the year, I did not put out an all call for teacher participants, but did invite a few of our colleagues who are in the STEM and CTE world to represent each school. Thanks to our Principals, Ada Friedman (AES STEM/Gifted), George Halfenstein, (AMS Robotics), Diane Godfrey (Work Based Learning) Sheri Smith (CTE Director) and Anita Moose (CTE IT Teacher) for participating. You can check out our Padlet [here], and we’ll open up participation more broadly next year.
🛠️ We are excited to announce that each school will soon have a dedicated space to "create". AES is transforming the aux gym into an Innovation Lab thanks to funding from AEF and their PTO. AMS will add a computer lab to support its MYP Design program thanks to AEF. Finally, AHS will turn the journalism office into a tech-rich mini maker space. And regarding Virtual Reality, pictured above in Ms. Nikki's 3rd grade class, we’ve piloted 14 headsets and will be expanding usage next year with experiences through the platform Engage. From the moon to the Globe Theatre, we’re excited to take students on immersive learning adventures next year.
Read on for more tech and innovation updates—including how to get your own Padlet account—and most importantly, enjoy your summer break!
Sincerely,
Kim Zim
Co-Director of Learning & Innovation
☠️ Please read if you use Canva!! ☠️
Action Needed: Move Your Canva Content by September 30th!
Our original "Aspen School District" Canva group (from 2020-2022) which has a user limit of 500 is being replaced by the unlimited "Staff & Students" group.
Why? To ensure everyone can collaborate seamlessly across the district and use Canva Classroom, you must be in the "Staff & Students" group moving forward.
Action: Move your files from the old group to "Staff & Students" by September 30th. The old group will be deleted on this date. Consider doing this over the summer and if not, I'll send multiple reminders when we are back at school. We will also tackle this with the students in the fall....
How: This must be done by you individually. Here is a video to explain the process!
A shout out to AEF for their incredibly generous donation of 1:1 Chromebook Plus Devices for every AHS student and for funding a lot of our upcoming innovation initiatives!
🎉 Congrats to our AHS teachers (and Stephen Heron) who survived the first year with 1:1 Chromebooks and thank you for your commitment to the pillars of our Chromebook Program! 🎉
Padlet PRO is coming to ASD!
In lieu of Google Jamboard being discontinued, I am happy to announce our district subscription to Padlet. We will be purchasing 30 licenses for Padlet. Please be sure you are ready to integrate Padlet before signing up!
With Padlet, you can create collaborative bulletin boards and walls where you, your students, your departments and committees can post ideas, media and feedback to one another. I have been asked numerous times about a replacement for Flipgrid and Padlet can also serve as a replacement for that app. There are so many new features in Padlet so I look forward to seeing the creative ways you all use it. Our district subscription will begin on August 1 so feel free to sign up for a free account with your AspenK12 email (this gives you access to a few boards for free) and that will be converted to a premium account come August 1 as long as you tell me that you want an upgrade. Take a gander at this Padlet 101 Course which you can access once you set up an account.
🍎 Please complete this Google Form if you would like access to Padlet! 🍎
Newsela will be renewed
Next school year, we will continue to have full access across K-12 for all content areas. Newsela gives teachers and students access to a huge library of the best leveled reading materials out there, and great classroom management and assessment features and lots of opportunities for differentiation - In English and Spanish. Please reach out to Kim if you would like to schedule a training for your team in the fall!
The Social Institute for grades 5-9
Next year we will keep rolling with lessons from The Social Institute in grades 5-9!
TSI was founded by Laura Tierney, a social media expert who learned as a student that empowering and equipping people to make high-character choices can lead to positive, life-changing experiences. With real-time insight into student experiences and lessons at your fingertips, you can equip students with healthy tech habits and stronger academic performance. Thanks to our amazing counselors Mel and Andrea for leading the charge at AMS and to Kate Korn who is crushing it at AHS! Next year, AMS students will also receive TSI lessons in the library with Georgina Levey!
If you haven't had time to explore Gemini, I encourage you to give our school district endorsed LLM (large language model) a try! Using Gemini protects your data within our Google EDU domain and over time, the tool really gets to know you and your workflows. Check out these 10 powerful tips for using Gemini as a teacher!
Go to gemini.google.com or access Gemini from your 9 dot waffle menu in the top right when you're in gMail, Drive, etc.
More AI Resources from Google: