Innovate ASD
Quarterly Digest - Summer Edition
Welcome to the Learning & Innovation quarterly newsletter. If you find a moment on your summer vacay, this newsletter pulls up great on a cell phone. Bookmark it, peruse the links, and get caught up on the latest from Google, what's happening with AI & VR in education, ideas for the classroom, and other professional development resources.
The goal of this newsletter is to share some of the most current developments and ideas in technology that are creating buzz. You're already seeing some of this in your classrooms (ChatGPT/AI) and other things (like VR) you might see in the near future.
If you feel inspired to connect over the summer or have any questions, please reach out: kzimmer@aspenk12.net.
☀️ Who to Follow This Summer...☀️
🧠 Grow your mind & your toolkit 🧰
🤔 Food for Thought....
🖖🏼 The Future of Computing?
Breaking News....
Starting in the fall, we will have access to Toddle 360, which adds a learning management element to the unit mapping tool that we already use. In order to get our district on the same page and make the user experience more seamless and streamlined for our students and families, the hope is that we will fully roll out Toddle LMS/360 to grades K-12 over the next few years. All of the work you have already done in Toddle will be accessible in Toddle 360 and it is likely that Toddle 360 will eventually replace Google Classroom/Schoology.
More info to come and rest assured, nothing is changing for the fall!!
While I have your attention, check out this great resource for teaching ATL's......
End of Year Tasks
Schoology Clean-Up
You might also clean up your Google Calendars from old Google classrooms / calendars not in use anymore.
Introducing Your Co-Directors of Learning & Innovation + Welcome Jack!
Kim Zimmer (Kim Zim)
Kim is the "Instructional" Co-Director of Learning & Innovation. Kim's job will be front facing and expect to see her in classrooms, in IB and curriculum meetings, collaborating with teachers, ensuring that our district subscriptions are paid and thinking about the future of learning at ASD. She is excited to continue working with the amazing teachers at Aspen. Kim will continue teaching SkierTV and coaching high school tennis.
Kim will be stationed in the same office, adjacent to the AHS library and in the same room as the SkierTV studio.
Jason Pfiefer (Jay-Fi)
Jason is the "Technical" Co-Director of Learning & Innovation. A lot of what Jason will be doing is behind the scenes including our IT infrastructure, phones, network, servers and Rapid Identity accounts. Jason will be working closely with Stephen, Jack and Dave Fuentes (although Dave will also be working with Kim). Jason will continue being actively involved in outdoor ed at AMS.
Jason's new office is in AHS, across from the woodshop (aka the Potato Cellar) where Chris' office used to be.
Jack Adams (AMS Tech)
Introducing Jack!
My name is Jack Adams and I'm the new Technology Specialist for Aspen Middle School. My background is in electrical engineering where I earned a degree at Michigan State University. During my schooling and time as an engineer there was plenty of crossover work in the IT field. Initially I moved to the valley after picking up skiing and mountain biking in Vermont and moved to enjoy those activities in a different part of the country. I joined the school district after working two years for the resort and wanted to exercise my technical skills again!
You can find Jack in Jason's former office on the first floor of AMS.










