#EMSISDITS Tech Talk

Techy Talk for Teachers

Bi-Weekly Tech News
Follow us on emsisdits.blogspot.com to see bi-weekly news, tutorials, & more! We will email out news every other week offering you the latest trending tech topics! :)

The EMS Instructional Technology Team is excited to work with students, teachers, and administrators this year to support and enhance the great things going on in our district this year!

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Have You Heard the News???

On Monday night (4.16.18), our AMAZING School Board approved the purchase of Interactive Displays for EMS Classrooms! This summer will be one of the busiest ever for the Technology Department. One of many projects this summer is the installation nearly 1400 of 75" Promethean Interactive Displays in classrooms across the entire district.

These displays go far beyond just a simple "projector replacement." The multi-touch interactivity allows students to fully participate and learn collaboratively. Lessons are reinforced not only visually, but also through touch.

More information will be coming soon about the interactive displays, so stay tuned!

Student Devices are Coming to a Campus Near You!

About a year ago, our School Board approved a Technology Plan that included additional Instructional Technology staff, Interactive Displays for classrooms, and Student Devices for each campus.

Student devices will be deployed over the next three years. We are excited to announce that campuses will receive the following for the 2018-19 school year:

Elementary Campuses - 1 cart of (30) iPads and 1 cart (30) 11-inch laptops
Middle School Campuses - 3 carts of (30) 11-inch laptops
High School Campuses - 6 carts of (30) 13-inch laptops
Watson High/ADC - 1 cart of (30) 13-inch laptops
Hafley Development Center - 1 cart of (30) iPads
Hollenstein Career & Technology Center - 3 carts of (30) 13-inch laptops

The laptops (11 and 13 inch) will be touch screen to allow digital inking while also having a keyboard.

We can't wait to partner with you and your students as they get more opportunities to use technology in your classroom.

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GradeCam Go! Pilot

You've probably already heard that EMS teachers have the opportunity to participate in a GradeCam pilot for the remainder of this year. You should have already received your login information. Please use the link from that email to sign in and set your own password. The link expires in one week. (We will send additional account reminder emails throughout our pilot.)

Once you're in, look for a series of Getting Started Tutorials highlighted at the top of your screen.

All other Support Resources can be found by clicking your name, then Support.

If you need more help after watching the Getting Started video, please contact your CTI or IT.

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SeeSaw at GFES!

Kindergartners are using SeeSaw to demonstrate their awesome math reasoning, and their literacy skills. Way to go Gators!

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Curriculum + Technology = Student Engagement and Learning!

We had a great day working with the curriculum department on ways to ramp up student engagement using Technology tools.

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Secondary Math CLC

We had a great session with secondary math teachers. We discussed Nearpod, Canvas, and our technology roll out. Great things are happening in EMSISD!

Which browser do you use?

District devices come standard with 3 different web browsers - Edge or Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome. All of these browsers can get you online and help you navigate to different websites. So, which browser is the best? It's really up to the user.

Each browser is a little different in its look and feel, so you should use the one that you are most comfortable with ... BUT (there's always one of these), understand that not all programs and applications play well with all browsers. You may find that one program works best with Chrome while a different program works best with Edge or Firefox.

Ultimately, use the browser that you like, but be willing to try other browsers if you run into difficulties with various programs.

EdPuzzle makes videos better

Videos are a great way to get students ready for a lesson. The problem with them, however, is that they are one dimensional. The video plays and the students listen. There is no interaction. With EdPuzzle, you can take any video and add your personal commentary, notes and quiz questions. This keeps students engaged in the video because they know your commentary applies directly to what they are studying, and that they will be accountable for video content with the quiz questions. Go here to check out EdPuzzle. If you would like help setting up your first EdPuzzle video, contact an EMS TEchspert today.

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Interested in Checking Out Devices?

Do you have a lesson or activity in mind, but are lacking devices to carry it out? Our department can help! If you are interested in checking out iPads, VR Googles, GPSs, Merge Cubes, Spheros/Ollies, or Green Screens, click here to fill out a reservation form. We would love to support your students' learning any way we can!

Reserve an #EMSTechspert

We want to help you successfully infuse technology into your classroom. We would love to train you on how to create tech infused lessons, co-teach the lessons, or even share our favorite tech tools with you!

Email your IT today to set up an appointment! (Find contact info here.)