#EMSISDITS Tech Talk

Techy Talk for Teachers

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!

zoom_out_map

Slow Twitter Chat in Progress!

Have you heard the news? We're hosting a Slow Twitter Chat this week and you've still got time to join the fun! This week, the @emsisdits team posted one question a day on Twitter. We are so pleased that teachers and administrators from across the district have joined the conversation by responding to the questions and connecting with one another. Our goal was to provide an easy way to get more comfortable with Twitter and to encourage educators to build their own PLNs.

To join the chat, head to Twitter and tweet your replies to the following questions. To indicate that you're answering (A) a question (Q) you will want to begin your tweet with A1, A2, etc. Another important part of the tweet is the hashtag #EMSedchat. The hashtag allows others to easily search and see your response

Q1: Introduce yourself by telling your name, campus, what you teach, and post a selfie that lets us know a little more about you.

Q2: Since this is our FIRST Twitter chat, we want to hear about your FIRST year of teaching. Post a GIF that represents your FIRST year of teaching.

Q3: Twitter is such a powerful tool. As an educator, what benefits do you see of this social media platform?

Q4: Shoutout some of the people you follow who inspire and teach you about great things.

Q5: Give us a peek inside your classroom or school. Tweet something awesome that is going on in your classroom or on your campus lately and tell us about it.

Even if you're just starting now, you can still participate by responding to all five questions! Be sure to follow other EMS educators to see the great things happening in and around our district.

zoom_out_map

Spark your students' imagination with Adobe Spark

Did you know that you and your students can access and use Adobe Spark through the EMSISD single sign on portal? Just go to sso.ems-isd.net and sign in with your district credentials. Then, find the Adobe Spark icon and click on it. Voila! You're in!

Adobe Spark is loaded with creative potential that is user friendly and powerful. Teachers and students can create graphics, a web page, or create a video. Users can choose to start form scratch, or pick from a variety of pre-made templates for instant inspiration.

Adobe Spark creations are saved automatically and are easily shared via a link, or downloaded as an image or PDF. Another neat feature of Adobe Spark is branding. Teachers and students can add their unique brand/logo to their creations to give them that added pop and recognition. We encourage you to check out Adobe Spark today and, as usual, we are always here to help you.

Technology in the EMS ISD Classroom

Check out the second video from the new hit series, Technology in the Classroom. Sixth graders from Wayside Middle School have a blast learning about teamwork through a digital escape room. Click here or on the image below.

open_in_new zoom_out_map

zoom_out_map

Display in Window

When adding a file to a page, you can have it display right inside that page. This is known as inline preview. There is a display icon to preview, but it's very easy for a student to miss.

There is a way to have the file automatically display within the page.

Simply select the link to the file then click the link icon in the menu
Select the auto-open for inline preview option
Click update link.

Now, if a student clicks the link, instead of having to open or save the file, it will automatically display on the page.

Create a peer review assignment

When creating an assignment, you can require students to complete a peer review of another student's work.

To set up the peer review, go to the Assignments section and click on the title of the assignment you wish to assign a peer-review to. Then click Edit.

Check the box next to "Require Peer Reviews" [1]. Choose "Manually Assign Peer Reviews" [2] if you wish to choose who each student is assigned to peer review. Choose "Automatically Assign Peer Reviews" [3] if you want Canvas to do this randomly.

zoom_out_map

Physics Education Technology with Mr. Mayhan

Mr. Edward Mayhan, the Engineering teacher at Ed Willkie Middle School, uses the PhET interactive simulators to expose his students to a variety of STEM concepts in an interactive and engaging way. Some of the simulators available to students are fraction building, graphing quadratics, building an atom, circuit constructions and reactant/products and leftovers. All of these simulators help to grow his students' overall STEM knowledge and help them be successful in his class.

"The Tech Ed and Principles of Applied Engineering courses at EWMS have used the circuit construction kit to teach basic electrical theory before starting builds, making the most of project time and giving the students a 'no risk' environment in which to experiment." What an awesome way to experiment and learn challenging concepts. Way to go Mr. Mayhan!

zoom_out_map

Sallee Clark & Jeni Long named OneNote Spotlight Teachers of the Week

Our very own Sallee Clark and Jeni long were recently honored by @OneNoteEdu as their Spotlight Educators of the Week. Not only are Jeni and Sallee an integral part of the district's Instructional Technology team, they are also stars of the hit Jenallee Show on YouTube. They are both passionate about helping educators realize the potential of Microsoft products, as well as other ed tech tools for learning and accessibility.

Congratulations, Jeni and Sallee on this exciting honor!

zoom_out_map

from Sallee:

"I get so excited when I see someone's life changed with Learning Tools!"

zoom_out_map

The Jenallee Show

The Jenallee Show highlights great things happening in EMS classrooms and new and exciting resources that are available for our students and teachers.

"I am extremely passionate about organization for schools & departments using OneNote."

zoom_out_map

from Jeni:

"I am extremely passionate about organization for schools & departments using OneNote."

zoom_out_map

Use the search keyboard shortcut in OneNote

If you forgot which notebook or section you placed one of your notes, the fastest way to find it is by using the keyboard shortcut for search. Simply press Ctrl + E to open a search box to search all currently open notebooks.

zoom_out_map

Another great Tech Tuesday with the Gators!

It is always a pleasure to work the awesome educators at GFES. They learned about Microsoft applications, Skype in the classroom, Adobe Spark and how to participate in a Twitter chat.

zoom_out_map

Kahoot! frenzy with Kinder Stars!

Kindergarten students in Ms. Monier's class are learning and having a blast using Kahoot! They are learning about letters and sounds while competing and engaging with their classmates. Way to go Ms. Monier!

zoom_out_map

Tech day at NES is the best!

These Blazers learned about Flipgrid Fliphunts, Adobe Spark, and Skype in the classroom. They are super pumped and ready go!

zoom_out_map

Food Chain Fliphunt at SES

Students in Ms. Cantrell's class at SES used their science skills to complete a food chains fliphunt using Flipgrid. They demonstrated their knowledge of energy transfers in ecosystem and had a blast at the same time!

zoom_out_map

Animal Mystery Skype with Ms Kula and Mr Perrier

BES Bobcats participated in an Animal Mystery Skype with Mr Perrier's class in France. Students asked questions to try and figure out which animal the other class was. There were tons of thoughtful questions and extreme engagement all the way around?

zoom_out_map

Westward Expansion at EWMS

Students in Ms. Miers' and Coach Klitgaard's history classes collaborated on a Westward Expansion project using Microsoft TEAMS. Students were able to collaborate and build their projects in real time over the web. Awesome!

zoom_out_map

Check us out ... Seriously, you can CHECK US OUT.

Did you know that the Instructional Technology department has a wide variety of technology tools available for check out for student/classroom use? We have everything from iPads to Merge Cubes to Augmented Reality goggles. See our current list of available items here.

When your submission is submitted, the IT team will verify that the devices are available at that time for checkout and will schedule delivery/pickup. You will receive an email with this information within 48 hours. If you don't hear anything after that time period, please email ITs@ems-isd.net to check the status of your request.

We would love to plan with you about how you will be using these devices, or even assist you in the the classroom with your students. How cool is that?!?!?

zoom_out_map

EMS Single Sign-On

Sign in to sso.ems-isd.net with your district username and password on any computer or mobile device to have quick and easy access to many of our district digital resources.

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.)