SAGE Writing Summative Test

The time of year has come that we begin to look at preparing for the end of year SAGE Summative tests.  The SAGE Writing test window for Canyons School District is February 2-10. As teachers begin to prepare for administering tests, the EdTech Department has been working hard to prepare training and support for the teachers and students.  A few things that will help prepare your students for the writing test is Utah Compose.  Utah Compose will help your students learn, use and practice writing skills with instant feedback. Visit the department webpage or ask your EdTech for more information.  In regards to the preparation for the actual test, students should explore in the SAGE Training Test.  This training site will allow students to explore the format that most closely represents the actual test.  New features to be aware of include the dictionary feature and the tutorials.  The tutorial videos are a great resource for students to explore the question types.  The dictionary feature allows students to choose from a list of similarly spelled words as well as look up the definition. There is also a thesaurus to find synonyms.  More information will follow and include testing information on the English Language Arts, Science, and Math tests that will occur April 20-May 30.      

Timelines made easy!

I love timelines and maps, it's the history teacher in me, but they lack an interactive piece that my mind craves, it's the Ed Tech in me.  As a teacher, I used timelines all of the time and had my students create a timeline for the American Revolution and Civil War. Students can read a textbook but all of the dates will get lost (In our textbook there are 52 dates or years in the paragraphs from the French and Indian War to the signing of the Declaration), but the visuality of a timeline helps show cause and effect over time and increases comprehension of the topic.  No matter how great the timeline, I always wished it was interactive.  A timeline with large pictures, links, videos that added depth, and embeddable.

Thanks to my PLN on Twitter I found a great tool for making timelines, Timeline JS.  Timeline JS makes building visual and interactive timelines easy and its free.  It can pull media from twitter, Flickr, Google Maps, Youtube, vimeo, and soundcloud to name a few.

There are only four steps to making your timelines interactive (listed below).  The website does a nice job walking you through the steps.  If you would like help with step 4, embedding the timeline into a Canvas or a classroom website contact your Ed Tech.
    1)  Download a Google Spreadsheet template and fill out the spreadsheet.
    2)  Publish the Google Spreadsheet to the web.
    3)  Paste the "publish to the web" url on Timeline JS's website.
    4) Copy the embed code and add it to your site.

Whether you are creating a timeline for your students to interact with, having your students create their own timeline, or having your students collaborating on a Google Sheet to make a class timeline, Timeline JS makes it easy and fun.

My Sample:


Other tools that can be used for timeline creation:
Facebook (Article), Infographics (Sample), and Hstry.co (A vertical timeline)

Timelines are not only for history class:
1)  Have students plot a story your reading in class
2)  Have students create a timeline of their family or their future
3)  Have students create timelines about famous people in your subject area.

What are some other ways you can use timelines in your class?  Tell me in the comments below.

Made with Code

With the Winter Break quickly approaching, it’s time to Code the Holidays.  Google has created the website, https://www.madewithcode.com, where you can code the light sequence for a Christmas tree. After your code sequence meets your satisfaction, you can click the done button and submit your project to the Google website.  Okay, okay, now here’s the best part… Your light sequence will actually appear on a tree in the nation’s capital! You pick which tree, and Google will give you the date and time it will be displayed! 

If coding tree lights isn’t your thing, then try out some of the other project that Google’s Made with Code has to offer.  You can construct your own unique snowflake, create a 2D or 3D Avatar, or even build your own musical beats.

Made with Code has something for everyone. It's entertaining, educational, and anyone can do it! The website contains resources for other coding websites, as well links to at-
home projects. 

Enjoy your Winter Break, and don't forget to Code the Holidays!

2014 Ed Tech Endorsement Graduates

December brings white fluffy snow, crazy shoppers, multicolored lights as far as the eye can see, and a winter break to rejuvenate your technology soul. For eighteen Canyons school district teachers, December also brings a graduation ceremony. A ceremony celebrating completion of the full year Ed Tech Endorsement program. The ceremonies on December 16th celebrated the following teachers: Lori Anderson,  Karalee Birima, Anne Clyde, Ashley Fricker, Michelle Johnson, Cindy Krueger, Anthony Leavitt, Sandra Lecheminant, Karen Millenbach, Ed Mondragon, Lidia Ordaz, Kesha Prince, Ana Rodriguez, Doug Rolley, Meghan Schott, Lynn Smargis-Shumate, Alison Stroud, Eileen Struna, Marcus Voght, Susan Williams, Sarah Young.  Congratulations to all!

Wondering if you should participate in the Ed Tech Endorsement program? Eileen Struna shares the Top 10 Reasons you should consider the endorsement program.

The Education Technology Department is currently in the process of restructuring the Educational Technology Endorsement program.  As a result, a new cohort will not begin until August 2015.  Information about the new program will be available and distributed to teachers in April 2015.  Even though a cohort will not officially start until 2015,  a few classes will be offered through which participants may earn USOE or SUU credit, and the credits can be applied toward a future Educational Technology Endorsement. Registration is now open for the Digital Storytelling and Online Safety classes.  Register for classes online at http://training.canyonsdistrict.org. Class sizes are limited to 30 participants, and is first come, first served.  Click here for information.

I Learned So Much from the Hour of Code!

I wasn't going to post about this, but after seeing the reaction and watching the engagement from the students' discussions with each other, interactions, true cooperation, and thinking, I decided to change my blog post.

I was deeply inspired by what I witnessed this past week. These students are SMART. Smarter than I ever gave them credit for. I am excited about the promise that these kids bring!

Here is a video clip of one of the students during the Hour of Code  in a class this week. It was EXCITING!

One of the principals at one of my schools also participated. He yelled, "I'm awesome. I just want you to know that." Here he is.... Priceless.

Nearpod and Nearpod Homework=Powerful Blended Learning Opportunities

"Can we try ONE MORE PROBLEM, PLEASE??" This is what I heard from several students in a fifth grade class last week I was asked to teach a lesson about multiplying decimals. In our district we are using Pearson Envision Math and the day in which I would be teaching the lesson 7-4B I decided to use Nearpod to teach it rather than project my display and ask the students to take notes on what they are learning.  I used the school's iPad cart and each student opened the free Nearpod app. They entered the PIN for my lesson and we were ready to learn. Multiplying decimals by decimals and/or whole numbers can be an abstract mathematical concept for 5th grade, especially when the lesson called for the students to utilize models to represent their problems.

One of the reasons I volunteered for this particular lesson was that I wanted to experiment with combining some of my favorite tech tools. The lesson, shown below, utilizes Haiku Deck for the slides because it makes great looking slides. I used Doceri for the 0.3 minute whiteboard video demonstrations. Finally, Nearpod supplied the great interactive activities that engaged the students. It worked so well that the kids were enthusiastically asking for math to be taught this way from now on.

Our district in the process of purchasing a large scale subscription 3-year license for this amazing Nearpod service. This development has the potential to change the way teachers teach and student learn in the classroom. We have such great access to technology in this district, Nearpod is an exciting new way to implement positive classroom practices. In one lesson, using Nearpod, I was able to meet many of the instructional priorities our district has emphasized:

• Feedback
• Maximizing Opportunities to Respond
• Explicit Instruction
• Acquisition, Automaticity, the Application

In order to gain access to this district-wide license, we will be doing short trainings for elementary and secondary teachers to share with you the features and be sure that you have what you need to get started.  For more information, contact your Ed Tech or me (katherine.hill@canyonsdistrict.org).

This the Nearpod presentation I created and used for teaching the multiplying of decimals. Even though I presented this live to the students in class, it is posted here as a self-guided presentation via Nearpod Homework. Go through it yourself and let me know what you think. If you can't see this embedded presentation, you can click here.

Wanted: Student Filmmakers!

Do you know a student interested in film? How about a group of students interested in working with a local business? Besides being a great learning and leadership opportunity, filmmaking helps students develop communication and organizational skills through a hands-on, student lead project. 

This year for the 6th Annual Canyons District Film Festival we are encouraging more students to step into a leadership and film-production role by being partnered with a sponsoring business in the community to create an advertisement.

This is an exciting opportunity for students and businesses alike, so if you know of a company or small business in the area that would like to help sponsor the 2015 Canyons District Film Festival, please connect them with your Ed Tech as soon as possible! Student and business intent to participate forms must be turned in by 5pm on December 4, 2014 so that interested businesses and students can be partnered to start creating those fantastic advertisements! 

Even if you can't participate, don't miss out on the chance to see these and other student-created films make their Film Festival debut on April 16, 2015! 

For more information about filmmaking in the classroom and the Canyons District Festival, visit our Professional Learning page.