7 things you can do this summer to get ready for our 1:1 rollout

Summer is a great time to spend learning something new.  To get ready for next year's 1:1 Forward Learning rollout, here are 7 things that you can do!

1. Give your other computers the summer off.

Give your MacBook and other devices the summer off and pull out your Acer whenever you need a computer. The more you use it, the more comfortable you will be with it when you are working with your students.

2. Take the Acer tour.

This laptop tour was created by some 6th grade teachers at LCMS so their students could get familiar with the new device. It is a great way for you to get to know the Acer and a tool for next year with your class!

Acer Tour

3. Check out the apps that are loaded on the Acer. Pick one to use with your class.

Click here for a list of loaded apps. Click on any of the apps on the list to learn more about them. Find one that you are interested in and open it up on the Acer to play around with it.

Go to Activities in the top left corner. Type the name of the app you want into the search bar, select the app, and explore.  

4. Upload your files and folders to Google Drive.

You will want to have your files in Google Drive to make the most of the 1:1 environment. Here's how to get them there.

Upload files

There are two ways to upload files to Google Drive:

Drag-and-drop files. Using the latest version of Chrome you can drag-and-drop files directly from your computer into Google Drive. You can even drag-and-drop files directly into folders or sub-folders.
Upload files using Google Drive. Follow the steps below to select files to upload to Google Drive.

1. Open drive.google.com.
2. On the left, click New and select Upload Files... from the drop-down menu.
   Don't see New? You may be using the old version of Drive. Try clicking the upload icon and select Files... from the menu.
3. Select the file you'd like to upload. To select multiple files, press Shift or Ctrl(PC)/Command(Mac) and click all the files to upload.
4. You’ll see a box that shows the progress of your file upload. Click on the file name to open the file or close the box by clicking the X in the upper right corner.

5. Organize your Google Drive.

If you are already a Google Drive user, chances are you are overwhelmed trying to find files that you have created. Now is the time to create folders and use color coding to keep track of your files.

How to create folders for your documents

In Google Docs, folders can be used to organize your documents. However unlike the normal idea of folders, you can put a document into multiple folders at once in Google Docs. To create a folder, do the following:

First go to your main Google Drive screen and select where you wish to create the folder. If it will be a top level folder, simply click on My Drive on the left side of the Drive screen. Or if it will be a sub-folder, first drill down through your folders until you have opened the one where the new folder will go. Click New, then Folder. Finally type in a name for your new folder.

How to name documents and folders

One thing that can help you get organized is to use a common naming scheme for files and folders. The name should tie the item to a time (year), a class (perhaps period), who created it (your name), and what it is (a certain paper, projector, or turn-in folder).

Here are some helpful recommendations for you to use. For documents and folders, include in the name:

• the current school year (four digits such as 2014 for school year 2014-2015)
• your class period (two digits such as 03 for 3rd period)
• the name of the document or folder

Here is a great post on a fast way to organize your Google Drive: 4 Things You Can Do Right Now to Create a Perfectly Organized Google Drive

6. Take a look at what Google Classroom can do. Set it up for next year!

You can read more about Classroom here or here. Best practices (updated weekly) are posted in this folder.

Already a Google Classroom Guru? Check out Alice Keeler's post on 3 Thing's to Wrap up Google Classroom for Summer!

7. Still need more Google? We've got you covered!

LVUSD Resources

Visit our Google Apps Learning and Teaching with Google Apps sites to learn how to use and teach with Google Apps.

21 Day Google Challenge 

Thanks to Paul Barrett for posting the 21 Days of Google Docs and Drive Challenge to his blog! Pick and choose the topics you want to know more about. Paul's blog

Google Educator Curriculum

If you are really inspired, you can take a look at the Google Educator curriculum. There are several online modules to choose from. Going through the modules will give you plenty of Google skills and they are free to access. For a small charge ($15 each last year; no price yet for this year), you can take an exam for the module. If you take and pass five of the exams, you will earn a Google Educator certificate. The exams are not currently available, but they are scheduled to return at the end of June, 2015.

Have you hit a snag? Have a question? Reach out for help!

Your LVUSD Media Specialists are available to give you a hand when you need it. You can contact Karen Lagola or Nancy Minicozzi to get one on one assistance.

You may also want to visit these blogs. They are full of great Google resources:
Alice Keeler: alicekeeler.com
Lisa Nowakowski: nowatechie.com

SAMR Model Defined

During our Forward Learning teacher trainings, we have been introducing the SAMR Model as a way to guide lesson plans to use technology in a more meaningful way. Part of this process is always to ask the questions:
How will the technology enhance my lesson? How will it change student engagement?

By considering these questions, teachers are able to design and infuse technology into teaching and learning. As lessons move through the framework to redefinition, they also move to a higher order of thinking.  SAMR is connected to Bloom's Taxonomy; each step in the model correlates to the steps of the pyramid. It becomes clearer to see the progression when the two models are placed side by side.

 To help further identify the transition from Substitution through Redefinition, I came across this article (it was actually sent to me today, perfect timing, by Nancy Minicozzi. Thanks, Nancy!) 

8 Examples of Transforming Lessons using the SAMR Model! 

It lays out 8 different style lessons at each of the SAMR levels: Substitution,  Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition. It really helps you visualize the process!  Enjoy the read!

The Beats Goes On!!

AEW Tech student team in action

The Forward Learning teacher trainings have expanded their reach to include 7th and 9th grade teachers!  This week 7th grade teachers were issued their Acer laptops and attended the first of the three trainings they will complete before school gets out.  9th grade teachers will attend their Kick-off training in 2 weeks and will also attend 2 trainings between now and the end of the school year.
Also as part of our ongoing cultivation 4 teachers from each middle school will be attending the CUE conference this weekend.  I look forward to seeing you all there and bringing back more tools that will enhance our classrooms!

How Teachers Will Change The Future of Tech

I read an interesting article today on how a teacher's level of comfortability with using technology will influence their students.  Have a look!

How Teachers Will Change The Future Of Tech

They're Here!!

13 Days flew by and we have arrived at roll out time!  This week we have rolled out 600 laptops to the 6th grade students at ACS and LCMS!  The excitement can be felt all over campus.  As you stroll through campus you will come across groups of students sharing and learning from each other!

Student Tech Teams are already helping students during "hospital hours" or in class. They are creating schedules and committing their free time to be available for their classmates.

Classrooms are also starting to look a little different as students start exploring their new tool and teacher's add a new dimension to lessons.

On Monday the excitement spreads to AEW!  What a great way to start the new semester!

13 Days until Roll Out!!

We are 13 days away from rolling out our 1:1 laptops to 6th grade across the district!  This week the 6th grade teachers attended trainings on how to be an educated educator and stay safe when teaching with technology.  Some of the topics discussed were district owned vs. personal devices, cell phone use, copyright infringement, social media and digital citizenship. All topics were looked out from all sides; from teacher use to students use at school.  The teachers had a chance to look at the online Digital Citizenship course that all 6th graders will be required to complete.  They were then given time to create their own technology guidelines for their classroom and design a lesson for the first day the laptops come to school.

We have also started training our Student Tech Teams at all the middle schools.  Students have been taught basic troubleshooting, how to reboot the system and how to replace laptop batteries!  The teams will be ready to go when the laptops are deployed!

Middle School Teachers Rock!

I spent this week working and collaborating with the teachers from Lindero, ACStelle and AEWright! It was so much fun to introduce tools and watch the light bulbs go off as they created ways to incorporate them into lessons!  I am in the process of setting up a place for us to share out these ideas from school to school so that everyone can benefit and learn from each other.

This was our first official training intended to prepare teachers for the January laptop roll out and I am very excited by the enthusiasm I saw !  The next meeting are scheduled for:

LCMS 12/8

AEW   12/9

ACS    12/11

Again there will be a morning session 8:30-11:30 this time for Science and Math teachers and an afternoon session 12:30-3:15 ELA and SS.  

We are also offering the option to attend an after school session instead of being pulled out of your class  this session will be held on December 3rd at the district office from 3-5:30. If you have any questions contact klagola@lvusd.org.

I look forward to seeing you all soon! Have a great Thanksgiving!! Enjoy a little turkey and football!