This blog focuses on the effective integration of technology in K-12 schools with special emphasis on Sonoma County. It offers ideas and resources to support purposeful use of technology in relation to the Common Core Standards and 21st century learning.
Author | Rick Phelan | Email | Follow on Twitter
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Technology Purchase Tips: Try Before You Buy
05.08.13
“Try before you buy” makes sense for schools planning to purchase technology. Taking a week to try a new technology with students and staff can help you determine if there’s a match between your desired outcomes and a given technology. While some software companies are open to this idea, it’s more difficult to try out hardware in advance of buying. Recognizing this issue, SCOE now offers schools the option to try a set of iPads for 1-2 weeks.
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Student Impressions of SBAC Testing
05.01.13
Sonoma County has a number of schools participating in the Spring 2013 scientific pilot of the computerized testing designed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). I visited with the students in one of the pilot schools to get their impressions. The sixth-graders I spoke with were part of the scientific pilot of math assessments. I interviewed them after they had completed the SBAC pilot and their annual STAR testing. Here is a sampling of their responses.
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Sonoma County Robotics Challenge, May 4
04.25.13
Elementary and middle school students from grades 4-8 will demonstrate 21st century thinking skills and abilities when intricate robots they’ve constructed compete in the Sonoma County Robotics Challenge. This event takes place on Saturday, May 4, from 9:00am to 2:00pm, at Elsie Allen High School, 599 Bellevue Avenue, Santa Rosa. Over 300 students from 18 schools will participate. Working in teams, they will compete in six events that require skill in robot design and programming.
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Cybersafety: Finding Balance and Building Responsibility
04.24.13
Portable tablets and smartphones are increasing children’s access to online content at home and at school. These smaller, more private devices are harder for parents and educators to monitor and manage, resulting in mixed feelings about technology. On one hand, adults want children to have access to thousands of excellent online resources and tools. On the other hand, they recognize the dark side of technology — cyberbullying, inappropriate content, and social isolation.
Acknowledging concerns, parents and educators need to offer children direction. Starting points to guide children’s access to technology involve sharing ideas about respect, being smart, and knowing about ethics.
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Notes & Resources: 2013 iPad Symposium
04.13.13
SCOE’s 2013 Spring iPad Symposium was well received by over 150 educators from Sonoma County schools. If you didn’t attend, you can access a summary of Kathy Schrock’s keynote address with hyperlinks here.
The post also has links to pre-recorded webinars that Ms. Schrock has made on specific thinking areas from Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy (remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating), along with suggested iPad apps and activities.
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New Webinars on Digital Literacy Essentials
04.12.13
Webinars can be an effective way to bring people together on relevant topics. To attend a webinar, you don’t have to travel much further than your school or home to participate. Digital Literacy Essentials is a new series of 40-minute webinars for superintendents, principals and teachers.
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GarageBand: Incredible Music Technology for Schools
04.10.13
Creativity with an iPad app called ‘GarageBand’ opens new doors for schools with music.
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Blended Learning: Innovation in Education
04.03.13
We are in the midst of change and turbulence as we think about the future of education. Traditional models of “face-to-face” teaching in brick-and-mortar classrooms may not provide sufficient learning opportunity and time to meet individual needs. Blended learning, a combination of face-to-face class time and online resource access, is growing by leaps and bounds across the world—and in Sonoma County.
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Digital Media Class Inspires Creativity with 21st Century Tools
03.28.13
The Digital Media class at Petaluma’s Kenilworth Junior High School offers one idea of how a school in Sonoma County is approaching 21st century digital literacy skills.
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Symposium Provides Insight on iPads in K-12 Learning
03.26.13
iPad tablets present new ways for students to engage and interact in learning. The Apple Store currently has over 20,000 educational apps that range from early learning skills for toddlers to advanced mathematics resources for graduate students. Digital textbooks on the iPad offer new avenues to learning through interactive images, 3D graphics, and accessible text. Authoring tools support writing, music composition, drawing, and multimedia presentations. It’s easy to see why many schools are excited about integrating this tool into school learning environments.
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