#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

Become a Microsoft Innovative Educator

Do you have your Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) certification yet? The MIE program is more than just Professional Development. It's a community of educators just like you that likes to use technology to make learning more effective and engaging for their students.

There are several ways you can earn your MIE certification and badge. Choose from a variety of online courses here. Each course is geared toward a specific topic or skill, and will earn you points toward your certification. You can also participate in Skype activities such as virtual field trips, Skype lessons or collaborations, Mystery Skypes, and guest speakers. For each option, you will earn points toward your MIE badge. Additionally, you can earn points by sharing, commenting on, and rating content in our online community. You can choose one or all of these paths to reach 1000 points and earn your MIE certification.

If you would like to take your learning even further, ask us about how you can become an Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert and join an elite group of educators that are on the cutting edge of technology in education.

zoom_out_map

More student devices are on the way!

This year, we provided a cart of iPads and a cart laptops for every elementary campus. We also provided three carts of laptops to each middle school and six carts of laptops to each high school. That's a lot of devices! We're not done though.....we're just getting started. The district plans to add similar numbers of devices on each campus next year AND the year after that. These devices are in addition to the devices that were already on each campus.

The BIG STORY here isn't really about the number of devices. It's how students are using available technology resources in EMS classrooms. If you're not sure how to reserve these devices for your classroom, check with an administrator, your CTI, or your librarian. If you would like help or ideas for using technology effectively in your classroom, please reach out to the district IT team. We will plan with you, co-teach, and support you all the way!

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

Verify all of your links in a Canvas course with two clicks

Does your Canvas course have a bunch of links in it? If so, you probably have to check the links once and while to make sure they still work. Here is a quick way to do this:

In your course click on settings
click on validate links in content

That's it! Canvas will automatically verify all of the links in your course.

Use the "files" section in Canvas to quickly copy your files from one course to another.

If you teach multiple sections of the same subject, then this tip is for you. To quickly copy files from one course to another, just do this:

Click on the account icon at the top left of your course
Click on files
Select the files you want to move/copy and drag them to the destination course.

zoom_out_map

Elkins Elementary Teacher, Emily Killen

Emily Killen read about rewordify.com in our last newsletter. She gave it a try and said the following ...

My 4th and 5th graders are really enjoying rewordify.com to help them simplify vocabulary in reading passages. They are learning how to copy text from a PDF or from a website and pasting it into the text box on Rewordify. Below is an example that my students used Rewordify for. They didn’t know what the word “sauntered” meant.

Office Lens

One of our all-time favorite apps to share is Office Lens. This free app is available for iOS and Android and it works perfectly with our Office 365 resources. Check it out ...

zoom_out_map

Bryson's FRENCH Connection

Students at BES used TEAMS to collaborate with students in France. They worked together to learn about endangered animals in their respective regions.

zoom_out_map

Escape from Capacity Lake at HCES

Students at HCES had to use their top notch math skills to escape from Capacity Lake. OneNote breakouts are so engaging and so effective.

zoom_out_map

BHS Lunch and Learn

Teachers at BHS were amazed that they can create awesome Digital Breakouts for their students. "I love this so much!", "This is great for STAAR review!" and "I've been wanting to do this!" were just a few of the many quotes we heard.

zoom_out_map

Fliphunt at GRES

Students in Mr. Lofland's class had a blast doing a Flipgrid Fliphunt over Where the Red Fern Grows. Engagement through the roof - you know these kids will remember this experience!

zoom_out_map

Tech-Infused Pre-K Classroom

Hafley Development Center Campus Repair Tech, Jami Alford, submitted this picture for our newsletter and says, "Ms. Hoang is ALWAYS using technology in her classroom and the kids in her room are always so engaged." Way to go, young learners!

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

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.)