Bi-Weekly Tech News
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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!

Haje Jan Kamps(@haje) from @techcrunch reports that the quizz/game platform Kahoot! has reached a milestone that few companies can brag about. "The company celebrates 40 million monthly active users and a total of 1 billion players moving through its platform over the past four years." Erik Harrell, the company's CEO said "We're over the moon at Kahoot! with the sheer passion and drive from the community of educators and students who believe in our mission of making learning more awesome and fun. Our highest purpose is to help learners realize their deepest potential, both inside and outside of classrooms, and to create the most relevant global learning brand for today's learners."

Click here to read the entire article.

If you would like to use Kahoot! with your students, contact an EMS Techspert today.

You know what they say ... If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. We all want our students to have access to technology devices in the classroom, but it is usually cost-prohibitive to purchase 5 to 10 iPads or other touch devices, much less a class set. Some teachers have opted for Amazon Kindle Fire tablets as an inexpensive alternative to iPads. These devices can run various applications, surf the web and take pictures and videos. However, before making any purchases, there are things you must consider.

First, what type of support will you need? District Technology and Instructional Technology staff provide support for district-provided technology and services. If you are considering purchasing your own equipment (through donations or from your own wallet), please understand that you will be responsible for the setup and maintenance of the devices. This includes how students will log in to devices and network, how to keep the devices updated, how to deploy apps, etc.

Next, what types of apps or tools do you want your students to use on the device? Some educational apps are available across all platforms - iOS, Android, Windows 10, etc. Some are not. For example, Flipgrid is a widely used app that is available on iOS and Windows 10 devices, but will only work on Kindle Fires that have downloaded the Google Play store. Be sure to do your research before you buy!

Finally, when comparing the iPads and Kindle Fires, just remember that you will pay significantly less for the Fire because it has significantly less capabilities. You could find yourself spending more class time trouble shooting problems than engaging your students in meaningful learning. The Kindle Fire is not a bad device as long as you remember that it's not an iPad.

Kids love to play video games. They can sit for hours and play the same game over and over again much to the dismay of parents and educators who believe they are wasting their time and melting their brain.

Today we are seeing a shift in thinking when it comes to video games in education. La Shera McElhany from Thought Hub says "When students engage in video game play, they experience the world in a new way. they learn to work collaboratively and to solve problems through the highly complex mental challenges that games provide. They also develop resources and skills that transfer into future learning opportunities."

To read more about the benefits of gamifying your classroom, click here.

This survey was originally planned for the week prior to our Holiday Break, but we didn't want to confuse or burden anyone with this and the Employee Survey at the same time.

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We are excited and encouraged by the great technology integration that's happening in our classrooms this year ... and we're absolutely thrilled about moving forward with our technology plan over the next few years. Gathering feedback from teachers is an important part of the process. We are partnering with Clarity BrightBytes again to survey teachers and on the impact of technology use both inside and outside of the classroom.

Campus Technology Integrators (CTIs) will be sharing information very soon about an important BrightBytes survey. Thank you, in advance, for your participation. Your responses will help shape the future of technology integration in our district!

If you missed our holiday Skype of the Polar Express, you can see it here. If you would like to hear how Chef Kieth Hanks uses writing in his job and his awesome hot chocolate recipe click here.

Ms Dowell's class is using Touchcast and a green screen to broadcast the weather. Click here to see them in action.

I’m not talking about moving to your favorite Neil Diamond tune.

SWAY is a powerful cloud based presentation tool included in Office 365. With SWAY, your students can create fun and engaging presentations quickly and easily using an interface that is suitable for all ages. Since SWAY is cloud based, students don’t have to worry about losing their work. SWAY presentations are automatically saved to the student’s OneDrive!

SWAY helps students by finding appropriate pictures and videos based upon their research. These images can then be easily dropped anywhere into the presentation. The design features of SWAY are equally powerful. Once students have completed their research, they can press a button and SWAY will design an eye-catching presentation for them! If the student doesn’t like the design, all they do is press remix, and SWAY will generate a brand new design. SWAY presentations can easily be shared using a link or embed code.

If you would like to try SWAY with your class, contact an EMS Techspert and your students will be SWAYing in no time!

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.)

Click the link below to check out our #EMSISDITS tutorial OneNote! Updated frequently!

Follow the team:@emsisdits

Jeni: @jlo731 | Sallee: @salleeclark | Ricky: @rickygode

Scott: @scottboiles | Bob: @bobeikenberry
Jennifer: @msprince212 | Cindy: @tuckertech

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