Edmonds Digital Learning

With the move to Chromebooks, teachers have lost access to many of their trusted multimedia tools, like Movie Maker, Photostory, and Audacity.  When attempting to create engaging, real-world projects for students, such as podcasting, this can be barrier. Thankfully, there are many developers bringing multimedia tools to the web. Bandlab For those familiar with GarageBand, Bandlab with feel very intuitive, giving users the ability to build multi-track audio projects from captured audio (recorded via the computer's microphone) and built-in synthesized instruments. Students making podcasts can edit and manipulate multiple audio sources, perfect for assembling interviews or multi-person stories.  For added professionalism, students can also compose their own music. It's incredibly easy to use, and integrates directly with students' Google accounts, so it all works seamlessly in the cloud.  For aspiring podcasters, it even offers a platform on which to publish an

Anyone who is still pondering how technology can be used in visual arts should spend 5 minutes in an art class at Alderwood Middle School.  Since her arrival, teacher Amy Barnes has transformed the curriculum using 1:1 Chromebooks, giving students more choice and control over their learning, and giving classic techniques a techno-spin. While learning single-point perspective, students use an online tutorial program to help them review techniques that they have learned in class, as well as push themselves by attempting new and individual challenges given to them by the program.  By end, each student has mastered the concept, and produced an original design for a room. Once their initial designs are complete, the students use Planner 5D on their Chromebooks to translate that design to a 3D computer-aided-design environment.  Students I spoke to said that this helped them to find mistakes in their original drawings (e.g. when an object was too short, or too long) an

Shark Tank inspired science project engages students with an innovative challenge. How can energy produced by lightening be captured and used? In October, “Sharks” attacked an 8th grade science class at Meadowdale Middle for the 2nd Annual Shark Tank Challenge.  Parents, school staff, and administrators took on the role of “shark” investors as students presented their ideas to the panel. As one student stated, “we have done research projects before, but never anything where we had to come up with the idea and other people grill you with questions..., especially adults.” The students in Stephen Howard's 8th grade science class learned more than simply how energy works and impacts the world. They embarked on a journey to apply their knowledge in a useful way. Howard’s Shark Tank project embodies the important 21st Century Learning skills of collaboration, communication, creativity, imagination, critical thinking, and problem solving as it relates to the science curr

Walking into Cheryl Roth’s 5/6 grade classroom at Beverly Elementary can be like walking into a Hollywood editing studio. The classroom is alive with students hard at work on Chromebooks adjusting scripts, choosing music and graphics, and recording and editing video. On a recent visit, students were busy using WeVideo to create videos for their kindergarten buddies and were completely entrenched in the process. “The kids are really engaged with what they are doing,” says Roth, “As they work on this project, they realize they have to rework and edit. They are working collaboratively and cooperatively to figure out what parts of their videos are strong and what needs more work.” Roth has been using technology with students for years, but using WeVideo for student movie production is new for her this year. “It’s a way to get kids interested in topics,” she says, “Kids are so tech savvy and it is so much a part of their lives that I feel it has to be included in my curriculum.” Roth

Instructional Technology Online Professional Development Register and get started today:  Intro to Online PD * *Only available for Edmonds School District Teachers.

With apologies to William Shakespeare, when it comes to math instruction, to differentiate or not to differentiate has never really been the question. In any given class, teachers face a range of student abilities that span multiple grade levels some working years ahead of the provided curriculum, while others lag years behind. Reasons for this ability span are as unique as each individual student who shows up to learn every day. All teachers understand the importance of reaching each of their students, but more often than not the crucial question becomes, "How?" Enter technology. While continuing to draw most instructional material from district-provided curricular materials, teachers can use online materials to supplement student learning. Khan Academy and CK-12 are two free websites can be used as powerful tools for mathematics differentiation. Both of these sites allow teachers to create class lists, track student progress, assign activities that focus on specifi

Ever wonder why students can master complicated video games, rattle off in-depth statistics about Seahawks players, or explain intricate movie plots, but struggle with solving arithmetic story problems? I know I have, but after teaching some of Graham Fletcher's 3-Act math lessons I am closer to answering that question. Graham's lessons provide students with a picture or video that inspires students to create their own mathematical inquiry question. Students view the picture or short video and are driven, by their natural curiosity, to ask questions about possible outcomes. These student questions quickly morph into higher-level problem-solving students actually enjoy! Graham has questions embedded throughout his lesson plans to ask students as they go through their problem-solving processes. In my own classroom, I adapted these questions to create even more student buy-in and shared a Google Doc where students could record their thinking as they worked through each p

What if students in your class were as excited about reading books as they were about video games, pop stars, or sports? That's the goal of the educational website Bookopolis . This free website allows teachers to create a class account and track student reading. All the while, students can choose an avatar, explore new books, create a bookshelf, share book ideas with friends, earn points and badges, and show off their book knowledge by answering book report questions! This website could truly bring a love of reading back for students and let teachers pitch cumbersome reading journals. It's definitely worth a look!

Use technology to help students learn maths! As schools move to 1:1 with Chromebooks, teachers are looking for ways to integrate technology into their classroom as a way to engage students, enhance learning, and provide more access to materials.  Finding quality ways to integrate technology can be challenging and often requires rethinking pedagogical practices.  One of the most common questions I get from teachers is “how can I use Chromebooks in Math?”  In order to help answer this question, I decided to embark on a quest to pool together resources and ideas for using technology in math instruction. Middle schools in the Edmonds School District have been 1:1 with Chromebooks for at least a year or more.  Every subject area, including Math, have found ways to utilize technology.  Lisa Song and Jennifer Hyppa teach Math at College Place Middle (CPM) school where they have their students use their devices to access online resources from ConnectED, search for math videos, pra

All Staff Summer Camp:  Instructional Technology Online PD When June 21-August 31 Where Work in any location of your choosing. Registration Go to the PD Portal and register for course 377 - Summer Camp:  Instructional Technology Online PD In addition, please complete this registration form for our records. Course Content Elementary Staff: Go to Technology Summer Camp 2016 to access course materials. Middle School Staff:  Go to Technology Summer Camp 2016 to access course materials. High School Staff:   Register in Canvas to access the course materials. *Specialists please select the link for either Elementary or Middle School. Clock Hours For a list of challenges and clock hours visit this link. Elementary technology+curriculum Summer Conference When August 16 and 17, 2016     8:30am-2:40pm both days Where Scriber Lake  High School Registration Go to the PD Portal and reg

What's new in the world of Google Classroom? Google Classroom has changed quite a bit since it was first released in 2014.  What started as a blended learning tool simply aimed at distributing and collecting assignments or links has now added ways to include quick formative assessments through questions and polls, reuse posts, sync due dates to Google Calendar, and more.  Check out the Google Classroom support page to keep up to date on the changes. When Google added the ability to save a post as a draft, it allowed teachers to prepare their assignments or announcements days or weeks ahead without their students seeing the post in their live Classroom stream.  Saving it as a draft allowed the teacher to choose when they would post the assignment to make it live.  Believe it or not, Google has taken this a step further and now allows teachers to actually schedule the date and time for the post.   Schedule your first assignment in Google Classroom Step 1: Open

Topic: Integrating Google Apps for Education (GAfE) with the writing process.  Videos of three teachers were featured at Thursday, March 3rd's CLP meeting discussing how they are integrating Google Classroom and Docs into the writing process. Watch the videos to hear how these teachers use GAfE to organize materials, conference with students and increase student engagement in the writing process.   Jason Aillaud, 5th grade at Cedar Valley Community School Mike Ochoa, Edmonds Elementary 6th grade Tom White, Lynnwood Elementary 4th Grade

Students Create Podcasts to Communicate "Claims and Arguments" Nancy Branom, English teacher, at Edmonds-Woodway High School understands that there are multiple ways to communicate ideas and share a powerful message.  With the help of Librarian Karen Rautenberg, Branom’s Writing Workshop class engaged in the art of storytelling by creating their own podcasts.   Allowing students to use technology in this way produced some impressive results.  “The students found great interviews, they used music creatively, and all the kids said it was challenging to put it all together, yet realized how powerful the spoken word is -- so different than writing,” states Branom.  It was obvious walking into the classroom that students clearly took ownership of their learning and worked hard to tell their story.   Take some time and listen to this student made podcast about immigration . Branom was willing to take a risk with this project and it paid off.   Like any new ventu

When I walk into Gail Yampol’s Kindergarten at Brier Elementary, I always wish I could travel back in time to age 5 and be part of all the fun in Room 4. This classroom is alive with learning! Every bit of available wall space (and often the windows) showcases the work students are doing. Check out this video clip of how she integrates technology in her classroom!

Until now, the best choice for printed student projects -- from newsletters, to banner signs -- has been Microsoft Publisher.  With the move to Chromebooks and the disappearance of Microsoft Office, how can you replicate those same projects with the new tools that are available to students?  Here are four options to help you make the transition: 1. Google Draw This is part of the Google Docs suite that everyone in Edmonds can access.  It offers simple layout and drawing tools that are quick, and well-suited to simple projects like graphic organisers and diagrams. Pros:  Simple, free, and no additional sign-in required.  Integrated with Google Drive, and easy to share projects with students (either through the Share menu, or through Google Classroom). Cons:  Limited to one-page projects.  Some advanced tools are missing. 2. Canva Offering more dedicated desktop-publishing tools, Canva is a speedy way for students to put together slick, professional looking publicatio

Jason Aillaud’s 5th grade classroom at Cedar Valley Elementary is usually a bustle of activity with students engaged in rigorous learning tasks while Mr. Aillaud circulates the room checking work, reteaching, and encouraging students as they take ownership of their learning. This morning was no exception. All of the students in Room 21 had Chomebooks on their desks or laps (Jason has had 1:1 Chromebooks since September 2014) working on an Expressions Math graphing assignment or researching an unsolved mystery. Students were collaborating with each other, able to articulate the work they were doing, and self-directed. Check out the video clip to learn more!