SC Midlands Summit Registration Open for Richland 2 Participants!

Good news the SC Midlands Summit registration is open for all Richland TWO employees! 

Date: June 12-13, 2013

Location: Westwood High School

Registration Fee: $35 

We have a great lineup of featured speakers on hand to share their expertise with us. Lodge McCammon, Tammy Worcester, and Greg Tang are all confirmed presenters!

This year each keynote speaker will be conducting a 2 hour extended workshop along with a number of 1 hour concurrent sessions. The workshops have limited tickets available for an additional $5. This is truly a bargain!

So I bet you are wondering how you can register for the event. With early registration opened to Richland Two employees at this time, you can get the registration link from your school level ITS or you can contact MaryAnn Sansonetti-Wood (msansonetti@richland2.org) for the link. Registration for participants outside of Richland TWO starts February 19 so reserve your spot today!

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter! @scmsummit!

Technology Spotlight - Wendy Stephens, Spring Valley High

Ms. Stephens looks for authentic, engaging activities to build French skills, utilizing tech tools to make this happen. One example of her tech use is connecting her students with French peers through blogs, which allow for authentic communication in French. Recently, Ms. Stephens' students turned student-created picture books into videos, which provided an opportunity for students to focus on French speaking skills. Ms. Stephens eagerly seeks out new ways to provide richer learning experiences for her students.

Here is an example of how Ms. Stephens uses video in her French 1 classroom.

The student created videos have been used in other French classes in the district. Jane Dobreski at E.L. Wright used the videos from Ms. Stephens' French 1 class for E.L. Wright French 1 middle school students. The students watched the videos and commented on the videos using a Google Form. 

Wendy Stephens received her Bachelor of Arts in French from the University of South Carolina Honors College and Master of Arts in Teaching French from the University of South Carolina. She has had the pleasure of experiencing France and other francophone regions in several capacities: studying in the city of Tours in central France, leading a group of USC Honors College students on a trip to Saint-Jean de Maurienne in the Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France, participating in field work on the Ghana-Togo border in West Africa, and visiting France with family, friends and students as a learner and traveler. This is her 6th year teaching French at Spring Valley High School. Madame Stephens sponsors student involvement in the following groups and activities: National French Honor Society, the Clemson Poetry Declamation Contest, National French Week activities, the National French Contest, Tuesday and Thursday study groups, French Day at USC, and interaction between French and American students via French-English blogs.

Learn more about Ms. Stephens and her class by visiting her website.

If you have someone you would like to spotlight please contact your school level ITS.

TED Talk: Thomas Suarez A 12 year old App Developer

Our students like to play games but now they want to create games. How will this change the design of your classroom?

Technology Spotlight - Jennifer Johnson, Bridge Creek Elementary

Welcome to a new portion of the i3 blog. We are spotlighting teachers, administrators, and staff who are using technology in creative or effective ways in your school. Our first spotlight is for Mrs. Jennifer Johnson is a third grade teacher at Bridge Creek Elementary.

Mrs. Johnson motivates her students by involving them in innovative projects using Google Apps. Recently she used the Google Drawing with her Social Studies Unit of study on The Revolutionary War. Students researched important battles, and heroes and heroines of the Revolutionary War. They used the Drawing to insert a picture of their battle or hero. The students then inserted text describing the importance of the event or person along with an interesting fact. Students learned how to search Google for images, save the image and insert it into Drawing. They also learned how to insert shapes, text boxes and change fonts and colors. Mrs. Johnson will present her project at an upcoming faculty meeting to inspire others to use Google Apps. Here is an example of student work.

If you have someone you would like to spotlight please contact your school level ITS.

*Google Drawing is located inside of your Google Drive. If you click 'create' you will see it as an option. Want to learn more about Google Drawing? See the Google Support page

Two NEW Google Search classes online! Register in PDExpress today!

We are so excited to announce Power Searching with Google is now available for you to take ANYTIME! This course is for the Power Search novice. 

Power Searching with Google is a free online, community-based course showcasing search techniques and how to use them to solve real, everyday problems. It features:

• Six 50-minute classes.
• Interactive activities to practice new skills.
• Opportunities to connect with others using Google Groups, Google+, and Hangouts on Air.
• Upon passing the post-course assessment, a printable Certificate of Completion will be emailed to you.

Login to PDExpress for more information on registration!

The second exciting announcement is Google is starting an ADVANCED Power Searching class starting January 23. 

Advanced Power Searching with Google begins on January 23, 2013!

Register now to sharpen your research skills and strengthen your use of advanced Google search techniques to answer complex questions. Throughout this course you’ll also:

• Take your search strategies to a new level with sophisticated, independent search challenges.
• Join a community of Advanced Searchers working together to solve search challenges.
• Pose questions to Google search experts live in Hangouts and through a course forum.
• Receive an Advanced Power Searching certificate upon completion.

Not sure if you’re ready for Advanced Power Searching? Take the Power Searching with Google course first. 

The course officially launches on Jan 23. You can complete each one-hour class at any time after it is available; the assessments must be completed by the deadlines listed in email from Google after you register.

The Advanced Power Searching with Google Course runs from Wednesday, January 23, 2013 to Friday, February 8, 2013.

Course materials will be released in two batches:

• Challenges 1-6 and Assignment 1: Wednesday, January 23
• Challenges 7-12 and Assignment 2: Wednesday, January 30

In order to pass the course and earn your certificate, you must submit and evaluate two assignments and complete a final search challenge by the deadline of 11:59 p.m. PT on Friday, February 8, 2013.

Once the course opens, we will post important updates to the announcements page and youll have access to a course forum where you can post your questions.

Login to PDExpress for more information on registration!

This online class offered by Google Search is open to ALL certified and classified staff!

Upon completion of course work on either class, please send your certificate to MaryAnn Sansonetti-Wood.

2nd Semester T(echnology) for Two classes now open!

We are happy to announce there are a number of varieties of workshops/training sessions with levels from basic to advanced. We have a few mini courses which are meet for a few consecutive weeks to allow you to dig a little deeper in to a subject. This semester we are piloting some online learning created by our Technology Integration Team. 

Course offering list

Registration is open in PDExpress now!