Technology Spotlight, Tiffany Hawthorne, Lonnie B. Nelson Elementary

Tiffany Hawthorne is working closely with Dawnn Turner, the Technology and Learning Coach at Lonnie B. Nelson Elementary through peer coaching. During the time she and Mrs. Turner have worked together Tiffany has increased student use of the technology with her daily lessons. Tiffany is very eager to add a variety of teaching strategies to ensure her students are involved with technology in all of the content areas. Her students are very excited to be using Chromebooks. Tiffany's students are becoming very confident using technology and the students are excited to share what they are doing with the Chromebooks. Tiffany is using SMART Notebook along with a variety of Google Apps for Education tools. She was also the first person to show interest in planning for the hour of code. Tiffany works with her students to create Google Draw and Slides. Most recently the students created their own version of a Thanksgiving plate in Google Draw. Then wrote a description of the drawing.

Tiffany is in her 7th year teaching and is currently teaching 3-5th grade at Lonnie B. Nelson Elementary. She recently was named National Board certified.

-Submitted by Dawnn Turner

Learn about the Belk Service Challenge and Network with your Colleagues!

The Belk Service Learning Challenge is back! 

Join Discovery Education and Richland School District Two to learn more about this exciting service-learning challenge for students in grades 6-8. Let’s collaborate to share the details of the 2015 challenge, brainstorm ideas for meaningful classroom use, and kick things off over a meal. Dinner is on us!

The Belk Service Learning Challenge, is a way for middle school students to apply what they learn in their core subjects to their communities. Help your students apply science, technology and social studies concepts to their local area with this new video challenge. Students will create a 1-2 minute video that tells their service learning story for their chance to earn $10,000.

REGISTER HERE 

December 4, 2014

6:00 – 7:30 PM

Longleaf Middle School 

1160 Longreen Parkway

Columbia, SC 29229

Multipurpose Room

Technology Spotlight, Karen Brown, L W Conder Elementary School

Karen Brown has made teaching child development students her career for very good reasons - she understands 4-year olds and how to provide engaging and meaningful experiences for them! Karen has taught in the Clemson Road Child Development program for 10 years both on the Clemson Road campus and currently at L W Conder Elementary. Her love of nature led her to the Congaree National Forest where she was a teacher ranger for two summers and she continues to bring her students to the outdoors through grant funded projects and many recycled materials.

The name of Karen's classroom is the Terrific Turtles and her class has already learned a lot about sea turtles in particular, one of her favorite animals. In order to provide her students with the opportunity to meet a turtle expert and to learn more about their class mascot, Karen arranged a Skype session with a west coast authority on turtles. He presented lots of pictures and stories and the Terrific Turtles answered questions and shared their turtle school family song with him. The two-way exchange made possible by Skype was very helpful in keeping student engagement high!

Skype, Google Hangouts, Facetime and other video chat applications are a great way to bring experts to your classroom. How have you used applications like this in your classroom? 

Thank you to Debbie Brady for nominating Karen Brown. If you have a teacher or project on technology you want to showcase at your school in Richland School District Two, fill out the Spotlight Form .

October is Connected Educator Month!

Connected Educator month is October! Are you excited or what? "Or what?" You say. You don't even know what Connected Educator month is? So here is the skinny Connected Educator Month is brought to you by the U.S. Department of Education and it's partners to offer highly diverse and engaging professional development activities for all levels of educators. It is in it's third year. 

The goals of CEM include:

• Getting more educators proficient with social media to improve their practice
• Deepening and sustaining learning among those already enjoying connection’s benefits
• Helping schools credential/integrate connected learning into their formal professional development efforts
• Stimulating and supporting innovation in the field
   (http://connectededucators.org/about-connected-educators-mission-goals/)

Check out the web page to see all that is available for your to participate in ... Connected Educator Month. Don't forget to share what you learn. Be sure to hashtag it on Twitter with #CE14 and #RchlandTwo!

If you are new to Professional Learning Networks, Richland Two is offering a T for 2 online class - R2 Connected Educator - The goal of this course is to build a professional learning network, where you will build relationships and collaborate with other educators around the world, through various social networks. We will focus on 4 different social media types, Google+, Twitter, Blogging, and YouTube. This course is designed for you to work at your own pace, but collaboration is ongoing. Renewal Credit: 10

This class starts October 8 - Sign up in PDExpress today!

http://connectededucators.org/

Technology Spotlight, Keighley Wingard, Bridge Creek Elementary

Keighley Wingard is in her 9th year with Richland School District Two and currently serving as the Technology and Learning Coach at Bridge Creek Elementary. This year, Keighley working with her school has started a video newsletter to share Bridge Creek news with parents, the community, and the world! 

After being inspired by George Couros to "take the digital leap," Bridge Creek Elementary school is now communicating with parents through a video newsletter called The Cougar Roar. Students are given leadership opportunities each week by having speaking roles on camera. All of the newsletter footage is captured on a flip cam, and then imported into WeVideo. From here, chroma key effects are added and the video is published. The published link is posted to Twitter @BCETeam121 and it is also embedded on the school's homepage. The September 5th edition, has now been viewed over 2,000 times!  

What a great way to involve everyone with what is going on in your school! Share the positive #RichlandTwo



If you have a teacher or project on technology you want to showcase at your school in Richland School District Two, fill out the Spotlight Form .

NEW class in PDExpress! Reading in the Middle

Do you enjoy reading Young Adult Literature? Do you teach middle school? Do you want to learn more about technology tools you can use in your classroom? If you answered yes to at least two of the questions listed, YOU HAVE TO TAKE THIS YEAR LONG CLASS! 

SIGN UP IN PD EXPRESS today! The class starts October 1, 2014 online!

Instructors: Media Specialists Michal Hope Brandon, Christina Willson and Lorena Swetnam

Class Website : Reading in the Middle blog

Course Description: Ever wonder what your middle schooler is reading?  Get to know what’s trending in middle grades literature while learning some hot tech tools to help you implement these popular titles in your classroom.

Method of instruction:  Each month teachers will select a book to read from a different genre and will learn how to use a different technology tool.  Teachers will visit the Reading in the Middle blog each month to review the book lists and technology tool for the appointed month.  Each month teachers will write two posts and submit them to the Google + Community: 1) a reflection on the title he/she read and a connection to his/her students 2) a reflection on using the technology tool for professional learning and/or in the classroom.  If applicable, teachers will share a product created using the featured technology tool.  Teachers are encouraged to comment on the posts to build a conversation about the learning experience.  

Course Objectives:

1. Encourage teachers to read popular middle grade novels that their students are currently reading.
2. Facilitate online discussion between teachers to share ideas and resources for incorporating different titles in the classroom.
3. Teach teachers about technology tools tied to literacy and reading.

Credit:  The course will be held from October through April for a total of 7 months. Teachers will earn 3 credit hours for each class in which he/she participates through their posts on the Google + Community.  Teachers may earn up to a total of 21 credit hours.  This is a monthly course that teachers will sign up for each month they wish to participate.

DENapalooza in COLUMBIA! September 20, 2014

Please share with all your colleagues! 

​

If you haven't heard, DENapalooza is coming to Columbia, SC on Saturday, September 20 from 9-3:30! 

So what exactly is DENapalooza?DENapalooza is a full day professional development event organized by the Discovery Educator Network team with assistance from local DEN community members. The goal of the day is to provide educators with new skills to improve their use of technology in the classroom and increase the use of Discovery Education in the classroom. The day consists of formal presentations in the morning, lunch, and an unconference in the afternoon. The morning sessions will be set by the presenters. Some presenters are from the DEN Team and others are educators like you. The great thing about the unconference in the afternoon is that attendees drive the conversation and discussions. Those in attendance choose the topics they want to explore. The day is low key and provides a great networking, sharing, and learning environment.
What is the format/agenda?The day will begin with a light breakfast following by a few opening remarks from the host. There will be morning presentations following the opening and then an opportunity to plan the unconference prior to lunch. Discovery will provide lunch on site and attendees can use this time to reflect on the morning, network, and enjoy the company of fellow DEN members. After lunch, the unconference will take place. There will be several options for attendees to choose from based on the schedule set up prior to lunch. The day will end with an appy hour, cool tool smackdown, or some other opportunity for attendees to share something fun.

How much does it cost?

IT'S FREE!!!!!!

Where do I register? 

Visit the DENapalooza site!

Be a part of the DEN Ambassador Program

Richland School District Two Teachers,

We would like to invite you to participate in a pilot of an innovative Discovery Education program.  Are you looking for ways to learn more strategies for integrating digital media and technology?  Do you want to share and hear success stories from across your district?  Ever wondered how other districts across the nation are using Discovery Education?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, then we have the program for you!

The DEN Ambassador Program is designed to fully support teachers as they integrate digital media and technology into their teaching practice. During this program, participants will come together for three face-to-face meetings. A variety of learning experiences will be provided throughout the program, as well as the opportunity to connect and learn via a private Edmodo group. To learn more about the program visit the DEN Ambassador Program.

This program is being supported by Richland School District Two and is being led by DEN STAR MaryAnn Sansonetti-Wood. This is a blended class with online assignments and in person meetings. The 3 in-person dates will be held on Thursdays - October 2, November 6, and December 4 from 4:30-6:30 pm. We are only accepting 40 participants from across the district for this program so RSVP ASAP... we only have a few spots left :)

The online portion of the class runs September 22 through December 15.

If you are interested in being a part of this innovative program please fill out this form. Sign up by September 15.

Mini Maker Faire Road Trip

Cross blogged at Life is a Maker Faire

One of the latest crazes to hit is the Maker Faire. What is a Maker Faire you ask?

Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth—a family-friendly festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement. Part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new, Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors. All of these “makers” come to Maker Faire to show what they have made and to share what they have learned. (Maker Faire)

On a whim when we were planning for our back to school meetings, we decided to have a mini maker faire. I took the idea and ran with it. Now it seems to become a road show. The maker faire road trip is a bit more about learning new ideas than a traditional maker faire with makers showcasing their work.  It has made its appearance at two trainings in the last week.  What is included in my mini maker faire? I have between 5-6 stations depending on the space. Presently, I have the following stations:

1. Coding: Creating a flappy bird game

2. Creating a Hovercraft

3. Building a 60 cup structure

4. Games (board games, dice games, logic)

5. Green screening with WeVideo

6. Circuits with Snap circuits and Roominate

From my vantage point, the maker faire was an engaging time for the participants to Collaborate, Communicate, Create, and Think Critically. The 4Cs were embedded throughout the faire.  Here is a flappy bird game created by Nikki, one of our Technology and Learning Coaches (TLC). Emily, another TLC said, "I loved the circuit building activity!  I was avoiding it at first because it seemed a little scary the idea of building a "circuit," but the activity showed that I could learn something new and construct my own knowledge through collaboration with other team members and access to a direction book. My colleagues were my co-learners in creating something new"

What has this Maker Faire shown me? It's demonstrated to me that the hands on activities are a way to get everyone involved in the learning. The learning is more than the standards and we need to teach critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity in our classrooms at EVERY level, not just elementary because they have learning stations/labs. It also brings a lot of questions to mind. How can we turn our classrooms in to maker faires? How do we model this learning for teachers to begin to have this mindset?

Discovery Education Streaming PLUS available to ALL Richland Two teachers and students.

The Good News
A big thank you to Richland School District Two for purchasing Discovery Education Streaming for all teachers and students in the district. We were all in shock when we heard over the Summer that Discovery Education Streaming would no longer be available to teachers when school started. Richland School District Two worked with Discovery to make sure we would continue to integration  of Discovery Education Streaming with our 1TWO1 initiative. The best part of this news is our service will be even better than last year! What do I mean? We were able to secure Discovery Streamline PLUS. We have access to an additional 50,000 resources including Common Core lesson activities.  

The AWESOME news
With in the first couple weeks of school, the schedules and classes will be added to teachers and students accounts. What does this mean? You as a teacher will not have to manually create classes with in Discovery Education. Classes will automatically be created and change if students move in and out of your classes. 

An AMAZING Opportunity
Coming soon we will be looking for DEN Ambassadors! 
The DEN Ambassador Program is designed to fully support teachers as they integrate digital media and technology into their teaching practice. During this program, participants will come together for three face-to-face meetings. A variety of learning experiences will be provided throughout the program, as well as the opportunity to connect and learn via a private Edmodo group. If you know you are all ready interested, check out how to register.

How do you access? 
From this point on you will access Discovery Education Streaming by being logged in to your Google Apps account (be logged in to your email) and go to http://google.discoveryeducation.com . The first time you access this site, it will ask your permission to link your Google Apps account to discovery. Accept this option. 

After your account is connected you will not need to log in to Discovery Education ever again. You will simply navigate to google.discoveryeducation.com to access the content available to you.

What if I am new to Richland School District Two this year? 
If you are a new teacher to Richland School District Two your information will be added to Discovery Streaming within the first couple weeks of school. We are working with Discovery Education to make sure ALL accounts are up and running. Please be patient.

Do all students have access?
Yes, all students k-12 will have access to Discovery Education Streaming by accessing it the same way as teachers. 

Share the Positive - #RichlandTwo

When sharing on Twitter use #RichlandTwo

Starting the new year with a shot of excitement? Is your professional learning getting you ready for the student's arrival next Wednesday? Is your school, creating an atmosphere of collaboration and communication? Are you just super excited to work for an amazing district? Have you learned new ways to engage your students and you want to share it with the world? Are you looking for new ways to utilize technology in your classroom and grow as a 1TWO1 teacher? If you said yes to any of these questions, you need to tweet about it and use the hashtag; #RichlandTwo

Why would you want to use Twitter? 
Twitter is the number one sharing and professional learning tool for teachers worldwide. Share what is going on with your class and learn at the same time. If you are new to Twitter, find out how to get started here.
Let's build an atmosphere of collaboration and learning through social media. Check out what is happening in the district below or go to twitter and follow the hashtag #RichlandTwo. If you want to follow other Richland Two employees add your name to this spreadsheet and it will populate at the bottom of this post.

Need help with Twitter, contact your school level Technology and Learning Coach. 

Let's get the word out about how amazing Richland School District Two and your home school really are! 

#RichlandTwo Tweets

VoiceThread: The New Look

Why not start the 2014-2015 school year with VoiceThread's new look. Along with the new look, VoiceThread has some new features you are going to love! 

Media is larger and more detailed

High-quality media display

Higher-resolution annotations

New zoom controls

One conversation channel

Drag-n-Drop comment reordering

Upload video files as comments

Text comments scroll

Bulk actions for sharing, deleting and making copies 

Sharing controls simplified

Display preferences- light or dark interface

and more...

For more details read about the new features here or you can watch how the new features work!

How will you use VoiceThread this school year? Take a moment and leave your comment! 

The 1TWO1 Digital Starter Kit gets a face lift

We have updated the 1TWO1 Digital Starter Kit! The updates include new websites for use in your classrooms as well as a new "quick view" sheet you can print off and keep handy. The list you are accustomed to starts on page 4 of the 1TWO1 Digital Starter Kit.

Remember this is just a place to start with digital projects! 

Update Your Email Subscription to this blog

We've done a little updating. Please resubscribe to our blog via the email option on if you previously received it via email. 

George Couros Speaks with Richland Two Leaders

Day 2 of the Administrative Inservice was kicked off with a keynote by George Couros, the Division Principal for Parkland School Division and an Innovative Teaching, Learning, and Leadership consultant.  He challenged our administrators to communicate, share, and transform what is going on at their schools. 

Here are a few tweets of the morning. Head on over to Twitter and check out the #RichlandTwo Discussion.

Show us - What are you doing this summer?

 
As you begin taking your much needed summer vacations, when you return why don't you make a video to show what you did this summer? You like the idea but don't know where to start... 

Did you know in Richland School District Two every teacher, student, and staff member has access to WeVideo? It is an amazing cloud video editor. All you have to do is go to the WeVideo website and click login at the top right of the page. Then simply log in using your Google login (same thing you use for email). The best part is if you are logged in to your district google account all you have to do is click login and it connects your account with 2 clicks. :) Easy peasy!

Now you are saying, "But I have no idea on how to use WeVideo!" They have that covered too. Just simply learn on demand with the WeVideo Academy. This is a wonderful YouTube channel filled with tutorials and examples of all of the things you can do with WeVideo. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/WeVideoMarketing

So here is a challenge for you .... I will share my summer if you share yours... Join me on this blog again in August with your video links ready to share. Have a great summer!

Richland Two's SC Midlands Summit - AWESOME!

This year's SC Midlands Summit was AWESOME. We had roughly 600 participants representing not only Richland School District Two but 31 other school districts and 9 states. What a great opportunity to expand your network! 

We would like to thank everyone who attended, presented, and volunteered for the SC Midlands Summit. Also a special thank you to the staff at Blythewood High School the facility and staff were amazing.  Mrs. Melody Cooke-McDuffie kept the facility moving and met all of our needs with enthusiasm and joy. She made it easy for us!

Over two days there were over 130 sessions and 3 amazing keynote speakers. Attendees had an opportunity to earn up to 14 hrs of renewal credit.  What were people saying about the SC Midlands Summit?

"I loved the plethora of choices for all of the sessions. There was also a wonderful variety between the sessions. It was hard to pick just one to go to, as there were so many sessions that interested me!"

"There were ample areas to choose from!!! For me, a special needs teacher, there were LOADS of sessions that I felt could benefit my classroom and students. This doesn't usually happen unless I'm at a conference specifically designed to help Special Educators. I loved that there was also lots of vendors there to talk with and begin networking with as well."  

"I like the vast amount of sessions that were offered. It was really hard to choose. There was no way you attend just one! :)"

 Please be sure to join us next year! Follow us on Twitter and Google+

Be sure to check out the Flickr Album!

Congratulations to Marriah Schwallier, DEN Star

Congratulations to Marriah Schwallier for becoming a DEN Star with the Discovery Education Network! 

What is a DEN Star?

A global community of education professionals that are passionate about transforming the learning experience with digital media, the Discovery Educator Network (DEN) connects members across town and around the world through social media, virtual conferences and in-person events — fostering valuable networking, idea-sharing and inspiration.

If you are passionate about transforming learning experiences with digital media, sharing resources, collaborating, and networking we invite you to take the next step in the DEN. Become a STAR Discovery Educator. It's easy. Just remember STAR:

S – Share something you've learned  about using Discovery Education resources with your colleagues

T – Teach your colleagues about this idea or strategy

A – Assist your colleagues as they implement this idea or strategy

R – Report what you've done

Would you like to be interested in becoming a DEN Star? Log in to your Discovery Education Account and click on Discovery Education Network on the left navigation.

Archiving Your Google Data

The great thing about Google Drive is your data is stored in the cloud and accessible from anywhere.  But in the world of education teachers move and students graduate or transfer out of district and their accounts are deleted. And when the account is deleted there goes the data. What can you do to easily save all of your Google Drive data? 

If you are leaving Richland Two and want to take your data with you follow these simple steps to save your data.

Google has made the process of archiving your data very easy.  All you need to do is go to Google Takeout.  If you go to Google Takeout while you are logged in you will automatically be taken to where you need to be to archive your data.  Select the products you want to archive. In the image below I selected Drive.

After you have selected your Google product to archive, click on the Create Archive button and the archive process will start. Once you start the process you do not need to remain on the page. 

 It will archive in the background and you will receive an email when complete.

You can now download your data to an external drive.  In my situation all of the files were downloaded as Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. Note that the archive needs to be saved or it will automatically be deleted and you will need to run the archive process again.

If you do not receive your email in a timely fashion you can go back to Google Takeout and select My Archives to access your file for download.  

 Remember to never save your files to a public computer.  You should save these files to an external storage so you can take it with you.  

SC Midlands Summit Countdown....

Follow us on Twitter

@scmsummit

Use the hashtag

#scms14

Join our Google+ Community 

Conference Website

Richland School District Two is honored with the 2014 ISTE Sylvia Charp Award

Original post 

Award Winners Will Be Recognized at ISTE 2014 in Atlanta, June 28-July 1

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 6, 2014 – Today the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE^®) announced its 2014 award winners. Each year ISTE recognizes individuals who are transforming learning, teaching and leading in the digital age. The winners will be honored at ISTE 2014, one of the biggest, most comprehensive ed tech events, to be held June 28-July 1 at the Georgia World Conference Center in Atlanta. 

South Carolina’s Richland School District Two is the winner of the 2014 Sylvia Charp Award for District Innovation in Technology. Presented by ISTE andT.H.E. Journal, in honor of the magazine’s founding editor, this award recognizes a school system for exhibiting effectiveness and innovation in the application of technology. Richland School District Two is honored for bringing innovative practices to its classrooms, through both a 1:1 and BYOD programs that are being implemented with a focus on ensuring that the proper policies and procedures to support learning are in place. Technology integration coordinator Donna Teuber and the Technology Integration team will attend ISTE 2104 to accept the award on the district’s behalf. 

What is the Sylvia Charp Award for District Innovation in Technology?

Presented by T.H.E. Journal and ISTE, this award recognizes a school system larger than one individual school (school district, school board, secretariat of education, education organization) that exhibits effectiveness and innovation in the application of technology.

Honoring Dr. Sylvia Charp, the founding editor of T.H.E. Journal, and her groundbreaking contributions and extended service to the education technology community, this award has two focuses:

• Widespread implementation: The winner will ensure equitable and appropriate technology use for all students in the system, aimed at improving learner outcomes and increasing learning opportunities.
• Innovation: Progress in education, as in all endeavors of our society, depends on new ideas.

Don't miss this summer learning opportunity - SC Midlands Summit COMING SOON!

Richland School District Two's SC Midlands Summit featuring Google for Education is scheduled for June 11-12, 2014! The SC Midlands Summit is a two day conference focused on the use of Google for Education, research tools, Web 2.0 tools, and technology integration in the classroom.  Over 100 unique sessions will be offered! We have a great lineup of featured speakers on hand to share their expertise with us. Steve Dembo, Catlin Tucker, Leslie Fisher, and Tim Childers are all confirmed presenters! Check out our featured speakers page for more information. 

Registration is only $35 for Richland Two employees and $50 for Non-Richland Two employees for TWO days of Professional Development and up to 14 hours of renewal credit.  Registration is open!

Sessions have been posted on the sessions page. There is something for everyone no matter what level or ability. 

If you have any questions, please comment below.

Congratulations to our new DEN Stars!

Congratulations to Emily Herbig, Chuck Holland and Lisa Knoche to the Discovery Education Network family! 

What is a DEN Star?

A global community of education professionals that are passionate about transforming the learning experience with digital media, the Discovery Educator Network (DEN) connects members across town and around the world through social media, virtual conferences and in-person events — fostering valuable networking, idea-sharing and inspiration.

If you are passionate about transforming learning experiences with digital media, sharing resources, collaborating, and networking we invite you to take the next step in the DEN. Become a STAR Discovery Educator. It's easy. Just remember STAR:

S – Share something you've learned  about using Discovery Education resources with your colleagues

T – Teach your colleagues about this idea or strategy

A – Assist your colleagues as they implement this idea or strategy

R – Report what you've done

Would you like to be interested in becoming a DEN Star? Log in to your Discovery Education Account and click on Discovery Education Network on the left navigation.