Chromebook Basics

I decided to try this activity because I will be having Chromebooks in my classroom this year for the first time.  I wanted to learn as much as I could during the summer to make the transition to my new grade level as easy as possible.  I found this "badge" to be both easy and difficult.  Many of the concepts were easy because they are common in Chromebooks as well as PC's running the Chrome browser.  Some things were harder to learn and remember without a Chromebook handy to practice on and to become familiar with.

One of the activities was to create a poster with keyboard shortcuts.  I have been shopping on Teachers Pay Teachers today and found a poster with shortcuts that's a lot better than one I could create so I'm planning to use that one.  I think that this poster could be added to my SWIFT site, printed as a poster, and/or sent to students via Google Classroom.

I also found several free and paid resources on Teachers Pay Teachers and Pinterest that may be useful to me and to my students this year.

SWIFT Website Update

Because I'm changing from teaching Kindergarten to Fifth Grade and very little of the content in my site is applicable to both grades, my old SWIFT site needs to be mostly redone.  I spent time going through my site and deciding what to change or not to change.  I have to leave some things in place because my teaching partner will be using some of my site for her presentation to all Kindergarten parents during Jump Start, but I've been thinking about how to update those pages after Jump Start.  I went in and removed content that was no longer needed such as old photos and I updated my homepage to explain that my site is under construction while I'm transitioning to Fifth Grade.

Creating my Website

I enjoyed creating my website, however, all the features are not yet totally familiar to me.  I will definitely be modifying my website as I explore the different features.  I really struggled adding a link to my google calendar and decided to substitute it with the event calendar for now.  I know this is one change I will be making soon.  

I will need to keep my website updated so it becomes a place my students and parents can access regularly and be kept up to date on assignments, assessments, and happenings at school.  

I love taking pictures of my kids enjoying learning math as they keep denying that they have any fun learning math! :)

Thanks for the step by step walk through.

Jodi

http://teacher.edmonds.wednet.edu/mms/mackeywebsite

Challenge: Class Website

• What did you create, and why? I explored sample class websites, experimented with different types of page options, and made updates to my website including adding a discussion page and a Google Calendar (replacing my Events page). While I didn't publish all the pages I tried, I explored more ideas for ways to use my website (such as adding class newsletters) once the school year begins.
• What went well for you? Adding the Google Calendar went smoothly. I haven't done a good job keeping my Events page updated in the past, so I'm looking forward to having the calendar update automatically when I add things to my Google Calendar. Adding other pages like the Discussion page went smoothly as well.
• What was challenging? This wasn't a challenge with the task specifically, but it's not always easy to find the balance between setting up pages to provide families with useful information while also being realistic about what I will be able to keep regularly updated with minimal effort. I know it's not helpful unless I can keep the information current.
• What did you enjoy? Exploring other sample pages to see how other teachers are using their websites. I set up my site a while back but haven't really taken the time since then to look at other possibilities and think about other ways I could use the website.
• What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families? I'll think more about ways I might use the Discussion and Blog pages as the year goes on and my students become more proficient with keyboarding.

Class Website

Challenge: Website

I worked on my class webpage for this challenge. I had a tricky time getting it published (or made view able) from our school's website. My AP finally was able to help me, so families will be able to access it in the fall. I hope that using this site will allow me to communicate with families in a more efficient way. I am also excited to hear from my students via the Discussions page.

Challenge: SWIFT Classroom Website

What did you create and why?
I updated my SWIFT Classroom website.  I did this to make it more user friendly to parents and to students.

What went well for you?
Everything went pretty well.  The embedded help from SWIFT was really clear and easy to follow. For example, I wanted to rearrange the order of my pages, and it was way easier than I thought!

What was challenging?
The most difficult part for me was to get my google doc as a link in newsletters.  It wasn't a problem with SWIFT, but rather a google doc learning curve on my part.

What did you enjoy?
I enjoyed creating some new categories that will be helpful for parents and students.

What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families?
I think this will be an easy way to keep parents informed about classroom news, events, homework, etc. I also created a student discussion question, but I'm not quite sure how to incorporate that into my daily classroom routine yet.

Here is the link to my website
http://teacher.edmonds.wednet.edu/beverly/ccaesar

Classroom Website

I updated my Classroom Website (Swift). I enjoyed  learning how to manipulate the site more efficiently and will continue to use the document to apply more skills to make my site more parent and student friendly.  Over the years I have heard feedback that more and more parents and students are using my site to find information, access websites, and/or contact me so I know that it is beneficial to have it "up", updated and "attractive" for users.
I am having difficulty embedding my Google Calendar - I spend a large amount of time trying to do this and searching different ways.  The one that appears is not the one that has all the information that I entered.  It is just a blank calendar.  I tried several different ways: one that was shown in the document and one that I found while searching on the web.

Swift

Swift Site

• What did you create, and why?

I created a website including sections for each of my classes.  Each class includes a calendar which is synced to my Google Calendar, documents, and a blog for updating information as needed. 

• What went well for you?

It tood a bit of work, but getting the Google Calendar to sync works great.  The rest of the pages were easy to set up.  It took longer to decide what I wanted to name everything, than to actually create the webpage.

• What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families?

I will use this as a communication tool for parents. My students will have their own Google Calendars and our Google Classroom. I don't forsee their need to use this much. This will, however, be a great resource for parents to access information they will want/need about my classroom. I especially like how they can see day by day what is happening in my classroom, including in-class activities and homework.

http://teacher.edmonds.wednet.edu/maplewood/mrs-frary-class/welcome

Google Calendar: Daily Communication with Parents and Students

Google Calendar

• What did you create, and why?

I created a google calendar that connects to my Swift Site.  In the fall, when I create my Google Classrooms, I will also connect them there.  Ultimately, the students will have access to them directly from their google calendars on their chrome books.  I am really excited about the potential of communicating directly with entire classes all at once concerning assignments, deadlines, etc.

• What went well for you?

I have used personal google calendars for several years, organizing my families busy schedule.  I also used the Swift link with google calendars for the past year and a half.  I am most excited about the sync between my calendar and my students calendar.  If all the teachers use this, each student can potentially have all their assignments on their school calendar every day.  No more asking "what did I miss while I was absent?" or "I forgot to write down the homework assignment."

• What was challenging?

Currently, the biggest challenge is going to be keeping track of two calendars.  One in Outlook for work, and one with Google Calendars for my students/classes.  I wish/hope the district will invest in the Outlook/Google sync option so I can see my work calendar in the google calendar.  Sometimes It helps to have everything in one place. 

The only other challenges I have are when I first set up my calendar to sync, the biggest challenge is getting it set to public and then attaching the HTTPS: web address to the website.  After that, it was all a breeze.  I never have to change it again.  It is also a bit tedious having to create calendars for each class, but when it comes to adding assignments, the "Copy to . . ." function speeds that up tremendously.  

• What did you enjoy?

I am an organization freak.  I love to keep things organized in a smart way.  I think Google Calendars are going to be a great way for us to stay organized with our students.  Now I'd just wish I could sync that with my work calendar, too, and I'd be all set!

• What ideas do you have for using the tool?

I use this calendar daily for each of my classes.  I include the general bullet points of the lesson we do in class.  If there are book pages and problem numbers, I include them as well.  I also include any homework assignments.  This is a great way for students, parents, or anyone else to see not only what I am doing in class every day, but they can also see when assessments are going to be given or other class deadlines.  

Welcome!

This blog is the shared space for technology campers taking part in the Edmonds Technology Summer Camp! Through a series of creative and fun challenges you will build your own knowledge and skill using technology. The learning from each challenge can be used in your classroom with students, with your grade level/department or with your staff. Each challenge asks you to share your thinking on this group blog as a brief reflection. 

The reflection should capture your experience and your thinking about the challenge and the tool you explored. Here are some questions to help you as you write your blog posts: 

• What did you create, and why? 
• What went well for you?
• What was challenging?
• What did you enjoy? 
• What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families? 

Please use these questions as a starting point and add any other thoughts and ideas.

View posts submitted by authors on the Technology Summer Camp Blog #1