Microsoft Sway

Microsoft Sway

Are you looking for a different way to have your students present their information?  Tired of Powerpoint?  Microsoft Sway is the way to go!  Sway makes it easy for professional use for presenting information, but is also very user-friendly for students to create great looking presentations quickly and efficiently.

1.  Check out these Sway examples recently created by students in the district:

4th graders:

The Diwali Holiday
Christmas Around the World

2.  To get to Sway, simply click on Office 365 in your PSD Key. 

3.  Here is a 2 minute video of the basics of Sway, if you are interested.  And as always, we'd be happy to share more with you and/or your students at any time!

Save the Date -  21st Century Learning Night!

21st CLN is 6 years old and will take place on May 26th and we are looking forward to a great evening.  This year's theme will be "Lighting the Path to design the future!"

  Look for a formal sign-up announcement coming soon!

TAG Feedback, tips and tricks, and Math PSSA

1.  Peer Feedback using TAG

We know many teachers turned off the option for students to comment on other students work in Seesaw at the beginning of the year.  This was a great idea until appropriate digital citizenship lessons were taught on appropriate, purposeful, and helpful commenting.  At the start of the year, Chris and I encouraged parents to use TAG to help.  I have adapted these resources for use in classrooms to help with this very important skill, and this resource can be used for any peer feedback, not just digital feedback!

 For these resources and a lesson plan, please Click here!   If you'd like one of us to come in and help your students with these skills, please let us know!

Two Reminder Posts:

2.      Using main teacher

features of your projector remote:

a.  A/V Mute button- This will allow you to put your remote to "sleep" without turning it completely off.  This will save time as you go to use it again.
b.  Freeze button- This function allows you to freeze what is on the screen, so that you can go to other sites or prepare other features on your computer before sharing with the students.
c.  Zoom In/Out.  Use this feature to zoom in/out of your screen.  This is
especially helpful to make certain parts of your presentation enlarged
during discussion.  Remember to zoom out when done.  Note- Mimio Users- this will alter your calibration.
*Not all remotes are the same as the one pictured here, but all remotes will have these buttons!

3.  Please be sure your students are appropriately signing-out of laptops. 

•  Students should click the Start Window at the bottom left and find their name at the top.
•  Student will select Sign-out.  At this time, it is very important NOT to close the lid of the laptop until the signing out process is complete.  Some students are rushing this, and therefore, the device is not successfully signing out.

Did you know?

 Dana Pivnichny is offering a wonderful lesson on how to break down the PSSA scoring guidelines in a fun and engaging way for your students to learn about the 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 scoring system?

Guest Contributor- Dana Pivnichny:

PSSA Rubric Analysis ….I have been visiting many 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th grade classrooms and helping the students break down the Math Open-Ended Scoring Guidelines.  After learning the expectations, the students solve an open-ended problem (from Everyday Math or a PSSA prompt) while trying to score a “4.”   Then they analyze and score anchors from the problem and provide justification for their scores.  Finally, they analyze and score their own response, and then use another color pencil to make it a “4.”

OTS Spotlight

March- Seesaw PD in your PJ's- http://psddecotsvm01/Session.asp?SID=21113  Registration closes at noon Thursday, March 5!

February 27

1.  Read Across America

Erin is excited to announce to all of you what is currently being called the "STEM Bookshelf".  This website is a place for teachers to go for quick and easy ways to incorporate 21st Century skills, such as collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking as well as incorporating the Pennridge Design Loop into students' everyday activities.  The site will continue to grow over the next year!

This week,  I'd like to focus your attention on the page titled "Read Across America"!  You will find engineering design challenges, and coding activities.  In addition, you'll find ways to include Dr. Seuss into your literacy rotation with QR coded read alouds!  You'll find 25 ready-made slides that can be scanned and will read the text to your students.    These presentations will show some texts that students are not familiar with, and will also give students the opportunity to listen to texts that are above their level!

The goal of the site is to take so many of the wonderful ideas that are out on the internet, but put them into one quick and easy location for Pennridge teachers, in hopes that it saves you time!  

2.  Directed Drawings- The Lorax

Lorax directed drawings using Skype have been a big hit in the district!  Let us know if you'd like to Skype too.  We have a frog and leprechaun drawing option, as well.

3.  Colleague Corner

For the months of February and March, we will be posting some quotes from some of your colleagues about Seesaw.  Many teachers have enjoyed the PD in your PJ's offered each month, and teachers have been asked to respond to the prompt "tell about something you think all teachers should know."

• You can remove an activity and archive it, so it doesn't show up anymore in the feed, but will stay in the students' journals.  I like having that option because the class journal gets very full quickly!

• I may begin to attach our homework sheet to an announcement each week so parents can easily access the HW page, even if they lose it!

• If you have not yet used the calendar view to see student's work on a particular date or have your students go back to comment on something from a particular date, it is a game changer!  (see icon on right)

• I want to use Seesaw to drive my parent-teacher conferences in the future.  Instead of compiling the folders, papers, and journals, I plan to have my kids post more of their work onto their Seesaw portfolio.  I want to use this online work during conferences to provide work samples that the parents have already had access to.   Lastly, I'd like for my students to complete a goal-setting activity on Seesaw. That way, I can not only share what my goals are for the student, but what their goals are for themselves as well. 

February 20

1.  Skype PD

We hope you enjoyed yesterday's virtual PD about how you can use the Microsoft Educator Community in your Classroom with Skype.  We were thrilled to hear so many of you were able to request sessions already!   While logging into Skype was not yesterday's main focus, as you start to hear back from presenters, you'll want to test your previously created personal log-in or the generic log-in given using the steps provided in the video (shown below).
 Skyping with one of us or a colleague in another building is a great way to do so!

Here are some of the resources, so you have them for easy access, or in case you missed it and so you can refer back to them when the time is appropriate for you!

• Pennridge Skype Site

• Tutorial Video- Enjoy the Show! (For confidentiality of our passwords, you must be logged into Google to view!)

2.  Thursday Three in PSD Key!

We have had several people ask about adding the Thursday Three blog to PSD Key.   This is a great way to be able to access the blog and refer back to previous posts right through your PSD Key, rather than saving/searching through emails.  To do so:

• Log-in to PSD Key
• Click the + button at the top left.
• Choose "Add Your Own App".
• Paste this link into the window.  https://thursdaythreetechtips.blogspot.com

• Select an icon for easy reference- We recommend searching the Blogger icon (as that's the program we make the blog in)

3.  March Directed Drawings

Again this month, we would love to Skype with your students and help them draw something unique! We will show them where we are located (this could vary), and explain to them how Skype can allow us to communicate all over the world!  All your students will need is a blank piece of paper and a pencil!  This is a great place to "get your feet wet" using Skype, all while your students are having fun!  Win Win! 

Drawings can include a leprechaun, Lorax, or frog!

Stay tuned next week for some ideas for Read Across America, too!

REMINDER:  This Saturday is the 3rd Annual Seesaw Social.  If you'd like 1 district PLT hour, please sign up in OTS HERE.  However, that is not imperative and if you want to just "show up"- it's encouraged!

Stop what you're doing...

1.  Novel Effect app

This post is for anyone who loves to read to kids- parents, grandparents, teachers, and more!

This FREE app is absolutely amazing, and you will want to use it every time you read a story aloud from now on!  Novel Effect has a large (and growing) selection of children's books from which you can choose, and the app plays a soundscape that accompanies the story as you read!  It's not just background music-Novel Effect uses "Smart Technology" to know where you are in the story (even if you pause or restart) and has sounds that go along with what the text says...rustling leaves, laughing, slamming doors, howling wind, etc!
For this app, you DO need the actual book.  Hold it up and read as you normally do, just have your cell phone or iPad laying on a table near you, volume up, and it will make the magic happen by accompanying your voice with incredible sound effects!  To learn more- Check it out HERE and you can find the app in the Pennridge Self-Service catalog under "Teacher Tools"!

2.   Photo Syncing on iPad-  This is a reminder post!

We have noticed an increase in trouble with iPad photos as teachers have been using their photos to print, share in clubs, etc.  We wanted to remind you for your photos to be easily shared and viewed by others, that you must go into your settings and change from .heic format to "most compatible." If you missed this training, or perhaps forgot this step, the directions are below.  Very simply, go into your Settings, scroll to camera, click "formats" and choose "most compatible" to take care of the formatting.

OneDrive Photo Syncing - Automatically sends photos from your iPad to your computer for easier printing and file sharing.

3.  Colleague Corner

For the month of February, we will be posting some quotes from some of your colleagues about Seesaw.  Many teachers have enjoyed the PD in your PJ's offered each month, and teachers have been asked to respond to the prompt "tell about something you think all teachers should know."

• I found some Words Their Way activities in the Activity library- already created and ready to use.  So my students can occasionally do them on an iPad rather than always on paper!

• I can get so many assessments done and I don't have to be the one giving them!  Also, I am going to use the Private teacher folder to help keep track of some assessments without so much paper. 

• Time Saver!  You don't have to listen to every student individually for a quick fluency check.  Seesaw is perfect!

• Seesaw translates messages for families who do not speak English.  (To learn more about this, click here)

Reminder:
 Seesaw Social-  Sign up in OTS HERE if you'd like to receive 1 hour of district PLT for coming to this casual, fun and engaging event right here in Pennridge!  Questions- contact Peg Volak or Erin Reichert.

February Fun!

Happy February!

This week's blog focuses on February events with STEM challenges that you can do with your students that require little or NO technology!!

Many challenges begin with research.  Don't forget resources such as PebbleGo (K-2) and EPIC! to help your students research an idea before beginning their plan and sketching their ideas out before building!

1. STEM Challenge #1 -Candy Heart Challenges

We like the challenges listed here, but we particularly love this simple engineering challenge.  Give each student or group an index card, and see who can build the strongest bridge that will span the gap between 2 plastic cups.  See how many hearts (or other small items) the bridge can hold!  There are many bridge designs and the shape of the hearts makes balancing tricky, so the students will have to problem solve to get them to balance!

2.  STEM Challenge #2- 100th Day 2D and 3D Designs

Have your students create designs and buildings using materials you have in your classroom. Students receive 100 of a certain building material to plan, create, and perhaps work together to build. Suggestions:

Pattern blocks or LEGOS (Add some math components with these simple activities)

Base 10 blocks  

K'Nex

PomPoms or Cotton Balls
Buttons
Play Money- coins and bills
Snap Cubes

Once completed, have them snap a picture and share on Seesaw or create a 100th day slideshow!

3.    President Macaroni Monument Design Challenge

A monument is a statue, building, or other structure built to commemorate a famous or notable person or event!

In honor of this special month, have students design a monument in honor of their favorite president or another special person in history.  Maybe it will be the Washington Monument or the Lincoln Memorial?

Using macaroni is one option, but you can also have students bring various materials from home or use the materials you already have in your classroom such as tongue depressors, note cards, pattern blocks, pipe cleaners, marshmallows, Playdoh, etc.

When done, have your students reflect using paper or pencil, or FlipGrid and/or Seesaw!

Upcoming Events in OTS

1.  Seesaw Social-  Sign up in OTS HERE if you'd like to receive 1 hour of district PLT for coming to this casual, fun and engaging event right here in Pennridge!  Questions- contact Peg Volak or Erin Reichert.

Goodbye January!

1. 100th Day of School

Here are a few reading and math ideas you might try to celebrate this HUGE event!

• Erin has compiled a list of 10 things you can easily do in your classroom to celebrate the 100th day in Pennridge!  Hope this saves you time!  CLICK HERE!

• EPIC!  Search 100th Day of School (or Groundhog Day, or Super Bowl, or most anything)  and then click on collections to find collections others have created!

• Padlet - Students can then respond to the books they read via Padlet.  Padlet is a free, online bulletin board!  Padlet can be used for most any subject and any topic!  Students can type their responses, include pictures and attachments, and more! Padlet is easy to create and we also have this tutorial created by Chris if it helps!

• 100th day Ozobot activity- Click Here!  Great for grades K-2.

2.  Super Bowl Sunday

Here are 2 activities we found that you and your students might enjoy!

• Mystery Science- Who Invented Football?

• Google Earth- Show students the hometown location of both teams, Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City Chiefs)  and Levi's Stadium (San Francisco 49ers), as well as where the game will be played in Hard Rock Stadium in Florida.  You can calculate the mileage between, can take a look at the weather differences, and more!  Use street view (see picture) to show what the towns look like, what the stadium looks like...the possibilities are endless!  How can you tie this into what you're already teaching this week!

3.  Groundhog Day- Seesaw Activities Library

There are tons of ready-to-use activities in the library!  Check them out if you're looking for ideas or a way to incorporate Seesaw into what you're already doing.

Also, don't forget last week's post included a Skype Directed Drawing Activity that can be done for Groundhog Day or Presidents' Day!

Ms. McGovern's 3rd Grade at Bedminster with their groundhogs!

Upcoming Events in OTS

1.  Seesaw Social-  Sign up in OTS HERE if you'd like to receive 1 hour of district PLT for coming to this casual, fun and engaging event right here in Pennridge!  Questions- contact Peg Volak or Erin Reichert.

2.  Seesaw- PD in your PJS's for February- Back by popular demand.  Sign up in OTS HERE, and I will email all enrolled participants with further instructions at the beginning of February.  This training allows you to choose topics of interest to you and complete an hour's worth of online training between February 1-February 29.  

2.  Se