Friday, October 30, 2015

Check out the Tech Blogs new navigation bar


The SFS Tech Blog has a new navigation bar adding another level of search ability to the site. We are still in the process of labeling posts so this is still being developed.
Not all the labels have a sub menu.

For the headings; Students, Faculty and Parents, the submenus are consistent:

SFS need to know - posts related to what is needed to be known regarding the use of technology at our school.

Tips - posts related to enrich your experience in using technology at SFS.

Tech fun - posts related to technology that may be of interest.

How to - The submenu (at present) is divided into; PowerSchool, Pagoda, iOS, Printing, Laptop, iMovie. (more topics will be added).

Wifi on Campus For Parents!

If you are on campus wanting to check your mail on your mobile device, you are now able to do that through logging in to the SFS.Guest network.  The login uses a social media account to authenticate you (Facebook, Twitter, Google, Microsoft), so if you have one of those, read on!  If you don’t have a social media account we have an option for you too!


Authenticating Through Your Social Media Account
  1. Connect through your wifi to SFS.Guest
  2. Open your web browser
  3. fill in the login details with one of your social media accounts


Don’t have a social media login and password?
There are two options for you:
  1. Create one using the link on the login page
  2. go to the IT office and collect a temporary username and password from Esther (our friendly receptionist).
  3. Follow the steps above, using the id and password instead

All accounts will stay logged in for 7 days and then you will be asked to log in again.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Embedding Video from Google Drive

We are often asked where the best place to store videos that either teachers or students have made, and while there are several choices out there (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) your best option may actually be Google Drive.

Although the videos are not posted to a public site, they are easily shared just like you would share any other Google Doc, and you can also get an embed code to use with blogs or other websites.  In addition, our SFS Google drives are unlimited storage, which is really great when it comes to large files, which videos often are.

Here is a short tutorial on uploading video to Google Drive and getting the embed code:


#TechTuesday Sessions for November

My Goodness, My ASSESSMENT!

SFS teachers, we hope to see you at one, two, or all of the Tech Tuesdays in November. We are focusing on Assessment. We will be showing you some "A Smorgasbord of Assessment Options" as well as answering your questions. Don't forget to bring your devices with you, and please register on the DLC events calendar by clicking on the Event listed on the right side of the screen, scrolling down and clicking the register.


Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Tech Happenings In The Elementary School


Our DLCs work across all divisions to support classroom teachers with integrating technology into their curriculum.  Elementary School has seen some great technological happenings since the school year started ... let's see what is going on!

4th Grade Science Projects
Students have been researching concepts such as force, mass, friction and gravity and then creating videos to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding.  They learnt how to create a storyboard in order to plan an effective movie.


In doing so they learnt about camera angles, framing, panning and zooming and planned their science videos with these concepts in mind.  They then created imovies from their story boards.  You can check these out on their pagoda class pages or blogs.
DLC Mr Walker works with a group of fourth grade boys on
their science videos, using one of the new collaborative tables.
The ES Computer Lab has gone Mobile!
As our lab computers were due for replacement and we have seen a strong transition to an integrated technology model, we replaced the lab computers with an extra cart.  This is available for use with the Grade 2 and 3 classes and will provide much welcomed extra access to technology in these grades, providing for more authentic integrated learning opportunities within the classroom.

A New Green Screen
With the computer lab going mobile, we now have a great flexible space in the old lab and have installed a green screen for video production.  The green screen space is still under construction, but already students are having lots of fun experimenting with it. Although the lighting is not yet in place and the floor space needs expansion, a few lucky fourth grade students recently trialled it out for their projects.  Take a look ...



Pre-K have been up to visit as well, working on fun pictures for a book cover.

Grade Two are excited about using the green screen to do some weather work.   Keep an eye on the lobby monitor during November and December for the latest in weather updates brought to you by your friendly Grade Two meteorologists.

Grade Four /Five Apple TV - Sharing Screens
Grade Five teachers are now mobile.  The addition of apple TVs and iPads means that they are able to walk around students and control lessons from their iPads.  Students can easily share work for discussion and critique ... Used in conjunction with software such as Pear Deck, our new apple TVs are providing exciting collaborative learning opportunities.

New Keyboarding Being Trialled in Grade Two and Three
Good keyboarding skills are critical for our students as computers are very much a part of their lives. After a significant amount of research we have settled on a new programme, designed by teachers for students.  It runs differently to previous typing programs used and discourages hunt and peck style typing, as it will time out if students stop to look at their fingers and keyboards.

Fifth Grade Students Learning Effective Web Search Skills


DLC Mr Hoskin, discussing the information students located and pieced together.
Recently 5L and 5J did some work with our DLCs, solving an age old mystery whilst learning some effective search skills.

Students working collaboratively with google search to solve the mystery.
Students were given clues and keywords.  They had to use these, along with their new skills in google search to piece together the story of a broken sword and Devil's Island.