Thursday, December 14, 2017

Pear Deck Making the Beginning and End of Class count

Frame It Up!

Make the Beginning and End of Class Count

The beginning and end of class can be some of the most important pieces of a lesson. The first few moments of class present a critical opportunity to awaken our students’ curiosity, and the last minutes of class help your students bring it all together. Check out these three ways to light a spark in the first and last few minutes of class.
Read More

Week of Code Showcase

The week before Christmas Break the Digital Learning Coaches (DLCs) showcased different coding activities. Students could drop by during their lunchtime and sample how to write code for a drone, Sphero, Dash robot or write with LightBot. The event was very popular with students who returned a number of times over the three days to try the different activities.

































New Google Sites allows HTML embedding


From January 2 you will be able to embed HTML and Javascript into your Google Site.
This was available in the old version of Google Sites but disappeared when the new version was launched.

This was very frustrating if you wanted to embed objects in your website that were not a Google Product such as YouTube. It was impossible to embed features such as a Twitter feed or a 360 degree player creating a site that felt easily customisable, but that has now changed.
Great move Google, making Sites a more flexible platform.

More information available at:

https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com/2017/12/embed-html-and-javascript-in-new-google-sites.html


Friday, December 8, 2017

YouTube announce Policy Change

 from Internet Matters December Newsletter

Social Networking
YouTube have announced a series of changes to their policies in a bid to protect young people from comments online and potentially harmful content.

YouTube expanded their enforcement guidelines around removing content featuring minors that may be endangering a child, even if that was not the uploader’s intent and implemented age-restriction policies on content that includes family entertainment characters but contained mature themes or adult humour.  .

They are also applying new “machine learning” technology and automated tools to quickly find “potentially violative” content, which can then be flagged for human review. They implemented policies to age-restrict (only available to people over 18 and logged in) content with family entertainment characters but containing mature themes or adult humor. Starting last month, they launched a more ‘aggressive stance’ on turning off all comments on videos of minors where they see offensive comments.  YouTube is also working closely with creators to produce quality content for YouTube Kids.  For more information on the full rundown of changes click here.

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Best Apps and Websites for Learning Programming and Coding



Kahoot: Homework that corrects itself

Save time and assess learning progress with Kahoot! challenges


Watch our step-by-step guide for assigning kahoots as homework
Have you already tried assigning kahoots as homework? It’s really easy with our new challenge feature! Instead of paper assignments, students can now play Kahoot! homework challenges in our app on their smartphones or tablets.

5 reasons to assign kahoots as homework:
  • Make homework fun and engaging for students
  • Boost homework completion rate
  • Reinforce learning and support revision
  • Save time on correcting assignments
  • Get an instant assessment of learning progress
Watch our step-by-step guide for assigning kahoots as homework

To make it even easier to review homework and assess its results, we’ve added neat new reports on challenges to our mobile app! Find out how to assign kahoots as homework with challenges and assess results.
    Learn more   

Monday, December 4, 2017

G Suite Training - Get training on the spot


This Google Chrome extension by Google themselves places resources at your fingertips to learn the tips and tricks of using Google Apps. You add the extension to Chrome allows you to access the training menu right within the app.

The training menu covers: Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Sites, Forms, Google+, Classroom

Click the link to locate the extension.




Sunday, December 3, 2017

Development Impact and You

Our world is constantly changing and we need to work better. Sometimes we need to look at things from a new perspective. Here is a toolkit that has the resources to help you do that.


In the year of push alerts



An interactive site showing the push alerts sent out by the New York Times over a year. See how big news stories developed.



Click on the image or this link to view


Friday, December 1, 2017

Common Sense YouTube channel review are here!


You asked for help keeping up with the best (and worst) of YouTube, and we answered.
Common Sense YouTube channel reviews are here!



They'll point you to the most popular channels and stars your kids are watching. And the best part: These reviews are independent, family‑focused, and free.
You can help keep it that way by supporting Common Sense. Give today, and make sure you always have what you need to keep up with your kids.
Support Common Sense

Digital Life of your Child


Sunday, November 5, 2017

SFS School Days Calendar


Wishing I could see the SFS School Days on my phone!

Have you ever thought how nice it would be to have the SFS Days calendar on your phone? Well, your dreams have become reality. If you follow this link from your phone you will be able to see each day of the school year and easily know if it is a Day 1, 2, A, B, etc. We recommend Google Calendar for the best calendar viewing experience.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Micro Credential for 1:1 teachers

Want to become a connected teacher or maybe you are looking to get more from your students in your 1:1 classroom?  Eduro Learning will provide online on the job professional development. Have a look at two of their micro-credential courses they are running.

In the past we have worked with Jeff Utecht, CEO of Eduro Learning. He and his team are well respected educators around the world and provide excellent professional development.
Find out more below.

The 1:1 Teacher (link): This micro-credential was designed for educators that are already in or new to a 1:1 learning environment or looking to move into a 1:1 classroom.  The course series of this micro-credential helps the educator that is unfamiliar with tools that assist in the implementation of technology in the classroom. If you’re a complete novice with technology, or you’re just wanting to learn how you can be purposeful with the technology in your classroom, this is the micro-credential for you!

The Connected Teacher (link): If you’ve already moved into a 1:1 classroom and are looking to up your overall technology integration knowledge, this micro-credential is for you! The 1:1 technology you have in your classroom can help you connect your students with others around the globe, inc If you’re interested in how to become a connected teacher, this micro-credential helps you to connect yourself and your students to the world.


Eduro website: https://edurolearning.com/teachers/micro-credentials/the-11-teacher/


Friday, October 27, 2017

GoogleDocs Outline feature

Sick of the Keychain message in Mac OS?



Are you sick of seeing the message asking for you to enter the keychain password? Usually you have it wrong or have forgotten it and then you try and close the dialogue box up to 20 times to get
rid of it.
The solution can be found in the following article from the TechRaptor site.



Monday, October 23, 2017

Tech on Tap Presentations


Presentation
Description & Links
Contact Presenter
Post It app

Screen Shot 2017-10-24 at 9.41.14 AM.png


(free)
Canva

canva_logo.png
Canva is an easy and free way to make posters, flyers, presentations, etc.  

(free but with some elements you can buy)
GoNoodle

Screen Shot 2017-10-24 at 9.45.12 AM.png
GoNoodle, great for brain breaks and getting the kids moving


(free with pro account option)
Headspace

Screen Shot 2017-10-24 at 9.47.22 AM.png
A mindfulness and meditation app


(free with pro account option)
LessonPix

Screen Shot 2017-10-24 at 9.49.00 AM.png
Create Custom Learning Materials.
It's a great tool for ELL and Learning Support teachers at all levels, World Language teachers, early childhood and elementary teachers, counselors, and even parents.


(Paid subscription. Can create a free account.)
Kidblog

Screen Shot 2017-10-24 at 9.51.04 AM.png
“Kidblog empowers students to write with a meaningful purpose for a real audience. Connect with other classes down the hallway, across your district, or around the world. Students practice digital citizenship within a secure environment.”


(Subscription per student. School and District options)
QR Codes and Google Street View

Street_View_logo.png

Downloadable from the App Store and Google Play

(Free)
Toshl Finance

Screen Shot 2017-10-24 at 10.01.28 AM.png
This is an app to help track spending and has a currency converter.


(free with pro account option)
Plotagraph app

Screen Shot 2017-10-24 at 10.05.14 AM.png
“Tell your story in a fun and unique way with animated images that can now be shared on most of your favorite social media platforms as a looping video or Animated PNG”


($4.99 from the App Store)
Digital Badges
Screen Shot 2017-10-24 at 10.09.03 AM.png


Open Badge Factory is a system that allows teachers to create, issue and manage digital badges.

(SFS has a year’s subscription to the system)

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Embed PollEverywhere in Google Slides


Poll Everywhere is a tool that allows for live audience participation during lessons and presentations. Ask a question and you can immediately collect and display students' responses.  You'll know what they're thinking, and they'll see their peers' responses right away.

In addition to polls and open-ended responses, Poll Everywhere creates word clouds out of responses, hosts clickable images, surveys, and allows for priority ranking.


Poll Everywhere is a great check-in to see where your students are in their learning process, gives each student a voice, and integrates well with presentation tools. Check out this tutorial to see how to embed a Poll directly into Google Slides and give it a try!



Friday, October 13, 2017

VoiceThread Workshops for October and November 2017



Join us for our free workshops! If you are new to VoiceThread or just want some new ideas, we can help you with these interactive and hands-on workshops.

If there is a workshop you are particularly interested but can't make it, just let Alan know (alan.hoskin@seoulforeign.org) and he will see if he is available to record it for you.
VoiceThread Basics 1 - Upload, Comment, and Share
October 17 at 7:00pm ET (8am Seoul Time) - Register here
Participants will learn how to upload media, comment and annotate on that media, and share it with others. This will be a slow paced, step-by-step, hands-on workshop. It is open to both VoiceThread license holders and free members.
VoiceThread Basics 2 - Groups and Secure Sharing​
October 24 at 7:00pm ET (8am Seoul Time) - Register here
We will begin to explore the features available to VoiceThreaders with a full license. Participants will learn how to create groups and subgroups, set sharing permissions within those groups, and privately share VoiceThreads with individuals.

VoiceThread Basics 3 - Moderating Comments, Private and Threaded Replies, and Copying
October 30 at 7:00pm ET (8am Seoul Time) - Register here
In our third workshop in the series, participants will learn how to use comment moderation to formatively assess student work, give private feedback, use threaded commenting, and copy VoiceThreads for use with multiple groups.

K-12 Language Arts with VoiceThread
November 7 at 7:00pm ET (8am Seoul Time) - Register here
In this workshop, our guest facilitators Mia Styles and Mary Ellen Davies will showcase a variety of VoiceThreads they have created to engage students in literature and poetry activities. Learn about their global read-alouds, book talks, poetry discussions, and more!

VoiceThread Basics 4 - VoiceThread and Your LMS
November 21 at 7:00pm ET (8am Seoul Time) - Register here
We will work on integrating VoiceThread into a learning management system. With LMS integration educators can create and share VoiceThreads and grade student work. Participants will learn how to use the assignment builder feature to assess student work during a hands-on segment.

About the Workshops

These workshops are completely free. The Basics workshops are led by our instructional designer and online educator George Haines.  George and our guest facilitators will share their expertise to help you get the most from VoiceThread.