As educational technology integration specialists, our primary mission is to support and empower you in effectively utilizing technology to enhance your instructional practices and ultimately enrich the learning experiences of our students. We understand that incorporating technology into your teaching can be both exciting and challenging, and we are here to provide you with the necessary guidance and resources every step of the way.
Through personalized coaching and professional development sessions, we will help you explore innovative tools and applications that align with your teaching objectives. Whether it’s utilizing interactive multimedia presentations, learning management systems, or online collaborative platforms, we aim to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to create dynamic and engaging lessons that captivate your students’ imaginations.
Moreover, we believe in fostering a supportive community of educators where best practices in educational technology are shared, and collaboration is encouraged. By organizing professional development, small group sessions, and one-on-one assistance, we will facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences, enabling you to learn from your peers and stay updated on the latest trends in Edtech.
Our commitment to your success extends beyond the classroom. We will be available to address any concerns or questions you may have, and we welcome your feedback on how we can further improve our support services. Our shared goal is to create a technology-rich learning environment that not only embraces innovation but also cultivates critical thinking, creativity, and digital literacy skills in our students.
Thank you for your dedication to education and your willingness to embrace technology as a powerful tool in the teaching and learning process. Together, we will transform education and shape the future of our students. Let’s embark on this journey of exploration and growth, and let the possibilities of educational technology inspire us to reach new heights in our instructional endeavors.
With warm regards,
Eric Murphy & Jimmy Stewart Technology Integration Specialists
The Technology Integration Specialist develops and offers district wide instructional technology education for teachers and administrative staff and assists in the development and implementation of curriculum and technology integration projects.
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Need to reset your managed Apple ID password? Click here.
With new changes to Apple Classroom it has become more important to make the move toward using Managed Apple IDs when signing into iCloud on school devices. This includes student iPads, teacher iPads, and teacher MacBooks. Learn more about Apple IDs.
Apple Classroom Step 1 – System Requirements and Managed Apple ID
On your teacher device it is imperative that you sign into iCloud with a Managed Apple ID. Please also watch this video to see system requirements.
Apple Classroom Step 2 – Setup and Add Students
Watch this video to learn how to create your classrooms and add students.
Step 3 – Reset Student Managed Apple ID Passwords
Learn how to reset Managed Apple IDs for your students after you have added them to your class.
Step 4 – Using Apple Classroom
Apple Classroom is used to guide instruction in the classroom. It is an essential tool for every classroom teacher!
Setting up Managed Apple ID on a MacBook
View video to learn how to sign in using your managed Apple ID on your Mac (what’s this?). This will allow Apple Classroom on your iPad and your MacBook to sync automatically.
With your iPad and MacBook both signed into iCloud with the Managed Apple ID, it will allow Apple Classroom classes to sync across devices so you only have to set up your classes once! Even if your device would need to be wiped or reset, your classes would come back once you sign into your Managed Apple ID and then open Apple Classroom.
Please understand the immense importance of everyone using the Managed Apple IDs. If one person chooses to use a regular Apple ID in iCloud, they will not be able to get Apple Classroom to work unless they sign out all the students as well. If that is done, it will cause all other teachers who are using the Managed Apple ID to not be able to use Apple Classroom until all their students are signed back in.
Have you forgotten your managed Apple ID? No problem. You can contact your building’s TSS or request a reset here and we will send it to you via email as quickly as possible.
Follow along as Jimmy Stewart, Technology Integration Specialist, demonstrates how to annotate PDF documents from the i-Ready Teacher Toolbox. This technique also applies to annotating PDF documents in general.
Teams provides a dynamic way for teachers to connect with students in and out of the classroom.
During these extraordinary times, we are all learning how to best reach our students and provide lessons and connections that reteach, maintain, and enrich learning. Let Teams help with that.
Recently, we celebrated Black History Month. In much the same way that history was often not recorded, and certainly not published, women’s history in the United States was often overlooked and omitted from our collective history. Although women’s contributions were as important and influential, the history of these were often left on the cutting room floor.
Each time a girl opens a book and reads a womanless history, she learns she is worth less.
Myra Pollack Sadker
History helps up learn who we are. When we don’t see ourselves in history, it’s difficult to see the path forward. Fortunately, it is 2020 and the important contributions by women are getting their due. The recognition of these accomplishments remind us, not just girls and women, but all of us, that a society is the sum of all of its parts. Together, we are writing history that brings equality and recognition for the accomplishments of all.
Katherine Johnson, 1918 – 2020
With the recent death of Katherine Johnson, a brilliant NASA mathematician, and a native of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, it’s important to continue to inspire new generations of girls. One way to do that is through STEM/STEAM education. Wood County Schools offers many STEAM opportunities for students to learn and explore.
Find ideas for apps, podcasts, and more below for celebrating Women’s History Month throughout March.
Lessons in Herstory App uses AR to bring to life forgotten stories of women, right on the pages of your history textbook. Scan any portrait of a man in your textbook and unlock a related story about an important woman. Currently, Lessons In Herstory works with “A History of US: Liberty for All? 1820-1860, Book Five, 2005”. The app will soon expand to work with more textbooks. But don’t worry if you don’t have a textbook, you can still use the app with the photos available on http://www.lessonsinherstory.com. By putting a new lens on history, this app has the power to inspire the next generation through stories of powerful women.
The EngineerGirl website is designed to bring national attention to the exciting opportunities that engineering represents for girls and women. Why girls and women? Because despite an increase in female participation in many traditionally male-dominated professions such as medicine and law, women remain grossly under-represented in engineering. Engineering and engineers are central to the process of innovation, and innovation drives economic growth. Diversity of thought is crucial to creativity, and by leaving women out of the process of innovation we lose a key component of diversity and stifle innovation. We want the creative problem-solvers of tomorrow to fully represent the world’s population, because they will be the ones to ensure our health, happiness, and safety in years to come.
Shirley Chisholm: Portrait of a Pioneer
Shirley Chisholm, an American educator, author, and politician, became the first African American woman elected to the United States Congress in 1968. She was also the first African American and woman to run for the Democratic Party’s nomination in 1972. She was a trailblazer.
Listen to a remembrance of Ms. Chisholm produced by NPR.
Listen to Ms. Chisholm in her own words.
Women’s History Shared In Podcasts
Find inspiring stories and lessons from our past with Women’s History themed podcasts from every angle. Please note that each podcast has not been vetted. Review before including in a lesson plan.
Notable Women is an augmented reality app that lets anyone see 100 historic American women where they’ve historically been left out: U.S. currency. Discover the accomplishments of activists, artists, scientists, business leaders, writers, civic leaders and more—right on the money in your wallet. Share a woman who inspires you with #NotableWomen and learn more at NotableWomen.com. Notable Women is a project by former Treasurer of the United States Rosie Rios, made with some friends from Google.
Create engaging lessons using technology and help your students celebrate and understand the importance of Black History Month.
Black History Month, also known as African American History Month, is an annual observance in the United States and many other countries around the world. The observance recognizes the history and important figures in the African diaspora.
The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States, when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced the second week of February to be “Negro History Week”. This week was chosen because it coincided with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on February 12 and of Frederick Douglass on February 14, both of which dates black communities had celebrated together since the late 19th century. Negro History Week was the center of the equation. The thought-process behind the week was never recorded, but scholars acknowledge two reasons for its birth: recognition and importance. Woodson felt deeply that at least one week would allow for the general movement to become something annually celebrated. Also, after the ten year long haul to successfully complete his “Journal of Negro History,” he realized the subject deserved to resonate with a greater audience. ~ Wikipedia
The words of Franklin Thomas remind us that we still have a long way to go.
One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique identities of each of us as complex human beings.
His words also remind us that knowing the past will open doors to our future.
Open these doors and utilize technology to provide for an engaging lesson or simple discussion for students of all ages. In celebrating Black History Month, students will learn that we all share so much in common.
Romulus Black History Month is a quiz-based application of iOS devices designed to help students acquaint themselves with the subject of Black History.
This free app contains 100 questions addressing major topics in Black History from Colonial America to the present, with some World History questions added for good measure. All questions include explanations so that users can gain additional context when they miss a question.
Walk in the footsteps of the Civil Rights Movement by exploring the people, places and events that brought Alabama into the international spotlight and changed the course of history. The official Alabama Civil Rights Trail app helps you:
• Discover civil rights landmarks across the state • Plan your visit to Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma, Tuskegee and other cities that were pivotal in the Civil Rights Movement • Explore an interactive timeline that takes you through the struggle for equality, from Jim Crow and mob violence to desegregation and the Civil Rights Act • Browse biographies of famous figures like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., then learn where you can visit to relive their legacies • View maps of civil rights destinations within each featured city
This Radio app randomly plays over 50 songs honoring African American History including biographical songs of great Black Americans such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Jackie Robinson. These songs address African American themes of pride, history and culture, making a great addition to any classroom year round, but especially in honor and celebration of Black History Month. Primarily geared for 2nd – 6th grade, this app can be enjoyed by all. Songs come from a wide variety of Songs For Teaching artists. The app costs 99 cents.
In August of 1619, a ship carrying more than 20 enslaved Africans arrived in the English colony of Virginia. America was not yet America, but this was the moment it began. No aspect of the country that would be formed here has been untouched by the 250 years of slavery that followed. On the 400th anniversary of this fateful moment, it is time to tell the story. “1619” is a New York Times audio series hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones. The podcast is best suited for a high school audience.
From fountain pens, mops, batteries, paints, furnaces, rotary engines to anything you can imagine inventors of color have used brain power to create it all. Their variety of inventions are extraordinary. Black History Inventors app includes many amazing women and men. Some individuals received U.S. patents. You can listen to historical inventor stories through your speaker or headphones spoken by a real person. Scan through all of the inventors to learn more about their contributions to modern living.
STEM African American Pioneer Flash Cards: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (Plus Medical and Health). This historical education app will teach children about the amazing contributions of African Americans to the STEM and Medical/Health fields. Against the odds, these 106 individuals excelled and helped propel the United States forward.
This interactive companion outlines the history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and how this is reflected and examined in Lawrence Hill’s award-winning novel and BET Television mini-series, The Book of Negroes. The six-part BET mini-series follows the life of Aminata Diallo, a young African girl kidnapped by slave traders and brought across the Atlantic to North America. In the course of her long and hard life, Aminata is a witness to major events in the slave trade and the history of Black North Americans. Over seven chapters, the app provides a timeline of Black history from 1705 to the present day. In addition, it explores the historical grounding of both the novel and series in the original Book of Negroes historical document, which identified Black slaves who fought for the British during the American Revolution. Using images, videos, and interactive maps, the guide follows the far-reaching impact of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. For educational settings, the guide features optional discussion questions and further investigation of the various topics. An intuitive interface allows users to swipe, tap, and scroll through chapters to engage with interactive features in a linear or nonlinear fashion, and gain a deeper understanding of the historical events portrayed in The Book of Negroes.
Canva has updated their policy for student sharing. We thought you would like to know. Many of you are using Canva in your classes to engage your students and create exciting opportunities for learning. Please see Canva’s statement below.
COUNTRY ROADS CODES: West Virginia schools and classrooms are invited to apply to the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) Country Roads Codes grant opportunity. These grant opportunities allow for up to $2,000 for events that enable local schools to educate their students and communities regarding computer science as part of Computer Science Education Week (December 4-10) and the Hour of Code. Educators and schools at all grade levels are invited to apply before September 22, 2023, using the application form. For more information, contact Erika Klose or Keisha Thompson in PK-12 Academic Support.
Do you use webpages or online articles frequently in your lessons? Are you concerned that one day you will discover that it has disappeared or changed dramatically?
Perhaps the content is useful, but you are concerned about the appropriateness of the advertising in the sidebars of the website.
Have you ever started a lesson only to find out that the internet just went down and the online content you had planned to use is now upended?
Apple provides a very useful tool on an iPad which allows you to skirt all these issues. No more plan B.
What you will learn in this article
Using screen capture on an iPad
Capturing a webpage and saving as a PDF (for future offline use)
Using Apple’s ‘Reader’ view to ‘clean up’ view of article and make it accommodating for special populations
Marking up documents for your lesson
What you will need to have
iPad
Internet connectivity
Access to your OneDrive (OneDrive sign in is the same as your @k12 email address)
Most of us are familiar with screen-capturing an image on an iPad. If you aren’t, simply click both the lock-out button at the top and the home button at the same time to save an image to your photos app.
Click round home button and top screen lock out button to screen capture the screen’s image.
Screen capturing images on an iPad is a great way to quickly capture and store information. With this feature, you can easily capture high resolution images of websites, documents, and presentations for later reference or sharing. It’s also useful for creating quick visual notes or tutorials. Additionally, it can be used to create digital portfolios of projects that you’ve worked on or for quickly archiving important screenshots without having to take the time to save them as individual files.
If we were preparing a lesson about art history and choose to exemplify the accomplishments of Frida Kahlo, we might choose a website for students to read background information about the artist.
When pressing the home button and lock out buttons simultaneously, a small thumbnail image of the webpage will appear on the screen in the lower-left.
Screen capture thumbnail highlighted in pink
Tap the thumbnail image to bring up more options. The thumbnail disappears after seven seconds if you don’t tap it. If you miss it, just do another screen capture. You will see the following screen. Note that you have options to edit and markup the screen capture using the built-in markup tool indicated below by the pink arrow.
Capturing the content as a PDF
Here comes the real magic when screen capturing a webpage. If you want to capture the whole page and not just the visible image on the screen, you can choose “Full Page” from the top of the screen. This will allow you the option to save the entire webpage as a PDF file (Portable Document Format — think Adobe) that you can save in OneDrive to use with this lesson year after year. No more worries about the content changing, the article disappearing, or internet availability.
Notice the visual image of the entire webpage (highlighted in pink) on the rightmost part of the webpage in the image above. Rather than just capturing the image on the screen, you are capturing the full webpage.
In the video below, let’s learn how to save this as a PDF.
That’s it! That’s all you need to do to save a webpage as a PDF and keep it forever.
Taking it a step further
Apple Safari web browser has a feature called Reader that allows for different formatting options when viewing a webpage. Utilizing this feature in conjunction with what we learned above gives you even more options.
Take a look at the images below. Slide the arrows back and forth to see the regular view versus the Reader view.
example 1
example 2
Changing the view to Reader view allows your students to focus on the content that is most important. It also allows for better focus for students with special needs. Also, as it basically narrows down webpages to the core content located in the body of the webpage (leaving off any sidebars), it will usually exclude any advertising content that may be inappropriate for your students. Keep in mind, Reader view is not available for every webpage. More complicated webpage formatting usually precludes Reader view.
Reader view also gives you options for changing both the font type and size. It also allows you to change the background color as you see in the set of images below.
To use Reader view, simply touch the “aA” in the browser address bar as shown below:
Marking up the PDF documents
It is easy to markup these documents. As an educator, you may wish to highlight certain content for students. Or, perhaps, you want your students to highlight content or comment on it.
Apple markup tools make it easy to do this.
If you would like to markup the document prior to saving it as a PDF and storing it in OneDrive, select the markup tool in the toolbar (indicated by a pen tip) as highlighted by a pink arrow in the image below.
When you are finished marking up the document, simply choose “Done” in the top-left of the screen to save.
If you use Apple Classroom to enhance your instruction and manage the student use of iPads, you can now easily AirDrop this document to all of your students. You can also add it to your Schoology course, which could be brought back each year from your Schoology class archive.
If you would like additional assistance with anything that we learned today or you would like assistance with AirDropping and Apple Classroom, please do not hesitate to reach out to Jimmy Stewart or Eric Murphy. We are happy help.
MICROSOFT OFFICE 365 WORKSHOPS: In the month of January, the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) is offering multiple Microsoft Office 365 live virtual trainings that are available to West Virginia education administrators, teachers, service personnel, substitutes, and students. Click here to view the calendar of trainings online. There is also a library of pre-recorded tutorials available to view anytime. If you would like to be notified about future training, join the mailing list. All live trainings in January will be conducted on Microsoft Teams and can be accessed at this meeting link.
Working with early learners? It’s never too early to begin teaching computational thinking skills and problem solving. Sphero, makers of the spherical coding robots, have introduced a new product that is aimed at younger students. Introducing the Sphero indi. It allows students to connect all kinds of ideas and understand how they can be used such as colors and shapes, and then using colors and shapes to determine the speed and direction of a robot. And, unlike Sphero’s robots used by older students, no devices are needed to perform the coding. If you are interested in using the indis with your students, make a request and we will get them to you. The kit also contains a teacher’s guide with lesson plans.
“Speed into STEAM with indi—the most approachable entry-level learning robot for ages 4+. indi inspires imaginative, play-based learning by empowering kids to design and build their own mazes while creating opportunities for students to learn the basics of coding, solve problems, and nurture computational thinking skills.”
The Flip Discovery Library offers ready-to-use discussion prompts that are sure to get your students talking. Discover their quick intro course (rated 5 stars!) to help you navigate it and find inspiring topics to use with your learning community.
The WV Department of Arts, Culture and History (WVDACH) is pleased to announce STEAM Power WV, an innovative grant program that supports education initiatives for West Virginia’s pre-k-12 students. Partnering with the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, the WVDACH is encouraging schools and non-profit organizations to integrate the Arts with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines in their curriculum and educational programming.
STEAM projects explore the intersections between STEM and the Arts, encouraging innovation, creative problem solving, critical thinking, interdisciplinary teamwork and other aptitudes that are essential to students’ college and career readiness.
Applicants may request up to $7,500 and must provide a cash match of at least 1/3 of the amount requested. The application deadline is October 1, 2022. Projects must take place between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023.
STEAM Power WV grant guidelines, application instructions, and the link to apply are available on the WVDACH’s STEAM website: www.wvculture.org/agencies/arts/steam/
Please feel free to share this Request for Proposals with other educators as well as with community partners and potential collaborators.
If you have questions about applying, or if you need assistance developing your STEAM project, please contact Jim Wolfe in the Arts Section of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. He can be reached at (304) 558-0240 or james.d.wolfe@wv.gov.
