Feb 19

PD: Create interactive, online posters with ThingLink.com

Interactive, Media-Rich, Online Posters

This training session will provide an opportunity for teachers to explore the Web 2.0 tool, ThingLink.  Students and teachers can turn any image into an interactive, media-rich online poster by using ThingLink. With ThingLink, you can create ‘hotspots’ where you embed video, record audio with the click of a button, or link to any website. Thinglink online posters can be used to create instructional tools or as a creative, fun student assessment. 

Educational Examples

Directions

Jan 31

Fun Vocabulary Activity: Tic-Tac-Tell

Tic Tac Tell is a strategy is very easy lesson activity that can be used with all content areas and with varying degrees of complexity. This activity can be customized in seconds and used as a game, as an extension activity for advanced students, or as a fun way to help struggling students master concepts in your class.

Direction Downloads:

Dec 11

ActivEngage 2 PD session

ActivEngage is a part of Promethean’s ActivInspire software that provides users with a virtual responder that can be used to help drive and/or assess instruction.  It features 3 types of questioning –  Express Poll, Question Manager, and Self-Paced Learning.

Direction Downloads:

Video Tutorials:

Starting an ActivEngage 2 Session (For Secondary Teachers):

Starting an ActivEngage2 Session – For Teachers from HCPS Instructional Technology on Vimeo.

Connecting to an ActivEngage 2 Session (For Secondary Students):

Connecting to an ActivEngage2 Session – For Students from HCPS Instructional Technology on Vimeo.

Registering Students in ActivOffice: You can register students in ActivOffice without opening ActivInspire! Here’s how:

This feature is currently unavailable as of 9/25/2013. This feature will be made available once again later this school year.

ActivOffice Device Registration from HCPS Instructional Technology on Vimeo.


 

Dec 05

Smog Research

This post was designed for Mrs. Wallace’s students who were researching the impact of smog.

Essential Question:

Does environmental awareness help prevent pollution?

Research resources:

http://school.eb.com/levels/elementary/article/353650

http://www.clean-air-kids.org.uk/information.html

http://eschooltoday.com/pollution/air-pollution/air-pollution-facts.html

http://www.timeforkids.com/news/super-smog-china/116231

http://school.eb.com/levels/elementary/search/magazines?query=smog&includeLevelOne=true

 

PSA Sample:

http://www.stateoftheair.org/2013/health-risks/infographic/

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-09/big-pic-air-pollution-deaths-around-world

Public Service Announcement Tools:

Oct 30

9 Weeks Data Analysis – Individual by Strand

PD Objective:

This PD session will help teachers create an individual item analysis, by each SOL strand for each student’s 9 weeks test. With this handy Excel template, teachers can quickly view student performance by SOL strand for remediation and planning purposes.

Directions:

  • Open  the template for your course from the Template by Subject Area section below.
  • Select File> Download and save the template to your computer.
  • Paste into the Excell Template – Printable directions
  • How to use the Excell Template – Video

Templates by Subject Area:

 
Literacy:
Math:
Social Studies:
Science:

Please note: There has been an issue with the CSV from SchoolSpace sometimes importing student names into one column and sometimes into two columns. Verify the columns match before pasting into the template. You may need to insert a column. There appears to be no explanation.

Oct 07

Teacher Spotlight – Mrs. Richardson – ActivEngage

Teacher: Kathy Richardson

Subject: Life Science 6

Tools: ActivEngage

Instructional Description:

Mrs. Richardson began using Activengage to help students review for an upcoming test on experimental design. Students were posed several scenarios and used the narrative response feature to identify key components of experimental design. With ActivEngage, you can easily collect data from the whole class instantaneously. Then, expert teacher, Mrs. Richardson was able to get a sense of instructional weaknesses and correct understanding with her students instantly.

Tips- We advise the following:

  • Keep ActivInspire closed when you check your connection in ActivManager. Open your flipchart only after you see a green check and only after you have closed ActivManager
  • If some students are unable to answer, have them click the pink back arrow, then select the teacher name.

 

Oct 07

Teacher Spotlight – Scribble Maps

Teacher: Caryn Boehm

Subject: Social Studies 6

Tools: Scribble Maps

Instructional Description:

Mrs. Boehm is using Scibble Maps to help her 6th grade social studies students with geography SOLS and plans to have the students create a variety of overlays that show how the US map has changed over the course of time. We began by mapping out a list of skills needed to be able to use the scribble maps tool. Students will begin to practice these skills in small chunks while they label cultural/geographical maps with paper. As students complete the basic skills checklist, they can then transition from paper to electronic maps, using scribble maps. We hope that this lesson, and particularly the ability to re-orient and re-position existing maps, will help students successfully read and interpret maps, even when the map looks different from other maps they have used.

 

 

Sep 12

Install software with the Software Center

software centerA new  feature on the HCPS computers enables students to install approved software on an as needed basis. This section focuses on utilizing the Software Center for necessary software installation.

 

Software Center

  1. Click here to open the directions for working with Software Center.
  2. Review the directions for Microsoft System Center 2012 – Software Center.
  3. On your computer, navigate to the Software Center.
  4. Follow the instructions to select and install Google Drive.
  5. Click the Installation Status tab to monitor the installation process.
  6. When installation is complete, click the Installed Software tab to view the list of completed installations.

Teacher Tip: You should consider the software you will want your students to use and provide that list to students as needed. Instruct students to refrain from installing all programs in the install list as that practice will decrease the speed in which their computers function.

Video Tutorial(s):

 

Software Center Tutorial from HCPS Instructional Technology on Vimeo.

Sep 10

Study Island Training – English and Math

New prescriptive activities for students

This year, study island is using our student’s Measure of Academic Progress (MAP®) assessment results to create an individualized learning path, delivered through the Study Island program. Study Island and NWEA customers can now easily pinpoint academic strengths and weaknesses through their NWEA MAP test results, and then automatically target those areas with Study Island’s standards-based content.

Download the Manual

  1. Click here to download the Study Island Manual

Create Classes

To view the work that your students have completed, first you must setup classes. Please see page 6 of the manual for directions, or use the directions below:

  1. Login to http://www.studyisland.com/  (hcps-email username & last 4 digits of your teacher number)
  2. Click on Class Manager (on the left)
  3. Enter a class title with your last name in front, block, and course (ex. Bostain A Block Reading)
  4. Click Next
  5. Leave Preferences alone. Use the pull-down menu beside “Add Users in Grade Level” to select the grade level you teach.
  6. A list of students for that grade level will appear. Select students by placing a check in the box next to their name (they are in alphabetical order).
  7. Once you have selected all of your students, click Save at the bottom
  8. Select class page and assignments
  9. Click Add assignment to add your first assignment
  10. Click the tab labeled no to activate the class page
  11. Repeat these steps for all of the classes you want to create in Study Island.

Adding to your Rosters

Keep in mind that you will need to add new students to your rosters as needed. To add new students later in the year:

  1. Select class manager on the left in study island
  2. Select edit class (pencil)
  1.  Use click the + beside the grade level you teach.
  2. A list of students for that grade level will appear. Select students by placing a check in the box next to their name (they are in alphabetical order).
  3. Once you have selected all of your students, click Save & Exit (bottom of screen)

Generating Reports

  1. Select school reports
  2. Select class assignment report
  3. Select your class
  4. Filter by the week to view student progress for the week

 

Sep 09

Set your Homepage to eLearning

Use these directions to set your homepage as the elearning page:

FYI – Bookmark the homepage too(CTRL+D) because sometimes the homepage loses its path:

Set the Homepage in IE:

  1. Have student navigate to this URL:   http://blogs.henrico.k12.va.us/eLearning
  2. Click the IE gear at the top right
  3. Select Internet Options
  4. In the general tab, click the button “Use Current” to set the eLearning site as the home page.
  5. Click OK.

 

Set the Homepage in Chrome

  1. Click the Chrome menu  on the top right.
  2. Chrome menu
  3. Select Settings.
    1. Select the “Show Home button” checkbox in the “Appearance” section to show it on the browser toolbar.
    2. When the “Show Home button” checkbox is selected, a web address appears below it.  Click Change and type in http://blogs.henrico.k12.va.us/eLearning