1. Tools, software, operating systems, resources, and equipment available in Portland Public Schools classrooms:
Beginning in the fall of 2016, every middle school student will have a MacBook assigned to him/her. iPads that students had last year have been sold back to Apple. I’m not sure what high school students will have next year, but I think it may also be MacBooks. Most schools also have computer labs and many have computer instructors. Our students take a technology class in sixth grade. We have a green screen room in the library. There is very fast wifi throughout every building in the district. Most staff have LCD projectors or Apple TVs. Some have smart boards and/or document cameras.
2. Teacher websites, gradebook technology, Google Apps for Education, one-to-one education technology, flipped classrooms:
Each teacher does this his/her own way. Moodle was widely used by has been phased out. Blogs were very helpful but are also on their way out. The district is pushing everyone toward GoogleDocs. Staff email will migrate from Novell GroupWise to GMail this summer. Some staff use eBackpack to organize student assignment and communicate with students. Others use Edmodo for this. Most schools use Infinite Campus for grading, though a few use JumpRope as it is better set up for Standards-Based Grading. One teacher I know uses Explain Everything for his flipped classroom.
3. How I currently utilize technology for student learning, classroom management, communication, professional development, professional networking:
I use Edmodo with my students everyday. Sometimes this is for communicating assignments and sharing readings. Other times it is a forum for discussion. It also allows for simple quizzes. Quizlet is an additional study and assessment resource. Padlet is an easy to use online bulletin board kids can share on simultaneously. Kahoot is fun for learning games. Sheppard’s Software assists students in learning political geography. GoogleDocs is excellent for file sharing. For many years I maintained a personal website and class blog, but those are no longer necessary. TeachScape is used throughout the district for Charlotte Danielson model teacher evaluation.
4. How would you like to further evolve your use of technology in the classroom?
In the future I would like to familiarize myself with eBackpack and Socrative to compare those with Edmodo.
|
|