Update Your Staff Directory Profile

One of our district goals is to make sure our website stays up-to-date. The staff directory is one of the most accessed areas of our site and we need your help in making sure your profile is current. Please take the time to login and add or review your information based. Use this punch card (checklist) to make sure you have included all the required content. To assist in the process, there is a step-by-step written guide and a video tutorial.

Please make sure your staff profile is updated by September 21. Thank you for updating your contact information to help our families reach you.

Clevertouch Resources

We are excited to be piloting Clevertouch interactive panels this school year. We have at least one board at each building to be used in classrooms throughout the school district. They operate without needing a projector which means no shadows or bulb replacement. The boards also have an easy to use menu that functions like tablet devices and phones you use. You don't even have to hook up a computer to use it, though you can. Here are some written resources from Clevertouch to get you started with the board for the start of the school year:

• Getting Started Guide
• Guide to Using Note
• Basic Function Guide

If you prefer to see the board in action, Birmingham Public Schools created a video tutorial series on using the Clevertouch boards. Check out their list of video tutorials:

• Birmingham Public Schools Clevertouch Video Tutorials

Most of the Clevertouch boards are mounted on Copernicus iRover2 carts that are adjustable for younger students or for accessibility by using the remote stored on the back of the cart. The carts also have a laptop tray that can be setup in a few different locations on the cart. The cart also has protective arms that help protect the screen and make transporting the cart safer and easier, a built in power strip to keep cords organized, and brakes to ensure the cart stays in place. The storage tubs at the bottom of the cart help keep track of the flat panel remote, cleaning cloth, cords, and adapters that should remain with the device. 

               

I would be happy to come out to buildings to do a demo/training upon request. To setup a building demonstration, please email or call me with a day of the week and times that work well for you.

Brightbytes: Use Digital Assessments Strategically

Based on our Brightbytes data all of our schools are in a good place to consider how to use digital assessments strategically. Many district teachers are already using digital assessments regularly with students.

Formative assessment is a great tool to support the learning process and provide students with timely, personalized feedback. Technology tools, such as discussion boards (Padlet) and polls (Kahoot/Forms),  give us a greater range of options and efficiency in assessing students throughout the learning process.

It is important to select tools strategically—whether they’re technology-based or not. The following questions can be a simple metric for assessing the appropriateness of a strategy:

• What am I looking to assess?
• How can this tool save me time and provide reliable data?
• What can I learn about student knowledge and needs by using this tool that I can't learn using other techniques?

Please share your favorite digital assessment tools and how you use them to support your instructional practice and provide feedback to students.

Brightbytes Data Insights: 21st Century Teachers and Students

Thank you all for taking the time to participate in the Brightbytes Technology and Learning survey. Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing data points from our collection, as well as, supporting research and resources, related district plans, and more.

First, I'd like to highlight 21st century teacher and student data points. It's great to see that teachers' foundational and online skills are strong. Notice that students do not feel as confident in some of these skills. While kids spend a lot of time interacting with technology, it is often focused on social media and multimedia. We need to help them learn the productivity tools (Docs, Sheets, Slides, email, etc). On the flip side, our students can definitely support our growth in multimedia skills including photo, video, and sound editing. Professional development for Multimedia Skills was the highest ranked need by teachers and will be considered in planning session schedules next school year.

Our district technology committee has spent the past year researching digital citizenship resources and curriculum and is in the process of developing curriculum and professional development.  This ties into Classroom Management with Technology being identified as an area to provide additional professional development.