The online home of the computer lab & all things tech @HeathcoteSchool
For many years now students have been creating, collaboration, and communication using Google Drive. They’ve been making documents and slide shows, sharing files with each other, leaving comments with feedback and notes. The one thing they haven’t been doing, is communicating officially. What that means is all of the communicating has been done using workarounds;…
I often get asked about headphones for students. It’s a difficult question to answer on many fronts. Price is one concern, but so is durability. A microphone is an important consideration since students use apps like Seesaw to record their learning. And their age. A kindergartner has different needs than a 5th grader in terms…
As the 2018-2019 gets underway it is time to review the Scarsdale Public School’s Technology Responsible Use Policy (RUP). The policy used to be called the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). Over the course of the 2017-2018 school year the district technology team worked to revamp the policy to better reflect new technologies, such as…
Screencasting is recording what is happening on your screen. This is a helpful option for creating tutorials, explaining your work, or recording Skype of Google Hangouts conversations (always ask permission to record someone else during a Syky or Hangout). Here is a tutorial on two ways to record your screen: I hope you…
One option for Capstone is to do a “stand-alone” presentation. By “stand-alone” we mean using a tool such as Google Slides to convey your information, without presenting it in person. “Stand-alone” means the presentation has to teach the viewer about your topic, convey your learning, without you there to verbalize the experience. Whereas an in-person…
Coding is a popular activity and skill. The “Hour of Code” is an international program aimed at sparking interest in computer science and the concept of coding. The “Hour of Code” week is December 7-13 and encourages teachers and students to try coding, with the tagline “an hour of code for every student.” Here at…
The Project: Using Google Slides 3rd grade students will create a 13 slide presentation, one month at a time, over the entire school year. The Why? It is never too early to start building a digital portfolio and not every portfolio will look the same. But one great way to show true growth and progress…
All 4th and 5th graders are given web spaces to create, and curate, their own digital portfolios. These sites are built, and maintained, by the students using Google Sites. These sites are initially only visible to the student and their teacher. The goal of student portfolio sites is to give students a space to develop…
5th graders, When using the internet to research information I think it is important to keep Abraham Lincoln in mind…. That being said, the internet is a valuable resource for learning and discovery. The key is to verify your information by checking the facts among multiple sources. Your assignment Read about the Pacific Northwest…
One of my pet peeves is the traditional bulletin board. As a technology teacher I feel the traditional paper stapled to cork board is counter intuitive to what students do in the lab. Paper bulletin board are fine for certain things, but if students are creating animations or layered presentations or movies how do you…