LOCS Technology and Media Newsletter

Lake OrionCommunity Schools

October2012

LOCS Techno Dragons Launch New Instructional WebsiteThe LOCS Techno Dragons, a small group of Lake Orion teachers who have cometogether to work on providing instructional technology and professional developmentresources for teachers, recently launched a new website designed specifically for theirfellow teachers. Check out the LO Techno Dragons Weebly @http://lotechnodragons.weebly.com/index.html.

The site includes how-to screencasts, guides, and links on a variety of instructionaltechnology topics including: interactive projectors, document cameras, Web 2.0 tools,iPads, Google Apps, Office 365 and much more. The website is a continuous work inprogress and your feedback is highly encouraged. You can add comments to the

“Technology in LOCS Blog” found on the homepage,or you can send suggestions by filling out thecomment card also found on the homepage.

Goodbye GroupWise, Hello Office 365!As of September 10th Lake Orion Community Schools has officially transitioned fromGroupWise to Office 365. Staff can access their new email account through the Office365 web portal or they can utilize Outlook 2010 on their desktop (where possible). Bothversions offer a variety of features to help users to maximize their email experience.Resources to help users become more familiar with the new email are available on theDistrict’s website @ http://www.lakeorion.k12.mi.us/technology2.htm Help documentsare being added regularly, so please check back often. Also, the built-in help feature forboth versions has lots of readily available quick guides and video tutorials to help usersas well. Happy emailing!

Personal Devices and Network SecurityOne of the most frequently asked questions our tech department receives fromstaff is - Why can’t their personal device be added to our network? There is onemajor reason why – Network Security. Personaldevices are extremely susceptible to viruses andare not safe for the district’s network which isaccessed by all of our users.One exception we are making to this policy is foriPads. If a teacher owns a personal iPad, and theyare using it specifically for classroom instruction,we will allow this device on the network. iPadshave not yet shown themselves to be susceptibleto viruses and are a great tool for instruction. Ifyou have a personal iPad that you would like addedto the network, please see your building tech.

Flipped ClassroomResourcesThe Flipped Learning Networkhttp://flippedlearning.org/ is anexcellent resource for educatorsinterested in implementing this newinstructional methodology. Theyoffer Free webinars, a video libraryand many other resources forsupporting a Flipped Classroom.

8 Great Reasons to FlipYour Classroom (and 4 ofthe Wrong Reasons)This article by K. Walsh fromEmergingEdTech.com provides areview and short summary of a newbook by John Bergmann and AaronSams – “Flip Your Classroom.” Couplethis resource with information fromthe Flipped Learning Network to helpyou decide if Flipping the Classroomis right for you!http://www.emergingedtech.com/2012/08/8-great-reasons-to-flip-your-classroom-and-4-of-the-wrong-reasons-from-bergmann-and-sams/

Celebrate Teen Read WeekOctober 14 – 20, 2012

Lake Orion Community Schools • Technology & Media Newsletter • October 20122

iOS Fun (iPads, iPhones, iTouches)

iOS 6 is here!Apple has recently released it’s newestoperating system for iOS devices, iOS 6.You will want to update your device bygoing to the “Settings” on your device.Selecting “General” and then Selecting“Software Update.” Some of thechanges in iOS 6 include new features forMaps, Photo Stream, Siri, FaceTime, Phone, and Mail. Visit Apple’s website for adetailed list of new features @ http://www.apple.com/ios/whats-new/ iOS 6 iscompatible with iPhone 3GS or newer, iPod touch (4th and 5th Generations), andiPad 2 or the New iPad.

APPiticCheck out APPitichttp://www.appitic.com. This websitehas a collection of 1800+ apps especiallyfor education. Apps are organized in several categories including Themes, MultipleIntelligences, Bloom’s Taxonomy, and National Technology Standards. Othercategories include PreSchool, Special Education, Spanish, and those especially forTeachers!

TceaTcea is website designed for teachers that contains lotsof iPad and iPhone app resources that are organizedinto various subject areas. Click here for iPad resourceshttp://www.tcea.org/ipad.

Click here for iPhone/iTouch resourceshttps://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0At6rnmB5cDEPdDFkcmhoTUpQNUZzMlZMNXc3SEwyRmc&hl=en_US#gid=0

50 Apps Students will be Using in Your ClassroomThis recent article by Edudemic highlights some great apps for students. Thereview is organized by the following topics: Productivity & Organization, Reading& Writing, Reference, Safety, and STEM. http://edudemic.com/2012/08/smartphone-apps-students-will-be-using-next-month/

Animation DeskAnimation Desk allows users to create hand-drawn animationsthat includes the ability to add audio effects. Read the fulldescription of this awesome app @http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/animation-desk-for-ipad-lite/id470899893?mt=8

Timeline EonsIs a free App that provides a graphic timeline of the entirenatural and human history.http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/timeline-eons/id429829445?mt=8

Featured Appof the Month

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The myHomework app is a fantasticapp to share with your students forhelping them to organize all of theirassignments in one place. Includes acalendar and the ability to setreminders!http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/myhomework/id303490844?mt=8This app is free and is compatiblewith iOS and Android Devices!Students can also sign-up for amyhomeworkapp.com account thatwill synchronize data across all oftheir android, iOS, and internetcapable devices for only $1.99 ayear.

Lake Orion Community Schools • Technology & Media Newsletter • October 2012 3

Readwritethink.orgReadwritethink.org is a wonderful resource for teachersthat provides ready to go lesson plans on every topicimaginable. They recently added a series called Teachingwith Technology (make this a hyperlink:http://www.readwritethink.org/search/?strategy-guide-series=30098 that offers teachers strategy guides onhow to integrate technology into the classroom.

Discover Your WorldThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationhas designed a 158-page free activity book with over 43hands-on activities for K-12 students called DiscoverYour World. The guide is organized into three sections:Explore the Earth, Understand the Earth, and Protectthe Earth.http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/edufun/book/

Play the ElectionRand McNally has created an online resource forstudents in grades 7-12 to help them understand theelection process. This resource includes online games,lesson plans, an interactive electoral map, and a toolthat allows teachers to create their own games.http://education.randmcnally.com/

“The 100 Best Video Sites forEducators”http://edudemic.com/2012/08/best-video-sites-for-teachers/Jeff Dunn presents a fabulous resource for educationalvideos for teachers in his August 10, 2012 article “The100 Best Video Sites for Educators” on theEdudemic.com website. His article is organized by videoresources in the following categories: Educational VideoCollections; General Video Collections; TeacherEducation; Lesson Planning; Science, Math, andTechnology; History, Arts, and Social Sciences; VideoTools; Network and Program Videos; Free Movies andClips; How-Tos; and Government and Organizations.

29 iPad Resources, Tutorials, andGuides Every Teacher Should KnowAboutEducatorstechnology.com offers lots of greateducational technology and mobile learning resourcesfor teachers. An especially helpful resource is theirsection that provides a comprehensive list of sites thatteachers can access on iPads in the classroom.http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/08/29-ipad-resources-tutorials-and-guides.html

Other Technology Resources

Sylvia’s Super-AwesomeMaker ShowMeet Sylvia a young girl who has createda DIY webshow on all sorts of fun thingsto make. Watch one of her episodes tolearn how to “Make Your Own No HeatLava Lamp” or “Monochron Clock Kit”for example. For each episode, youngSylvia explains the science behindeverything she shows and her siteincludes free printable resources.Students can also submit ideas on topicsthey would like to see Sylvia createfuture episodes about.http://sylviashow.com/

Free History AssessmentsThe Stanford History Education Grouphas developed a program called “Beyondthe Bubble.” They have created free“easy-to-use assessments that capturestudents’ knowledge in action” throughthe use of the Library of Congress’ digitalarchives. These assessments are gearedtowards student in grades 6th -12th andare great resource for teaching aboutprimary documents.https://beyondthebubble.stanford.edu/

Education Grants!!Check out this resource from Dell on allsorts of technology grants that areavailable now through June 2013.http://i.dell.com/sites/doccontent/public/solutions/k12/en/Documents/k-12-grants-calendar.pdf

GetEdFundingGetEdFundingGetEdFundingGetEdFundingGetEdFundinghttp://www.getedfunding.com/c/index.web?nocache@5+s@llbYtHle5YahEGetEdFunding is a website created byCDW-G that helps educators find grantfunding. What’s especially nice aboutthis website is that it allows you toconduct a grant search by variouscategories including grade levels, focusareas, content areas, and 21st CenturyThemes. You can also create an accountthat allows you to save grantinformation for future use.

Grants Galore!