#TellingOurStory
What a difference six months makes! In August we were talking about setting up social media accounts for our campuses, our organizations, and ourselves. And today if you search Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, you can see the awesome things that are going on in BISD.
To help out the people who are managing the campus accounts, please tag that campus if you are posting about something awesome in your classroom or for your organization. (example @BanderaMiddle or @HCEBulldogs). That way your post will show up in their feed and they can share it.
Last week I heard an administrator share that she was so excited to find that you can search hashtags to connect with others. (ie #1stgrade #middleschoolscience #blendedlearning). Another way to locate people to follow is to simply do a Google search. (ie. top people to follow for social studies teachers, or top people to follow for math teachers.) You'll get a big list. Select one or two to follow. Pretty soon your virtual PLC will become an amazing resource. Last week when we got the email from Remind about their service changes, the first thing I did was email Richard Byrne from FreeTechnologyForTeachers. He responded within two hours, and I had information from an expert in the educational technology field. How amazing is that?
Want to subscribe to someone's calendar? Click HERE for a cheat sheet or HERE for Google's support page that includes instructions for IOS, Android, and computer.
Chromebooks should be in the classrooms of the teachers awarded Digital Classrooms, and this week the teachers are participating in two days of professional development. Tuesday they'll be visiting Engaged Classrooms in Alamo Heights ISD, and Wednesday they'll be collaborating to harness the power of technology to allow more time for student-teacher interaction and to impact instruction and differentiation. Next month they'll be visiting Robertson Elementary in Round Rock ISD. That school, a recipient of a Raise Your Hand Texas grant, is in its third year of implementing blended learning. Google Calendar
Did you know that you can hide Google calendars that you subscribe to? Whether you are on a computer or a mobile device, you can check or uncheck calendars to make them visible or hide them. For example, if you subscribe to BISD's calendar or your campus calendar, you may only want to see those events some of the time. Simply uncheck the calendar in the Calendars list. You're still subscribed. You just don't have to look at the events all the time. Ahhh. Relief from calendar overload!Want to subscribe to someone's calendar? Click HERE for a cheat sheet or HERE for Google's support page that includes instructions for IOS, Android, and computer.
Blended Learning Spotlight
Many of the Digital Classroom teachers are participating or will participate later this spring in the UTeach Blended Learning series, a 30-hour professional development opportunity that allows participants to explore blended learning models and to create activities to implement blended learning in their classrooms. This spring ask the Digital Classroom teachers about what they're doing/seeing/learning.
It's an exciting time to be teaching and learning in BISD.
