screenshot of the studentsites homepage

Tech Tip Tuesday- StudentSites

Did you know that we have our own blog site for students?  It’s called StudentSites and you can find it at https://studentsites.dearbornschools.org/. What is StudentSites? StudentSites is a blogging site for our students.  It can be used as a publishing tool for students to publish their work.  While StudentSites functions similarly to iBlog for teachers, it…

Tech Tip Tuesday: Don’t tell mom your password
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Tech Tip Tuesday: Don’t tell mom your password

As any teacher knows, there’s often a direct correlation between the things we emphasize and the things students find significant. And we often show emphasis by the way we model behaviors. For instance, we speak in complete sentences, use proper punctuation and spelling when we write on the board, say please and thank you, and the like. These are some of the areas in which students like to take short cuts, and in the long run it will pay off.

When it comes to technology, however, there are shortcuts we like to take–and even encourage students to take that will eventually and inevitably be harmful to students.

boy yelling into a microphone
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Tech Tip Tuesday- Recording in Moodle (iLearn)

Let’s Hear it for the Recording Tool! One of our favorite tools in Moodle (iLearn) is now built right in!  The recording feature allows you and your students to record voice and add it right into your Moodle course! Why is this important?  Because the possibilities are endless! Classroom Benefits of Recording Students are benefitting…

Tech Tip Tuesday- Using Google Keep for Feedback Comment Banks

Tech Tip Tuesday- Using Google Keep for Feedback Comment Banks

  Since we have been focusing on the importance of timely and actionable feedback, we wanted to share another quick, simple way to provide feedback using Google Keep.  In cases where you find yourself providing the same feedback for the same errors over and over, you can create a comment bank in Google Keep for…

feedback thought bubbles
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Teaching our Students the Importance of Actionable Feedback

As teachers, we know that providing feedback to students is extremely important to their success.   Timely, actionable feedback provides students with the necessary tools they need to improve their learning.  Now, that lesson is being passed down to our students at Long Elementary. In Candice Little’s third grade class and Lauren Kaye’s 4th/5th class, the…

Technology Integration Partnerships

Technology Integration Partnerships

This year, as in years past, Amy and I will be available in buildings on a regular basis to support teachers and students in their needs with regard to technology use. We will also begin to develop our Technology Integration Partnerships with teachers and students, in which we will be working alongside teachers and students on a curriculum unit basis to help develop, plan, and co-facilitate instruction that integrates technology for increased student opportunity and learning.

Using Chromebooks Doesn’t Have to Be a Gamble
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Using Chromebooks Doesn’t Have to Be a Gamble

As we get started with a new school year, teachers in classrooms across the district are dealing with a few dozen factors every class period that cause them anxiety. One of them is the mere act of signing out and opening up the Chromebook cart. But it doesn’t have to feel like a gamble every time students use technology. I thought I’d offer a few practical tips to help the use of Chromebooks in your classroom go more smoothly.

google keep
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Tech Tip Tuesday: Using Google Keep for Badges

When your students meet a certain learning goal, what better way to acknowledge that than to issue them a badge?  You can create badges in Google Drawings and then upload them to Google Keep, where you can then insert them into Slides or Docs and provide instant badges!   Not sure how to create a…

Get Your Moodle (iLearn) Course Ready for the New School Year

Get Your Moodle (iLearn) Course Ready for the New School Year

If you use Moodle (iLearn) with your classes, it probably still contains students and their data from the previous year. In order to get your course ready for the new school year, it is wise to reset your course. This simply means that you are unenrolling all of the previously-enrolled students and deleting their data…

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