MAKING - COOKIES AND SNOWFLAKES!

I learned about Digital Harbor Foundation about a year ago through an AIMS workshop on 3D printing. I knew the foundation offered classes for educators and workshops for students, but I was not aware of the FREE resources available on their website! The Digital Harbor Blueprint Projects page is the perfect place to start when looking for project ideas and inspiration related to all types of making!

3D PRINTED COOKIE CUTTERS! 

Knowing many of our Middle School students enjoy baking, I was thrilled when I came across Digital Harbor's 3D Printed Cookie Cutter Project. I knew this would be the perfect project for one of our monthly after school STEM activities! What could be better than giving the girls an opportunity to create their own cookie cutters and then make cookies to test out their cutters! Using the Cookie Caster website, anyone can create their own unique, custom cookie cutter with just basic computer skills! I am excited about this activity because it will introduce our girls to 3D printing by creating something that they can actually use!  While I typically only like the girls to print objects they have modeled themselves, I do think this is a great introductory activity that might spark their interest in computer modeling in order to create and print more.

3D PRINTED SNOWFLAKES!

Last year around this time I tweeted about how I used a super cool tool, doodlefab.ninja [created by Shawn Grimes for Digial Harbor] to turn a image into a 3D printed ornament in just a few simple steps.  I recently revisited this idea when I came across Digital Harbor's Bubble Wand Project. Using this method, we will create 3D printed snowflakes from traditional paper snowflakes. The key is by creating 6-pointed paper snowflakes using black paper, we will be able to upload the image of the paoer snowflake to doodlefab.ninja to produce an .svg file to upload and manipulate in Tinkercad. 

So rather than draw something that will be printed, students are able to first created the object out of paper! What I love about this project is the marriage between making with paper and 3D printing. This project has limitless possibilities and is another great way to introduce 3D printing with very little computer modeling.

I am so excited for the new year when we will see how the girls respond to each of these projects! With any new technology it is often hard to imagine exactly how it can be used in the classroom and how it can really transform what we are doing. While we continue to work to find ways to meaningfully integrate making into the classroom, we are focusing on introductory activities that will give our girls a taste of the possibilities that making can offer! I will be sure to share the results of both of these projects next year!

December Newsletter - Academic Technology @ Holton

How to Incubate Creativity in School Through Making and Discovery

How to Incubate Creativity in School Through Making and Discovery https://t.co/1AKCOzbAbO #HoltonTechTips

— Mary Dobroth (@MrsDobroth) December 4, 2016

from Twitter https://twitter.com/MrsDobroth

December 03, 2016 at 05:51PM
via IFTTT

I made a #3DPrinted a cookie cutter in no time!

Thanks #cookiecaster! I made a #3Dprinted a cookie cutter in no time! The girls are going to ❤️ this!#holtontechtips http://pic.twitter.com/GPszvglZ2M

— Mary Dobroth (@MrsDobroth) December 2, 2016

from Twitter https://twitter.com/MrsDobroth

December 01, 2016 at 04:04PM
via IFTTT

ATTENTION PARENTS!

Be sure to check out the RAISING DIGITAL CITIZENS PAGE for recently updated materials! 

This year, each month I will be posting links to resources from our Parent Technology Coffee and Conversations. If you are unable to attend the morning coffees, please be sure to check out the resources posted!

Remember, you can always find resources created just for you by selecting the parent tip label or by navigating to the RAISING DIGITAL CITIZENS page. As always, please let me know if you have any questions! 

16 [AWESOME] Ideas for Student Projects using Google Tools

16 [AWESOME] Ideas for Student Projects using Google Docs, Slides, and Forms via @cultofpedagogy https://t.co/ahjn2LI9qU #HoltonTechTips

— Mary Dobroth (@MrsDobroth) November 2, 2016

from Twitter https://twitter.com/MrsDobroth

November 02, 2016 at 07:20AM
via IFTTT

SUPER COOL! Halloween Magnetic Poetry via @ShakeUpLearning

SUPER COOL! Halloween Magnetic Poetry with Google Drawings! https://t.co/MBBWlBAI3d via @ShakeUpLearning #HoltonTechTips

— Mary Dobroth (@MrsDobroth) October 11, 2016

from Twitter https://twitter.com/MrsDobroth

October 11, 2016 at 01:15PM
via IFTTT

"DON'T SETTLE FOR CRAPPY APPS"

Sometimes you come across a tool and think HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS?! That is exactly what happened to me today when I discovered [thanks to an awesome listserv] AlernativeTo.

AlternativeTo provides a new, crowd-sourced approach to finding technology tools and applications! Simply type in the application you are looking to replace and AlternativeTo will provide you with alternatives based on user recommendations!

I cant not tell you how many times I have Googled "replacement for ..." or "alternative to...". Even when I am relatively happy with a tool or service, I am constantly looking for ways to improve the tools and apps we offer our teachers!  I cannot wait to use AlternativeTo next time I am looking for a replacement tech tool.

Try it out and let me know what you think!

21st Century Version of Ask 3 Before You Ask Me

21st Century Version of Ask 3 Before You Ask Me https://t.co/qoRgoRvSvV via @Catlin_Tucker #holtontechtips

— Mary Dobroth (@MrsDobroth) September 13, 2016

from Twitter https://twitter.com/MrsDobroth

September 13, 2016 at 01:05PM
via IFTTT

BACK TO SCHOOL 2016!

Back to school is SUPER cool with these technology resources:

Technology @ Holton

Holton Technology 101 

Technology Skills @ Holton - Getting Started Checklist [new teacher training 2016]

Microsoft Windows 10 Tips for Teachers 

Course Pages 

2016 Course Pages Reminders and Tips [email sent 8/12/2016]

Course Pages Online Training #summer2016 [technology information page > resources > Course Pages 2016]

Google Tools 

Top Google Chrome Extensions for Teachers [super cool tech tools to make your life easier]

Google Tools Online Training #summer2016 [technology information page  > resources > Google Tools 2016] 

#SUMMER2016 TECHNOLOGY TRAINING

This year the Academic Tech Team at Holton introduced an all new format for summer training that allows teachers to choose their own path to professional development with three ways to learn throughout the summer! Fully online by working through the Course Pages 2016 and Google Tools 2016 online modules posted to our Technology Information Course Page, fully face-to-face by attending one of the four, half-day workshops, or through a blended method by working through the online modules and then coming on campus for a face-to-face workshop or the full day, open lab depending on the level of assistance needed. [note: If you are a Holton teacher interested in participating in a face-to-face workshop please sign up by Wednesday August 10th].

Next week's #SUMMER2016 workshop schedule -
August 15 - Google Tools #1 [Drive, Docs, and Keep]
August 16 - Google Tools #2 [Slides, Sheets, and Forms]
August 17 - Course Pages 101 [Home, Resources, Sharing, Archives, and Calendars]
August 18 - Course Pages 102 [Embedded Resources, Discussions, Media, and Dropbox]
August 19 - Google Tools and Course Pages Open Lab [stop by any time to ask questions]

This new format was a complete experiment, and while we have already heard from several happy teachers who enjoyed working through the online modules at their own pace, we do plan to gather more data about how it went. At the start of the school year we will survey the teachers to not only see exactly how many teachers took advantage of the fully online method, but also to learn what the teachers thought about the format options and how we can make our summer training opportunities even better!

CODING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

Like most teachers, I am spending the last few weeks of summer planning and preparing as much as I can to make the start of the new school year a success. This past week I have been working on some exciting projects for the 2016-2017 school year [think computational thinking, problem based learning, and coding]. While it is too soon to share those details, I did want to share a document that I hope will make it easier to navigate the plethora of coding resources one can find on the world wide web. There are so many resources out there, it can be quite overwhelming!

I initially created the Coding Resource Collection Google Sheet for my own organization [and to keep myself sane] but it could really be a great place to start for anyone who is looking to learn to code, help someone else learn to code, or integrate coding actives into their classroom. For ease of use, I divided the Google Sheet into four sub-sheets [Professional Development Opportunities, Professional Development Articles, General Coding Resources, and Coding in Math]. I plan to continue adding to and updating the sheet as I come across new resources, but would love to hear from you if you have resources I should add. 

OUTSMARTING YOUR KIDS ONLINE - Parenting in the 21st Century

Outsmarting Your Kids Online - Parenting in the 21st Century https://t.co/Xm0Df7mXaf #holtontechtips

— Mary Dobroth (@MrsDobroth) August 3, 2016

from Twitter https://twitter.com/MrsDobroth

August 03, 2016 at 06:13AM
via IFTTT

Pokémon GO App Review via @commonsense

Pokémon GO has gotten kids outside, moving, AND talking to each other! App Review https://t.co/dfubcrvjRi … via @commonsense #holtontechtips

— Mary Dobroth (@MrsDobroth) July 14, 2016

from Twitter https://twitter.com/MrsDobroth

July 14, 2016 at 09:00AM
via IFTTT

15 FAVORITES FROM ISTE 2016

15 Tech Tool Favorites From ISTE 2016 https://t.co/AMlUZW9ozQ #holtontechtips

— Mary Dobroth (@MrsDobroth) July 5, 2016

from Twitter https://twitter.com/MrsDobroth

July 05, 2016 at 08:59AM
via IFTTT

TECH IN THE SUMMER TIME

Summertime is the perfect time for all of us to take a step back from technology and evaluate the role that it plays in our lives. If we are being honest, at this point in the year, we can all probably use a little digital detox! Check out these summertime tech tips collected for students, parents, and teachers with timely suggestions for using technology to enhance your summer (in a balanced manner).

Parent Tips 

• 5 Summer Tech Monitoring Tips for Busy Parents [blogs.mcafee.com]
• Commonsense Media on Screen Time [commonsensemedia.org]
• 7 Steps to Online Safety for Middle School Students [yourteenmag.com]
• 2016 Kids Summer Movie Guide [commonsensemedis.org]
• Tips for Summer Tech Safety [suescheffblog.com]
• GREAT Summertime Screen Rules [jaimiebowman.com] and No Screentime Until [yourmodernfamily.com]

Student Tips

• 4 Digital Safety Tips for Summer Break [edutpoia.org]
• Social Web Tips for Teens [connectsafely.org]
• 9 Online Summer Camps to Keep Kids Busy (and learning) [commonsensemedia.org]

Teacher Tips

• Top 12 Summer Tips for Top Teachers - I especially love tip #3, #5, and #9 [edutopia.org]
• 5 Tips for Taking Advantage of Twitter Over the Summer [edutopia.org]
• Summer Professional Development with MOOCs [edutopia.org]

Looking for more? Check out the 2015 Digital Detox post and the 2014 Tech Free Summer post. 

@CommonSenseEd's NEWEST RESEARCH REPORT ON #techaddiction

check out the highlights of @CommonSenseEd's newest research report on #techaddiction - https://t.co/XYQ5kpUpiF #holtontechtips

— Mary Dobroth (@MrsDobroth) May 12, 2016

from Twitter https://twitter.com/MrsDobroth
May 12, 2016 at 12:25PM
via IFTTT

#NAISAC 2016

This post is LONG overdue, but I assure you it is worth the wait! This past February, Holton-Arms sent a team of team of teachers and administrators to the 2016 NAIS Annual Conference in San Francisco. You never know what you will get when you head to a conference, but I have to say that this year the sessions I attended were some of the best conference sessions I have been to in quite some time. I walked away from every session with new information and great resources to learn even more. Listed below are just a few of my big "take-aways". Where ever possible I have linked to the original presentations or videos and highly recommend that you check them out!  Blogging about conference experiences is not only a great way for me to record and curate my notes but also serves a great way to share them with others that could not be there. I hope you enjoy!


STRATEGIES FOR SUSTAINING INNOVATION: When Hype Turns to Gripe
The Urban School of San Francisco - bit.ly/UrbanNAISAC

• Gartner's Hype Cycle - Using the five phases of technology adoption in business as a way to look at the process of innovation in schools [very interesting!] 
• Technology trigger
• Peak of inflated expectations
• Trough of disillusionment
• Slope of enlightenment
• Plateau of productivity
• Strategies for sustaining innovation
• Develop a sponsorship spine to create distributed support for the innovation
• Tie innovation to school's mission and culture 
• Develop a shared vocabulary and understanding of what the innovation is and dispel negative myths
• Establish and publicize the innovation' value added
• Manage resistance and negativity

RANDI ZUCKERBERG - Social Media is Free, Like a Puppy is Free
Randi entertained the audience during a general session by sharing stories, reciting poetry, and even singing a parody about technology trends and complications.

"who needs English, teach them geek!"

2016 AC Day 1: Randi Zuckerberg Shares Her Career Highlights, Key Tech Trends, and Why They’re So Dot Complicated - NAIS Connect - http://connect.nais.org/blogs/ari-pinkus/2016/02/26/2016-ac-day-1-key-tech-trends-and-why-theyre-so-dot-complicated 

BRYAN STEVENSON - American Injustice: Mercy, Humanity, and Making a Difference
The Author of "Just Mercy", delivered an amazing general session talk where he explained what he believes it will take to change the world. He spoke about the power of proximity, the need to change the narratives, how important it is to remain hopeful, and how we all must be willing to be uncomfortable (despite the fact that humans are programmed to seek comfort). 

2016 AC Day 2: With Gripping Life Stories, Bryan Stevenson Inspires Us to Change the World - http://connect.nais.org/blogs/ari-pinkus/2016/02/29/2016-day-2-with-gripping-life-stories-bryan-stevenson-inspires-us-to-change-the-world 

JAMIE CASAP - Iteration and Innovation in Education
"Google Chief Education Evangelist Jamie Casap preach[ed] the power and potential of the web, technology, and Google Tools to enable and support capabilities that can lead to powerful learning models".

• Technology is taking students places school buses can't go
• Education disrupts poverty
• Generation Z thinks about learning differently than we do! We need to change the questions we are asking! 
• "Don't ask what do you want to be when you grow up - instead ask students what problems do you want to solve and what do you need to learn to do that"
• The future of education is experimental collaborative learning models (makerspaces)
• More than anything in education, we need a culture of iteration and innovation - transformation has no end point!

2016 AC Day 2: Google’s Chief Education Evangelist Outlines Our Calling to Reimagine Education - NAIS Connect - http://connect.nais.org/blogs/ari-pinkus/2016/02/28/2016-ac-day-2-googles-chief-education-evangelist-outlines-our-calling-to-reimagine-education

I can't wait to see what the 2017 NAIS Annual Conference will hold! 

  

PRETTY AMAZING LESSONS ALIGNED WITH #ISTE STANDARDS

Pretty amazing teacher created lessons aligned with #ISTE standards and Common Core standards - https://t.co/NIpzSTn9ro #HoltonTechTips

— Mary Dobroth (@MrsDobroth) April 13, 2016

from Twitter https://twitter.com/MrsDobroth

April 13, 2016 at 04:56AM
via IFTTT

TAKING FINALSITE TRAINING MATERIALS TO THE NEXT LEVEL WITH GIPHY.COM

Taking @finalsite coursepage training materials to the next level with @giphy - HOW COOL IS THAT! https://t.co/IB2032Rlp7 #holtontechtips

— Mary Dobroth (@MrsDobroth) April 5, 2016

from Twitter https://twitter.com/MrsDobroth

April 05, 2016 at 01:58PM
via IFTTT

TEACH GIRLS BRAVERY, NOT PERFECTION

Teach girls bravery, not perfection https://t.co/RLWeA1Bovm #girlswhocode #holtontechtips

— Mary Dobroth (@MrsDobroth) March 10, 2016

from Twitter https://twitter.com/MrsDobroth

March 09, 2016 at 06:50PM
via IFTTT

SIXTH Annual Blended Learning Lab Goes GLOBAL

February 2016 marked the 6th Annual Blended Learning Lab! Building off of the work from last year's lab, this year, Holton's faculty explored how technology integration and blended learning can address global competencies in a dynamic and engaging way. The primary goal of this year's lab was to provide all Holton teachers with the tools and skills necessary to produce a lesson that develops our students' global competencies through the use of technology.

To kick off the workshops, the Holton faculty had the pleasure of hearing from educator and National Geographic Traveler of the Year, Diana Gross, who has spent the last several years working "to digitally connect students and teachers by bringing technology and training to underserved communities and build cultural bridges that transcend distance." 

Fittingly, Gross presented to the faculty from Myanmar, where she is currently working. Through the combination of pre-recorded videos and narrated, PowerPoint slides, Diana transcended time and space to be with us and we effectively modeled exactly how teachers can leverage technology to bring the world into the classroom from 11 1/2 time zones away. 

Spread over three afternoon sessions, the 6th Annual Blended Learning Lab gave the faculty time to delve deeper into blended learning by examining how technology can be leveraged to bring the world into our classrooms. Teachers gained hands on experience with new technology tools and worked on crafting lessons that address global competencies.

The workshops provided the faculty with time to explore examples, experience new tools, and develop or refine their lessons. Topics included Skype in the Classroom, Google Docs for collaboration, Blogging in the Classroom, and several more. Each workshop was facilitated by a faculty member following the same general format - explaining what the tool is and how it can be used in a classroom, demonstrating how to use it and then, most importantly, providing time for teachers to tinker and explore. 

To close the final session, teachers were given a choice of three sessions to take what they learned and directly apply it to their lesson plans. Director of Global Education, Melissa Brown, reviewed the global competence matrix and helped teachers brainstorm how a global education lesson can be integrated into their curriculum. Academic Dean, Rachel Herlein helped teachers upgrade a lesson by taking a lesson that lends itself to meeting global competencies and rethinking how it could use technology to touch on more of the global competencies. The third group was led through Project Tuning Protocol to refine a lesson.

BEHIND THE SCENES

The global inspiration for this year's Blended Learning Lab has been in the works for quite some time. After attending Harvard's Global Education Think Tank both in 2014 and 2015, Director of Global Education, Melissa Brown, and several other faculty members began to discuss how global education at Holton can expand across departments and divisions both inside and outside the classroom. This developed into offering the girls multiple opportunities to investigate the world around them, locally, nationally, and globally; to cultivate the disposition and knowledge necessary to engage respectfully with people from multiple backgrounds and experience; to foster an interest in and understanding of diverse perspectives; to develop the ability to communicate in a language other than English; and to take appropriate action for the promotion of sustainability, social justice, equality, and peace.

Last April, teachers from all disciplines and divisions at Holton created and shared sample lessons, projects, and units for their classes to help develop their students' global competencies. Since then, the School has shared these templates nationally at professional conferences including TABS/NAIS, NCGS, and the Global Think Tank.

The following month, a group of teachers and administrators returned to the Harvard Global Think Tank. After the conference, we began incorporating what we had learned into the planning of the 2016 Blended Learning Lab. I truly believe technology should be only be used in the classroom when it is used as a transformative tool. What better way to use technology than to address global competences by bringing the world into the classroom to communicate and collaborate on a global level. 

Middle School Math Teacher Alessandra King was so inspired by this year's Lab that she has taken on several new initiatives in her classroom including teaching her seventh graders how the Mayan numerical system, the decimal system, and binary are connected. "I do believe that educating the leaders of tomorrow about global issues is essential to promote mutual understanding and global collaboration, and therefore it is essential for the future of this country and the world," said King.

Brown summed up the faculty's hard work saying, "Each and every one of us can contribute to this initiative in big and small ways."

Building professional development around two school-wide initiatives turned out to be a great success! The goal of addressing global competence through the use of technology gave context for incorporating technology in a meaningful and transformative way! We have plans in the works for a follow up session that will allow teachers to share the lessons that were created and tuned during the lab and can't wait to take this work to the next level during the 7th Annual Blended Learning Lab in 2017! 

LAB RESOURCES

[BLL6 - Day 1 Presentation - February 2016]

[BLL6 - Day 3 Presentation - February 2016]

Let it SNOW! Let it SNOW! Let it SNOW!

This morning at 5:15 am before my alarm clock even thought about making a sound, I was alerted via text message that school was opening on a two-hour delay!

Despite the fact that it had snowed much of Wednesday evening and the roads were quite slippery, a two-hour delay was a wonderful surprise!

How did you find out school was delayed? Did you constantly check the scrolling banner across the bottom of the television screen? Did you check the website for a pop-up? The current weather forecast could mean the first snow day of the year could be right around corner. While the snow might provide some much appreciated time to catch up, but it also serves a friendly reminder to subscribe to emergency alerts! If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend that you register for emergency alerts through finalsite. As always, please let us know if we can help in any way!

SUPER COOL TECH TOOL - Google Keep

Google Keep has quickly become one of my absolute favorite organizational tools! I am a list maker. I am constantly making lists of anything and everything (things to do, things to remember, things to purchase, websites to to check out later). I have tried Post-it note systems, special notebooks, Sticky Notes on my desktop, Google Doc lists, emails to myself,  but nothing has ever worked 100% until now! After working with Google Keep for several months, I can confidently say Google Keep is a game changer!

Google Keep allows you to save your thoughts, wherever you are by recording notes, lists, photos, audio, and drawings. Location-based and time-based reminders make sure your notes are there for you when you need them so that you never miss a thing! Like all things Google, you can easily share your notes with others and watch updates in real time (this is awesome for collaborating on tasks, or just staying in the know!). You can quickly filter notes by color and tags and search your notes by keyword to find what you need faster than ever. Finally and most importantly Google Keep notes are always within reach because they sync across all of your devices and are always accessible through the web!

For more information check out Google's own explanation of Google Keep,  7 Reasons You Might Want to Use Google Keep. and How to Conquer Productivity with Google Keep.

THE PURGE IS BACK!

Friday January 15th, 2016 @ 3:00 pm the email purge returns! 

That means anything older than October 1, 2015 in our Inbox, Sent Items folder, and Deleted Items folder will be deleted.

If you have emails that you do not want to lose, you must make sure they are saved in a main level folder, not in a folder within the Inbox.

To create a folder that is safe from the email purge, right click on your email address (just above the Inbox) and select New Folder. Name the folder and select OK. You will find that folder listed alphanumerically outside of your Inbox. Any emails within these folders will be safe from the purge.

If you have created sub-folders within the Inbox that contains emails you do not want to lose, you can drag and drop the sub-folder over your email address (above the Inbox). This moves the folder from within your Inbox to the main level, which ensures everything within that folder will be safe from the purge.

As always please let us know if we can help!