Digital Delights: Dive into virtual options this summer!

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By: Samantha Wilkinson

We know summer is upon us and we are all ready to take some time to relax and enjoy the sunshine! But in between dips in the pool, cool beverages, and barbeques, you may want to dive into some of our digital delights this summer.


As always, this summer we are offering a variety of self- paced virtual courses. These are available for APC renewal credits and you simply sign up in Unified Talent. Courses range from topics such as Brightspace, Engaging Digital Lessons, Minecraft in Education, WeVideo Basics and more! These are completed on your own in Brightspace. The courses utilize videos, slideshows, articles, and practical application tasks. It is a low-pressure way to learn about the applications we have available and allows you to start thinking about how you may be able to use them with students. Do a little at a time, as you leisurely sip your coffee, or take a break from the beach.

Did you know that you can actually earn certificates as you master certain applications? Summer is a wonderful time to discover what all the hype is about in Adobe Express, or to practice in Lumio and become a part of the SMART Academy. This option gives you a "path" to gain knowledge all about the application and how to use it with students. Great news, most of these are free! Earn a certificate, a badge for your email, and gain valuable knowledge. Check out a list and get more info, here. 


Perhaps, you want to explore some of the more hands-on tech our county offers. Did you know every elementary school has a class set of Sphero indi bots, every middle school has Sphero bolts, and every high school is getting Sphero RVR? Pretty awesome! This summer, peruse our Creative Coding with Robots site. Organized by elementary and secondary resources, the site also has a collection of teacher resources that make learning how to code these little guys a breeze! Consider joining us on the morning of June 18 at Carver to get the nuts and BOLTs of programming. Register in Unified Talent, Course #42629.


We can't forget about Wixie, our most versatile application. This summer join us in person at Carver on July 10th to learn how to leverage this powerful app to deliver inclusive instruction (Unified Talent  42642) and to cultivate classroom and community connections (Unified Talent 42643). Come for one or stay all day for both!

Last thing, before you close this browser and pack up your classroom, don't forget to tell your students about "Student Intro to Digital Tools", which is accessible from Classlink. We lovingly refer to it as "the big S". It's a wonderful site, with the targeted audience being our students. On it we offer tutorials on how to use and access all of our supported applications. Parents love to have this resource for rainy days. It is safe and approved for our kids to explore on their own. 


On the page, we also have a collection of Fun Activities for students of all ages to improve their digital literacy skills. Students can research topics of interest, create videos and podcasts of their summer fun, practice influencing with template creations, and even game with the purpose of learning something new! It's a lot of fun and a nice way to be online with a purpose, as they develop new proficiencies rather than passively watching content.


Whatever you end up doing this summer, all of us here at OIT hope you take some time to celebrate your hard work, have some well-deserved fun, and reset. 






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