AACPS OIT Byte

Ready to discover a game-changer that turns video editing into a breeze for both students and teachers? Enter WeVideo- your ticket to hassle-free and creative project making.  If WeVideo is a Classlink app you have not yet explored with students, I highly encourage you to give it a whirl. Or if you have dabbled in WeVideo, I want to make you aware of some new ready-made lesson plans that can be used in LITERALLY any classroom.  We are all about no prep/ low prep activities because we know teachers are busy, but we also know the value of high-quality projects that allow students to have choice and showcase their voice. Below is a collection of my TOP 5 easy, minimal prep, MD digital learning standards aligned ways to use WeVideo with students. Note: Open WeVideo from Classlink before clicking on any of the links below. 1.   Me in 3 : This project helps build classroom community while students learn how to use WeVideo. Students create a 3-clip video to tell about themselves...

  By Kerri Lambert & Samantha Wilkinson, Anne Arundel County Public Schools Office of Instructional Technology This information was also shared in a YouTube Webinar Power outages & no water & snow days, oh my! What do all of these have in common? They are a few of the reasons behind our district’s decision to close schools. But learning doesn’t stop in these scenarios anymore. In order to support our teachers in these situations, and to help our students make the most of an at-home learning day, we decided to create some example lessons. We wanted it to be easy for teachers and students to access the learning material with minimal frustration and with as few clicks as possible.  We also knew we wanted the lesson “package” to be comprehensive and include all the essential components of a day at school: math, reading, writing, and science or social studies. In some cases, we opted for a social emotional component instead of science or social studies. Every lesson pac...

By Kerri Lambert, Teacher Specialist, AACPS Office of Instructional Technology This is the fourth article in a series of posts focused on the Maryland Digital Learning Stands for Students. Innovative Designer. Those two words just scream creativity and imagination- and kids. After all, how often have you been greeted with “But why?” or “What if?” or my 6 year old's current favorite “Just imagine if??” The fourth Maryland Digital Learning Standard looks to harness that imaginative quality of children and focus it to solve real world problems using the design process and technology. Here’s the exact wording:   4. Innovative Designer Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful, or imaginative solutions. Students: a) know and use a design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems; b) select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process...

On Monday, January 15th, we will observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I think we can all agree that teaching about the service and impact of his life is important. However, I want to encourage you to try some new activities or use some different resources this year.  In my elementary classroom, we always spent time discussing this great man and explaining why he was so monumental in the civil rights movement. We talked about the famous speech and made our own dreams for the future. To be honest, I'm not sure they ever really "got" it. The students' lack of background knowledge and many of the cartoon books I found just were not cutting it in terms of richness and depth. It all seemed too much to be crammed into one or two class periods as well. Imagine my delight when stumbling upon Discovery Education's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day channel . DE is always known for high-quality and engaging content, but this collection is special and offers a vast variety of age-ap...

     In 2020 we were all introduced to video conferencing tools to keep connected personally and professionally while meeting in person was discouraged. Because everyone relied so heavily on our video conferencing tools, we saw rapid, extensive growth in the capabilities of the video conferencing applications. In AACPS, we used Google Meet for virtual instruction. If/when schools shift to virtual for inclement weather or other emergency closures in the future, Google Meet will remain our go-to application for students and teachers to connect. Are you familiar with the awesome instructional tools built into this application? Screen sharing options When you click to present your screen, you will have 3 options to choose from. You can choose to share a Chrome tab, a Window, or your Entire Screen. But WHAT are you actually sharing with each choice?      Chrome tab - this option shares a single application on your screen meaning one program or one tab in your ...

By: Samantha Wilkinson Did you know that we've designed activities with the intention for students to get practice with AACPS applications? They are designed to be open-ended for creativity and for all levels.  Once students click on the Student Intro to Digital Tools app, they will have a toolbar where they can select Fun Activities . Students then get to choose a path: creator, explorer, gamer, or influencer.   For the creative mindset students, we have activities designed to stretch the imagination and explore their own ideas. Activities in creating their own comics in Wixie, writing a book , creating a piece of original artwork in Adobe, and even creating a meme in WeVideo. Each option has directions and either links out to the app or tells students where to go to get started. For the curious learner , who wants to explore unknowns and learn more about the world around them, the explorer page offers a lot of options. Some activities include learning about money management...

It's the most wonderful time of the year! It is also a wonderful time for building our students' tech skills. Check out these engaging seasonal/ holiday activities that will make hearts glow and spirits bright. Lumio: A collection of featured Winter themed Lumio lessons . Some of my favorites include the giving vs. receiving argumentative essay lesson where they have to give strong evidence about which side our society demonstrates more of an importance on. For our middle schoolers, the Middle School Math Choice Board is a fabulous choice for independent practice time. The Winter Close Reading activities are fabulous if you have any piece of text for analysis and Winter Woodland Friends is super cute for our littles working on drag and drop. Nearpod: There are wonderful lessons built about the history and culture of various winter holidays that include videos, collaborate boards, draw it activities and more for elementary students. You can find   Christmas Around the World...