Barrington 220 Students Offer App Demos to Parents & Community

On October 30, 2018, Barrington 220 co-hosted our second @Home in the Digital Age event with BStrong Together. The featured speaker of the evening was Dr. Devorah Heitner, author of Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World. You may remember that Dr. Heitner addressed Barrington 220 staff last year, and at this event she offered a similar message to parents about how they about how they can support our students by becoming digital mentors instead of digital monitors.

Immediately preceding Dr. Heitner’s talk, more than twenty Barrington 220 students set up their devices and demonstrated to parents and community members exactly how apps and digital tools are used in our classrooms. Using iPad and MacBook Air devices may seem commonplace to us, but many parents and community members have never experienced a school environment where every student has access to learning with technology at any time.

Students from both Barrington Middle School Prairie and Station Campuses who are members of "iSquad" volunteered to demonstrate apps. iSquad students are both interested in learning more about technology and offer their services throughout the school day as tech helpers for their peers and teachers. Barrington High School students from various computer science courses offered their help in demonstrating apps and services used at the high school level.

Thank you to all student app demo presenters from October 30, 2018!

Alex and Brian show how they use Explain Everything to demonstrate learning by recording their own voices and whiteboard animations. 

Aidan shows how he uses Stop Motion Studio to create stop-motion animated videos to demonstrate his learning with the help of some LEGO minifigures.

Alex shows how he uses Schoology to keep track of assignments, turn in work to teachers, and manage his learning. 

Brad shows how he uses Adobe Spark to create a journalism project with stunning visuals and descriptive writing. 

Elise and Kelsey show how they use Google Drive to organize a wide variety of class work and files. 

Faiza and Rida show how to use Google Docs and Google Keep to store and organize class work and send reminders. 

Gavin shows how he uses Photoshop Mix to create and manipulate images. 

Hanna shows how she uses iMovie for Mac to demonstrate her learning in biology class. 

Ishaan shows how he uses the Book Creator app on iPad to create digital books to demonstrate his learning. 

Jay shows how he uses Apple Pages for iOS to create reports, papers, and essays with images and graphs.  

Jenica shows how she develops iOS apps in our MobileMakersEdu Swift app development program. Jenica’s app allows teachers to easily collect feedback from students. 

Lilah shows how she uses Quizlet to create materials to help her study and organize her thinking. 

Madison shows how she uses iMovie for iOS to edit and create original videos to demonstrate her learning. 

Peter shows Superintendent Dr. Brian Harris how he develops iOS apps in MobileMakersEdu Swift app development program.

Riya shows how she uses Google Docs to organize her Project Lead the Way class work and manage information and materials.

Roshan shows how he uses the Notability app to take notes in any class by hand or with text and then hand it to the teacher using Schoology.

Congratulations to Barrington High School, Apple Distinguished School

Barrington 220 is pleased to announce that Barrington High School has been recognized as an Apple Distinguished School for 2018–2021. BHS received the recognition for our implementation of the One to World initiative, which provides all students with a MacBook Air.


Apple Distinguished Schools are centers of innovation, leadership, and educational excellence that use Apple products to inspire creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking. They showcase innovative uses of technology in learning, teaching, and the school environment and have documented results of academic accomplishment.
 


“We recognize that the changing needs of our students and the world for which we prepare them demand of us that we continually audit our practices and push ourselves to be better,” said BHS Principal Steve McWilliams. “At Barrington High School, our One to World vision allows every student to be immersed in a culture of learning in every classroom. Three key values drive our decision making: equal access to rigor, personalized learning and growth mindset.”

As part of the process to become an Apple Distinguished School, we had the opportunity to create a multi-touch book that documents Barrington High School’s technology-enabled programs. The book features content contributed by several BHS teachers, Department Chairs, and other administrators. Featured throughout the book is the stunning photography of Mr. Ron Johnson, one of the Campus Attendants at BHS.

We invite you to download the book now to any Apple device with the Books app installed.

bit.ly/barringtonhsbook

Earn Your Apple Teacher Recognition and PDH

With Apple Teacher, teachers learn and build skills on iPad and Mac that can be used in the classroom with a self-paced learning environment that provides tips, inspiration, news, and learning resources. Teachers can earn badges and an official Apple Teacher recognition. In Barrington 220 teachers may earn official Professional Development Hour credits (PDHs, formerly known as CPDUs) that can be applied toward teaching certification renewal. Over 100 Barrington 220 teachers participated in this program for PDH credit already and many, many more earned Apple Teacher recognition without applying for PDHs.

In Barrington 220, we call our blended learning course Barrington 220 Digital Teacher Program. The online learning part of the course is the Apple Teacher program, comprised of online training sessions that can be completed over a period of time. The face-to-face part of the course is a meeting with a Barrington 220 facilitator and other teachers who have completed the training. During a one-hour final meeting, teachers share activities completed with students using the content learned in the online training modules.

iPad Online Activities
Each activity is credited 30 minutes:

• iPad
• Pages for iPad
• Keynote for iPad
• Numbers for iPad
• iMovie for iPad
• GarageBand for iPad
• Productivity with iPad
• Creativity with iPad

Mac Online Activities
Each activity is credited 30 minutes:

• Mac
• Pages for Mac
• Keynote for Mac
• Numbers for Mac
• iMovie for Mac
• GarageBand for Mac
• Productivity with Mac
• Creativity with Mac

Barrington 220 teachers can sign up for the Barrington 220 Digital Teacher Program course, which includes completing the Apple Teacher program, logging online hours, and attending a one-hour meeting. Teachers who successfully complete the Apple Teacher Blended Learning may earn up to 10 Professional Development Hours (PDHs):

• Complete 8 Apple Teacher iPad online sessions (30 minutes each) and attend a one-hour meeting = 5 PDHs. 
• Complete 8 Apple Teacher Mac online sessions (30 minutes each) and attend a one-hour meeting = 5 PDHs.
• If you complete both the iPad and Mac online sessions and attend one one-hour meeting, you will earn 9 PDHs. 
• Participants who complete the iPad online sessions and attend a one-hour meeting, and later decide to complete the Mac online sessions and attend another one-hour meeting, can earn up to 10 PDHs.

How to Earn PDHs in Barrington 220

Step 1: Sign up for the Apple Teacher program
Use your personal or Barrington 220 Apple ID to sign up for the Apple Teacher program.

Step 2: Log each of your Apple Teacher learning experiences
Sign in to log each module as you complete each digital badge.
(Educators outside of Barrington 220 may view a version of the non-interactive sign-in page here.)

Step 3: Sign up for one monthly face-to-face meeting
Using the log, sign up for one of the monthly face-to-face meetings with a Barrington 220 instructor and a group of your peers. Scheduled meetings for 2018–19:

• Tuesday, January 22, 2019, 7:15–8:15 AM, James Street Engleking Room
• Thursday, February 21, 2019, 3:00–4:00 PM, James Street Main Conference Room
• Thursday, March 21, 2019, 7:15–8:15 AM, James Street Main Conference Room
• Tuesday, April 16, 2019, 3:00–4:00 PM, James Street Main Conference Room

Step 4: Attend the face-to-face meeting
You may attend any face-to-face meeting after you have completed your online training to complete the course requirements to receive PDH credit.

New Google Apps Document Creation Shortcut

The Short Version

Type doc.new in the web address bar and a new Google Doc gets created.

And There's More

Google released a new shortcut recently that I have already been using frequently. It’s simple and Google helped make it easy to remember how to take advantage of the shortcut. The basic premise of the shortcut is to create a new Google Docs, Slides, or Sheets document, just type a web address, such as doc.new, into the address bar (NOT the search field) of any web browser and a new Google document is created.

Google made the feature work in several combinations to make it as easy as possible to remember:

New Google Docs Document
doc.new
docs.new
document.new

New Google Sheets Document
sheet.new
sheets.new
spreadsheet.new

New Google Slides Document
slides.new
deck.new
presentation.new

New Google Forms Document
form.new
forms.new

(You will need to be logged in to your Google account for maximum efficiency.)

Teamwork: Upping Your Collaboration Game, Part 1 of 5

Overview

Apple recently published a series of three books on the topic of Educational Leadership. Written in partnership with SRI Education's Center for Technology in Learning and with contributions from Apple Distinguished Educators, this series highlights the latest research and knowledge about great teaching and learning. In fact, the book Elements of Leadership even features the Barrington 220 District Technology Committee as an example of shared leadership in instructional technology.

This bsd220tech series will focus on the book Elements of Learning which discusses powerful instructional strategies that engage learners and empower them to believe that their work matters.  This month, we'll explore collaborative learning and discuss the elements necessary for effective collaborative work.

Elements of Learning—Part 1: Teamwork

Collaborative learning, or teamwork, is an effective way to create buy-in from students and ensure that they are practicing the skills that will be needed in their professional lives. At low levels, teamwork merely requires that students participate in group work. Students, working in pairs or larger groups, interact toward a common goal. Teamwork at this level can be as simple as providing opportunities for students to serve as thought partners while they complete work independently.  

This base level of teamwork can be effective if students are being asked to learn in similar ways and should not be confused with higher levels of group dynamics. In lower-level group work, students are primarily completing the same task and working in groups to allow them to gain exposure to more material than would be possible independently. The common drawback of this type of group work is that, if not set up properly, students take on a mercenary mentality and divide up the work seeking the most efficient route to completion.   

More elevated levels of teamwork can require complex groups to take on different roles and rely on each other to complete a shared goal. Students presented with a stimulus challenge are tasked with figuring out not only the solution, but the best way to discover the solution. Rather than splitting up identical work into smaller parts, students must plan, organize, and implement their learning. When designed properly, this will often require different tasks from students and lead to similar, but not identical, learning from members of the group depending on their role. Unique contributions will be required of group members in order to develop a strong solution to the challenge. Students will invest in a problem that allows them to work to their strengths and experience agency as they work toward a solution. The elements necessary for this type of teamwork are a shared product and joint reasoning.  

Technology can greatly enhance the possibilities of elevated teamwork. By improving communication, access to resources, joint reasoning, and workflow, technology can improve the team's efficiency and effectiveness during teamwork.  

Want to Learn More?

The book is available right now, including examples from multiple grade levels and content areas. Download the multitouch book, Elements of Learning, in the Apple Book Store:

1. Open the Apple Books app already on your device in the Applications folder of your MacBook Air or from the App Store (or Self Service) on iPad.
2. Search for Elements of Learning.
3. Click or tap Get.
4. Enter your Apple ID and password when prompted.
5. Start reading!

Great Twitter Follows for November 2018

Are you new to Twitter? Are you looking to get more out of it? Twitter is a great tool for staying connected with what is happening in Barrington 220. Many Barrington educators, clubs, groups, and teams have Twitter accounts.

Twitter can also be used to develop a customized, up-to-date stream of rich professional development resources. By following great accounts on Twitter, you can stay informed, challenge your thinking, and get the latest research on what works in education.

Here are some great Twitter follows to consider this month:

Jennifer Gonzalez
@cultofpedagogy

Profile:
"I help teachers crush it in the classroom." (Adapted from @cultofpedagogy.)

Number of Followers:
72K

Why you should follow:
Offers original content in all areas of education. Aimed at teachers and provides a vast amount of content in various formats. Cult of Pedagogy also has links to online courses, webinars, and podcasts.

Some recent posts:

1. 20 ways to cut your grading time in half
2. Four things you didn't know about the jigsaw method
3. 20 practical ways to use Google Forms in class

Apple Education
@AppleEDU

Profile:
Apple Education

Number of Followers:
683K

Why you should follow:
Apple Education offers frequent discussion and posts on maximizing Apple apps and technology for educational use. Posts are both original from Apple Education and retweets from educators all over the globe.

Some recent posts:

1. Clips is an incredible tool for sharing ideas, telling stories, and showing understanding
2. Ss create Alphabet books in Pages
3. Looking for a spooky project to get your kiddos creating today? Teach them about about #diadelosmuertos and how to use shapes and drawings in Keynote.

eSchool News
@eschoolnews

Profile:
eSchool News connects you to the latest on how today's K–12 educators are using technology in the classroom. (Adapted from @eschoolnews.)

Number of Followers:
80.3K

Why you should follow:
Articles on how technology impacts every aspect of education from classroom instruction, social emotional learning, to legislation.

Some recent posts:

1. Computer science education is expanding, but states have work to do
2. Immersive technology: asset to the classroom or another tech fad?
3. How our district uses tech to fight cyberbullying