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Granite School District > Educational Technology > Blog > Teacher Spotlights

Teacher Spotlights

Teacher Spotlight: Helen White and Ross Pope, Whittier Elementary

Helen White is a 6th Grade teacher at Whittier Elementary in West Valley City, Utah. Ross Pope is the school’s technology specialist. Mrs. White and Mr. Pope co-teach lessons often. In the lesson featured in the spotlight above, they led students in a collaborative writing exercise, which proved a great way to integrate the 4 Cs of 21st Century Learning in the classroom. Students utilized classroom Chromebooks and the collaborative writing capabilities of Google Docs to co-author stories based on pictures from The Mystery of Harris Burdick. Thank you to Mrs. White for sharing this great classroom activity with us!

Spotlight created by Heidi Meenen, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist

Teacher Spotlight: Tricia Fenton and Katy Halliday, Western Hills Elementary

Tricia Fenton is the STS at Vista Elementary and Western Hills Elementary. She collaborates with teachers at both of her schools on the integration of technology into their lessons on a regular basis. Tricia is excellent at all aspects of her job as an STS. which includes front line tech support, helping implement district online tools, and training students and teachers in multiple programs and technologies. She notes that her favorite part of her job is going into classrooms and working with the teachers and students.

Katy Halliday is a 3rd grade teacher at Western Hills Elementary. She eagerly seeks out ways to enhance learning through the use of technology. She isn’t afraid to try new things, knowing that it doesn’t always go perfectly the first time, but that’s what learning is all about. She finds ways for her students to think critically, communicate, collaborate and create with the use of technology.

In this short video, students share the biographies they’ve been working on. They are able to wirelessly cast what’s on their Chromebook screens to the projector for the class to see by using Google Cast For Education. The students have done their research using the Chromebooks and have built their presentations using Google Slides.  Katy sends out assignments using Google Classroom, which makes managing digital assignments a breeze.

Both Tricia and Katy are excellent teachers individually. Teamed up together, they make a Dynamic Duo!

Spotlight created and authored by Teresa Bruin, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist

Teacher Spotlight: Keith Smedberg, Olympus High School

Keith Smedberg is the Library Media Educational Technology Specialist at Olympus High School in Holladay, Utah. He manages a vibrant, engaging library with programming that supports reading, learning, technology use, and the diverse interests of the students at his school. In this spotlight video, several Olympus students talk about why they appreciate the library and Mr. Smedberg.

Check out the Olympus High School library web page at http://www.theolycenter.org/.

Spotlight created by Cindy Moyle, Granite District Library Media Specialist.

Teacher Spotlight: ETEP Teachers in Action

ETEP Teachers in Action - Adobe Spark Video Screenshot

Adobe Spark video feature was used to capture some of the past ETEP teacher lesson activities.  Adobe Spark allows you to login using your Google account, and create a Post, a Page, or a Video.  Besides choosing a theme and music, students can also have the option to narrate their pictures.  Share with a link or an embed code.  It was a fun way to share student learning taking place in some amazing Granite School Education teacher’s classrooms.

Spotlight created by Kristen Johnson, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist

Teacher Spotlight: ETEP Graduates, 2015-2016

Congratulations to the first graduating classes of Granite’s Educational Technology Endorsement Program!

[Read more…] about Teacher Spotlight: ETEP Graduates, 2015-2016

Teacher Spotlight: Highlights of ETEP Teacher Portfolios

Teachers from one of our cohorts of ETEP — Educational Technology Endorsement Program recently shared updates on the projects and activities they are engaging in with their students. Many great ideas were shared and it was exciting to have a glimpse into the incredible work these teachers are undertaking with their students. Pam Moeai, one of our ETEP trainers, shared snapshots of their portfolio updates on Twitter, and so we gather and share these tweets with you below.   [Read more…] about Teacher Spotlight: Highlights of ETEP Teacher Portfolios

Teacher Spotlight: Kris Handley and Kelly Stevens, Hunter Elementary

Kindergartners at Hunter Elementary are happy and making tremendous progress with the loving care of their amazing teachers, Kris Handley and Kelly Stevens! These five and six year old students enjoy learning using technology. They are using iPods and QR codes to practice reading. They are also using iPads and OSMO. OSMO helps them to learn letters, sight words, numbers and to do a variety of math activities including the use of tan-grams. They are masters of the Mimio interactive board and enjoy interacting with a number of programs on it including one of their favorites: pinkcatstudio.com. They work independently at their computer center and especially enjoy starfall.com to help them with their reading.

Kris and Kelly successfully use PLC time to plan for the success of all their students. Principal, Kayla Mackay, describes the progress their Kindergarten students are making under the care of these two top notch teachers.

Spotlight Creator: Teresa Bruin, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist

Teacher Spotlight: Alisha Kerby, Truman Elementary

Ms. Alisha Kerby is a fourth grade teacher at Truman Elementary in West Valley City. I had the opportunity to visit her class and watch the innovative things she is doing in her classroom. Ms. Kerby’s students use Chromebooks in their classroom. While I was visiting her classroom the students were studying fractions.

Her students were actively engaged in the learning process. The students reviewed fraction concepts using Kahoot, and then created their own fractions using Google Drawings. Students created fractions using the drawing tools and then rotated from computer to computer at their tables and came up with equivalent fractions for each fraction drawing.

The students in Ms. Kerby’s class were also working on creating presentations using Google Slides, sharing what they had learned about rocks, habitats, and new year celebrations in other countries. She has created a classroom environment where the students love learning.

Spotlight Creator: Heidi Meenen, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist

Teacher Spotlight: Lorraine Wyness, Taylorsville Sr. High

Lorraine Wyness is the Library Media Educational Technology Specialist (LMETS) at Taylorsville High School. The spotlight video above shows just a couple of the ways she makes the school’s library media center a welcoming and engaging place for her students. In addition to managing the library, Ms. Wyness also provides technology integration training and support to teachers schoolwide. She is an incredible asset to her school.

Spotlight Created by Cindy Moyle, Library Media Supervisor for Secondary Schools.

Teacher Spotlight: Kirsten Carroll, Redwood Elementary

Kirsten Carroll is a 3rd grade teacher at Redwood Elementary. She makes excellent use of the technology in her classroom, creating fun and meaningful learning opportunities for her students. She finds online resources that help her students better understand the concepts they are learning in class. With several of the online tools, she is able to monitor their progress in real time. At a glance she can see who is struggling and needs help. She is able to provide reteaching and individual instruction in a timely manner. Kirsten’s class recently gained access to a set of Chromebooks for their classroom, and she didn’t waste time putting them to good use. She uses Google Classroom to manage and send out assignments. The students are then able to submit their assignments digitally, creating more efficiency and saving paper at the same time. Some of the other excellent online resources they are using are: goformative.com, xtramath.org or the XtraMath Chrome App, the Prodigy Chrome App,  Google Docs, Google Drawings, and so much more. Thanks Kirsten Carroll for being such an awesome teacher!

Spotlight Creator: Teresa Bruin, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist