Post Author: Pam Moeai, Educational Technology Team Leader
Student Projects
Featured Resource: Creating Student Portfolios Using Google Sites
Post by Teresa Bruin, originally published in our monthly Ed Tech Newsletter for teachers.
We often get asked to recommend a way for students to create digital portfolios. There are several online tools for creating portfolios, but Google Sites is free and easily started straight from their granitesd.org Google Drive.
The new Google Sites has been completely made over. You can create a new Google Site in a short time with its intuitive design.
Students will enjoy creating a place to showcase their best work and have an easy way to share it with family and their teacher(s).
Additional Resources
Student Portfolios (Granite Ed Tech TIP Resource Page)
Getting Started with Sites (G Suite Learning Center)
Student E-Portfolios in Google Sites – A Tutorial (Boulder Valley School District)
How to Create Powerful Student ePortfolios with Google Sites (Shake Up Learning)
Highlights from the Granite FIRST LEGO League 2019 Event
Post by Cherie Anderson, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader. Photography and video by Tom Sparks, School Technology Specialist at Morningside Elementary and Spring Lane Elementary.
On January 26, 2019, Granite School District held a regional qualifying event for FIRST LEGO League teams. Check out the photos and videos in this post for highlights from the event. Congratulations to all the Granite School District FIRST LEGO League teams who participated in the regional and state tournaments!
[Read more…] about Highlights from the Granite FIRST LEGO League 2019 Event
Highlights from Granite’s FIRST LEGO League 2018 Qualifier
On Saturday, February 3, 2018, over 300 students from elementary and junior high schools across Granite School District, 44 coaches, 67 volunteers, and bleacher-filling numbers of supportive family and friends came together at Granger High School for Granite’s FIRST LEGO League 2018 Qualifier. Student teams were judged on their robot design, project presentations (researched, innovative solutions to real-world problems), core values, and performance in the robot games.
Overdue congrats to GSD First Lego League. 44 coaches, 67 volunteers, 300+ kids came together Feb 3rd to show CRAZY design/ programming skills. Teams advancing to state, Arcadia El (2 teams), Stansbury, Westlake Jr., Eastwood, Moss, Monroe, Fremont, Jefferson Jr. #GSDEdTech pic.twitter.com/YibYCbYnsp
— Cherie Anderson (@mecque73) February 12, 2018
These teams advanced to the state competition, held the following week at Weber State University:
Many thanks to the coaches, volunteers, and parents who made this experience possible for our students. [Read more…] about Highlights from Granite’s FIRST LEGO League 2018 Qualifier
Teacher Spotlight: Tiffany Pontius, Truman Elementary
TNN — Truman News Network
Breaking news! All Salt Lake City news reporters and anchors just may have their job security challenged due to some up and coming talent…hungry for reporting the news. That’s right! Truman News Network, or TNN, is currently taking up residence at Truman Elementary in Taylorsville. Student council members as well as guest reporters tell it like it is every week. Their well-received news cast is filled with information about the weather, sports, holidays, special events, book of the week, word of the day, staff and employee interviews, and the habit of the week. What is the habit of the week, you may ask? Well, on top of all the other awesome things going on at Truman Elementary, they are also a “Seven Habits of Happy Kids” school, wherein they review key ingredients of being successful in life!
TNN is organized by Tiffany Pontius, the School Technology Specialist for Truman Elementary. What could be an overwhelming and daunting task is smooth sailing due to Tiffany’s awesome organization and procedural planning. The best thing about this is that Tiffany prepares her students to be in charge of the news programs. This includes choosing the stories, writing the scripts, and deciding what props and backgrounds to use in place of the green screen when filming and editing. It is purely a situation of a student-led activity. No “sage on the stage” for Tiffany! 
She simply facilitates this well-oiled machine of news and information. She has used her skills as a top-notch educator to empower her 6th grade TNN members so that they gain confidence in running the news segments.
How do they do it? It all begins with a storyboard. Students choose what assignments they will have for the upcoming news cast during “staff meetings.” Reporters are then on the hunt for the news that will enlighten and inform the students. The student anchors create the script and film the leads. As soon as all of the elements are completed, one of the students edits the footage at home using WeVideo.
When asked the most challenging aspects of this project, the students replied, “…being able to film without laughing…getting everyone on the same page…and finding a time when all are able to meet.” What a terrific way to teach students how to collaborate in an authentic setting!
They also commented that the best thing about TNN is “…being on camera…writing the scripts…editing…hanging out with their friends…and working with Miss Pontius.” We would like to thank Tiffany for being a vital part of Granite School District. Her willingness to go the extra mile with her students and allow them to experience project-based learning, collaboration, problem solving, and creativity in the classroom should be celebrated.
Be sure to visit Truman TNN on YouTube!
Spotlight Created by Pam Moeai, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader.
Student Spotlight: Video Projects for Refugee Students, Oakridge Elementary
The 6th Grade students at Oakridge Elementary have been working with their teachers in Project Based Learning. The focus of their projects has primarily been around how we can support refugee students in our area. With the support of their teachers Krystal Bowen, BJ Nelson, and Laurel Myers, students researched areas of need and then created videos that would support a student’s transition to our school. This allowed them not only to explore new cultures but also utilize new technologies such as screen casting, video editing and voice-overs.
Here are examples of their work, produced and shared using Adobe Spark. Click on a screenshot to view the video.
Spotlight Author: Melissa White, School Technology Specialist at Oakridge Elementary and Valley Crest Elementary.
Highlights from Granite’s FIRST LEGO League 2017 Qualifying Tournament
It's been a day full of fun and robots. Thanks @EdTechGSD #fll #gsdedtech pic.twitter.com/rgC4BNwALE
— Joell Wilkins (@JoellWilkins) January 28, 2017
Granite School District welcomed 28 FIRST LEGO League teams to the 3rd GSD sponsored qualifying tournament on Saturday January 28th at Granger High School. Students participated in robot games, showed off their ability to work collaboratively on a problem, explained to engineers how they designed and built their robot, and presented a solution in the form of a product or service to enhance the relationship between animals and humans.
Winning trophies were: [Read more…] about Highlights from Granite’s FIRST LEGO League 2017 Qualifying Tournament
Upcoming Event: Granite’s FIRST LEGO League Qualifying Tournament
On January 28, 2017, student teams from schools throughout Granite School District will compete in our annual FIRST LEGO League Qualifying Tournament at Granger High School. Twenty-five elementary and junior high schools are fielding thirty teams for this tournament.
From the FIRST website,
FIRST LEGO League . . . immerses kids in real-world science and technology challenges. Teams of kids ages 9 to 14 are challenged to design their own solution to current scientific problems, then build LEGO robots that perform autonomous “missions.” In the process, they develop valuable life skills and discover exciting career possibilities in science and technology. They even discover that they, too, can make positive contributions to society.
Karen Tinsley, school technology specialist at Stansbury Elementary and coach of a FIRST LEGO League team, recorded the Robot Game in action at a recent scrimmage at her school, shared above. [Read more…] about Upcoming Event: Granite’s FIRST LEGO League Qualifying Tournament
Highlights from Granite’s FIRST LEGO League Robot Event
The Granite School District FIRST LEGO League qualifying tournament was held on January 16, 2016 at Granger High School. Granite School District’s Educational Technology Department sponsors 30 teams in the First Lego League. We had a tremendous amount of fun, and learned a lot this year!
- Over 280 student participants attended
- supported by over 35 coaches and assistant coaches…
- and 50 volunteers!
The students were excited to see approximately 500 parents attend to watch their LEGO Robots compete. In addition to competing in the robot games, the teams also explained their robot designs, presented an innovative product to address the issue of Trash, and solved a problem as a team during judging sessions.
[Read more…] about Highlights from Granite’s FIRST LEGO League Robot Event
Teacher Spotlight: Mandee Cossa, West Valley Elementary
Mrs. Cossa is a fantastic sixth grade teacher at West Valley Elementary. She incorporates technology into the classroom daily, creating lessons that are both meaningful and fun. In this video, students in Mrs. Cossa’s class are working on multimedia projects after studying figurative language. The students use the Chromebooks, YouTube, the WeVideo Chrome app and Google Presentations to complete their projects. Mrs. Cossa has created a creative and positive learning environment where students work collaboratively on a regular basis.
Spotlight Author: Teresa Bruin, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist
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