Teacher Resources

Granite Battle of the Books 2019-2020 Reading Lists

April 2019

After sharing hints and clues all week, we are excited to publish the full Granite Battle of the Books 2019-2020 Reading Lists!

2019-2020 Granite Battle of the Books 3rd-4th Grade Book List

2019-2020 Granite Battle of the Books 3rd-4th Grade Book List (High Quality PDF for Printing)

Read or Listen to these books in Sora, Granite’s Digital Library (visit sora.edtech.fun for help using Sora)

Find these books in your school’s library with Destiny Discover (type in your school’s name, choose it from the list, and click “Browse as Guest”)

2019-2020 Granite Battle of the Books 5th-6th Grade Book List

2019-2020 Granite Battle of the Books 5th-6th Grade Book List (High Quality PDF for Printing)

Read or Listen to these books in Sora, Granite’s Digital Library (visit sora.edtech.fun for help using Sora)

Find these books in your school’s library with Destiny Discover (type in your school’s name, choose it from the list, and click “Browse as Guest”)

Now Registering: Utah’s Online Library (Ed Tech Pick Five Session)

March 2019

Tuesday, March 19, 2019 – Utah’s Online Library

Utah’s Online Library is one of the best but most underutilized resources available to Utah teachers. We’ll explore many of the incredible resources for research and lesson design available in UOL.

Session location: Technology Learning Center (5300 W Cherrywood Lane, West Valley City, UT)

Time: 4:30 – 7:30 PM

Click here to register for this session.

Pick Five – GSD Ed. Tech. Tuesdays

3rd Tuesday of each month – 4:30-7:30 P.M.

All Granite educators looking to add to or improve their use of technology in the classroom are invited to attend any of our Pick Five sessions. Topics will be announced in our Ed Tech Newsletter each month.

All are welcome to sign up to attend any of the sessions. Relicensure points are available. Attend at least 5 of the sessions and complete a portfolio assignment to receive 1 USBE credit.

Upcoming Sessions:

Utah’s Online Library (March 19)
Gamify Your Curriculum (April 16)

Visit https://sites.google.com/granitesd.org/gsdedtechtuesdays/pick-five for more information and to register for any of these upcoming sessions.

Featured Resource: SMART Learning Suite Online

February 2019

Post by Jenny Peirce, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader.

Many teachers in Granite have SMART Boards in their classrooms and have been using the SMART Notebook software to add interactivity and engagement to their lesson presentations. SMART has introduced a new platform to share SMART Notebook and SMART activities in an even more engaging and interactive way – SMART Learning Suite Online (SLSO).

Teachers can create or upload their SMART Notebook lessons and activities in SLSO so students can access them and follow along on any Internet-connected device. Within these lessons, teachers can create SMART Lab activities and Notebook pages that students can work directly on from their device.

SMART Learning Suite Online is available to teachers in our district who have a current subscription to the SMART Learning Suite. If you are interested in using SLSO, contact your school STS or LMETS to find out if you have a current subscription and for them to arrange to set up your account. Any teacher is welcome to set up a free 45-day trial account. To access SLSO, visit https://suite.smarttech.com and use your Granite Microsoft Office 365 (graniteschools.org) account to log in. Several online training videos are available on the SMART website, or contact your STS or LMETS for more information using SMART Learning Suite Online in your classroom. [Read more…] about Featured Resource: SMART Learning Suite Online

Featured Resource: Google Meet

February 2019

Post by Teresa Bruin, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader. This post originally appeared in our Ed. Tech. Monthly Newsletter for teachers.

Using Google Meet for Universal Collaboration

Google Meet (https://meet.google.com/) is available for all staff in Granite School District to use as part of our G Suite For Education accounts. Granite District staff can create a Google Meet with others outside of our district. Google Meet is not open for students, but students can participate in a Google Meet that the teacher has organized.

A Google Hangouts Meet is easy to setup and easy to join. See the information and videos provided for help with getting started.

Google Meet - Screenshot — Screenshot of Google Meet – a simple interface to start or join a meeting

Below is a list of a few ways Google Meet can be used in the classroom.

Featured Resource: The National Archives

February 2019

Post Author: Jessica Moody, Library Media Educational Technology Specialist, Olympus Jr. High School

The National Archives Educator Resources page is a great resource for K-12 teachers.

DocsTeach is a repository of lesson plans, graphic organizers, and Primary Sources Documents focusing on American History. You can browse or search by time period, topic, activity type, or grade level. The graphic organizers are simple and fun. The Interpreting Data exercises are a great way to link History, Analysis, and even some math skills such as reading graphs and charts. All DocsTeach lessons align with Bloom’s taxonomy and the National History Standards. Follow @DocsTeach on Twitter to see highlights of new additions and interesting documents from the National Archives that relate to the National History Standards.

Be sure to subscribe to the US National Archives YouTube Channel for a variety of videos and professional development. If you look at their Playlists, their videos are organized by topics and interests. You can even find professional development for teachers. Be sure to use the search option on their channel page to search for specific videos for your next lesson. In their Uploads stream you can see a few of their upcoming live streams that will be posted soon. The Illusions of Emancipation will be posting on February 27^th, 2019. This video will deal with the slow process of ending slavery in America.

The National Archives also feature apps, ebooks, warm up activities, and political cartoons to assist you. This is a great place to find bell ringers and more in-depth lessons. The eBooks are free and are in PDF format so that they are easily accessible.

The Online Exhibits are a great way to host a virtual field trip. There are many topics including Art History, History, World Geography, Science & Technology, and even When Nixon Met Elvis.

Of course, there is much more to be found. What will you find?

From Granite Media: Best Books of 2018

January 2019

Update 1/29/2019: ALA Youth Media Award Winners Added

On Granitemedia.org, our sister site where we focus on library resources and book reviews written by Granite students and staff, we are collecting links to lists of the “Best Books of 2018” and award winners. These lists come from professional library publications, teacher organizations, and general news organizations. We even have a few Granite-specific lists. School library staff use them to find more great books to add to library collections and recommend to students. You can check out the collection of lists as it currently stands below, but we will continue to update the post at http://bestbooks.edtech.fun throughout the season as more awards are announced or come to our attention. No matter your interests or focus you’re sure to find some new books for your “to-read” list.

Featured Resource: W3Schools Online Web Development Tutorials

January 2019

Post Author: Teresa Bruin, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader. Originally appeared in our Ed. Tech. Monthly Newsletter for Teachers.

Learn Coding and Web Development

If you or your students are looking for more advanced opportunities for learning coding, w3schools.com is an excellent website. W3Schools is the world’s largest web developer reference site. It features an extensive library of tutorials, references, and reusable code examples. It has something for everyone from beginners to experts in the world of coding and web development!

Topics covered include

HTML
CSS
JavaScript
PHP
SQL
Python
XML

and much more.

In addition to references, the site features numerous “Try It Yourself” editors in which a user can modify and experiment with actual code to immediately see how it affects the design and function of a web page. The code could then be copied and pasted directly into the user’s project.

#GSDEdTech Blog Editor’s Note: By coincidence I’m currently using W3Schools and their W3.CSS framework as a key learning and building reference for a personal web project. It is an incredibly useful resource whether you are a student, a professional, or just a hobbyist/lifelong-learner.

Featured Resources: Student Podcasting

January 2019

Post Author: Teresa Bruin, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader. Originally appeared in our Ed. Tech. Monthly Newsletter for Teachers.

NPR Student Podcast Challenge

NPR is currently hosting a student podcast challenge. Teachers of students from grades 5-12 can submit student-created podcasts until March 31, 2019. Two teachers of student groups will win the opportunity to have NPR and/or station reporters come to their school to meet and interview them and their student(s) and have the winning podcast discussed in a news segment that will appear on an episode of NPR’s All Things Considered or Morning Edition.

How To Enter The NPR Student Podcast Challenge

NPR Student Podcast Challenge: Official Rules

Submit To The NPR Student Podcast Challenge Here

Starting Your Podcast: A Guide For Students

Teaching Podcasting: A Curriculum Guide for Educators

Using Synth For Student Podcasting and More

Synth is a simple podcasting tool that can be used to create short podcasts of about 4 1/2 minutes using audio or video.

Bring more people into the conversation. Others can add on their own short podcasts to an original conversation starter. There are lots of ways to use podcasting with students. Use it for interviewing, global collaboration, creating your own audio story, practicing a foreign language, and so much more. Here is a list of 50 ideas for using podcasting with students to get started.

Podcasts and Podcasting — Additional Resources

New Books in Sora for Winter Break

December 2018

Just in time for winter break we’ve added many new titles in Sora, Granite’s digital library for students and staff. Take some time to read and listen over the holidays. We have several new curated collections, including Best Books of 2018 and 2020 Beehive Hopefuls. Log in with your student number and password at https://soraapp.com or in the Sora mobile app and see what is available. (Visit sora.edtech.fun for more help with using Sora.)

Let’s Get Coding / Granite Hour of Code Social Media Round Up

December 2018

Last week was Computer Science Education Week, and many Granite teachers took the opportunity to introduce students to programming with Hour of Code learning activities. Scroll down to see our round up of social media posts from Granite classrooms where students tried out coding projects. If you missed CSEdWeek it’s not too late to share these activities with students. See the “Let’s Get Coding” section below for activities that can be used in the classroom or at home at any time. [Read more…] about Let’s Get Coding / Granite Hour of Code Social Media Round Up