Earlier this month the Utah Coalition for Educational Technology (UCET) and the Utah Educational Library Media Association (UELMA) held their annual conferences. Many teachers, school technology specialists, and library media educational technology specialists from Granite presented at these conferences, and we collected links to their presentations in the table below. [Read more…] about Granite Presentations at UCET 2019 & UELMA 2019
Tiffany Pontius
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.
Granite Ed. Tech. Presentations at UCET 2017
Last week the Utah Coalition for Educational Technology held their annual conference at the University of Utah. Sessions were led for and by educators, and many of Granite’s teachers, school technology specialists, and library media educational technology specialists attended and presented at the conference. Below is a roster of the sessions shared by Granite teachers, along with links to resources from the sessions if available.
| Session Title | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|
| BreakoutEDU | Brenda Duford (STS, Silver Hills El.), Stephanie Evans (STS, Monroe El.), and Dave Taylor (STS, Moss El. and Pioneer El.) |
| BreakoutEDU | Michelle Reed (LMETS, Jefferson Jr. High) and Mary Anne Wiebe-Strong (LMETS, Churchill Jr. High) |
| BreakoutEDU | Tricia Fenton (STS, Vista El. and Western Hills El.) and Sarah Robinson (STS, Oakwood El. and Calvin Smith El.) |
| Bringing the World into Your Classroom with Virtual Fieldtrips | Adam Brough (STS, Diamond Ridge El. and Gourley El.), Samantha Mitchell (STS, Academy Park El.), and Will Walden (STS, Bacchus El. and Rosecrest El.) |
| Code Unplugged | James Baliff (STS, Bridger El. and Jackling El.) and Aaron Kammerman (STS, Hartvigsen School) |
| Creating Stories, Illustrations, and Collages with iPads | Michelle Hanson (STS, Hillsdale El.) |
| Creating VR for the Classroom | Becky Schaap (STS, Copper Hills El. and Twin Peaks El.) and Tom Sparks (STS, Penn El. and Spring Lane El.) |
| Digital Breakout Edu | Tiffany Pontius (STS, Cottonwood El. and Truman El.) and Keith Reidford (STS, Hillside El. and South Kearns El.) |
| Engaging Students with Toys, Games, and Comics | Quinn Rollins (District Social Studies Curriculum Specialist) |
| Get Hyped About HyperDocs | Stephanie Mondragon (LMETS, Valley Jr. High), Jenny Peirce (LMETS, Kearns High School), and Stephanie Seely (LMETS, Granite Connection High School) |
| Go Unplugged: Coding Without Computers (For Kids!) | Cherie Anderson (Granite District Elementary Educational Technology Specialist), Celia Powell (Granite District Secondary Educational Technology Specialist) |
| Googlizing The Amazing Race | Kris Fox (STS, Elk Run El.), Joell Wilkins (STS, Farnsworth El. and Woodstock El.), and Jaime Woolley (STS, Taylorsville El.) |
| Incorporating Music and Movement in the Classroom with Go Noodle! | Krystal Plott (STS, Driggs El. and Wright El.) |
| K-3 Meets G Suite | Teresa Bruin (Granite District Elementary Educational Technology Specialist) and Heidi Meenen (Granite District Elementary Educational Technology Specialist) |
| La La Land Yourself into Digital Storytelling | Kristen Johnson (Granite District Elementary Educational Technology Specialist) |
| LEGO League Robot Games | Michelle Reed (LMETS, Jefferson Jr. High) |
| Maker Space: Mechanical Hands | Sarah Eyring (STS, Granite Technical Instute), Samantha Spangler Mitchell (STS, Academy Park El.), and Davina Sauthoff (LMETS, Wasatch Jr. High) |
| Motivating Upper Elementary Through Popular Culture: Providing the "Why" | Keith Reidford (STS, Hillside El. and South Kearns El.) |
| Orange Slice Rubric Creator | Jeremy Smith (Spanish Teacher, Taylorsville High) and Lorraine Wyness (LMETS, Taylorsville High) |
| Show What You Know - Creative Assessments in the Elementary Classroom | Maggie Tanner (STS, Redwood El.) and Kareena Steed Vance (STS, Mill Creek El. and Sandburg El.) |
| Sphero Olliempics | Alisha Kerby (STS, Roosevelt El.), Ashley Moore (STS, Lincoln El.), Karen Tinsley (STS, Stansbury El.) |
| Technology and Educational Equity | Chris Larsen (Director, Educational Technology) |
| The $10,000 mistake: Essential Steps Every Teacher Should Know | Dale Roberts (Director, Information Systems) |
| They want formative..Now What? | Misty Butterfield (STS, Beehive El. and Oquirrh Hills El.) and Melissa White (STS, Oakridge El. and Valley Crest El.) |
| Zubi Flyer - The World's First Interactive, Programmable Flying Toy! | Thomas Phipps (STS, Upland Terrace El. and West Kearns El.) |
Thank you to all who shared their ideas and expertise at the conference this year. We would also like to congratulate Chris Larsen, Director of Educational Technology, for being elected to a position on the UCET Board during the conference.
Photo from a BreakoutEDU session at UCET 2017 facilitated by Tricia Fenton and Sarah Robinson.
Photo from a BreakoutEDU session at UCET 2017 facilitated by Tricia Fenton and Sarah Robinson.
Featured Resource: GoAnimate
Need an engaging, yet different way for students to share knowledge and understanding? Try GoAnimate for Schools! (https://goanimate4schools.com/public_index) All you need to do is create a teacher account, and then create student accounts. This tool works on all computers and devices (even Chromebooks.) If you want the students to use their voice you will need a microphone, but there are other options if you don’t have one. Students are then able to pick characters to animate. They choose movements and backgrounds. Then, they give the characters a voice– their voice or a robot, that is. Students can have the characters explain how the water cycle works or they can share a story that they wrote. Math, writing, reading, science, social studies: the sky is the limit!
My students have loved to explain concepts they just learned using GoAnimate, as in the example video above. This is a great way to create a flipped classroom! You can create videos for students to watch at home. Read teacher blogs that share experiences of how their autistic students found their voices using GoAnimate, and how the program allowed gifted students to go deeper into topics.
Just play a few sample videos 1, 2, 3 and students will be immediately interested in what you are showing, especially when they learn they get to create them! In my opinion, GoAnimate is well worth the $79 a year price tag, but if you aren’t ready to commit, try the 14 day free-trial!
Resource Review by Tiffany Pontius, School Technology Specialist at Cottonwood Elementary and Truman Elementary.
(We have added GoAnimate to our collaborative list of Digital Storytelling and Presentation Tools. Check out the list and add your own recommendations right in the document.)
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