Changes, Changes

As technology keeps changing, so does our Getting I.T.Right Blog.  This is our final post on this blog.  However, our technology blogs will continue to be displayed on our campus website under Campus News at the bottom of the Home page.  Please continue to see what all is happening at Purple Sage on campus and with technology at https://purplesage.roundrockisd.org/.  The technology blogs will also be highlighted on the district website at https://insttech.roundrockisd.org/ at the bottom of that page under the Getting I.T. Right section.
This blog will contine to be up for the TA TEKS and old blogs for a period of time, but will be removed as a link on our website.

Google Classroom

Teachers at Purple Sage had the opportunity to be trained on Google Classroom this past week by their instructional technology specialist, Ms. Barnard.  Classroom is a new feature of Google Apps for Education that came out in the summer of 2014.  It aims to provide a paperless educational system.  Classroom helps teachers organize, save time and improve communication with their students.  Teachers are able to create assignments for their classes, grade, and provide feedback to their students.

Ms. Garcia, our 5th grade Next Generation Digital Classroom teacher, uses Classroom in all subject areas. This is an example of how she delivers a LearnZillion math video on mathematical equations to her students.  Once the students watch the video, they let the teacher know by clicking on a button saying the assignment is completed.  Other assignments to be graded can be sent to the teacher to grade and then returned to the student, keeping the assignment on Google Drive and paperless.

Newsela

Newsela is an online resource that is being used by our third grade team for expository writing. Expository writing is a type of writing that is used to explain, describe, and give information. Newsela is online news articles in war & peace, science, kids, money, law, health, arts, and sports. It also includes text sets for literature, social studies, and news around the world. Teachers can join to add students and be able to assign specific articles selected by grade level to their students. They are in Spanish and English. There are short assessments at the end of each article.

Go Noodle on a Rainy Day

When we haven't seen rain in months, bring it on!  However, it does put a damper in recess. Ms. Rivera's kindergarten class found another way to have indoor recess.  They used the site, Go Noodle.  It is a fun, interactive way to get the students moving and running off some of their energy.

Digital Citizenship Week October 19-23, 2015

This week is Digital Citzenship Week.  All across our district students are hearing Tech Tips during our morning Broadcast.  They are also watching Common Sense videos to be aware of what is spoken on our tech tips.  As parents, you too, can view what we are showing.  Visit our Round Rock Digital Citizenship website  and view this week's themes.

Plickers.com

Jacqueline Garcia, our Next Generation Digital 5th grade Classroom teacher, used Plickers.com today with her students.  "Plickers is a powerfully simple tool that lets teachers collect real-time formative assessment data without the need for student devices."  Teachers can "tailor instruction with instant feedback."  Plickers can be used "for quick checks for understanding to whether your students are understanding big concepts and mastering key skills."  There is no need for students to log-in on devices.  Each child is given a QR code to hold up to select their answers.  The teacher then uses a cell phone to read the QR code and identify each child's answer.

International Dot Day

Ms. Catherine Jones, Purple Sage's librarian, has started using her newly acquired IPads to introduce activities for International Dot Day.  The students colored their DOT and with the app Quiver, the DOTS become 3D objects that spin.