Beyond Integration

Have you ever needed to take notes or create a list quickly?  If the answer is YES!, then Google Keep is the tool for you and your Student  Google Keep allows you to take notes on the fly from any device with the app or internet access.  Haha, did you get the pun “fly?” It is supported on every platform, IOS, MAC, Android, Chromebooks, and Windows.  Keep is integrated into the sidebar and Tools menu of Docs, Sheet, and Slides. Notes you create on your cell phone can be accessed on your computer or any other device that has the Keep app. You can even create a note by recording your voice.  Also, you can color-code notes, create categories for your notes, add an image, take pictures, create a drawing, create a checklist, assign a reminder date and the best is you can share them with others, brilliant! Google Keep is an excellent AVID organization tool for your students as well.  Students can keep vocabulary and spelling lists handy for review o...

We are excited to share an article from District Administration  featuring our very own Nichole Allmann.  See the excerpt below and be sure to head to the full article to read about all of Nikki's experiences and wisdom.  "A well-trained team of coaches helps teachers manage the potentially overwhelming integration of new technology" By: Emily Ann Brown | August 8, 2019 ...Technology never takes center stage In the coach-teacher partnership. Instead, coaches help teachers examine standards and curriculum, and identify learning goals. They then recommend tools that will facilitate desired outcomes, says Nichole Allmann, a technology integration specialist who oversees coaches at 10 schools... Read the full article here!

What is your school doing to inform parents of internet safety, media balance, and learning with technology? What are you doing, as an educator, to provide ongoing information so parents are learning how to “monitor” their child(ren)’s technology use at home? Just as we did not grow up in the digital age, the parental community in each of our schools did not either. They are just as unequipped and unaware as we are when it comes to digital citizenship. As an educator, it is imperative we are knowledgeable and stay up to date with how to develop our students to be responsible online users. Much of what we do with our students is online and can be overwhelming, ensuring they make the right choices and be informed users of the internet. Many of our students are currently developing an online reputation that will impact their future. Just as we are learning how to teach this to our students, parents need to learn what steps they can take to keep their child(ren) safe and...

For years, the AVID instructional framework recommended a specific note-taking strategy, called Cornell Notes, to support students in processing the information they learn in class.  Recently, however, AVID revised the note-taking recommendations to be more broad rather than solely focusing on Cornell Notes. The new recommendation is that educators teach students to use a focused note-taking strategy.  This is fantastic because it allows for student choice and voice in how they process their learning and can incorporate technology in powerful ways.  This blog post will overview the 5 steps of focused note-taking along with some digital strategies that align with each step. Step 1: Taking the notes This is an obvious first step!  In this phase, students are capturing information using a method they feel most comfortable.  If students are new to taking notes, very young, or have instructional accommodations, teachers can just share the notes and skip step 1....