Cherry Creek Bright Spot- Make History Come Alive Using Google Maps

As a district Technology and Learning Coach, teachers often ask me what great tool they should be using.  While there are tons of great technology tools out there that I can share, I always ask teachers to tell me what they want their students to learn, and then, if appropriate, we can find a tool to enhance the learning around that objective or goal.  

Taylor Whitley, a 5th grade teacher at Indian Ridge Elementary, uses a lot of technology in her class, but she always makes it a point to focus on the learning before the tool.  

I chose her class for a Bright Spot because she found a way to use Interactive Google Maps to help her students learn about explorers in a creative and collaborative way. Check out the Bright Spot video below to hear from Ms. Whitley and some of her students...

For more information on using Google Maps in your class to enhance learning, go to https://www.google.com/help/maps/education/, where you'll find ideas from Google. 

If you would like to learn more about integrating math with technology at your school, please contact your Technology and Learning Coaches by filling out our form. 

If you or a teacher you know are using technology in an innovative way to transform learning, and you want to be highlighted in a Cherry Creek Bright Spot, please email Kris Edwards at kedwards25@cherrycreekschools.org. 

Cherry Creek Bright Spot: Technology at Liberty Middle School

As a district Technology and Learning Coach, I often have teachers ask me how technology fits in with math instruction, beyond just allowing kids to play math games on the Internet during free time. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely a variety of good websites for math instruction and reinforcement, but how do you make technology an integral and seamless part of your math classroom?  

Jasmine Solano, a math teacher at Liberty Middle School, recently invited me to observe her math classes. In doing so, I was able to see how easy and effective it could be to make technology a regular part of her classes, and how much the students are learning and growing from this practice. Check out the Bright Spot video below to hear from Mrs. Solano and some of her students...

If you would like to learn more about integrating math with technology at your school, please contact your Technology and Learning Coaches by filling out our form. 

Bright Spot: 3rd Graders at INR Learn About Personal Financial Literacy in a Unique Way

All 3rd Graders in Colorado learn about Personal Financial Literacy. To be more exact, the standard covered is stated below:

E2 Describe how to meet short term financial goals (PFL) (3rd)

A. Identify sources of income including gifts, allowances, and earnings  

B. Recognize that there are costs and benefits associated with borrowing to meet a short term financial goal 

C. Identify jobs children can do to earn money for personal, philanthropic or entrepreneurial goals 

D. Create a plan for a short term financial goal 

E. Describe various steps necessary to reach short term financial goals

 At Indian Ridge Elementary, students learn about Personal Financial Literacy in an authentic, ongoing way that helps them truly internalize what it means to meet short term financial goals.  Check out the video below to see how they accomplish this: 

For more information about creating a dynamic Personal Financial Literacy Project at your school for 3rd grade or any other grade level, go to myclassroomeconomy.org or contact one of the teachers at Indian Ridge featured in the video: Paige Baumgart, Julie Getchell, Mary Koudelka, Brittany Seidel, or Dane Swanson. 

Cherry Creek Bright Spot: MinecraftEdu in the Classroom

Should students be allowed to play video games at school? Absolutely- if they are playing Minecraft in Joel Solomon's technology classes at Village East Elementary or with the Minecraft Club at Thunder Ridge Middle School with Cary Joice and Justin Cantrell.  

These educators have leveraged student interest in gaming and use MinecraftEdu as a way to use to reinforce the teaching of standards. They focus not only on 21st Century Skills like collaboration, communication, and digital citizenship, but also on standards for core subject areas such as math, science, social studies and language arts. Check out the video below to learn more about Minecraft and using MinecraftEdu in the classroom.

For more information about using MinecraftEdu with your students, contact Joel Solomon at jsolomon2@cherrycreekschools.org or visit minecraftedu.com. 

Relaunching Cherry Creek's Near Space Balloon Project

You may remember hearing about Cherry Creek's Near Space Balloon Launch Project from last spring. You may have even read our blog post about it. Seven of our elementary schools participated, each sending a balloon about 100,000 feet into near space with varying science projects attached. 

Many of you have asked for more information and how your school can get involved with this project. Our goal as a district is to make this a yearly fifth grade project, where every fifth grader in the district has the opportunity to participate in launching a balloon with experiments attached into Near Space.  

What was it like to participate in the project? Check out our latest Bright Spots video below to see for yourself. You'll witness footage taken by a GoPro camera attached to one of the balloons as well as interviews from Cherry Creek's Elementary STEM Coordinator, Jon Pierce, and from students and teachers who participated in the project last spring. 

To see more footage, science experiments, and results from last spring's launch, visit our Google+ page by clicking the link below. 

 https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/105293819199266278059

If you are interested in bringing the Near Space Project to your Cherry Creek elementary school, please contact Jon Pierce at jpierce20@cherrycreekschools.org. 

Technology in K-1

What can K-1 students do with technology? That's a question we get often. The answer is, A LOT! 

Students at Independence Elementary showed us that they love learning using Chromebooks and Dell laptops- or whatever devices they can get their hands on! 

Do they just play games? No way! These students created Google presentations using information they found on Encyclopedia Britannica. Check out the video below to see how the projects went and what the students learned! 

If you would like help implementing technology projects with your students next year, please contact your Technology and Learning Coaches by filling out this form.  We love co-planning and co-teaching and want to help you be successful with your students using technology!

MaKey MaKey Inspires Creativity at Walnut Hills Elementary

"Nothing is Impossible" is the message that students from Walnut Hills conveyed when asked what they learned after completing MaKey MaKey projects under the guidance of their technology teacher, Dustin Vick. 

What is a MaKey MaKey?  A MaKey MaKey is an invention kit. Using MaKey MaKey, students can turn everyday objects into something that can control a computer. For instance, one student created Play-Doh keys for typing out a document.  Another created a homemade video game controller using cardboard and tin foil. Playing musical notes by touching bananas is also a popular project shown in demonstration videos by the inventors of MaKey MaKey. 

Check out the video below to see how it all worked at Walnut Hills.  Maybe next year you'll want to use MaKey MaKeys at your school to inspire creativity within your students! 

Cherry Creek's Hour of Code

http://life-long-learners.com/hour-of-code-for-those-who-are-6-to-106/

Warning: Students will become critical thinkers, problems solvers, and gain confidence through…. coding! 

Last December, Jon Pierce from the Office of Instructional Technology challenged Cherry Creek teachers to participate in The Hour of Code, an introduction to computer programming sponsored by Code.org. It was designed to show that anyone can learn to code. By the end of Computer Science Education Week, 11,780 Cherry Creek students ranging from K-12 had tried their hand in coding!

Initially founded by by Ali and Hadi Partovi, Code.org is a non-profit organization working to expand computer science participation by making it available in more schools, especially in urban and rural neighborhoods. 

The goal for next year is to double the number of students in Cherry Creek Schools who participate in The Hour of Code. Why? Because students become more well-rounded through coding. There are high-paying jobs out there for people who can code, and not enough qualified candidates to fill the positions. Check out our video below and Code.org for more information. We hope to see you and your students coding with us next year during The Hour of Code!

Cynthia Liggins and her Techsperts Shine at Sunrise Elementary

How do building techs manage to keep our schools running?  Many are charged with fixing computers, printers, projectors, and document cameras, MAP testing students, getting computers imaged and ready for use, and keeping carts organized and working. The list goes on and on. 

So how does Cynthia Liggins manage to accomplish everything she's assigned to do plus assist with the robotics club, tackle the yearbook, and deliver daily video announcements, all with a sunny attitude?  

She enlists her Techsperts to help! Techsperts are a group of students at Sunrise Elementary in grades 3-5 who help out with technology, take pictures for the yearbook, and deliver the daily video announcements. They learn the skills to do this from their building tech, Cynthia Liggins. Check out the video below to learn more about how students can help make the technology at a school run smoother, and learn a lot about technology, pride and leadership in the process...

http://youtu.be/ZqAzTcoilNg

STEM at Red Hawk Ridge Elementary School

Ryan Remien, the STEM teacher at Red Hawk Ridge Elementary School, explains how students at the elementary level thrive on learning- especially with his STEM curriculum. In observing and talking to Ryan, I was able to see first hand what it can look like to have kids so engaged in learning, they don't want to go to recess! Students from K-5 are able to use science, technology, engineering, and math skills in authentic ways to learn about the world around them. 

http://youtu.be/fmLBJalEhZk