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Monthly Report August 2014

Training Topics
Training topics requested for the month are The Flipped Classroom, Teacher Sites, and Edmodo.
The Flipped Classroom is a hot topic for the month. Several schools have inquired about training for
their schools and have implemented some form of accountability to their staffs. The new Digital
Learning staff will have to get a grasp on screen casting, video hosting and embedding, and strategies for
a successful flip.
Several of the Digital Learning Specialists and I met with Forest Park Middle School principal to discuss
ideas for implementing a process for the Flipped Classroom with Core-Subject area staff. We agreed to
train a core group of teachers and those teachers will redeliver to their peers. We identified one Digital
Learning Specialists to support the staff at FPMS in a series of flipped foundation sessions as well as
ongoing support for the school year.

Edmodo Update
Edmodo usage in the month of August stands at 113,696 visits. The peak usage day of the month was
August 20th. The goal moving forward is to remove former students and staff. We will need to work
towards identifying school administrators to help police school rosters.

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Monthly Report September 2014

Training Topics
The training topics for this month were The Flipped Classroom, Thinkgate, and the IMMPads
The Flipped Classroom continues to be a hot topic. Drew High School has renewed flipped training from
last year and is aggressively asking their staff to produce at least one video for their students. Staff are
required to reflect next month on their experiences from the creation of the video to the reaction and
feedback from the students.
Many schools have suggested that the initial IMMPad training from the vendor was lacking. Schools
would like to see more instructional examples and not a technical overview of the technology.

Edmodo Update
Edmodo usage in the month of September increased to 134,398 visits. The peak usage day this month
was September 27th.

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Monthly Report October 2014

Training Topics
Training topics for this month included Panaboard, Edmodo, and Skype
Elementary schools are in need of Panaboard training. They want to see teachers engaging their
students with the boards and not just using them for projector displays. I recommend that the Digital
Learning Specialists familiarize themselves with Easiteach. Easiteach is the perfect accompaniment to
the interactive white board because it allows the teacher to create interactive lessons. Since our goal is
to make sure that students are actively engaged in the use of technology, teachers have to be exposed
to this software. If teachers only use the software that comes with the board, students are limited to
writing only. Easiteach will allow teachers to add content-specific widgets that provide digital tools for
the Panaboard.
The leadership at Eddie White Academy wants to have a Skype party at some time during this school
year. She really wants her teachers to collaborate with teachers in other countries. We will need to
make sure that they have the tools necessary to make this happen. I recommend that the Digital
Learning Specialists utilize ePals and Edmodo so that no personal information is shared with the other
class and teachers are able to moderate conversations if the collaboration requires pen pal
communication.

Edmodo Report
We experienced a big jump in Edmodo usage this month. The total visits were 223,296 with the peak
day being October 3rd. The communication is spreading and teachers from all grade bands are signing
up. We still have a number of schools without an identified School Administrator.

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Monthly Report November 2014

Training Topics
The training topics for the month were TurningPoint, Edmodo, and Videoconferencing.
Digital Learning Specialists will have to have a working knowledge of three types of TurningPoint clickers
in the district, the first generation Response Cards, the second generation Response Cards, and the
NXTs. Trainings for each are different.
The first generation Response Cards have barcodes that need to be scanned to identify Device IDs. The
second generation Response Cards are pre-numbered 1-32. The second generation is preferred because
it is easier to assign a 1 or 2 digit number to a student as opposed to a 6 digit barcode. The NXTs are the
newest version of clickers that allow LED feedback and texting.
I trained 6 media specialists that serve as Edmodo school administrators. I also emailed the video to the
other administrators so that they are aware of their duties in that role.
Eddie White Academy continues to focus on global learning and is requesting connections with NASA to
expose students to STEM learning opportunities. I connected three 4th grade classes to a NASA
representative from the Kennedy Space Center. They covered Mapping the Moon with WallE. The
students really enjoyed this lesson, but I encourage future connections to be limited to one class. The
auditorium style presentation was great for novelty, but it lacked the intimacy of discussion that comes
with a presentation to a single class.

Edmodo Update
We are really moving along in Edmodo usage this month. The total visits were 251,021 with the peak
day being November 14th. The schools are getting on board and we have nearly 4500 individuals signed
on in the role of Teacher. Only one school lacks a school administrator at this point.

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