Ed Tech Specialists are here to help!

FSUSD is fortunate to have seven full-time Educational Technology Specialists (ETS) working to support teachers who are integrating technology into the classroom.  Ed Tech Specialists are teachers on special assignment who have a passion for technology. Each ETS is assigned to schools in FSUSD and are available to work with teachers to improve their technology skills and assist in the integration of technology into the classroom.

Our goal is to support all district staff in becoming Tech Savvy! If you have questions about how to use the technology available to you, or how to integrate it into your classroom or work flow, please don't hesitate to contact your Educational Technology Specialist!

Twitter for Teachers

Twitter for Teachers is a web page put together by The USC Rossier School of Education.
If you don't want to take our word for it the Twitter is a good thing for you to be on, check them out.

Using a Link Shortener and QR Code Generator

This year many of you a embarking on a new journey to integrate technology into your classroom. Today's Tech Tip is designed to make sharing web addresses with others a little easier.

Web addresses, or URLs, are starting to get quite long. As the information available on the internet continues to expand, web addresses continue to get longer and longer. Normal this isn't a big deal if you are linking through from someplace else, but many of you will find yourself in a situation where you will want students to navigate to a specific web page, or the web link you plan to include in an email takes up 3 lines of text and disrupts the flow of your email, or maybe you are directing parents to a specific site in your class newsletter.  The reasons for needing to share a link are endless. Nothing is more frustrating than having to type in a long web address full of unfamiliar letter and number sequences. I can't tell you the number of times I have thought I typed in a URL correctly only to be one or two characters off. Here's where a link shortener can help! 

Creating a Google Community for Staff Collaboration

Creating and nourishing positive school communities is important. I am always looking for new ways to get people together and talking. Google+ Communities is one way to connect staff and offer a closed space for collaboration. In a closed community, posts are only shared with members of the community and can not be seen by non group members. 

Many of our principals have started blogs as a way to share information with staff. While a blog is a great way to send out information, it isn't always the best platform for collaboration. If your goal is to get everyone in your school contributing, sharing, and engaging with each other; check out the following steps for setting up your own Google+ Community! 

Creating Your Google+ Profile

One of my goals this year is to help people develop their Professional Learning Network (PLN). In order to develop a PLN and get connected, you have to begin by creating an online profile. Many educators are connected on Twitter, and we will get to that, but today we are going to start with Google+. If you already have a Google+ profile, please make sure you add a picture or graphic to help people find you. 

Google+ is a social network that comes free with any Google account. Because FSUSD is a Google Apps for Education (GAFE) district, everyone has access to a Google+ account. While access is granted for a Google+ account, users must activate their profile before they can begin using it to connect with others. This year we will be using the Communities within Google+ to create an online space to collaborate, discuss, and share resources. There are two different Communities set up to provide feedback and resources associated with the Units of instruction in both Math and ELA/ELD. You can find out more information about creating a Google+ Community in this blog post.

Let's get started with activating our Google+ profile.

Getting ready for 2014-15

The start of the school year for me has always meant a chance to try out new ideas. This year is looking to be no different. The Educational Technology team is thrilled to have joined with the Professional Development Department. As a new department we know this partnership will lead to enhanced professional development opportunities for everyone in FSUSD. We are truly here to support the work you do by making sure you have the skills, tools, and resources to stay on the cutting edge of your work.