*COURSE FEES - Clock hours and Optional Pay are offered for all courses.
Bringing Classrooms Alive through Digital Video
Description: This class is designed for the Mac user who has little or no training in video editing. In this class, you will learn camera basics, filming techniques, some video editing, and how to format your production into a Quick Time movie ready to burn to a CD. Also, we will burn your project to a DVD (time permitting) - ready for a DVD player. You will be expected to bring your school's camera (include all cables) with a short clip (on tape) of you or a colleague teaching a lesson. Any short 2-10 minute video will do. You will also need to bring two blank CDs and two blank DVDs. The intent of the class is to use video as a teaching and training tool. Class size will be limited. We will be offering another two-day class which will offer specific video titles, more video editing and fine-tuning a production.
Audience: All Certificated Staff
Prerequisites: Please bring your school camera, short video clip, and 2 blank CDs and 2 blank DVDs.
Time: 6 hours
Relevant Files:
Author: Kevin Medford, Video Production Analyst
Dynamic Classroom Newsletter
Description: You will learn how to create classroom newsletters easily with a page-scanning headline, two-column layout, photos or scanned artwork correctly sized with captions, and all the correct bells and whistles. The computer will do most of the work, and your class will take the credit! Although this is a technology class, a portion of the focus will be on the Washington State Learning Goals of writing with skill and communicating effectively and responsibly in a variety of ways and settings. The newsletter content will be based on the four writing EALRs and GLEs for your grade level. Ideas and suggestions for student articles will include research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Most importantly, this class will provide activities that will engage your students, helping to create in them a lifelong love for writing.
Audience: All Certificated Staff
Prerequisites:
Time: 3 hours
Relevant Files:
Author: Wes Burmark, Director, Instructional Technology
Easy Grade Pro 3.6 - Organizing and Analyzing Your Grades for Success
Description: Easy Grade Pro is Tacoma's electronic gradebook software. With timesaving tools and efficient reports, you'll improve your ability to individualize instruction based on your classroom's firsthand data. This course will introduce basic skills in the pre-class assignment. At the end of the course, you will understand and be able to explain how and why your grade book is set up. You will be able to make data-driven decisions at the touch of a key and produce meaningful reports for students and parents.
Please follow the link below to a pre-class assignment from the Instructional Technology staff.
Audience: All Certificated Staff
EGPv4.pdfPrerequisites: Please come to this class prepared to discuss the way you organize your class so that the course can help you use Easy Grade Pro to reflect the work.
Time: 3 hours
Relevant Files:
Author: Tod Lokey, Instructional Facilitator
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Excel for the Classroom Teacher
Description: Microsoft Excel is a powerful but underused tool for educators. While often viewed as a data management tool for secondary school use, Excel has exciting application for elementary instructors. This course familiarizes you with the basic functions of the program, including cell management and simple formulas. Then, it will look at how Excel can help instructors organize their classrooms and develop timesaving handouts and computer-based activities for students. From rubrics to schedules, spelling lists to arithmetic, this course will provide you with a refreshing look at teaching and technology.
Audience: Certificated Teachers
Prerequisites: Basic computer skills, familiarity with Microsoft Word.
Time: 3 hours
Relevant Files:
Author: Tod Lokey, Revised by Sherri Desseau, Instructional Technology
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Inspiration 8
Description: Inspiration is the essential tool students rely on to plan, research, and complete projects successfully. Educators use Inspiration to customize instruction, achieve standards, assess student projects and energize learning. An expanded selection of 120+ cross-curricular templates in language arts, social studies, science, planning, and thinking makes starting assignments quick and easy. In Diagram View, students create graphic organizers - a core element of visual learning - analyze, compare, and evaluate information. As they start the writing process, students use visually integrated notes to expand topics and switch to Outline View to further develop their ideas. Inspiration helps students organize information, develop thinking skills, and demonstrate knowledge. Inspiration
Audience: All certificated
Prerequisites:
Time: 3 hours.
Relevant Files:
Author Jack Leiman, Instructional Facilitator
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Beginning Photoshop Elements 3.0
Description: You will learn how to create, view, and organize photographs on your computer using Photoshop Elements 4.0. You will learn how to enhance your photograph using the tools in PSE 4.0. Cropping, resizing and editing your photographs will be a snap. You will work with creating photo projects that you can bring back to your classroom. Learn about layers, dodge and burn, blue and sharpen tools and much more. Get a jump start on getting the students ready for their Senior Culminating Progrect while adding skills in Photoshop elements by importing into a Power Point, Word document, or Excel project. If possible, bring photographs on a thumb drive, CD, DVD or external hard drive. If you don't have pictures I will supply photographs to work on in class.
Audience: All certificated
Prerequisites:
Time: 3 hours.
Relevant Files:
Author: Lance Cadena, Instructional Facilitator
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Podcasting in 21st Century Classrooms
Description: Learn how to be a listener and a creator! This course will focus first on utilizing current educationally relevant podcasts. As listeners, students will experience voices, ideas, and expertise from around the globe. Second, the course will cover the basic software for podcast creation. As creators, students will have ownership and an authentic audience for their ideas.
Audience: All Certificated Staff
Prerequisites: Basic computer skills and file management.
Time: 3 hours
Relevant Links
- Why Podcast? - 20:23 video podcast. "The benefits of Podcasting are limitless! Learn how it can become an integral form of communication between all stakeholders in the education process, including students, administration, your professional development team, and parents! This podcast features educators at all levels showcasing how they are using podcasting in their educational niche.. "
- Podcasting Workshop at Atomic Learning - understand this tool and how it can be a part of your curriculum.
- Audacity online quick reference - Version 1.2.4
- Audacity User's Manual - version 1.3 Tutorials, Reference, FAQ's and more
- How to Podcast - Plan, Produce, Publish & Promote by Jason Van Orden
- Magnatune - Free music to use with your noncommercial Podcast
- MSI Coach - a quick paced video tutorial by Quentin Brown from Brisbane Australia
- Podasting Tips for Teachers - A good set of links by Nathan Shelley
- PodsafeAudio - "This site aims to provide a location where musicians can upload music under the Creative Commons license for use in Podcasts, Mashups, Shoutcasts, Webcasts and every other kind of 'casting' that exists on the 'net."
- PoducateMe - Free online podcasting guide
- PUM - Podcast User Magazine
- Tips for Podcast Fans - Using iTunes to manage your podcasts
- What does sound look like? - lesson accellerator from Atomic Learning (PC; Mac users go here)
- Richard's Audacity Tutorials
- Podcasting Equipment Guide
- Relevant Documents
- Audacity manual - version 1.2 full version - 157 pages
- Digital Recorder Comparison Chart - version 4 from BSW
- Mic Basics
- Terms & Recording notes from PUM by Colin Meeks
- Whicker Files (.zip - LARGE FILE. May take several minutes to download.)
- Podzone-Audacity-Workshop. pdf
- Podcasting Booklet.pdf - Well written 34 page guide by Tony Vincent.
- Podhum.pdf
Author: Jack Leiman, Instructional Facilitator; Kevin Medford, Video Production Analyst
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Powerful Presentations - High Expectations for Student PowerPoints
Description: Student presentations at the secondary level should be “bigger and better” to include rich media and focused, well-chosen visuals. Students should present well-rehearsed and edited presentations while engaging their peers with content. Most students have had basic PowerPoint skills by the time they complete the ninth grade, and the general classroom teacher can hold high expectations for effective and professional delivery of student presentations. This course is designed to support teachers in implementation of PowerPoint presentations designed and delivered by students. All course materials will be organized specifically for immediate use with students.
Audience: All Certificated Staff
Prerequisites: none.
Time: 3 hours
Classroom Handouts :
Classroom Powerpoints & Teacher Files
Sample Media Files
Right-click and choose Save (Link) As..
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Image Sites (approved)
Website Resources
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| * Design and presentation concepts come primarily from Garr Reynolds and his terrific book Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery, © 2008, New Riders, Berkley, CA. |
Author: Tod Lokey, Instructional Facilitator
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Primary Publishing
Description: Come to this class to generate a unit for kindergarten through 2nd grades, using the primary software suite of Kid Pix, Kidspiration, and The Graph Club. Teachers will leave with the skills to create a Community Based unit, including sections on Myself, My Home, My School, and My Community. This unit will include graphic organizers, student drawings, graphing, importing photos, and time to work on your project. Skills can be easily transferred to other units throughout the year.
Audience: K-3 Educators
Prerequisites: none
Time: 3 hours.
Relevant Files:
- Primary Publishing
- KidPix
- Graph Club dspiration
- Author: Sherri Desseau, Instructional Facilitator
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Simplified Web Interface For Teachers
Description: Create a comprehensive, interactive classroom website in minutes with SWIFT (Simplified Web Interface for Teachers), a browser-based content management system designed exclusively for teachers. No new software installations or training is needed. You can build your site from any computer with internet access. Built-in features such as calendar, quiz builder, image gallery and a discussion board make it simple to create an interactive classroom site that is a dynamic communications tool for you, your students and parents.
Audience: All certificated
Prerequisites: none.
Time: 3 hours.
Relevant Files:
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SMART Board & Notebook Basics
Description: A SMART Board interactive whiteboard is a great tool to enhance your instruction and extend your computer. The touch-sensitive surface allows you to control your computer applications with your finger, write in digital ink, capture all your notes, and save the files to your computer for future use. This course includes a SMART Board Interactive Whiteboard overview (troubleshooting, orienting, USB connection, basic use, etc.) and Notebook software training. Participants will use Notebook to design lessons, organizational tools, substitute plans, and more.
Audience: All certificated
Prerequisites: none.
Time: 3 hours.
Relevant File:
Relevant Links:
Author: Emily Bannon, Instructional Facilitator
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Google In Your Classroom
Description: Discover the free and powerful digital tools available to you and your students. Help students to become more efficient at searching for information and see what is brewing in the Google Labs.
Relevant Links:
Author: Jack Leiman, Instructional Facilitator
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Webquests
WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which most or all of the information used by learners is drawn from the web. WebQuests are designed to use learner's time well, focus on using information rather than looking for it, and to support learner's thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
Description: WebQuest Handout
Relevant Links:
Creating a WebQuest using Google Sites
Author: Sherri Desseau, Instructional Facilitator
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Intro to Office 2007
Handouts:
Intro to Office 2007 Handouts.pdf
Intro to Office 2007 Handouts.docx
Intro to Office 2007 Excel File.xlsx
Description: Overview of changes in Microsoft Office 2007 software features. Create a simple document using Word basic formatting changes such as text type, size and page layout. Use Excel to develop a basic spreadsheet. Create a simple 3-slide Power Point presentation. No prior knowledge of Microsoft Office is necessary. Staff may bring their TPS provided laptop to work on if they like.
Author: Sherri Desseau, Instructional Facilitator
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Lesson Planning with SMART Notebook Software
Description: This workshop takes you past the SMART Board into lesson planning focused on your specific grade level and content area. We explore the basics of SMART Notebook software verison 10, utilize online resources from various websites, and create our own samples. We will also find multiple ways to reduce paper and printing costs by using the Notebook software. By the end of the class, you will have a folder of resources and lesson examples to use with your students and to share with your colleagues. NOTE: This class does NOT teach the basic use of the SMART Board Interactive Whiteboard.
Audience: All certificated
Prerequisites: None
Time: 3 hours
Relevant Files and Handouts:
Relevant Links:
Author: Emily Bannon, Instructional Facilitator
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Digital Music in the Elementary Music Classroom
Description: Learn how to add music and applications to an iPod Touch, using iTunes to enhance the delivery of your music curriculum. Participants will receive an iPod and speaker system to take with them.
Comments: This being offered to ELEMENTARY MUSIC TEACHERS ONLY. District Optional Day pay is available.
Audience: All certificated
Prerequisites: None
Time: 3 hours
Relevant File:
Using your iPod with iTunes
Relevant Links:
Author: Sherri Desseau, Instructional Facilitator
http://www.tacoma.k12.wa.us/information/departments/it/Pages/SMART-Level-2-Beyond-the-Basics.aspx