DVA and STEAM Fest 2021

    ABC DVA 

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Link to the Website

ABC Secondary STEAM Fest is Coming!

This year STEAM Fest will work a little differently and take place online.

In preparation, the STEAM Team has prepared a great many challenges for you to look through and take part in. There are Grade Level SDG challenges, General Challenges and you can even Build your very own challenges using the guidance on our website. All entries are individual this year due to our special circumstances.

This year we will include a judging panel full of wonderful ABC teachers who will help determine which of our wonderful ABC Makers attain  Bronze, Silver and Gold Level standards! The students whose projects are allocated the highest points by the judging panels will also be awarded a special prize.

Finally, we would like to issue a challenge to all Secondary ABC Students to design the STEAM Fest 2021 Logo and Slogan for the event. To be eligible, all entries for the Log/Slogan Competition must be sent to either Mrs. Garcia or Mrs. Serrano by March 15th. 

Please check out the STEAM Fest 2021 Webpage and watch our Promotional Video for further details on how to join the STEAM Team of student Makers, for STEAM fest 2021.

Finally, a reminder about LRC- Today  in History, is our weekly update with interesting facts for you and the students to enjoy.

Apps for Interaction and Other Ramblings...

 I believe to have found myself as what can only be described as the February planning doldrums, which have been exacerbated by teaching online in COVID-19 times. As with anything I believe that the way to get through something and spark positive change is by taking further action. Doing so, usually get those teacher sails a billowing, so to speak. I hope some of what follows here speaks to anyone else who finds themselves in this situation.  

 While I know it is not about the apps or about juggling as many as you can, the lack of face to face interaction with our students, despite the use of web cams and Google Workspace provisions can be a bit trying and lead to the development of rather tedious patterns.  Personally, I feel a need to get away from Google applications at times (says the diehard Googler. The irony is not lost on me.) and try something different. If I feel that way, I can only imagine how the kids must feel, as we pile on more docs, slides and  Jamboards. These do provide a stable, familiar approach, which is certainly not to be sniffed at. Lately however, I have been feeling a bit 'Jamboarded' out (she says as she creates yet another new one, this time for Term 3) Don’t get me wrong, I really like Jamboard, and yes I have used Miro instead, at times, but I think it is time to up my game a tad. 

 

If you are feeling that way as well, it may be worth your while to revisit some of the other web apps out there.  

I have used all sorts of web apps since March of last year to try and make lessons more accessible, interactive, and give kids a chance to collaborate in real time outside of Google applications. Some of those are listed below as well as some I keep meaning to explore or revisit.

Whiteboard Chat-I don’t know if any of you have tried this but it looks really cool. Have a look at Richard Byrnes Free Technology for Teacher  article for more details.

I am testing out Parlay

 in the upcoming weeks for virtual round tables, to see how well it works in online lessons with Meet rolling simultaneously. My computer has a tendency to slow to a halt when I challenge it too much, so it could make for a very interesting experience to say the least.

We mustn't forget that Kialo  for debates is a great app, as well. I use it quite a bit with my IB kids and know it would be good for debate work lower down in the school.

Yesterday, I went on a planning marathon and in doing so I forced myself yesterday to convert a presentation into one using  Pear Deck for Google Slides, again in an attempt to create interactive slides for a lesson in the next two weeks, but know I can use it more effectively than this most recent attempt. 

 Edupuzzle deserves recognition as a simple to use, web app that lets you create lessons using video and student responses. It is free to teachers as a pro license until the end of July. I have one ready to go for one of my IB groups shortly and am looking forward to measuring its success.

Sutori is a tool for creating interactive lessons that is worth a look at as well. I keep nagging myself about it (It helps that I am on Johnathan from Sutori's mailing list) and mean to revisit it one day very soon.

We have used Flipgrid a few times in 6th grade, at the beginning of the school year and more recently for the SDG project too. Creative project news reports on animal cams will be coming in over the next few weeks and will give us greater insight into the work being done with it. I have found it to be a great too, in the past when we have used it for Pen Pals and other special projects.

On one final note, Nearpod and VoiceThread which we used quite a bit in the early days of the LRC, seem to have come a long way. There is a lot of noise about them in the teacher threads, and are worth revisiting as well. 

If any of you are using these and want to share your insight as well, or have other suggestions you want us to be aware of, please do tag  along in the comments.

Have a lovely weekend and get some highly merited rest everyone. At the LRC, we are definitely going to need it for DVA And STEAM Fest, both coming soon to ‘theaterish’ Google sites near you. 

More to follow shortly!

Cheers!

Safer Internet Day-Week 2021

 Safer Internet Day is celebrated at the ABC for an entire week each year. This year Safer Internet Day 2021 will be celebrated globally on February 9th, 2021 with a focus on the theme, Together for a better internet"

Here are some driving statements and questions to prompt powerful conversations focused on this topic:

• Let's face it the internet is a powerful place to connect with others, but issues can occur.

• How could we work together as a class, a school, a country or a planet to make it a better, safer place for everyone to connect?

• Can you think of a few ideas that you as a student would be able to do to help make this happen?

(saferinternetday.org)

This coming week students in each grade will work on a series of short mini lessons during tutor time and Life Skills. In doing so they will explore a variety of positive and negative impacts of the internet, as well as the various ways to conduct themselves in a safe, ethical and positive manner online, while making the most of the positive opportunities that are available.

We encourage you to browse our resources by grade level and engage in conversations with your child which focus on these topics.

We have also provided a list of videos for conversation starters as well as additional resource collections from leading organisations, lower down on the home page, which we hope you will find useful.

Let's make every day a safer internet day, together!

A New Year-Same Modality

 We are back to school in the same online learning modality. Our new hybrid plan has been put on hold as COVID-19 numbers continue to rise word wide and locally.

The LRC has continued with the Books2Go initiative we have been running since late October and we are now working on our weeding plan for this year, the second book order and initiating conversations regarding our annual STEAM Fest as it is quite likely that it along with the Digital Video Awards will take place online. 

We are looking into the possibilities for comfortable 3D printed ear savers to use with masks when we are allowed back into school and will be doing some initial test prints with our brand new Makerbot over the next few weeks. Personally I prefer my quickly crocheted ear savers to plastic ones but giving this a go will give us a chance to try out the new printer and compare it to our existing CR-10s and XYZs as well as provide a service to our teachers.

I have downloaded a few recommended savers from the NIH in the USA and they will be the first ones we try out. 

Version 1

Version 2

Version 3

Library Books2Go

Library Books2Go

 One week ago we launched our new Library Books2Go initiative, which is similar to curbside pickup, only it is a park and pickup system. More information on this can be found below. 

ABC LRC Book Pickup Service *Library2Go

 

The ABC libraries have worked very hard to put together a safe, efficient system for library book reservations, pickups and drop offs, which has been functioning for two weeks now. The booking and pickup service will be paused during the half term break but will resume again when we return to lessons again on Monday 2nd November. 

 

It is a system whereby our librarians will be available to check out books that students have reserved through the system, using the Hold It option. The librarians will closely monitor the holds each week, prepare student book bags and ensure that students who reserve books are contacted, as soon as their book bag is ready for pickup. Please do take a moment to read more about how this system works, here.

SY20/21 so Far

  This school year is certainly shaping up, not as we had hoped, but things are going well despite teaching and learning taking place from home. 

I spent a lot of time over the summer researching, taking online courses and getting caught up on EdTech changes and enhancements for this school year. I have been busily updating my training website and have been equally as busily updated lessons and trying out new tools to use in our daily online learning.

I was also privileged to participate in a ISTE STEM Spotlight publication.

A few takeaways from the year so far. 

Favourite Teaching Apps:

Google Classroom (carried over from previous years)

1. Pear Deck (I have come back to it today, after many years)
2. Jamboard, Miro (and Mentimeter for presentations and responses)
3. Kialo for online debates

The LRC

Everything is now online, all of our clubs, events, and as many books and subscriptions as we can get.

I revamped the entire website over the summer and launched it on a New Google Site. The improvement and growth of which is one of my big projects for the year. We have made interactive, user-friendly access rooms, added all of our online content to it, and are in the process of linking our online activities for the year through a central hub on the website.

We are currently in the process of preparing our Destiny library system for new users so that the community can easily log in and reserve books and we are sorting out our best practices for book quarantine and lending practices in anticipation of a partial or full reopening in January.

It has been very busy, but everyone is doing their very best to make the most of the tools and technologies we have available and working closely with the community to build positive working relationships with all members while helping them to access and navigate all of the provisions we have put in place for them.

Here's to a very different but very successful SY20/21!

ABES Online Conference 2020-Supporting Schools and Libraries During Closure

Each year we support the Salvador Librarians' Week by hosting a conference, which focuses on sharing ideas, techniques, and tools for libraries and teachers. This year, due to closures and quarantine in the country we moved the conference online.

It took place using GSuites Google Meet, Slides, and Google Chrome and was a great success. We plan to pick up where we left off in September with a followup in preparation for the new school year.

Media From the Event

• The Invitation
• The Virtual Library We Built with Certain Attendees
• Group Selfie
• The Recording

The Presentation 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dKL7rFEtzBmhB5KLqGKAvA4VpDdokJ51Lx9sN8A7h1o/edit