edtech updates vol 1 issue 1 - aug 2013

7/27/2019 EdTech Updates Vol 1 Issue 1 - Aug 2013

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My name is Cate Tolnai and I’m

so excited to introduce myself as

the new Instructional Technology 

Support Provider for the district.

My education has taken me to the

University of San Francisco where

I graduated with a BA in English

and MA in Teaching. I recently 

completed a post-graduate certifi-

cate program through Boise State

in Technology Integration.

Thankfully, my husband, Chris,

and 16 month old son, Charlie,

are excited to join me on this

journey. Our relocation from the

Los Angeles area has been so

smooth and welcoming.

One of my first tasks was to combthrough the 2012-2013 teacher,

staff, and parent survey, and I am

grateful that many of you took the

time to specifically call out the

areas of technology in which you

hope to get more support. That’s

 where I come in! I hope to share

my ten years of classroom and

technology integration experience

 with you.

Most importantly, I hope to show 

each of you how much your class-

room expertise and experience

matter. I want to help you see

how impactful your lessons can

be when leveraging technology.

 Also, I’m aiming to learn about

 your individual skill sets and

show you how to take YOUR 

next step, which may look differ-ent than anyone else’s. So, here’s

to a great school year!

Cate Tolnai: Excited and Ready to Start Helping

Hottest Topics of Tech-Related

Professional Development

 According to the certificated and

classified surveys given at the end

of the 2012-2013 school year,

there are some topics that clearly 

surfaced to the top. We’ve heard

 your voice and will be moving

into a review and training of these

(and others) sooner rather than

later.

Renaissance Learning

Microsoft Outlook 

Microsoft Office Suite

Technology Integration

across all disciplines and

grade levels (theories, univer-

sal resources, developing

Personal Learning Environ-

ments)

Common Core and Smarter

Balanced Training

Basic Troubleshooting Tips

 Web 2.0 Tools

Classroom Websites

What will technology

support look like in

 the 2013-2014 school

 year?

 As a district, staff development

has been prioritized for this

school year. Our first step is to

identify our levels of comfort and

learning when it comes to instruc-tional technology. (Stay tuned for

a Technology Integration Survey 

to do just that.) We plan on roll-

ing out technology support in a

 variety of ways:

Regular instructional

technology updates

One-on-one planning

sessions

Tech Lunches at your sites

Classroom coaching in your

teaching space

Mentor lessons with your

students and curriculum

 After school training for

small groups and whole

staffs

Optional Saturday trainings

Campus leadership through

the training of teacher lead-

ers and passionate users of 

technology 

 As you can see, we are thinking

creatively. I look forward to

touching base with you in the

upcoming weeks and months!

L O O M I S U N I O N S C H O O L D I S T R I C T

August 2013

Volume 1, Issue 1

EdTech Updates

Free EdTech Tools

 to Play With

Part of how you will learn

more about technology 

integration is to make the

time, however minimal, to

play and learn. Below is a list

of some fun, easy Web 2.0tools that you can start

learning right now.

◊ Generate a word cloud of 

a national document:

 www.wordle.net 

◊ Design a cartoon for a

Social Studies lesson:

 www.toondoo.com

◊ Record a 3-minute audio

track of a personal narrative:

 www.audioboo.fm 

Ongoing Instructional Technology Support

Tech

Lunches

In an attempt to get more

face time with each of you, I

 will be coming to your sites

for Tech Lunches on a rotat-

ing basis. Stop by the staff 

room during your lunch on

the following days to get

questions answered or just tosay hi!

Date  Site 

Thu, 8/29 HCP

Tue, 9/3 Loomis

Thu, 9/5 LBCS

Tue, 9/10 Ophir

Thu, 9/12 Penryn

Tue, 9/17 Placer

Thu, 9/19 Franklin