Tech eNews 3-6-2012

Topics for this Tech eNews 3-6-2012

1. Innovation Grants $2,500 Due 3/9/2012

2. Still Space in the Document Camera “refresher” 3/7/2012 4-5:30 PM

3. Online survey for Strategic Planning – Please Give Your Input

4. OSPI Required Survey for Certificated Teachers and Administrators due 3/15/2012

5. Need a Video Camera? Check One Out From Les Brown

6. Have an Idea for a Tech Integration Class for Next Year?

7. Long Lost Cousin Stuck in a Hotel in London? Sounds Phishy.

1. Innovation Grants $2,500 Deadline 3/9/2012

The Washougal School District Technology Committee is interested in having teachers pilot new and innovative technology that might be adopted into wider use as part of the standard classroom model. To further this goal, the technology committee is seeking proposals from staff for technology they are interested in piloting.

Applications must meet these criterion:

Technology funded through this mini-grant must lend itself to Tier 3 teaching. (for a definition of Tier 3 teaching, please visit the OSPI Tech website at http://www.k12.wa.us/EdTech/ ) The Technology should have an impact on student learning. Technology funded through this mini-grant should have applications for several curriculum areas and grade levels.

The technology should have reasonable support and system requirements. Technology should be inexpensive enough that it could be made part of the district standard. Applications should cost less than $2,500, and cannot be for software or subscriptions to online services.

Grant seekers should be interested in piloting the technology, and also willing to share their experiences with the committee, and to co-teach a class on utilizing the technology if it were adopted in wider use.

If you are interested in learning more, or would like to fill out the application, you can find the application on the District webpage under Business/Operations then Technology.

If you have any questions, please contact your building's tech committee representative or Les Brown at ext. 3310.

2. Online Survey for Strategic Planning – Please Give Your Input

The Strategic Planning Steering Committee is collecting input via a voluntary online survey on the state of and use of the district’s facilities. WSD Staff are invited to share their thoughts via an online survey. You can find a link to the survey on the main WSD webpage, or click this link:

http://www.washougal.k12.wa.us/survey

3. OSPI Required Teacher & Administrator Survey Deadline 3-15-2012

Certificated Teachers and Administrators are required to take the annual technology integration survey, or PILOT survey. Classified staff do NOT need to take this.

Go to http://www.edtech.wednet.edu/pilot/

Click on the "Login" button, and enter your NEW Washougalsd.org e-mail address in the Username box (I have updated the PILOT site to use the new ones instead of the old e-mail addresses). Enter the password you selected previously in the next box, and click login.

If you can't remember your username/password combo, you can have it automatically e-mailed to you using the "Forgot Username/Password" link. The PILOT site will e-mail you your login and password.

Once you get in, please choose the "Technology Integration and Proficiency Self-Assessment". After clicking this link, it'll ask you for your grade level, please choose either Grades K-4, or Grades 5-12 as appropriate.

When you're done, make sure to click "Submit Answers" at the bottom, and your scores are saved. You can view your results from the main menu, and see how you've improved over the past year.

Teachers must complete the survey by 3/15/2012.

4. Document Camera Refresher Class – 3-7-2012 at Hathaway

Space is available in the rescheduled "Document Camera Refresher" course that Philicia Weaver is facilitating TOMORROW! The class will be on March 7, 2012, from 4-5:30 PM, in Philicia's classroom at Hathaway (Room 126). Please let Les know if you're interested in attending. Philicia will show how to hook up the document camera, some neat tricks on using it that you may not have discovered, and will talk about curriculum applications. There will also be lots of times for questions or hands-on instruction if people have specific things they'd like to learn. Teachers who attend the class can pay themselves to attend, if the class aligns with their professional growth plan, they have professional growth funds available, and their principal signs off on the timecard. Classified staff are also welcome to register/attend this class, but there is not a mechanism for them to pay themselves to do so.

5. Need a Video Camera? Check One Out From Les Brown

WSD Tech has a set of 5 HD video cameras for use by teachers. You can check out one, or the entire set if you’re doing a movie-making project with your students. Contact Les Brown to make arrangements. There are tripods available for all of the cameras, too.

6. Have an idea for a Tech integration class for 2012-2013?

WSD Tech staff have started planning for the tech integration classes for 2012-2013, and we are looking for ideas! If you have a topic or class idea you’d like to see offered, please let Les Brown know, and he’ll include it in the survey that’ll go out in April. Course offerings will be based on the interest as expressed in the teacher survey. Teachers who participate in the Technology Committee will also be helping seed the topics for the survey. If there’s a Tech class you’re interested in co-teaching, contact Les, and he’ll add it as a proposal. If enough other teachers are interested, Les will work with you to plan and facilitate the class, and you’ll get paid both for planning time and the time you teach the class.

7. Long Lost Cousin Stuck in a London Hotel? Sounds Phishy!

Or, how about Millions from the Nigerian Lottery for me? I didn’t even buy a ticket!
An Esteemed Gentleman who wishes to make you part of his estate?

Keep in mind the saying that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is! When looking through your e-mail, you may find messages from people claiming that you’ve won the lottery in another country, even though you didn’t enter it. All you have to do is send them a “down payment” and you could have millions! There are many, many schemes going on to try to get access to your bank account, e-mail accounts, and your hard earned cash. This type of activity is called “phishing” for information. Be a wary web surfer, and keep an eye out for offers that sound unbelievable; they probably are!

Another tactic is to hack into accounts of people you may know, and use those to e-mail you. It might be from a cousin, and would usually say that they’re traveling abroad, lost their belongings, and need you to wire them funds to pay for a hotel or return trip.

Lastly, also watch out for fraudulent messages from banking or other financial sources, many of these are from identity thieves trying to get you to click links in e-mail to get your username/password so they can empty out your bank account! It is far safer to type in the address for your bank or other financial sites (into the address bar) than to click links in e-mail to get there.