Category Archives: Technology

Email advice among lessons for new Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

Be careful what you say in emails, individual school board members have no power and trust the record of meetings rather than people’s memories about what was said.

Those were among lessons Thursday when Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees met in special session for a new board member orientation.

Joan Gaut and Bethany Smith, first-place finishers by wide margins in two trustee areas, attended the session where they heard Trustee David Isom advise them to do all school district business through the district email.

Source: Email advice among lessons for new Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees

4-H program seeks Solano high school students for training – Daily Republic

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By Daily Republic Staff

Local high school students are invited to join the Solano County 4-H Science, Engineering and Technology program.

Teens will be trained to teach science in teams to elementary school children in after-school programs. Training sessions are from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Nov. 19 and 1 to 8 p.m. Nov. 20 at the 4-H office, 501 Texas St.. Teens must participate both days.

Source: 4-H program seeks Solano high school students for training

Torlakson Kicks Off 2016 STEM Symposium – Year 2016 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today kicked off California’s largest Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education symposium.

Torlakson, who started his public service career as a high school science teacher and coach, welcomed more than 3,000 teachers, parents, students, researchers, entrepreneurs and others to the two-day event at the Anaheim Convention Center.

“STEM education is a key pathway to success in 21st century careers and college, especially in the high-tech, international economy,” Torlakson said. “We want all of our students to get excited about STEM learning, dream big, and reach for the stars.”

The third annual event showcases the importance of STEM education. Speakers highlighted California’s Next Generation Science Standards, a revolutionary update in teaching California’s 6.2 million public school students about science.

Source: Torlakson Kicks Off 2016 STEM Symposium – Year 2016 (CA Dept of Education)

Sprint to connect 1M students under ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ – Times Herald

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By Darlene Superville

The White House says 1 million low-income high school students will receive free internet access under President Barack Obama’s “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative for minority males.

The Sprint Corp. will provide students who can’t get on the internet at home with free tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices, and four years of service.

Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure says the goal is to complete distribution within five years.

Obama launched “My Brother’s Keeper” in 2014. The program is among the topics the president will discuss Tuesday in Greensboro, North Carolina, during a forum hosted by “The Undefeated.” The ESPN website explores the intersection of race, sports and culture. ESPN is broadcasting the forum Tuesday night.

Source:  Sprint to connect 1M students under ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ – Times Herald

Animated videos help teachers build sense of empathy in students | EdSource

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By Jane Meredith Adams

A Silicon Valley educational technology company and researchers from Harvard have teamed up to launch a new series of animated videos next month about the importance of empathy, intended for teachers to use in building students’ social and emotional skills.

Developed by Class Dojo’s Big Ideas program and researchers at the Making Caring Common project at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, the series of three short videos, called “Empathy,” are the latest manifestation of a push to move promising ideas about social and emotional skill-building more quickly from research into classroom practice.

The Empathy videos star Mojo, a friendly green animated monster, who became something of an internet star earlier this year in a series of online videos called “Growth Mindset,” created by Class Dojo and researchers at the Stanford-based organization PERTS, or the Project for Education Research that Scales.

Source: Animated videos help teachers build sense of empathy in students | EdSource

Benicia Middle Schoolers get taste of 21st century learning with Viking Village

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By Nick Sestanovich

One of the growing educational trends in recent years has been the implementation of active learning classrooms. These are rooms that provide a 21st century learning environment with laptops, tablets, interactive whiteboards, ergonomic seats and tables and more with the goal of having students become more involved in the educational process in innovative new ways. Such classrooms have been utilized at various institutions at both the K-12 and college level and first arrived at Benicia Unified School District in 2014 with Benicia High School’s Active Learning Space. Now this kind of setting has arrived at Benicia Middle School in what is simply known as the Viking Village.

One would assume the “village” in the title was chosen as a complementary alliteration to the school’s mascot, but Principal Damian Scott assures that it is actually in reference to the funding received through the community and groups like the Benicia Parent Teacher Student Association and Benicia Education Foundation.“It was created by a village,” he said.

Source: Benicia Middle Schoolers get taste of 21st century learning with Viking Village

ECS Report Shows Growing Trend Toward Computer Science – Education News

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By Corwin Mollett

The Education Commission of the States, or ECS, has released the Education Trends report that examines graduation requirements regarding computer science classes. The report notes that many states have changed their graduation requirements to encourage districts to offer computer science courses.

The report:

“… identifies states that are allowing or requiring districts to apply computer science coursework toward completion of high school graduation requirements in math, science or foreign language. This report also highlights several states that require computer science courses to fulfill requirements for a specialized diploma or endorsement to the standard high school diploma.”

The report found that 14 states now require students to be allowed to fulfill a math, science, or foreign language credit with a computer science course. In an age where computer knowledge is nearly a mandatory skill for a growing number of jobs, this push for offering and requiring computer science courses is a strong starting point for students.

Source: ECS Report Shows Growing Trend Toward Computer Science

Teen Creates App So Bullied Kids Never Have To Eat Alone : The Salt : NPR

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By NPR Staff

You’re at a cafeteria, you’ve got your lunch … and then you just don’t know where to sit. You don’t want to sit alone, but you also don’t know who would be friendly and let you sit with them. Sixteen-year-old Natalie Hampton has been there. She’s an 11th-grader from Sherman Oaks, Calif., and the creator of a new app called Sit With Us.

Hampton recently spoke about the app with All Things Considered host Audie Cornish. A transcript of their conversation follows, edited for clarity.

Source: Teen Creates App So Bullied Kids Never Have To Eat Alone : The Salt : NPR

Schools Taking Various Approaches to Pokemon Go – Education News

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By Corwin Mollett

Schools are attempting to find ways to keep the wildly popular mobile app Pokemon Go out of their classrooms. In the new technological age it was already difficult to keep students off their phones and focused on the class, but Pokemon Go has added a new level of distraction for the students.

As Joe Mullins writes for ars Technica UK, France’s education minister is asking Niantic to keep rare Pokemon out of schools. Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, education minister of France, is worried that rare Pokemon in schools would be potentially distracting to students.

While France is trying to discourage the game within its schools, some have decided to try and use it to engage with students more. One teacher, in particular, plans to make writing assignments involving the new hit game:

Marissa Grodnick, an English teacher, said “Any time something becomes a big pop culture sensation, as a teacher I     try to just kind of ride the coattails.”

Source: Schools Taking Various Approaches to Pokemon Go

Getting muddy for kids – Solano Land Trust

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To find innovative solutions to the challenges of modern living, we need a workforce skilled in science, engineering, and technology. To meet that need, the National Research Council recommended sweeping changes in the way science is taught in America, changes that push students from studying science to actually doing science.

Teachers are at the forefront of this change, and that is why we are offering a “Teachers on the Estuary” program this fall. Solano Land Trust and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are putting on this two-day, professional workshop on October 15 and October 22, 2016.

Source: Getting muddy for kids – Solano Land Trust

Pokemon Go… and Global Success Skills? | Edutopia

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By John McCarthy

Not since Minecraft has there been an entertainment program that captures the imagination of so many people. Pokémon Go is addictive for blending imagination from the Pokémon game world into the real environments of our communities.

My son and I found our first Pokémon — Pikachu — in the parking lot of a major chain store. My daughter and I combed a local park to collect and categorize new Pokémon into our Pokédex. Many people eyed their phones and tablets in the park, as they too sought the diverse creatures that hung out near the library, ponds, playgrounds, and firehouse. Children with their older siblings or parents searched feverishly for any Pokémon, making use of the Lures set up by players to raise the spawn rate of Pokémon appearances in specific locations. One group of five players thought they “saw” a Gastly around the bend of a pond, and excitedly ran to the spot with whoops of joy. Most of them were adults.

Source: Pokemon Go… and Global Success Skills? | Edutopia

UC Davis-sponsored camp teaches Benicia Middle School girls computing, tech and more – Benicia Herald

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By Nick Sestanovich

Education plays a big role in determining students’ futures. As they move through their schooling, students take at least one class that inspires them to enter that field or influences what they want to do with their lives. Additionally, as technology becomes more omnipresent, more career opportunities open up for everybody.

Therefore, it has become expected for schools to inspire students—especially female students— to enter the fields they are most passionate about, not necessarily the ones society has traditionally suggested they take.This was the premise behind C-STEM GIRL (Girls in Robotic Leadership) Camp, a weeklong partnership between Benicia Unified School District and UC Davis, in which incoming seventh and eighth-grade girls learned about robotics and coding as well as leadership, public speaking and team building skills.

Source: UC Davis-sponsored camp teaches Benicia Middle School girls about importance of computing, tech and more

Cultural Literacy in the Age of the Hashtag – Education Next

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By Robert Pondiscio

Last month, on the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision in Fisher v. University of Texas, the hashtag ‪#‎BeckyWithTheBadGrades began trending on Twitter. If you’re not sure what that phrase means or why it was so hotly discussed on social media, don’t despair. You’re not poorly educated, misinformed, or illiterate. But you’re probably missing a bit of cultural knowledge common among young people, particularly young people of color. The clever hashtag offers a lesson in the value of cultural literacy—often a touchy subject in education—but with a nifty twist: This time, it’s our students who got a cultural reference that left many adults scratching their heads.

Source: Cultural Literacy in the Age of the Hashtag – Education Next : Education Next

Ed Dept Offers Guidelines on Gender Equity in Career/Tech Ed – Education News

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By Raymond Scott

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Office of Adult, Career, and Technical Education have released a letter saying that all students, regardless of their sex, must have equal access to the full range of career and technical programs offered. The letter is part of the White House’s United State of Women Summit.

“As the father of two daughters, I want my girls – and all young women in this country – to have access to the careers of their dreams, no matter the path,” said U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. “Career and technical education is not just about preparing some students for successful lives and careers, it’s about giving all students the tools to succeed.”

The letter makes clear that the Carl D. Perkins Career and technical Education Act requires states to meet their targets for participation and completion rates of males and females in programs that are nontraditional for their sex. Disparities in expertise and employment persist in certain fields.

Source: Ed Dept Offers Guidelines on Gender Equity in Career/Tech Ed

Fairfield-Suisun School District STEM camp helps dreams take flight – Daily Republic

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By Bill Hicks

With graduation season in the rear view mirror, the school year for the Fairfield-Suisun School District is over – but that doesn’t mean the learning has stopped.

A group of 40 sixth- and seventh-graders returned, Friday night, from a five-day Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics camp, which included a trip to Vacaville-based ICON Aircraft, the Senate and Assembly chambers at the State Capitol and culminated with a trip to Vandenberg Air Force Base outside of Lompoc in Southern California.

This was the inaugural year for the program, which was developed in part thanks to a pre-existing connection Superintendent Kris Corey had with staff at Vandenberg AFB.

Source: Fairfield-Suisun School District STEM camp helps dreams take flight

Fairfield-Suisun schools strike state gold – Daily Republic

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By Todd R. Hansen

Some students who struggled in the classroom have bloomed into leaders in the Suisun Valley K-8 School’s agri-science program.

“You see students who are not thriving in the classroom and they are the leaders in the garden,” principal Jas Bains Wright said. All nine grade levels are involved.

The acknowledgement they get from their peers, staff and community members translates into more confidence, which in turn shows up with better marks in the classroom as well.

The program, in its fifth year, was why the 520-student campus was selected as a Gold Ribbon School by the state – one of three Fairfield-Suisun School District campuses and 10 in the county that were acknowledged.

Source: Fairfield-Suisun schools strike state gold

Digital Promise Puts Education Research All In One Place | MindShift

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By Katrina Schwartz

As technology becomes an accepted tool in many classrooms, teachers and administrators are looking for the best ed-tech tools to advance their goals around student learning. Unfortunately, there are so many tools on the market claiming to be the best option, it can be hard to sort through the noise and make an informed decision.

Digital Promise, the congressionally authorized nonprofit charged with “accelerating innovation in education to improve opportunities to learn,” has developed a tool to help educators and ed-tech developers sort through relevant research.

“There is more and more pressure for people to use research in their work,” said Sarita Bhargava, chief communications officer for Digital Promise. “We hope this tool will provide the first step.”

Source: Digital Promise Puts Education Research All In One Place | MindShift | KQED News

Harnessing the Power of YouTube in the Classroom | Edutopia

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By Monica Burns

There are amazing ways to elevate and energize instruction through using technology tools. One resource that’s popular with students of all ages — from the youngest to the oldest — is the video hosting website YouTube. YouTube lets anyone with a free account upload videos. Many organizations post collections of videos on this site, which is organized into channels. In addition to locating content, teachers can create their own YouTube channels to share videos and showcase student work.

YouTube is so much more than music videos and clips of animals doing tricks. It contains engaging, informative content at all levels. This video hosting site gives teachers the opportunity to take students around the world, listen to experts on a topic, or hear an explanation for a new idea. One of the reasons why people of all ages are using YouTube is because it’s a powerful tool for teaching and learning.

Source: Harnessing the Power of YouTube in the Classroom | Edutopia

Rodriguez High gamers roll out role-playing video game – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

With more pride than fanfare, Rodriguez High School students in a video game design class last week rolled out their collaborative, year-end project, “Cosa Nostra.”

At the end of a low-key press conference Thursday, Mike Sagan, in his fourth year as a video game design teacher at the Red Top Road school in Fairfield, said 15 of his students — seven developers, four researchers and four graphic designers — spent four months to create the fully functional, role-playing video game.

“They were crunched on time,” he said in the school library, adding that the students had to design, test and market the game before delivering their final product to him and his colleagues, Jesse Castro and Melissa Vallejo.

“It is ready to market,” said Sagan, a graduate of California State University, Long Beach, adding, “But we’re not going to sell it.”

Source: Rodriguez High gamers roll out role-playing video game

Microsoft Announces Minecraft: Education Edition Beta – Education News

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By Jace Harr

Microsoft has announced beta testing of Minecraft: Education Edition, which is the company’s education-focused suite for Minecraft that integrates tools for teachers and students to help them use the game more effectively in the classroom.

The education-centered offshoot of was first revealed in January of this year. This May, a closed beta of the game will involve more than 100 schools in 30 countries, reports Pradeep of MS Power User. By June, any school will be able to access the Education Edition for free as long as teachers have a fully updated operating system and an Office 365 Education account. Eventually, Microsoft plans to charge $5 per user each year.

Minecraft: Education Edition is specifically tailored to teach the skills that Minecraft cultivates – namely collaboration, navigation, social skills, and empathy.

The video game blockbuster hit Minecraft is an open-world, sandbox-style game that allows players to build castles and fortresses to protect themselves from the many dangers the world has to offer. The players mine underground for supplies and then craft them into more complex items (hence the game’s name). The simple block-based system makes it easy for players to make basic and effective huts or complex architectural wonders. Players can also make rudimentary machines, grow plants, and breed livestock to help themselves survive.

Source: Microsoft Announces Minecraft: Education Edition Beta