Watch six PPS teachers talk about classroom innovations for equity

This past summer and fall, 40 PPS teachers participated in action research projects that focused on culturally responsive and innovative pedagogy and practice. The project, called C4 (Culturally-Responsive Curriculum Creation & Curation), was supported by funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Starting with a 2-day professional development camp in July, teacher teams experimented with new tools and practices aimed at enriching the rigor, relevance, relationships, and realness of learning among students of color, while also sharing ideas with colleagues both within and outside their schools.

Stay tuned in the coming months for more information about the next iteration of C4 in 2015! Questions? Ideas? Use the comment box!

Connect and Learn at edcampPDX, November 15 at Liberty High School in Hillsboro

Calling all teachers, instructional technologists, IT staff, principals, admins and teacher librarians in the area -- the next edcamp will be held Saturday, November 15 from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm at Liberty High School in Hillsboro.

What is edcampPDX?
An edcamp is an informal unconference-style day of professional development organized and given by the local participants with sessions determined at the time of the event. Connect with other educators to share innovative instructional strategies and technologies that transform education for all students. Arrive with an idea for a session that you would like to lead or a discussion you would like to have and be ready to learn.

What are the goals of EdcampPDX?
✪ Networking: Connect with educators in the Greater Portland/Oregon Area.
✪ Instructional Practices: Learn new ideas, best practices, and/or tech integration ideas from other educators.
✪ Personalization: Customize your own PD by suggesting, facilitating and attending sessions about topics that interest you!

What do I need to bring?
Bring a friend and your favorite device: laptop, tablet, smartphone with the appropriate power cables. Lunch is provided!

IT Updates

IT Update: Google Apps for Education – Student Accounts

PPS students in grades 1-12 (kindergarten will be addressed later), in addition to all PPS employees, now have a Google Apps for Education account! Each students will need to activate their Google Apps account at https://activatestudentgafe.pps.net/ by entering their PPS username and password. For additional instructions click here to visit our Google Apps Blog here.

IT Update: Chromebooks and Tech Bundles

The tech bundle project continues on schedule and is moving into Phase 1 schools. Updates on the Chromebook and Tech Bundle projects including information on printing and projection are now available on the Tech Bundle Project site. Due to the importance and rapid pace of these projects, IT will be keeping this information up to date as frequently as possible via the links referenced above.

Introduction to Chromebooks & Google Apps for Education

The IT department has been working all summer to get PPS teachers set up with Chromebooks and Google Apps for Education. Here are some useful introductory tools to help you get acquainted:

• PPS Google Apps for Ed Site
• PPS Google Apps for Ed Training Modules
• Google for Education Learning Center
• Google Guides & Cheat Sheets by Kasey Bell
• Google Apps Challenges
• Chromebook Basics | Chromebook Basics Thinglink poster
• Instructional Strategies Database
• Intro to Google Forms by Alice Keeler
• Scripting and Add-ons Revealed by Christy Fennewald
• Using Google Add-ons