Holding It Together for the Holidays
Dear WSD Colleagues,
It's good to be back! We hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving break free of catastrophic deep-fried turkey fiascos and full of quality food, friends, and family. Now begins the herculean effort also known as teaching in December! We have TWO fantastic resources to check out today. And, not that anyone is counting down the days until Winter Break or anything, but...
Let's get to it!
Tech Tip Tuesday: 12 Creative Activities
Adobe's 12 Days of Creativity
Each holiday season, Adobe releases their 12 Days of Creativity lessons for teachers looking to add a creative element to their upcoming lessons. Each one of the 12 activities is designed to take about ten minutes or less—the perfect kind of activity to align with the other work that needs to get done before Winter Break. To access all of these awesome resources, simply head over to new.express.adobe.com and sign in using Google and your @wsd.net email address.
After clicking "View all" on the 12 Days of Creativity banner on the Adobe Express home page, users can see a quick description of each activity and even access a sharable link to the template for each one. The icing on the cake is the short instruction video that comes with each activity making this the perfect opportunity for teachers or students who haven't used Express much and want to learn more. Each lesson is centered around learning a different set of tools or functions in Express. By the end of the 12 Days of Creativity, most teachers and students could walk away an Adobe Express power user!
Bonus Tip: STEM Action Center AI Introductions and Implementations
Are you the teacher looking to take the next step with generative artificial intelligence? Have you seen what your colleagues do with tools like SchoolAI and want to know how they did that? Maybe you see yourself leveraging this kind of technology in the future, but haven't taken the time to dive in because you want to make sure you have a firm grasp on this new tool. If any of that describes you, the STEM Action Center has the perfect opportunity for you!
The Utah STEM Action Center and Utah State Board of Education are working together with this new professional learning offering, titled AI Introductions, and Implementation, which has been designed to help educators use AI in their classrooms to better meet educator and student needs.
Over the course of your participation, you will receive two days of instruction, virtual coaching, and create a lesson/unit plan that implements AI that you will then share with others at a state conference. There are three cohort schedules for you to choose from.
All of the details about this incredible professional learning opportunity can be found in the application found here at this link. The application will close on Dec. 11, 2024, so if this sounds at all like something you would be interested in, be sure to take the time to apply TODAY!
Wrapping Up
We know just how much works goes into making a quality learning experience during the holidays. During this time, don't forget about the resources and tools made available to you! The Digital Teaching & Learning department is here to help! Whether it's assistance in developing a lesson or learning materials or even answering a quick question, we're to help get you to Winter Break and beyond!
Never forget the difference you make!
Take care,
WSD Digital Teaching & Learning Specialists
Monica Widdison, DT&L Specialist for Elementary Schools
Alan Rhees, DT&L Specialist for Elementary Schools
Jaymee Barrowes, DT&L Specialist for Secondary Schools
Blake Pope, DT&L Specialist for Secondary Schools
