Shelly (middle school parent) shared this inspiring video the other day and wrote:
I found it especially encouraging to see someone using technology to actively illustrate social justice and anti-bias themes. Not only does Rags not get lost in interactive media, he cleverly uses it to express himself and create personal connection. Between his presentation and the way that you talk about technology, I have newfound respect and hope for our kids being able to use these tools wisely and creatively, rather than the other way around.
As the school grows, communication challenges increase. More staff, more families, more events: how do we keep everyone informed in a variety of communication channels?
An effective calendar system should allow a single change (altering the end time for a meeting or adding a sporting event) to filter throughout the community and exist in an up-to-date location for reference.
The School has identified Google Calendar as a solution to this issue. This solution requires everyone to use the underlying system for full benefit to be realized, however Google Calendar works with a variety of different technologies (Outlook, iCal, iPads, etc).
This post explains how to access the School’s digital calendars from a variety of devices.
To proceed with the tutorials below, you need to have an official WestsideSchool.org Google Account. The only way to get this account is to respond to an email you received on September 6, 2011. THIS WILL NOT WORK with a regular Google account, even if you’ve created one using your School email address.
Understanding the Google Apps for Education calendar system
Google Calendars, like most calendar services/applications, allow you to overlay any number of calendars on top of one another.
Every teacher, staff member, and student has their own personal calendar.* This is useful for notes/items that are relevant to you and not noted in another calendar somewhere.
The School will publish a number of calendars for public consumption. These might include athletic events, community meetings, trips, official holidays, etc. These calendars can be subscribed to by families and staff as each individual sees fit.
Google Calendars can be controlled via a variety of devices: iPads, desktop computer programs (Outlook, iCal), web interfaces or mobile devices. Regardless of the technology you will use to interact with Google Calendars, you should first set upthe official web interface first and then learn to control the calendar through another program or device.
Subscribing to a calendar
Connecting Apple’s iCal to your School Google Apps account
Apple’s iCal instructions. Use this if you use an Apple laptop as your primary communication tool.
*If you want to be able to make calendar changes on your computer AND your mobile device yet keep everything synchronized without having to plug in and sync, then be sure to follow the separate instructions for iDevices below.
Connecting an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch to your School Google Apps account
*Teachers who wish to share their calendar with students are encouraged to create a second calendar for official public information (class times, field trips, due dates, etc). This class calendar can be published and shared without the concern of publicly announcing a discipline meeting or other private event.
Our first class will be spent talking. We hear the word “technology” every day but what does it mean? How does it affect our lives in obvious and hidden ways?
Students will be challenged to come up with a working definition of the word that will be referred to as our understanding evolves over the course of the term.
