Sharing a documentary, TV show, or movie can be a great way to engage students, drive deeper learning, and boost critical thinking. But doing so requires us as educators to first be well-informed about copyright laws, and aware of school…
Category: Blog (page 2)
Enrich Reading and Writing with Comic Life
Have you been looking for a way to motivate those students who are reluctant readers? Or maybe you have students who read fluently but struggle with writing. The use of Comics in the classroom can be a great way to…
Adobe Spark Quick Start Guides
When you’re starting off getting familiar with the Adobe Spark tools, it might feel a bit overwhelming. There are so many possibilities and ideas to explore but never enough time to learn all the ins and outs of this powerful…
Apps To Develop Critical Thinking Skills
As Educators we recognize the importance of developing strong critical thinking skills for our students. Once developed students are better equipped to problem solve, communicate, and confidently separate fact from fiction. Over the next few weeks we will examine four…
Social Emotional Learning Activities
The transition from a traditional classroom to remote learning has been no easy feat. Yet, despite the challenges, teachers across the country, and within our very own district rose to the challenge and made what seemed an impossible feat, happen.…
Digital Citizenship Week
Happy Digital Citizenship Week! This week is an opportunity for Teachers and Parents/Guardians to help students learn how to use technology safely and responsibly. Over the past few months many schools and families have transitioned to online learning, and this…
Login Processes for Westside Services
As part of our goal of streamlining access to Westside technology services, we’ve updated the process to log into several Westside services. We are working to also keep your username and password synced across services. What are my credentials? –…
Does the iPad prepare students for the business world?
One question we often get: “Does having an iPad prepare students for the business world?” This is a perfectly valid question. Westside seeks to provide students with the best tools for real-world experiences. As a technology department, we believe that…
Book Creator & Adobe Spark: A Powerful App-Smash
Book Creator has made quite a name for itself amongst educators with its simple yet powerful interface to allow even the youngest of students to make, read, and share their own digital stories, poetry books, and journals just to name…
A Note about Permissions and Google Drive
September 2019 Did you know Westside staff and students have created almost 60,000 documents using Google? On top of the documents created in Google, another 300,000 have been shared via Google Drive. That’s a lot! With this level of usage,…