Digital Toolbox for teachers
Dearborn Public Schools is using cutting-edge technology to extend the classroom. Staff members have a variety of options to use web technology to extend their classroom into the home. Putting the power of the internet at the fingertips of every teacher and staff member is the goal of the new Dearborn Public Schoolsâ Digital Toolbox. There are three main tools for teachers to use: iBlog, ilearn, and iSeek.
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Publish
Making website creation easy for teachers has always been a challenge. With the introduction of iBlog, this has changed. iBlog is a blog creation website where teachers can login and create a public website for their classroom. From posting homework for parents and students to podcasting, every teacher in the district has the opportunity to create a professional blog. A blog is the pen and paper of the internet. Using nothing more than a web browser teachers can create, publish, and interact with students, parents, and the community.
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Learn
iLearn is our flagship web product for teachers. iLearn allows teachers to create a digital classroom. From tests and quizzes to personal journals, iLearn allows teachers unprecedented options for breaking down the barriers of the brick-and-mortar classroom and extending the learning process into the home. Students can discuss topics brought up in the classroom and even critique each-otherâs projects in a safe and secure learning environment. In the first week of school, the iLearn user database grew from about 75 teachers who were setting up their digital classroom over the summer to currently 830 users. iLearn is a studentâs digital hub for learning.
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Share
Sharing online resources has always been a problem. Many teachers share links within a building to educational websites, but there has never been a way to easily share these links with the entire district⦠until now! Introducing iSeek, the Dearborn Public Schools social bookmarking program. iSeek is designed to be a warehouse of searchable and âtaggedâ? links for educators, parents, and community. It is like our own private google for education designed and created by our staff. When links are added to iSeek, the teacher adds âtagsâ? which are like keywords but much more powerful and useful. Links are grouped by tags and related tags in a database. As well as being organized by tags, every link is text searchable making it easier to find targeting and âteacher-filteredâ? websites.
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This innovative and comprehensive set of tools is helping to bridge the digital-divide between teachers and students. From publishing to the internet, sharing resources, or creating a digital classroom, teachers have the resources to reach out to students in a medium they understand and use: the computer.
Resources:
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iLearn
https://ilearn.dearbornschools.org
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iBlog
https://blog.dearbornschools.org
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iSeek
https://apps.dearbornschools.org/bookmark