SVRTC

The February SVRTC meeting had 20 members in attendance from the following SVRTC divisions: Brunswick, Colonial Heights, Cumberland, Danville City, Dinwiddie, Franklin City, Greensville, Martinsville, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Petersburg, and Prince Edward.

Shayna Muirhead from NextWave Tech, presented Clear Touch Interactive Panels virtually to SVRTC members. She explained what Clear Touch interactive panels are: an adjustable, portable, interactive panel that is easy to move and ready to use by just plugging in the device.

She described some of the features that come with this piece of technology including apps already installed such as Google Browser, Zoom, Kahoot, and other educational applications. She also demonstrated an app called, Collage, which is a wireless way that students can cast their device onto the panel and show their work. By entering the 6-digit access code, any device can connect to the panel and up to 9 devices can be connected simultaneously. This device also comes with multiple inputs such as HDMI for PC, MAC, and Android.

An additional feature the Clear Touch Panels have are that they can detect different touches and pick up on each finger touching the screen, along with different hand positions to erase the annotations. Ms. Muirhead described the feature called, Snowflake Mutli-teach – which is a software that allows multiple pages to be displayed onto one page and that teachers can use while teaching. Snowflake also provides multiple interactive lessons that students and teachers can use to collaborate. Teachers can easily organize and edit their lessons through this software making each lesson easily accessible. 

The January SVRTC meeting had 17 members in attendance from the following SVRTC divisions: Amelia, Brunswick, Cumberland, Danville, Dinwiddie, Greensville, Lunenburg, Martinsville, Mecklenburg, Prince Edward, and Southampton.

The meeting professional development program was presented by Denise Henry-Orndorff, Instructional Technology Coach in Frederick County. She presented virtually to members the Periodic Table of Google Chrome Extensions (image pictured above). She explained how she came up with the idea to create a clickable, interactive document to make it easier for teachers and staff to find Google Extension resources. She demonstrated how to use the Periodic Table of Google Chrome Extensions by sharing how each icon linked to a new Google Doc. Each Google Doc then had links to the Google Chrome Store extension, applicable YouTube videos, and a description.

Ms. Henry-Orndorff also elaborated on how to use Chrome extensions and provided a demonstration of the many resources from her Periodic Table of Google Chrome Extensions . She explained that before downloading an extension, it is important to check the number of ratings and recent reviews of an app to determine if the app is up to date and working properly. She transitioned into modeling how to use Extensity to manage extensions. She noted that when turning an extension on, it is important to also refresh the page so the extension will work.

Ms. Henry-Orndorff’s shared her VSTE 2021 Resource Page with the group and encouraged attendees to reach out if any questions come up when using the Periodic Table of Google Chrome Extensions digital resource.