Friday, September 10th, 2010

Important Links for our Staff
Including: Student Information System (SIS) & Certification Websites for Teachers



Both Computer Lab Schedules
Check on the availability of the Grade School and High School Computer labs. See, email or call Mrs. Hunt (ext 320) to be put on the schedule. If you have a special project, and you need lab time, we will do our best to arrange it, even if both labs are scheduled.
Discovery Assessment (Think Link) Resources
You can access additional resources and tutorials for Discovery Assessments from this web site:
iConference Create Account Page
Use this link to create your iConference account. Then go to your email and confirm your account by clicking the link provided.
iConference Video: A Shifting Notion of What it Means to Teach
with Will Richardson
The incredible resource that is the Web is changing much about what we can do with our curricula and our students. The classroom is no longer restricted to four physical walls, and it is becoming a truly collaborative space in which to learn. Every student can be a contributor of knowledge to the world. This networked classroom is a more complicated place for teachers, but it’s also one filled with incredible potential for learning. This keynote challenges educators to rethink their roles to make maximum use of the tools and information now available to them.
iConference Video: Continuous Improvement – How School Districts Across Florida Got Results
with Jim Warford
As Chancellor of Florida’s public schools, Jim Warford led the creation and implementation of the Continuous Improvement Model throughout Florida. State tests and NAEP data confirm that this implementation resulted in some of the most dramatic student achievement gains in the nation and significantly closed the state’s achievement gap for African-American and Hispanic students. Learn how more than 80% of Florida’s lowest performing schools improved enough to get off the state’s low-performing list.
iConference Video: Data, Data Everywhere: Bringing all of the Data Together for Continuous School
with Victoria Bernhardt
Data, Data Everywhere is the title of an easy-to-read primer that describes what it takes to increase student achievement at every grade level, subject area, and student group. This iConference describes the highlights of this book and will teach participants how to use data to drive their continuous improvement process as they develop an appreciation for the various types of data, uses for data, and how data are involved with the school improvement process.
iConference Video: Instructional Leadership Impact on Middle School PLC's
with Pam George and Adam Schmitt
Middle PLC’s have a critical and unique impact on exceptional student achievement. Learn how professional development and motivation through the development of instructional leaders will directly impact the middle school experience. This learning opportunity will provide the “toolbox” for sustaining successful PLC practices as well as implementing change and maintaining long terms success for middle school teams. Teacher perspective and intentional administrative support will be examined.
iConference Video: Motion Leadership: The Skinny on Becoming Change Savvy
with Michael Fullan
This workshop focuses on the new implementation work beyond the Six Secrets of Change. It introduces some of the key concepts from the book Motion Leadership: The Skinny on Becoming Change Savvy (Corwin, November, 2009). The idea of ‘the skinny’ is to boil down the essence of change into the smallest number of key, high yield factors that have high impact on student and teacher engagement and learning. The goal is to a) increase the speed of quality change, and b) to achieve large-scale or whole system reform. In terms of the skinny we sometimes call this high yield set of factors ‘simplexity’ which is to identify the smallest number of powerful factors that make a difference—less than complex, but not overly simple. The workshop does not cover the skinny in its entirety but rather is an introduction. The book itself shows more examples of the skinny in action.
iConference Video: The Four Assurances – A Game Changer
with Willard Daggett
The four assurances that underpin Race to the Top will also underpin the reauthorization of ESEA, IDEA, and Carl Perkins. They are a game changer for schools. They will fundamentally change what schools from the classroom teacher to the principal are expected to do on a daily basis. This presentation will lay out the impact these assurances will have on our classrooms and schools in both the short and long term.
iConference Video: Transforming American Education – The New National Education Technology Plan
with Karen Cator
Karen and school district panellists will discuss the new National Education Technology Plan and its impact on schools, schooling and student learning in the future.
iConference Video: What Effective Leaders Do - A Look at Quadrant D Leadership and Empowerment
with Ray McNulty
Quadrant D Leadership is the International Center for Leadership in Education’s framework for school leaders. It is a blending of vision and empowerment and involves an adaptive process by which leaders, staff, and students take action to improve teaching and learning in their school. Quadrant D Leadership is situation-specific and comes into play when there is a need for direction or action. This session will describe all aspects of the Quadrant D Leadership Framework – authoritative, creative, collaborative, and adaptive – and explore the concept of leadership through empowerment
Illinois Service Resource Center
Earn Free CPDUs in the Special Education Category.
Renaissance Learning
Register for free online tutorials on Renaissance Place Products.
Smart Notebook Tutorials
Free online tutorials from Smart
Universal Design for Learning Toolkit
These tools can assist teachers in providing Universal Design for Learning based on the three primary principles of UDL:
Principle I. Provide Multiple Means of Representation
Principle II. Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression
Principle III. Provide Multiple Means of Engagement
Student Information System (SISK-12)
Click here for your Grade Book, Attendance, Lunch Count, Student Information, Lesson Plans and More...
OLD Certificate Renewal Tracking System (CERTS)
You can no longer add information using CERTS. You can only look at the old information. The Illinois State Board of Education's Online Teacher Information System (OTIS), Certificate Renewal Tracking System (CeRTS) have been merged together to form the new Educator's Certification System (ECS). ECS is a web-based system that allows educators and district administrators access to certification data from ISBE's Teacher Certification Information System (TCIS).
Educator's Certification System (ECS)
The Illinois State Board of Education's Online Teacher Information System (OTIS), Certificate Renewal Tracking System (CeRTS) have been merged together to form the new Educator's Certification System (ECS). ECS is a web-based system that allows educators and district administrators access to certification data from ISBE's Teacher Certification Information System (TCIS).
Illinois State Board of Education
Illinois State University
Information on teacher recertifiation opportunities provided by ISU can be found here. This includes summer workshops and internet coursework.