Tag Archives: hub

Peer-created video spurs Davis HS students to use STAAR tutorials

A short public service announcement created by members of Davis High School’s magnet media program has led to a serious bump in the number of students getting ready for the next round of STAAR End of Course (EOC) exams.

[su_vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/123665724 ” ]

The video, which features senior Esenia Mendoza, began appearing on the large screen in the commons area each morning beginning March 30. It was created to encourage students to take advantage of the STAAR EOC tutorials now available online.  Continue reading →

Digital learning in the spotlight for February

[su_note note_color=”#e4edd0″ radius=”8″]During the month of February, all HISD teachers are being encouraged to try something new in their classrooms, as well as share ideas, resources, and lessons learned by posting their experiences and photos on social media using the hashtag #HISDdigital. Each week during the month, we are profiling a teacher who is using technology to break up the rows in their classrooms, engage their students, and innovate their instructional practice. This week’s profile features Austin High School teacher George Caldwell.[/su_note]

Veteran social studies teacher George Caldwell admits that when he first heard about PowerUp, HISD’s districtwide digital transformation effort, he was a little nervous and scared.

“I wasn’t very comfortable using technology in my classroom, but I decided to grab a laptop cart and let my kids know that we were going to figure this out together. They use technology every day in their lives, and we as teachers need to meet them where they are.”

A year later, all of Caldwell’s students at Austin High School have their own laptops, and he is much more comfortable using technology in his daily instruction. He’s also embraced the PowerUp:HUB, HISD’s online teaching and learning platform, as a way to facilitate student discussion and collaboration in his classroom.

[su_vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/116014751″ responsive=”no”] Continue reading →

Teachers can now use the HUB ‘Library’

As part of HISD’s transition to digital teaching and learning, the PowerUp:HUB is playing an increasingly central role. One key feature of the online teaching and learning platform is the HUB Library, which is designed to hold a comprehensive collection of “learning objects” for use as part of the teaching and learning process. Learning objects in the HUB Library can be anything from adopted instructional materials (i.e., HISD’s adopted digital textbooks) to activities and resources that teachers create and share. One unique feature of learning objects in the HUB Library is that they can be tagged with standards and keywords that allow teachers to search for just the resource they need. Continue reading →

Westside teachers putting the HUB to the test

Students at Westside High School won’t be getting their PowerUp laptops until January, but that’s not stopping teachers on campus from using the PowerUp:HUB with their students.

With the help and encouragement of their campus instructional technologist, Westside teachers are starting to use the online teaching and learning platform for various instructional routines with their students including homework assignments and tests.

“Initially I had negative thoughts about the HUB, but now I like it because I and I am not so scared of it,” says Westside Advanced Placement World History Heather Barrow, who is using the HUB for homework assignments that she previously would have assigned to her students to do from a textbook. Continue reading →

School leaders learn more about PowerUp:HUB

HISD school leaders recently got a closer look at the district’s new digital teaching and learning platform that will launch in the coming school year at 48 K–12 pilot schools. It’s called the PowerUp:HUB, and the online platform is part of the district’s larger initiative to digitally transform teaching and learning. During the 2014–2015 school year, all teachers will access the district’s curriculum through the HUB, and teachers at the pilot schools  will have access to additional features including a customizable planner, the ability to create assignments and deliver tests and quizzes for students, and the ability to collaborate with their peers to share ideas and education resources.

Principals and school administrators recently underwent introductory training on the HUB and will receive more intense training in early August.  “They were able to show us what it could look like and what it will look like in the coming year, and I am really excited about it,” said Highland Heights Elementary School Assistant Principal Raquel Sosa-Gonzalez.
Continue reading →