Check your IU Template

Many of you have started your work in planning for instruction with the new IU template.  We will have training next week on the template and how it will serve a two fold purpose:  planning for teachers and conducting walk-throughs for administrators.

Here is a checklist to help you answer any questions prior to training next week.

• Accessing using TISD Google Account
• Every TISD employee has a TISD Google account.
• You cannot access your IU template until you activate your Google account.
• If you need help with that, please see your MITS
• Scope and Sequence - Please check this tab 
• If you created one this spring - In the S&S tab, please check to see if what you created has been add.  If it is not there and you created one in this format, email me and I will add it.
• If you did not create one this spring - You will need to begin creating a scope and sequence for your course.
• Master IU is the master template for your lesson plans. 
• Each time you create a new lesson plan for the week, you will "DUPLICATE" the Master IU template.
• Once you DUPLICATE, you will "RENAME" your first sheet 1.1.  Here is the coding system we will use to rename lesson plans for each week.
• 1.1 = 1st 6 weeks . 1st week.
• The second week of the  1st six weeks will be named 1.2

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask me or your MITS.  Remember that this template is designed primarily to help you plan instruction in a way that is beneficial for you.  If you are having difficulties with the template, our job is to help you in any way possible.

Using a Blog for your Instruction

I had a great conversation today with John Huffstetler, (new teacher at THS) about getting a blog started for his instruction.  As many of you know, I am quite partial to blogs as they are great tool to communicate with students, parents and the community at large.  The greatest benefit and definitely most underutilized use of a blog is that it is a great tool to drive your classroom instruction. I'm really excited to share that on our PD days on August 17 & 18, I will model for you through our 3 days together how you can use your blog for classroom instruction.

Opening your Blog Account
Since you have a Tatum Google account, you can create your account using your TISD email and password.  Below is a short video to help you get started in creating a blog for your classroom if you are interested.

Creating your Blog on Blogger

Week of August 17

Hello all,

I hope you all are having a fantastic summer.  There are lots of things happening with our transition to Google Drive and Classroom as well as our move back to DMAC for data.  I am confident that you will enjoy our transition to these two new tools. 

The purpose of this post is to inform you of what we will be doing when we come back on August 17.  Below is a schedule of activities and events for teachers and professional staff.  For all other positions, please consult with your principal to see what you will be doing.  For paraprofessionals a letter will come in the mail detailing what you will do.  For teachers, MITS, counselors and administrators, please go to this link to see what you will be doing on these days.

DMAC
Accounts have been created for returning staff, and new teachers will have their accounts created during the week of August 3.  If you need your username and password, please contact your MITS for assistance.  Once you have your account ready, here is your first task on DMAC.  This will be done on August 17 or 18, or you can go ahead and do it now and not worry about doing it on August 17 or 18.

Google Drive
All staff have an account created.  If you need additional help with Google Drive or your lesson planning template, please contact your MITS.  They can get you set up.  I have created a Google Apps for TatumISD SMORE if you want to learn more about Google.

Rest Up. Excellence is just around the Corner!
2015-2016 is certain to be another fantastic year, and we are looking forward to having you back.  Be sure to rest and relax in these final weeks of summer so that you can return on August 17 ready to make the ultimate impact on all kids.

Run your First Report in DMAC

Some of you have already requested your DMAC log-in information, so I created this post to help you get started.

To log in, go to www.dmac-solutions.net.  If you need your username and password, please email me, and I'll get you started.

Watch this video to learn how to run your first reports and read them in a way that will help you find your instructional focus in 2015-2016.

Your Homework
Run you SE Performance reports and answer the following questions.

• Which 3 - 7 readiness standards were assessed the most?
• How was your performance on those standards?
• Which supporting standards were assessed the most?
• How was your performance on those standards.
• Which 1 -3  processing standards were assessed the most? (Math, Writing, SS only)
• In ELA, which genre had the highest and lowest performance?
• What are the 3 readiness standards that need your attention every 6 weeks next year? 
• Which processing standard will need your attention every time you teach a concept?

The Google Apps for TISD Smore

We are Moving to DMAC!

We are transitioning away from Eduphoria for assessments and moving to DMAC.  Many of you are familiar with DMAC as it was used in the past in Tatum.  We will have training on DMAC for developing formative assessments in August when you return to school.

If you would like to get access to DMAC now so that you can play with the software, email me and I will send you your DMAC username and password.

To help you learn about DMAC, you can visit the DMAC Resources Page.  It contains lots of resources to help you learn about DMAC.  Below I have created some Google Doc with video tools from DMAC that will show you exactly how to generate a wide array of reports in DMAC.

The good news is that our STAAR data is there, and you can begin looking at your results.  If you need any help with DMAC, shoot me an email or give me a call.  I'll be glad to help you.

Video Resources

STATE ASSESSMENT for ALL STUDENTS in GRADE
If you are teaching a STAAR tested course, you will need to familiarize yourself with this link so that you will know how to select reports based on student performance on STAAR.  This report will help you analyze all students in a given grade.  These reports are not the best way to drill down to individual students, as the next link is designed for that.

STATE ASSESSMENT for INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS OF STUDENTS
If you are teaching a STAAR tested course, you will need to familiarize yourself with this link so that you will know how to select reports based on individual student performance on STAAR.

MAKE A FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
EVERY core teacher will need to know how to use DMAC to make a test using TAG.  Please take some time to familiarize yourself with this powerful tool.  We will all learn more about this during the week of August 17.

ONLINE TESTING & REPORTS IN TEKSCORE
EVERY core teacher will need to know how to use DMAC to analyze their results and get students online to enter their responses to the test.  Please take some time to familiarize yourself with this powerful tool.  We will all learn more about this during the week of August 17.

How to Use TAG