Blayne Gilmer - History Teacher Flowery Branch High School in Hall County Georgia

1. BYOT Implementation Plan for High School History
Hall County Schools Technology (BYOT) Policy
http://www.hallco.org/boe/site/technology/
Students in Hall County Schools are encouraged to bring their own technology.
Wi-Fi capacity at all the schools is such to where they can efficiently use apps
and the internet to research information, collaborate with other students, and turn
in assignments.
Platform
Hall County Schools already uses Canvas as its learning management system. I
will be new to Hall County Schools this fall and still have a lot to learn about
Canvas. Canvas allows for teachers to communicate in real-time with students
and parents over grades and assignments. Canvas also integrates nicely with
other web 2.0 tools like Google Docs, which will be used in my classroom to
share information with students and to evaluate products that they create and
subsequently present.

2. Accommodations
The overwhelming majority of the students that I will be teaching have either a
smartphone or a tablet of some sort that they can utilize for BYOT. For those
student that do not have their own technology, computer labs, chrome books,
and iPads are all either available for checkout or are assigned to supplement the
individual departments in the school.
Grouping
The grouping of students will vary from assignment to assignment. There are
some projects that I would like for students to collaborate on in a group via
Google Docs at home and or during assigned class time. Other assignments I
would really like to see how students are able to articulate the information that
they have been researching, so I will ask them to present individually. However, I
would say the majority of the assignments, to help alleviate and technological
difficulties are situations that can and will occur, are designed for partners.
Apps for High School History (Government) Students
1. White House Blog – Great for current events and being able to apply
knowledge of the past to present situations.
2. AP US Government and Politics Exam Prep – great resource for studying
and reviewing
3. iUSA – The Pocket Guide to the United States of America – Her History,
People, Presidents and Government – Second Edition. This app has all
you need to impress in Government class and also to help you be a more
knowledgeable citizen.
4. Stats of the Union – quickly access information about our nation that is not
necessarily readily available elsewhere.
5. Poll Everywhere – students love to text, so why not have them text in
answers and use it as a quick formative assessment.
6. Twitter – High school students practically live on Twitter. Don’t fight the
trend, harness it and make it a vehicle for learning.