September, 2020

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What Teachers Need in the Era of COVID-19

Digital Promise

Unprecedented. This is the word that has been buzzing around our nation for months as we battle the COVID-19 pandemic. Many businesses, services, and entities have had to rethink how to operate, even reinventing themselves. Some have had to make the gut-wrenching decision to close or end their services permanently. While schools do not have the option of closing permanently or to not offer services, they do have the task of rethinking how they operate.

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Top edtech tools for digital differentiation

Neo LMS

In my recent article regarding using Universal Design for Learning in remote classrooms , I mentioned Todd Rose’s term, “design to the edges,” which is what educators attempt to do each day as they accommodate the variety of learners in their classrooms. While there are some ways to allow this to happen organically, such as with open-ended projects, differentiation also needs to be purposeful.

EdTech 485
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Support Online Learning with Powerful Thinking Routines

Catlin Tucker

Project Zero at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education has created a collection of Core Thinking Routines as part of their Visible Thinking Project. Teachers can view the entire collection on the Project Zero website , where each routine is described in detail (e.g., purpose, application, launch) in both English and Spanish. These routines encourage students to be intentional thinkers.

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Developing SEL Competencies Through Technology

A Principal's Reflections

The COVID-19 unleashed an array of challenges that resulted in schools being closed for in-person instruction for many months. As I write this post, many have begun the year with remote learning, while others have opted for a hybrid model where a certain amount of kids are still learning at home. There are growing concerns about students' mental well-being as well as inter- and intra-personal skills, which have only been magnified by not only the pandemic but also advances in technology as a res

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Can Brain Science Actually Help Make Your Training & Teaching Stick?

Speaker: Andrew Cohen, Founder & CEO of Brainscape

The instructor’s PPT slides are brilliant. You’ve splurged on the expensive interactive courseware. Student engagement is stellar. So… why are half of your students still forgetting everything they learned in just a matter of weeks? It's likely a matter of cognitive science! With so much material to "teach" these days, we often forget to incorporate key proven principles into our curricula — namely active recall, metacognition, spaced repetition, and interleaving practice.

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Research on Returning to School After Natural Disasters with Dr. Brianna Kurtz

The CoolCatTeacher

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Education Renaissance: Research on Returning to School After Natural Disasters with Dr. Brianna Kurtz Dr. Brianna Kurtz, classroom teacher and researcher, studied “global practices in returning to formal schooling after interruptions in education due to natural disasters.” She studied students displaced after Hurricane Maria and what helped them resume schooling successfully.

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12 social media-inspired Google Slides templates

Ditch That Textbook

Students use social media all the time. Let's put those skills to use! In these social media-inspired Google Slides templates, they can show what they know with their favorite apps. No matter the age -- kindergarten to high school senior -- students are pretty familiar with social media. In fact, many of them can think […]. The post 12 social media-inspired Google Slides templates appeared first on Ditch That Textbook.

More Trending

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Starting the year: Ideas for anywhere learning

Neo LMS

As schools across the country are still deciding on how to safely return to school, I have been slowly working through some new ideas, trying to plan around what may be a year full of transitions into and out of our classrooms. Where to start? I think the most important way to start the year is getting to know our students and for them to get to know us.

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The Concurrent Classroom: Using Blended Learning Models to Teach Students In-person and Online Simultaneously

Catlin Tucker

Teachers all over the country are being asked to teach “concurrent classrooms” in which some students attend class in person and others attend virtually. The teacher in a concurrent classroom attempts to meet the needs of the students in class and online simultaneously. This is the most challenging scenario I can imagine in our current situation.

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Empathetic Remote and Hybrid Learning

A Principal's Reflections

As almost all schools across the globe are back in session in some form or another, many have decided to begin the year remotely with the hopes that COVID-19 cases will subside in the coming months. Others have started the year with some sort of hybrid model. There is no easy decision when it comes to determining which pathway is the most appropriate at this time.

Learning 505
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Creating Your Own Tutoring and Teaching Company with Megan Padden-Shin

The CoolCatTeacher

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Creating Your Own Tutoring and Teaching Company with Megan Padden-Shin Megan Padden-Shin has successfully built a tutoring and teaching company during the past two years. She talks about the challenges of building her business and how she’s now arrived at a place where she’s making more money than she did as a teacher in a traditional school.

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Reimagining Chickering & Gamson's Principles Post-Pandemic: Technology's Central Role in Modern Edu

This white paper examines and proposes revisions to the "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education" introduced by Arthur Chickering and Zelda Gamson in 1987 for today's technology-driven world.

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How to create Google Meet breakout rooms for differentiated learning

Ditch That Textbook

This post is written by Esther Park. Esther is a high school English as a New Language teacher in Northern Virginia. You can connect with her on Twitter @MrsParkShine or on her website: mrspark.org Using breakout rooms completely changed the way I teach remotely. But one day, one of my quiet students privately messaged me […]. The post How to create Google Meet breakout rooms for differentiated learning appeared first on Ditch That Textbook.

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Teaching and leading for higher student engagement … even during a pandemic (aka How I spent my summer)

Dangerously Irrelevant

Some schools spent the summer engaged in magical thinking that everyone would be back in person this fall, just like before the pandemic. Others paid attention to the data and rising number of coronavirus cases and used their summers more wisely to design for better remote/hybrid learning and teaching than the mostly-low-level direct instruction, digital worksheets, and paper homework packets that we saw last spring.

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9 Easy mindfulness activities for the virtual classroom

Neo LMS

There’s an elephant in the classroom. It grows bigger and bigger or smaller and smaller, depending on whether we decide to acknowledge it or not. The elephant is anxiety, and while it doesn’t affect us in the same way, because of the recent pandemic, it has skyrocketed across the world. Our students don’t make an exception. They might be even more susceptible to feelings of stress and anxiety in recent months.

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12 Things Equity Focused Teachers Can Say To Students In The New School Year

Education Elements

As school returns, we know this year presents unique challenges and changes to both educators and students. With such change, it may be especially difficult to communicate with students. While your intentions may be good, sometimes the impact of what we say can have unintended consequences. Consider some of these alternatives to have the impact you wish to have to start the year on a strong note.

Education 347
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Behind the Bell: The Underlying Impact of Tardiness in K-12 Schools

Managing a K-12 campus with constant pressure to meet performance metrics is challenging. And tardiness can significantly limit a school from reaching these goals. Learn more about why chronic lateness matters, and key strategies to address the following impacts: Data errors caused by manual processes Low attendance and graduation rates that affect a school’s reputation Classroom disruption, which leads to poor academic performance High staff attrition and “The Teacher Exodus” Unmet LCAP goals t

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High-Agency in the Remote and Hybrid Classroom

A Principal's Reflections

Educators desperately want and need support. They need practical strategies that are not just effective but also can be developed in a reasonable amount of time. To achieve this goal, we must first examine the foundational elements that lead to successful teaching and learning, whether the environment is remote or hybrid. In no particular order, these include: Maslow before Bloom's (SEL considerations) Instructional design grounded in sound pedagogy Purposeful use of technology Leveraging a lear

Classroom 499
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Research Based Strategies for Distance Learning with Dr. Matthew Rhoads

The CoolCatTeacher

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Research-Based Strategies for Distance Learning with Dr. Matthew Rhoads Dr. Matthew Rhoads is teaching at a distance and coaching other teachers to improve their teaching as well. Based in San Diego, Dr. Rhoads talks about how to integrate instructional strategies, have a teacher toolbox, how to show teachers technology, using Google Jamboard to brainstorm, how to observe and model online teaching for teachers.

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How to use Jamboard in the classroom: 20+ tips and ideas

Ditch That Textbook

Jamboard is a collaborative online whiteboard. It gives students lots of creative work space. How do you use Google Jamboard in the classroom? Check out these ideas! Whiteboards and chalkboards have been a fixture in classrooms for ages. They're great for gathering ideas and making thinking visible. But there are drawbacks.Having to write "DON'T ERASE!

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Dear Linda

Dangerously Irrelevant

Dear Linda, Fifteen years ago you let a pigtailed 2nd grader walk down the hall and take 5th grade math. We came to you as the principal of our elementary school in Minnesota and said, “She’s ready for something more.” You smiled at us, looked at the data, and said, “We’ll find a way to make it work.” And then you and your teachers did exactly that.

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The Battle of the Authoring Tools: A 10-Point Comparison for Picking the Right One

Speaker: Chris Paxton McMillin, President of D3 Training Solutions

There are plenty of great authoring tools for developing eLearning, but the one you select could directly impact your course's outcomes. Depending upon your learners’ needs and your organization’s performance goals, you could be overlooking considerations that impact the both effectiveness of your courses and how long it takes to finish them. From general capabilities to specific workflow structures, some aspects are critical when it comes to learning objectives and deadlines.

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A New Approach to Bring Computational Thinking to More Students

Digital Promise

How can schools address the lack of diversity in computing education and related careers? One path is to make computational thinking (CT) learning opportunities more readily available to students, especially in the early grades. While many schools may not have the resources to offer courses in computing, integrating CT with the core STEM disciplines can lower barriers and prepare students to participate in authentic, STEM-integrated learning.

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What We Know For Sure: Three Practices Every Innovative Leader Can Try

Education Elements

"We all get caught up in the business of doing, and sometimes lose our place in the flow” (O Magazine, August 2011). Recently, we were spinning in circles trying to figure out a new process for an internal role we stepped into when Jason shared a way we might reframe our conversation. Shifting from trying to brainstorm as many solutions as possible or uncovering the perfect idea, we instead focused on the simple, yet powerful question: “What do we know for sure?”.

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Formative Assessment During #RemoteLearning

The Web20Classroom

In an ongoing effort to support Educators during the COVID-19 Pandemic Shaelynn Farnsworth and I continue to look for ways to use research-based instruction during remote, hybrid or face-to-face instruction. This week we look at Formative Assessment, how it works and why it can be a powerful tool no matter what your teaching and learning looks like.

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Creativity Now with Best Selling Author Sean Thompson

The CoolCatTeacher

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Creativity Now with Best Selling Author Sean Thompson Sean Thompson, author of Creativity is Everything , talks about his first day back at school and how he is bringing creativity, physical and emotional wellbeing to his students. He also shares free courses you can use with your students and ways you can bring creativity into your classroom now.

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The Roses and Thorns of an LMS Strategy: How to Flourish with the Right LMS

Speaker: Amanda Davis, Chief Experience Officer and Liam O'Malley, VP of Association Solutions

The "new normal" is now a little less new, a little more normal. Does that mean your current LMS strategy is in need of a refresh? Is your organization or association leaning into the always-evolving eLearning environment to ensure you have the tools and content to remain relevant through all this change? There are many complex decision-making processes within your learning & development strategy and LMS lifecycle management, including: Selection.

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The HyperDocs Toolbox: 20 engaging example activities

Ditch That Textbook

HyperDocs provides an engaging, student-centered framework for classroom lessons. Looking for ideas to fill those HyperDocs up? Check out these example activities.When it’s student-paced, no one gets left in the dust and no one gets bored waiting for the class to move on.If you haven’t tried HyperDocs yet, they’re a fantastic blend of both.HyperDocs are […].

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Taking students seriously disrupts our comfort and threatens our sense of authority

Dangerously Irrelevant

Nicole Williams Beechum said : We know from research that students can have more robust learning experiences when what happens in school is relevant to their lives, helps them connect to a larger purpose, and is grounded in a sense of belonging. This means that the system must be responsive to their goals, interests, and sense of self and community.

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MY World 360° Joins Virtual United Nations General Assembly

Digital Promise

With the first virtual United Nations General Assembly happening this month, we are proud to announce a new release of MY World 360° projects to be screened on September 22–24 at the SDG Action Zone , a showcase of leading thinkers, actors, creators, and activists working to accelerate action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From an augmented reality app designed to help us imagine a world where the SDGs have been achieved, to a 360º video highlighting the digital divide impacting s

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Using Hybrid and Blended Learning to Promote Student-Centered Classrooms

Waterford

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to progress, many classrooms remain online in some capacity. Now is a particularly helpful time to consider implementing blended or hybrid learning, two strategies that allow for independent or remote learning. We’ve put together a quick primer on what blended and hybrid learning strategies are and why they might have a place in your classroom.

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Building the Foundation for a Modern K-12 Classroom

K-12 looks different these days. But one thing remains the same: you need a reliable learning platform that serves as the foundation for teaching and learning––for all students, in a variety of learning experiences. Discover how the Instructure Learning Platform supports today's K-12 classroom through: A central, consistent, connected hub of the digital learning environment.

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Want to Learn More Effectively? Take More Breaks, Research Suggests

Edsurge

John Sweller is one of the most influential learning science researchers, best known for his “ cognitive load theory ,” which suggests that educators should present information without extraneous details. Otherwise, the brains of students can literally overload with what amounts to intellectual clutter. Sweller’s latest line of research offers a new insight: the human brain may need regular breaks when learning to help it refresh its “working memory” capacity.

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Google Classroom Popsicle Sticks – Call on Students

Teacher Tech

If you use Google Classroom you can call on students randomly from within the Google Classroom App. Mobile App This works only on your phone or iPad (or using the Google Classroom android app on a Chromebook.) This currently does NOT work on the web version of Google Classroom. People Tab At the bottom of […]. The post Google Classroom Popsicle Sticks – Call on Students appeared first on Teacher Tech.

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6 ideas for infusing choice into the math classroom

Ditch That Textbook

This post is written by Mandi Tolen a math teacher from Missouri. You can connect with her on Twitter @MandiTolenEDU and check out her blog infinitelyteaching.com. I love the idea of giving students choices in the classroom. I like to give choices in topics, choices in timeline, and choices in activity when possible. Research supports the idea of […].

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Reflecting on my work: Google Scholar v. Google Analytics

Dangerously Irrelevant

Just leaving these two tables here as I reflect on the impact of my work and where I choose to put it. The scale isn’t even close. And this doesn’t even factor in interactivity… (e.g., my 80 blog posts that have received at least 30 comments, including one that has received 618 !). Over 4.4 million page views and counting! Related Posts. Visibility and reach: Journal articles v. blog posts.

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Transform Your Classroom with Apple

Speaker: Aaron Webb, Jamf

Apple empowers educators and students by design. Whether using Macs, iPads, or Apple TV, Apple devices encourage creativity and can simplify teaching with apps to make the classroom more flexible, collaborative and personalized for each student. To unleash the full potential of the technology and create the best learning environment, you need to understand the tools and resources available, and develop an education-focused, comprehensive plan, from equipment purchase to deployment, management an