October, 2021

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Setting the Stage for Current and Future Learner Success

A Principal's Reflections

The traditional goal of any education system is to prepare students for either college or careers. Over the years, I would say that while this view still holds value, the context has changed dramatically. The world has radically evolved as a result of constantly advancing technology and the COVID-19 pandemic. With knowledge readily available and the means to seamlessly engage in digital spaces now the norm, educators need to keep pace and ensure that the strategies they use will serve learners w

Strategy 452
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5 Strategies to Engage Learners Around Flipped Instruction

Catlin Tucker

Teachers got a crash course in creating video content when schools shifted online. They relied on videos out of necessity to explain concepts and model strategies while students learned from home. As teachers transitioned back into classrooms, many abandoned video in favor of live instruction. However, if teachers are going to say the same thing the same way for all students, I encourage them to make a video.

Strategy 538
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Esports Thrives in K–12 Schools for Reasons Other than Gameplay

EdTech Magazine

After launching Magnolia High School’s innovative Magnolia Cybersecurity Institute at Anaheim Union High School District, English Teacher Lindsay Paananen soon realized that participating students loved hardcore gaming as much as they loved tech – so much so that it was coming through in their writing. “One student wrote a really insightful essay about his love of esports,” Paananen says.

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5 Awesome New Screencastify Features

The CoolCatTeacher

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter. Screencastify is more than a screencasting tool. You can now screencast, edit, quiz, see student analytics, get feedback, and more using Screencastify. In this post, I’ll share some of the new features in Screencastify and how I’ve used it in my classroom. Note that Screencastify has been one of my favorite formative assessment tools since 2018 when I wrote 10 Ways to Use Screencasting for Formative Assessment.

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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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Student Choice and Voice Can Equal the Best Day Ever

User Generated Education

As is true for a lot of progressive educators, I have a belief in and attempt to practice the implementation of student voice and choice: Sometimes this means fully letting go of the reins so learners become fully self-directed. I had the privilege of witnessing this in action one afternoon last week. I use the word, “witness,” as it was fully and totally due to the actions of one student.

STEM 416
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Artificial Intelligence in Education: Anecdotal Evidence

Ask a Tech Teacher

Artificial Intelligence has made its way into our classrooms. Good or bad, only time will tell but some early reports say there are some real positives about using AI-powered program to boost literacy. Here’s an article from Hechinger Report , a national nonprofit newsroom that reports only on education, that’s pretty interesting: Can an AI tutor teach your child to read?

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Blended Learning: Design a Mini-playlist that Allows Students to Control the Pace of Their Learning

Catlin Tucker

After reading Catlin Tucker’s blog post, 5 Strategies to Engage Learners Around Flipped Instruction , I was inspired to reflect on and revise a mini-unit I designed focusing on the short film Alike by Daniel Martinez Lara and Rafa Cano Méndez. This silent film sheds light on the subtle ways that creativity can be absent in the classroom. When I watched Alike for the first time, I appreciated how the film used color, expression, and music to tell the story.

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Q&A: Susan Bearden Pushes Ed Tech Users to Implement Interoperability Standards

EdTech Magazine

Consumers expect their apps and gadgets to work together seamlessly, but in K–12 education, it’s often a battle of the brands. Susan Bearden, director of digital programs for InnovateEDU and their Project Unicorn lead, is focused on helping schools build a more harmonious future for their technology. Project Unicorn is a coalition of 16 national organizations working together to promote data interoperability in the K–12 space.

EdTech 514
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Retrieval practice, CBE, and what we value regarding student learning

Dangerously Irrelevant

A number of educators across the country are finding great value in ‘learning science’ books such as Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning. In Powerful Teaching , the authors focus on the potential of: Retrieval practice – “pulling information out of students’ heads (e.g., quizzes and flashcards), rather than cramming information into students’ heads (e.g., lectures)” (p. 4); Spaced practice – “spreading lessons and retrieval opportunities out over time” (p. 4); I

Learning 359
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Educator Micro-credentials Policy Map Provides an Update of State and District Use of Micro-credentials

Digital Promise

Digital Promise first launched our Micro-credential Policy Map in January 2020 to share valuable information on how states and districts across the U.S. were engaging with micro-credentials. Since then, micro-credential interest, earning, and pathways have only increased. The unique and pressing needs of the ongoing global pandemic accelerated the adoption of education technology and innovations that could support urgent and evolving needs and provide on-demand and flexible learning.

Policies 345
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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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20 Canva templates to use in class tomorrow

Ditch That Textbook

This post is written by Karly Moura, a teacher on special assignment (TOSA) in Mount Diablo USD in Concord, California. This post was originally published on her blog, Teaching, Tech and Twitter, at KarlyMoura.blogspot.com. Karly is also part of team Ditch That Textbook, enjoying her role as blog editor and social media manager. Awhile back I […].

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Seeking Out Feedback

A Principal's Reflections

Growth is a never-ending journey. While there is no one best way to get better at what we do, I think we can all agree that feedback is a necessity no matter the path taken. For it to impact practice, it should be practical, specific, timely, and facilitated in a positive fashion. While we know how important feedback is to our growth, the question becomes how often do we receive it in some form?

Report 413
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Watching Them Learn

User Generated Education

I have been very intentional in the public school teaching jobs I have chosen. First I was a PE teacher, now I am a gifted education teacher. I chose these jobs because I believe in active, hands-on, and joyful learning. I love being able to provide them with learning experiences not based on preparing them for toxic tests, but on how humans learn naturally outside of school settings.

Learning 308
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The Shift to Digital in K–12

EdTech Magazine

Although some schools were starting to adopt digital and online tools before COVID-19, a national survey of 2,168 K–12 administrators and educators conducted in March by Bay View Analytics found that the shift to remote learning has caused significant changes in the classroom. In their report, “A Year Apart,” the survey’s authors note that “it has become clear that schools, teachers, and administrators may not decide to return to pre-pandemic habits.

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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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Instagram, adolescent girls, and the importance of evidence

Dangerously Irrelevant

I’ve written on this blog before about irresponsible fearmongering when it comes to technology. It’s one thing to judiciously weigh the pros and cons when it comes to technology and our children. It’s a whole ‘nother to just throw claims out there that lack evidence. In today’s New York Times article, Does Instagram harm girls? No one actually knows. , Dr.

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SEL at Scale: How Edtech Can Support Meaningful Social and Emotional Learning

Digital Promise

“Connection is the most important piece of the puzzle for the student-teacher relationship. … Students are more successful when they feel that their teacher understands them and understands where they’re coming from.”- High school teacher, Tennessee. This past year, with the emergency shift to remote working and learning, the importance of relationships has become more apparent than ever.

EdTech 327
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Student collaboration in shared Google Slides

Ditch That Textbook

Teamwork is a desirable job skill in today's economy. When we let students collaborate, we prepare them for the future! Here's how Google Slides can help.Part of the reason social media has taken off so much are the connections. Seeing other people’s reaction to what you’ve shared. Learning from others. We can get the same attraction […]. The post Student collaboration in shared Google Slides appeared first on Ditch That Textbook.

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Different Ways to Show Learning

A Principal's Reflections

For many of us, our preparation to become teachers consisted of courses focusing on classroom management, lesson design, grading, and proven strategies that had withstood the test of time. We were also exposed to learning style theory and the many benefits it had on meeting the diverse needs of students. To this day, it is still heavily referenced, even though it has been debunked extensively.

Learning 390
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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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15 Classroom Activities, Books, and Resources for Native American Heritage Month

Waterford

November is National Native American Heritage Month! Declared a federal event in 1990 , this awareness month is a great reminder to make sure your curriculum includes Indigenous history, current events, and culture. We’ve rounded up a few of the best ways to celebrate Native American Heritage Month with your students. Plus, read on to the end for recommendations on the best books about Native American people and communities to read with elementary students.

Resources 246
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Districts Partner with Businesses to Train Tomorrow’s IT Workforce

EdTech Magazine

By 2025, an estimated 80 percent of living-wage jobs in Tennessee’s Hamilton County will require a degree or technical credential, according to the report “Chattanooga 2.0: Helping To Shape The Future Of The Workforce.” Partly in response to this need, several years ago Hamilton County Schools launched what officials call Future Ready Institutes, designed to give students hands-on experience in fast-growing fields.

Training 471
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My interview with Big Blue Button

Dangerously Irrelevant

I recently had a chance to keynote Big Blue Button’s first-ever Global Conference. Afterward, I sat down (virtually) with Robert Hocking and we chatted about some deeper learning concepts that I had mentioned in my talk. The half-hour video on ‘ major shifts in education ‘ is below. I hope that it’s useful to you. My favorite part is probably from 18:55 to 20:27 when we discuss struggling students who come alive when we provide them with a kind of different learning space.

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Students Learned So Much More During the Pandemic Than We Realize. Just Ask Them.

Edsurge

For Lucinda, a Chicana high school senior, the shift to online school—while not great for completing schoolwork—created new time and space for other kinds of learning. During the COVID-19 shutdown of spring 2020, she taught herself to garden and started reading a book about Mexican-American history—her own history, as she puts it—called Radicals in the Barrio.

Learning 216
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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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Progressive choice boards: Provide choice without overwhelming

Ditch That Textbook

Choice boards give students options for activities they do, but they can also be overwhelming. Here's a better option. Once, when teaching high school Spanish, my students and I had finished covering a new verb tense. We practiced it. They were getting the hang of it. It was time for them to demonstrate understanding. Show what […]. The post Progressive choice boards: Provide choice without overwhelming appeared first on Ditch That Textbook.

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Conversations with the Experts: Innovation Connection Speaker Playlist

EdTechTeacher

Post by EdTechTeacher Instructor Tom Driscoll. In the lead-up to our live Innovation Connection event on November 1st , EdTechTeacher’s Tom Daccord, Avra Robinson and Tom Driscoll had the opportunity to engage in fascinating discussions with nine of our featured presenters. Check out each of them below (or directly on this playlist ), you are bound to learn so much from these expert insights!

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Trigger An Action from Google Sheets

Teacher Tech

Automate tasks you do in Google Sheets, Docs, Slides, Forms, etc. Setting a trigger is the easy part! The post Trigger An Action from Google Sheets appeared first on Teacher Tech.

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These Tech Adjustments Can Help K–12 Schools Deal with Staff Shortages

EdTech Magazine

Across the country, “help wanted” signs are showing up in K–12 school windows as districts face a record number of staff shortages. For example, 3,600 education jobs in Illinois remain unfilled, teacher retirements are up 38 percent year over year in Oklahoma, and teacher vacancies in Florida were up 67 percent in August 2021 compared with the same time last year.

Report 469
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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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Books I read in September 2021

Dangerously Irrelevant

Books I finished reading (or rereading) in September 2021… Serpentine , Jonathan Kellerman (thriller). A Time of Courage , John Gwynne (fantasy). The Dragon’s Path , Daniel Abraham (fantasy). The King’s Blood , Daniel Abraham (fantasy). The Tyrant’s Law , Daniel Abraham (fantasy). The Widow’s House , Daniel Abraham (fantasy). The Spider’s War , Daniel Abraham (fantasy).

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The Link Between Edtech, Curiosity and Creativity in the Classroom

Edsurge

“Why do wolves howl at the moon?” “How do cars move?” “Why don’t haircuts hurt?” When it comes to engagement, teachers value learning experiences that address the whole child—creatively, cognitively and emotionally. Anyone who has spent more than a few minutes in the presence of a child has seen how instinctively and wondrously curious they are about the world around them.

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20 ways to use Wakelet in your class

Ditch That Textbook

The Internet is a busy place. Wakelet makes it more manageable. See how you and your students can create collections and more with Wakelet. The Internet is full of useful information … and it’s getting fuller every day. The struggle these days isn’t finding enough information. It’s knowing what to do with it when we […]. The post 20 ways to use Wakelet in your class appeared first on Ditch That Textbook.

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8 Great Chrome Accessibility Extensions for Students

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

In this post, I am sharing with you 8 great Chrome accessibility extensions to use with students in class. The purpose is to enhance digital equity and make learning accessible to all students. Using.read more.

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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