My Upcoming Schedule:

• I will be gone all this week.
• I am available next week: Monday, Jan 23 – Park Rapids

Tuesday, Jan 24 – Park Rapids

• Please feel free to contact me at any time via my cell phone (320-241-6150), my home email (lconzemius@gmail.com) or my Park Rapids email (lconzemius@parkrapids.k12.mn.us). My schedule is flexible and we can always find a time to meet, including dates not listed above. If it works for you I’ll try to make it fit into my schedule. J

Scheduled Classes:

Attached is a new schedule of classes for January through March. Your input through the survey was so helpful! Although there is always the option to stay for two hours, most of the classes on the list will take approximately one hour. CEUs are given for EVERY HOUR you attend. As I’ve been doing, I’ll announce the classes for the coming week or two in this newsletter. If you could RSVP to me it would be extremely helpful. Thanks!!

Tuesday, Jan 24: Finding apps for your Curriculum, MS Lab. See below for description. Everyone is welcome!

Presidential Inauguration 2017

This week I have the incredible opportunity to take in the events leading up to and including the Presidential Inauguration 2017. I serve on the board of directors for ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). This is where some exciting conversations regarding the future of education in our country take place. I am thrilled to be able to participate, and can’t wait to share our northern Minnesota issues with those I meet! I will be in DC Monday, Jan 16-Sunday, Jan 22.

I will be back in school Monday and Tuesday, Jan 23-24, but will be off the grid from Jan 25th until Feb 6^th.

Newsela

Newsela is a library of leveled content and articles from daily news sources and nonfiction publishers on a wide variety of subjects. The free version allows you to share articles at a variety of levels with your students. These can be sorted by grade level, reading level, and more. If you teach reading, current events, social studies, or any other subject in grades 2-12, these articles can be a phenomenal resource for your curriculum!

Newela has a 30-day trial for their Pro version. Newsela PRO is an exciting core-aligned program that helps you engage students in non-fiction current events articles that are beautifully differentiated for readers grades 2-12. Take the time to see Newsela PRO’s amazing binder & article actions and Newsela’s engaging content & search. Another quick way to share Newsela PRO is through their quick overview – https://goo.gl/hZ4A3a. (Open this online to view the other links)

You can check out the recorded demonstration, recorded webinars, or online videos. They also have live online demonstrations; you can schedule to join one here. Visit: http://www.newela.com

Google Tip:

Google Classroom has made a few updates that you may find helpful. First, when you post a new assignment you can choose to post it to individuals or groups of students, or the whole class. This really increases the teacher’s ability to differentiate your assignments! (Ooooo – and would work great with texts from Newsela too!)

The second new enhancement provides additional options for setting your own notifications. As an example, you can set a notification when a student resubmits an assignment beyond the due date. As always, as a teacher who uses Google Classroom, your suggestions for enhancements are well received. If you have an idea for making it work better, let them know!

If you aren’t using Google Classroom, but would like to try, give me a call or email and we’ll do it together!

Google Extension:

I learned of this great Chrome Extension from Eric Ravenscraft. Amazon may be convenient, but nothing beats free. So, when you’re shopping for books on the Amazon website, Library Extension will find those same books at your local library.

The extension allows you to pick your favorite local libraries and add them to a list. Then, when you shop for books on Amazon, the extension adds a box that will let you know if those books are available at your library. If they are, you can just take a quick drive to pick up the book for free. Even if you like to buy some of your own books, it’s still a handy tool to remind you of the many benefits of your local library. Great article on the Many Benefits of Your Local Library here: https://goo.gl/hZxwaT

Life Hacks for Teachers

Don’t you just love life hacks? I find so many incredibly brilliant ideas that leave me wondering why I never thought of that! One I just learned of: hang your whiteboard markers with Velcro point-down to keep them fresh and longer-lasting! You can find 50 teacher life hacks here: https://goo.gl/dKCTZa Enjoy!!

Indoor Recess

Again? Were you tearing your hair out from all of those “inside” days? Here’s a tip from our friends at GoNoodle: GoNoodle’s Indoor Recess (https://app.gonoodle.com) channel has over 20 longer mash-up videos of their most popular content made specifically for when the weather gets in the way of going outside. Here are a few of my favorite Indoor Recess videos that’ll give your students the break they need (and your sanity back!):

Power Up! (12 min): https://goo.gl/u4IwOl

It’s Party Time (14 min): https://goo.gl/orr2aC

Animal Instincts (17 min): https://goo.gl/yGJGHN

Inauguration Activities

NEA has put together some resources for classes that are interested in learning more about the president’s inauguration. You can find them here: http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/53997.htm

If you are interested in having your class “attend” the inauguration live, email me and we can set something up. I would be happy to Facetime or Skype a classroom and let you know what it’s like to be there live!

Social Media Safety

Students spend an enormous amount of time online, and much of that is social networking. What are they using and how can you protect them? Check out NetSmartz for your own students and for your family: http://www.netsmartz.org/SocialMedia. There are tons of activities, lessons, suggestions, and safety tips here that will help you understand the dangers – and the fun – of social networking.

Park Rapids Tentative Classes

Please note: register ahead of time and I will move the class to your building, if possible. J Remember, if at any time you want training, advice, guidance, or help in your classroom or with your team, you can contact me to set something up at your convenience. Thanks!

Date	Location	Title	Description
Tuesday, Jan 24	Century MS Lab	Finding apps for your Curriculum	Bring your iPad (or other device) and let’s look for (or at) apps! I will have some suggestions of how to find curricular apps. You will have individual time, with guidance, to check them out, or go through apps you already have on your device to see how to use them effectively with your class.
Tuesday, Feb 7	Century Elem Lab	Exploring Project Lead the Way apps & lessons	Need some time to explore the lessons and apps for Project Lead the Way? This is your chance to spend some time on them and to plan out your PLTW activities.
Tuesday, Feb 21	High School	Virtual Field Trips	Explore Virtual Reality apps, virtual field trips, and their usefulness in the classroom, during this hands-on workshop. Bring either your Android or Apple phone, and a tablet (iPad or Chromebook). I have a few viewers to try out as well – but bring your own if you have one.
Wednesday, Feb 22	Century Elem Lab	Integrating Technology into Reading/Language Arts	Looking for technology tools for your reading/language arts curriculum? We will look at online tools, apps, and activities for reading, spelling, vocabulary, comprehension, writing, and much more!
Tuesday, Feb 28	Century MS Lab	Integrating Technology into Math/Science	Science and math online tools, apps and activities are abundant. Come to see some of my favorites tools, and the resources to find them.
Wednesday, March 1	High School	Developing Curricular Projects that use Student Created Videos	With all these individual devices students of all ages can make excellent videos. No matter what level you teach, there are tools your students can use to create their own video projects. Come plan one today!
Thursday, March 2	Century MS Lab	SmartBoard: Beyond Beginner	Want to do more with your SmartBoard? We will look at lessons & tools that will increase your use (and your students’ use) of the SmartBoard, in some exciting ways!
Monday, March 6	Century ES Lab	Smart Notebook: Creating Lessons	This class will take you through the Smart Notebook tools. We will create our own lessons, discover many new features, and you will have a chance to see how easy it is to personalize your lessons with Smart Notebook.
Tuesday, March 14	High School	Using Google Docs in the Classroom	In this class you will have a chance to go through your Google Drive and organize it, practice sharing Google Docs with others and review the collaborative tools, and see how Google Docs can increase your efficiency in school.
Thursday, March 16	Century MS Lab	Using Google Forms & Spreadsheets	Parent Surveys, Student Quizzes, Data Collection, all can be gathered and organized efficiently with Google Forms. Display survey data, grade quizzes and tests, and so much more. Bring a quiz or survey idea so you can build your own Form.

Nevis Tentative Classes

Please note: register ahead of time so I know someone is attending. J Remember, if at any time you want training, advice, guidance, or help in your classroom or with your team, you can contact me to set something up at your convenience. Thanks!

Date	Title	Description
Thursday, Feb 9	Using Seesaw Digital Portfolios	Seesaw is a free tool for students of all ages to upload, annotate and share their work through a digital portfolio. Originally developed for elementary, this tool is appropriate for all ages, and has some great new features for older students.
Thursday, Feb 23	Developing Curricular Projects that use Student Created Videos	With all these individual devices students of all ages can make excellent videos. No matter what level you teach, there are tools your students can use to create their own video projects. Come plan one today!
Monday, Feb 27	Finding apps for your Curriculum	Bring your iPad (or other device) and let’s look for apps!
Wednesday, March 15	Integrating Technology into Reading/Language Arts	Looking for technology tools for your reading/language arts curriculum? We will look at online tools, apps, and activities for reading, spelling, vocabulary, comprehension, writing, and much more!
Monday, March 20	Virtual Field Trips	Explore Virtual Reality apps, virtual field trips, and their usefulness in the classroom, during this hands-on workshop. Bring either your Android or Apple phone, and a tablet (iPad or Chromebook). I have a few viewers to try out as well – but bring your own if you have one.
Thursday, March 23	Integrating Technology into Math/Science	Science and math online tools, apps and activities are abundant. Come to see some of my favorites tools, and the resources to find them.