My Upcoming Schedule:

I will be in Park Rapids Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Email me to set a time to meet with me.

I will be in Nevis on Thursday.

Scheduled Classes:

• Tuesday, Feb 21: Virtual Field Trips, PR High School (Please RSVP)
• Wednesday, Feb 22: Integrating Tech into Reading/Language Arts, Century Elementary Lab
• Thursday, Feb 23, 3:30 in NEVIS: Building a Classroom Webpage Class

Fake News

Enough about Fake News, right? This whole fake news epidemic is exhausting! To help you out, here are three quick lessons you can share with your students to help them determine if news is real or fake. Vicki Davis (one of my favorites) has posted these on a blog post on her website to help teachers deal with the tough job of teaching their students to recognize fake news, and the tricks taken to get people to share that information.

Take a look here: http://www.coolcatteacher.com/3-fast-free-lesson-plans-fight-fake-news/

Practical EdTech

There’s nothing like practical use of technology in your classroom: nobody thinks using technology for technology’s sake is a good thing. With that thought in mind, Richard Byrne released his 2017 version of Practical Ed Tech (PET), and he’s sharing a copy with you! This short (30 page) manual offers great insight into using technology to connect with families, promote digital citizenship, create videos, record and publish audio, use backchannel conversations, and utilize digital portfolios. His focus is on creating memorable learning experiences for students, and he has great real-world applications for these tasks.

You can download your free copy of the book here: http://practicaledtech.com/free-handbook/

Read Across America Day

Yes, Read Across America Day is almost upon us: March 2^nd (Dr Seuss’s birthday). You can view activities that other schools are planning – and add your own – here: http://www.readacrossamerica.org/ Let people know what your class is doing by sharing your pictures with us through Twitter, Facebook or your classroom website. If you have a few extra minutes, take your class to a fun computer lab visit to check out the activities on http://www.seussville.com/.

Password Keeper

I know I’m not alone when I say “Help!! I can’t keep track of all these passwords!!!” I decided it was time to break away from my paper “cheatsheets” and my hidden notes and find a better way. So, just this week I started a free account in LastPass – a password (and username) saver. I’m hoping it will save me tons of time, and allow me to do a better job creating and saving unique, strong passwords. You can try it too at https://lastpass.com/friendwelcome.php?og=1&ref=85256, and this link gives you a free month of their premium services, just to try them out. Let me know if you’d like to talk about how this tool can help you simplify your life.

Breakout EDU:

You’ve heard a little about gaming in the classroom, and some of you may have experienced the Escape Room at Evergreen (or many other places around the country). You can bring this game into your classroom, for any age and any subject area, by using one of the activities from www.breakoutedu.com!

Breakout EDU provides all the setup (and the lesson planning) to create one of these special activities for your classroom (or your team). You can purchase a Breakout Kit from the website, or follow the directions to make your own, and one kit can be used over and over to create unique and exciting challenges. Facilitating inquiry, problem solving, and collaboration, the Breakout EDU kit is a tool that can add an exciting component to our classrooms with minimal setup and a strong positive outcome for our students. I would highly recommend that you take some time checking out the videos and exploring existing games. Effectively using the game not only increases student engagement, problem solving, and subject matter understanding, but also provides your students the opportunity to release their inner Sherlock Holmes. Let me know – and we’ll plan and execute a breakout together!

Google Chrome:

I’m recommending the CleanPrint Google extension for everyone! CleanPrint allows you to clean out the ads and images prior to printing anything from your browser. Not only does it save ink, it allows you to create a clean document to read or work from. Check out the Chrome WebStore to find it.

Pi Day (and math resources):

Math teachers, don’t forget your special day: http://www.piday.org/. Find many great Pi Day activities at this website.

For additional math teaching resources, see NCTM’s website: http://www.nctm.org/publications/teaching-children-mathematics/. Here you will find fantastic resources to support the teaching of math. Want specific activities to teach math skills to your class? Visit Illuminations – NCTM’s free collection of lesson plans and interactives! There is a link to sign up for Bright Ideas: NCTM’s monthly math newsletter, sent directly to your inbox.

2017 STEM Entrepreneurship Conference:

The 2017 STEM + Entrepreneurship Conference, a student-organized event, will be held ONLINE on Saturday March 4th, 2017, and feature keynote speakers and crowd-sourced presentations by students in grades 6-12 and college. There is no cost to participate or attend.

The 2017 STEM + Entrepreneurship Conference provides an international forum for the presentation, discussion, and sharing of best practices in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and entrepreneurship in schools and other academic settings, including:

• Fostering a better understanding of how STEM and entrepreneurship engage students, teachers, and administrators in a conversation about learning.
• Assisting teachers and administrators in understanding how STEM and entrepreneurship impact learning both in and out of the classroom.
• Strengthening the relationship between students, teachers, and administrators about STEM + entrepreneurship in the curriculum.

Sign up at http://www.GlobalStudentConference.com to register to attend, to be kept informed, or to submit a proposal. The call for proposals for the conference is now open, and submissions will be accepted on a first-come basis. While everyone is invited to attend the actual event, conference session proposals will only be accepted from students!