My Upcoming Schedule:

I am available any day this week. I’d love to help integrate technology into your classroom with you!

Edpuzzle: Let me know your interest…

EdPuzzle is giving us an opportunity to receive videos for all curriculum areas – an Edpuzzle Curriculum that would be uniquely ours to use and edit. However, in order to receive this incredible value they would like some feedback from us regarding Edpuzzle and how it’s already being used in classrooms. If you are using Edpuzzle, would you please email me and share:

1. How would you describe Edpuzzle?
2. How has Edpuzzle changed your class?
3. How can other teachers benefit from using Edpuzzle?
4. Why would having pre-made content make your life easier?

If your school has truly “fallen in love” with Edpuzzle, we can get back to them and they will provide this curriculum to us at no charge! Please contact me to let me know what you, your grade & department think about Edpuzzle and we’ll go from there.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness plays such an important role in the learning that takes place in our children’s lives. Relaxation techniques calm K-12 students and staff, leading to better grades and better behavior. This article gives some great examples of ways you can use these techniques in your classroom today!

https://www.districtadministration.com/article/mindfulness-makes-difference-school

Raptors in May!!

For their second Flipgrid Explorer series, they’ve partnered with Mike Billington and the University of Minnesota Raptor Center. Starting May 1^st, Mike shared unique facts about predator birds. Join in as he engages your students in topics related to science and the environment.

The content is located here: https://flipgrid.com/raptors. It includes 4 topics with over 600 responses. Your class can join in with questions for Mike, and with the many eagles and other raptors in our area, this is sure to be of interest to your students. Check it out in May!

Edmodo

Join the Edmodo online community and join in on an enormous amount of professional development. This is great anytime/anywhere content – and perfect for browsing! They’ve compiled a series of resources for you to get the most from your Edmodo account. Find opportunities for inspiration, collaboration and more!

https://www.edmodo.com/training

5 Simple Ways to Add Technology to Phy Ed

If you teach phy ed, (or do any coaching) these tools are sure to get you motivated to add a little more technology to your classroom. Check out Jarrod Robinson’s ways to add tech to phy ed. Jarrod is the PE Geek – and if you’re not already following him you will want to do so. You can hear the podcast here: http://www.coolcatteacher.com/5-simple-ways-improve-physical-education-w-edtech/

And you can follow Jarrod Robinson (PE Geek) here: https://thepegeek.com/

Jarrod’s 14 Day Twitter Challenge for Phy Ed Teachers is a great introduction to Twitter. You can read that here: https://thepegeek.com/2013/04/the-20-day-twitter-challenge/

Dan Meyer: Math Resources

Dan Meyer created the idea of 3 Act Math. This amazing shared Google Doc features a huge list of Three-Act Math Tasks: https://goo.gl/SLIwLE

You can also visit Dan’s webpage at: http://blog.mrmeyer.com/. It is filled with resources – especially for the middle and high school math teacher.

Game-Based Learning

Game-Based Learning is a huge buzzword in education right now – but here’s a man who is using it successfully in a middle school social studies classroom! His name is Dr Matthew Farber – and you can read all about the tools he’s using in this Edutopia article: https://goo.gl/wERx0C Imagine students who are so engaged in writing that they don’t stop when the bell rings. Check out this article, and see if this might be something you would want to try in your classroom.

You can also follow Dr Farber on Twitter @matthewfarber

Educreations: Try it in May!

The updates to Educreations have made it a great program to use! Whether in the iPad app (where students can now access their projects on any device) or on a Chromebook, the ease of creating a project in Educreations can’t be overlooked! Set up your free classroom account, and add your students with a simple code today. Educreations is perfect for those culminating activities…especially when you (and your students) can’t face another written report!

Peergrade: free student feedback tool!

Haven’t you often thought students should be able to do a better job giving peer feedback? Peer feedback gives students an opportunity to share their work with classmates and review the work of others. Peergrade is a free online platform that lets teacher facilitate peer feedback sessions with their students. The modeling works beautifully! Give Peergrade a try today!

Here’s a good introduction of what it can do: https://goo.gl/E68Vku

Summer Training

Our summer training schedule has the addition of at least 3 more sessions! There is definitely something for everyone…but if what you’re looking for isn’t there, please contact me and we’ll find a way to provide it. Ready to register?  https://goo.gl/forms/Quk3WmD0mo9rmaon1