FOCUS ON LEARNING

 

Participate Twitter Chats: https://www.participate.com/chats

Ready to be brave and try out a Twitter chat? They’re a great way to connect with other educators and join in the conversations! By going to the URL above you can see what Twitter chats are coming up in any category you’re interested in. You can try one out on the fly or see what your schedule will allow. This is a terrific way to get involved in Twitter in a non-threatening way!

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Teaching about Climate: https://goo.gl/dhSqSn

Explore these great resources from PBS Learning Media that provide fantastic information about global warming. Or just want some weather activities as we progress into fall? Check out these resources for any grade level:

Clue into Climate (Grades 4-12) How does the greenhouse effect work? How do changes in climate affect the distribution of organisms in ecosystems around the world? Explore these questions and more with your students using Clue into Climate! https://goo.gl/bhA5JH

Climate Change and the Pacific Islands (Grades 6-12)  The resources in this collection examine ecosystems on volcanic high islands and low-lying atolls and the climate-related threats to these ecosystems.  https://goo.gl/RUjj1s

Peep and the Big Wide World: Weather Factors (Grades K-2)  Your class will discover some of the key characteristics of different weather patterns with this fun resource. Students will explore the weather characteristics of rain, snow, wind, and a sunny day. https://goo.gl/SjZ2MR

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Inside the Vietnam War: https://goo.gl/Rz3iYi

You and your students are invited to join filmmaker Lynn Novick for an interactive Q&A about the Vietnam War, on Wednesday, November 8^th at 12PM CST. This is a LIVE event that is being streamed for classrooms across the US! Throughout the conversation, you and your students can pose questions to Lynn, participate in polls, and screen segments from The Vietnam War film. It is NOT being recorded: you can only view it live! Register today!

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Biteable: https://biteable.com/

The world’s simplest video maker is here…in Biteable!  Biteable uses templates to create beautiful and eye-catching presentations. If you have your students making advertisements, videos, presentations of any kind…Biteable is a great tool to take a look at. Students can log in with their Google accounts and typical use is free. There is a premium version, but students can do so much with the free version that it is well worth a try!

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Seesaw’s new Activity Library: https://app.seesaw.me/#/login

If you aren’t using Seesaw yet, it is definitely time to start! Seesaw continues to add features and it gets better every day! The newest tool in the Seesaw toolkit is their new Activity Library. This library features activities that are pre-created and ready for you to share with your class. Yay! Another reason to LOVE Seesaw!

• Use the Activity Library: Get inspired with grade-level specific activities from our library that are ready to use right away, or create your own!
• Simplify Classroom Workflow: Share activities with the whole class or specific students to differentiate instruction. Students respond with any of Seesaw’s tools or edit a template you provide.  Student responses are organized on one page.
• Save Time: Activities can be shared between classes and school years. Add folders or skills to activities to keep student portfolios better organized.

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SpEd Staff – Morning Meetings: http://www.coolcatteacher.com/e170/

Cool Cat Teacher  Vicki Davis visits with Dr Felicia Durden about how morning meetings in special education classrooms can be a powerful way to begin the day. Dr Durden wrote the book Morning Meetings for Special Ed Classrooms: 101 Fun Ideas, Creative Activities, and Adaptable Techniques.  You can listen to this podcast with Dr Durden, or simply read the transcript. Either way, I know you will enjoy her great ideas. Want to know more about Dr Durden? Visit her blog at www.balancededucator.com, or tweet her @drdrdn.

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Everfi K-12: http://everfi.com/k-12/

In addition to all the great free resources for teachers on their website, you can find much more available on Everfi K-12’s Facebook page. There you will find excellent posters work conflict resolution, information about teen substance abuse, and resources for all of Everfi’s FREE programming. Take advantage of these free materials today!

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Digital Citizenship Resources: https://www.edmodo.com/topics/537/Digital-Citizenship

Edmodo is a terrific tool for teachers to locate resources for their own professional development. Sign up for a free membership, and these Digital Citizenship materials are yours. In addition, you can connect with other Edmodo users for a great networking experience!

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Infinitec: http://www.myinfinitec.org/online-classroom

Infinitec is not just for Sped staff!! I am excited to share with you all the resources available for teachers on this site. One example: free video presentations (with built-in quizzes) are available for all of Minnesota’s State Licensure requirements, including this year’s addition of Suicide Prevention. The range of educational courses and presentations included on Infinitec is amazing! All of you have an account that is supported through our school district. If you need CEU credits – or just have a topic of interest you’d like more instruction on – you already have the resource you need! Create your account and begin using it today! PLCs: This resource can be a fantastic addition to your regular meetings!!

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Using Augmented Reality in the Classroom: https://goo.gl/BW2cJ3

Curious about how you can take advantage of virtual reality to provide virtual field trips or STEM lessons? This article from Commonsense Media is sure to help. Here you will get some great ideas on how virtual and augmented reality can create deeper learning experiences for your students.

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National Day of Writing: https://goo.gl/j6sj9r

Rats – I missed it! NCTE held their annual day of writing back on October 20^th. However, it’s not too late to celebrate! Check out the resources on the National Council of Teachers of English {Why I Write}. There are still some great podcasts you can listen to and ideas to incorporate into your writing classroom.

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CLICK: Technology Tips and How-To’s created by students: https://sites.google.com/pisd.edu/click/home?authuser=0

CLICK: Collaborate, Learn, Instruct, Create, Know. The tutorials on this amazing website were created BY students for anyone to use. They focus on using Chromebooks, Creating/Editing Graphics, Digital Citizenship, File Management, General Technology How-To, Google Chrome, Google Drive/Docs, and Sketchup. They are organized beautifully, easy to locate, and clear and easy to understand. If you need help with anything related to technology this is a terrific site to check out…and if you want to have your students create tech tip videos they are always pleased to accept submissions!