Here are my weekly blog post picks! Enjoy 🙂
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5 Free Handwriting Templates for Jamboard – Teacher Tech
I created some templates for Jamboard that would allow students to practice handwriting if they have an iPad or a touchscreen chromebook or touchscreen PC. These templates are free. This template is 1 inch lines with a half inch dotted line in the m…
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Resource Hub | Connections Academy
When homeschooling, parents may struggle to keep kids on task. Try these 9 teacher-tested motivation techniques to help students stay focused on learning.
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How to Create Interactive Jamboard – YouTube
Learn how to create eye-popping, interactive Jamboard. Feel free to use these Jamboard templates: :
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Should You Really Give Fs During A Pandemic? – Smart Classroom Management
It’s a tough time for many students. But removing the bare minimum standard is a mistake that does a disservice to the very students he’s trying to help.
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Ideas and Resources for Outdoor Learning – Teacher Reboot Camp
Students spend so much time with their digital devices and indoors. When possible we should provide them opportunities to learn outdoors and play. Moving outdoors uplifts students’ emotions, teaches them how to socialize and problem solve with other…
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Express Yourself! Emoji Resources for Math, Science, English and SEL – Teacher Reboot Camp
Our learners are communicating on digital devices more than ever. Emojis allow students to express themselves, share their personalities, and add emotion to their messages. Emojis also represent an international language.
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A Conferencing Strategy for Online, Blended, or Concurrent Classes – Dr. Catlin Tucker
When I began my career in education, I believed the value I brought to the classroom was my subject area expertise cultivated as an English major at UCLA and my pedagogical expertise honed while working on my teaching credential and Masters in Educa…
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Dec. Quest of the Month: Playwriting prompts for drama class – Classcraft Blog
All the world’s a stage, And all the Classcraft characters merely players; … especially in teacher Chad Schuermeyer’s quest.
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I will share a new tool each day to inspire innovative ways to use augmented and virtual reality with your students. Watch the list grow daily! Print out this pencil to draw in augmented reality.
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This Year Has Taken a Toll on Educators. Let’s Make Sure to Support Them in 2021. | EdSurge News
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What Is Hybrid Learning? Here’s Everything You Need to Know
With the rise of education technology, schools have adopted teaching methods that diverge from the typical classroom environment. Distance learning is being used at a global scale, and many educational institutions are starting to implement hybrid l…
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5-things-weve-learned-about-virtual-school-during-the-pandemic
Deborah Rosenthal starts her virtual kindergarten class on Zoom every morning with a song — today, it’s the Spanish version of “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” Her students clap along.
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How one district helps students stay focused on class – Classcraft Blog
Learning during the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t been easy on anyone. Students have had to adjust to a school year of extraordinary change and uncertainty. Between the external stress, social distancing, and new learning models, students are struggling.
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Free Technology for Teachers: Google Made Some Meet Settings Sticky
Google has steadily added features to Google Meet throughout the fall (spring for my friends in the southern hemisphere). The latest feature is one that should prove to be a time-saver for some teachers. The latest update to Google Meet makes some s…
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Long write up about weird theory of Ludonarrative Dissonance and Colonizer mentality in Civ VI. The next post will ask questions about implications on Classroom Themes. Back at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic EPIC Games gave away Civilization…
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Thinking Routines Part 2: Driving Deeper Thinking Online – Dr. Catlin Tucker
In a previous blog, I shared a collection of thinking routines developed and published by Project Zero at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. These routines are incredibly effective structures to encourage students to think more deeply about ide…
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Mt. Everest Just Got a Little Bit Taller — The Adventure Blog
The tallest mountain on the planet just got a little bit taller. Or shorter, depending on who you believe. Yesterday, Nepal and China jointly released the findings of two high profile surveys of the Himalayan giant, with the results making headlines…
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Free Technology for Teachers: How to Share Books in Google Classroom and Google Sites
One of my favorite features of Google Books is the option to clip sections of free ebooks to share with students. It’s also possible to share with your students an entire ebook from Google Books. You can then use those clips or full books to spark d…
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Free Technology for Teachers: How to Reduce Noise in Zoom Meetings
On Monday I shared Mike Tholfsen’s tutorial on how to reduce background noise in Microsoft Teams calls. That prompted a few people to ask me if the same thing can be done in Zoom. Yes, you can filter background noise with some tools that are built i…
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Evidence Board Examples – Classroom Powerups
For a detailed explanation of this project go to Using Crime Scene Evidence Boards: An Investigation into the Death of Reconstruction. This project went amazingly well but I do have a few reflections. The first was that it took a solid hour for stud…
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Level Up Your Virtual Teaching with Screencasting Tools! – Teacher Reboot Camp
The transformation to virtual learning means teachers now act as the tech support for students and parents who are also new to virtual learning. Screencasting tools are a lifesaver for virtual instruction.
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Improving Quality of Peer Feedback with TAG Feedback – Mari Venturino
I previously blogged about using Google Forms for peer feedback, and briefly mentioned TAG Feedback. I am excited to share an entire post dedicated to my favorite peer feedback strategy. Early on in my teaching career, I had my students do a project…
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As part of my pre-holiday “push” to “stop the bleeding” in my classes (see HERE’S HOW I’M COMMUNICATING WITH STUDENTS ABOUT SHAKING UP OUR CLASSES and I’m Worried About My Students – Very Worried.
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Earlier this week, I posted FAILING GRADES SKYROCKETING FOR VULNERABLE STUDENT POPULATIONS – OUR SCHOOLS HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM. In it, I discussed what seems to be happening in many schools – the number of F’s are increasing.
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Create Online Parent’s Field Trip Permission Slips- Free!
Permission Slips Go Directly To The Parent’s Mobile Phone – Take Kids Out of The Equation! We Survive By Adding A Small Convenience Fee To Parents Who Choose To Pay Through The App. There Is NEVER a Cost To You.
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Cliff Mass Weather Blog: What are the Secrets to Identifying Clouds? Part I
I often get emails and questions about clouds. People are particularly interested in learning how to identify clouds and to understand what they imply about upcoming weather. What is meant by the arcane compound names, such as altostratus, cirrostra…
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Get Them Moving with Brain Breaks! – Teacher Reboot Camp
Sitting in front of the computer for long periods of time is unhealthy for both teachers and students. One quick way to add movement is with a brain break. These breaks last a few minutes and get students and you moving through quick exercises, danc…
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Engaging Students Remotely – The Reflective Educator
Many teachers have told me that they have difficulty feeling like their students are engaged in their remote classes. They open up their synchronous Zoom sessions and see 20 black squares with the video off. They see 30% of the students completing h…
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Chuck Yeager died yesterday at the age of 97. He was the first person to fly an airplane faster than the speed of sound. The BBC’s article about Chuck Yeager’s passing included some archival footage of his flight in the Bell X-1 that he flew.
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How did Reconstruction die? Doesn’t that sound like the plot of a procedural TV show? There is a murder and a team of dedicated investigators gather evidence and piece together clues to solve the mystery.
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Privacy and equity alternatives to video in online learning
School districts are being asked to loosen mandatory video requirements for online learning because of privacy and equity concerns.
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Free Technology for Teachers: Five Key Features of Making Comics in Canva
Last week Canva introduced new comic strip creation templates. There has long been tools for making comics in Canva, but now Canva is offering templates specifically for making comics. Canva’s comic gallery contains templates for making comics in a …
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Free Technology for Teachers: New Shapes and Fonts in Book Creator
Book Creator is one of my favorite tools for creating ebooks. It’s a versatile tool that can be used to publish multimedia fiction and non-fiction stories. I’ve also recommended using it to have students create portfolios of their best work. Last we…
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What we talk about when we talk about games – Class Roots
We carry around really idiosyncratic and sometimes competing notions of games. When we hear someone talking about games, some of us think about children’s games. Some of us think about board games. Some of us think about sports. Some of us think abo…
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Yesterday at the final keynote of the 2020 NCSS national conference, author and actor George Takei shared his experience growing up in what he called an American concentration camp.
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Investigation: Sticklebacks and Gene Regulation
This investigation was modified from the HHMI Stickleback Modeling activity where students examine two different forms of the the stickleback fish. One form has spines and bony armor and is found in the ocean.
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Fire Up Your Students with a Campaign Project « Cult of Pedagogy
I opened the envelope, unfolded the letter inside and began to read to my class: “Dear Residents of Alchemy Island, I am writing to inform you that a decision has been made to sell the east of our island to a large development company.
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diversifying-your-classroom-book-collections-avoid-these-7-pitfalls
As protests against racial injustice spread to communities large and small in this year, many educators have been pushed to examine how systemic racism harms students.
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The Power of Student Check-Ins During Distant Learning and Hybrid Courses – John Spencer
In my last article, I wrote about ways that we can get to know our students in virtual and hybrid courses. I also did a webinar on building a community online. You can watch it on replay here. One of the best ways to build relationships is through f…
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Brainstorming Voting Tool – Teacher Tech
Brainstorming is an essential process to many projects. How do you decide on which brainstorm idea to go with? Some people don’t feel comfortable speaking up in opposition or some people feel compelled to go along with the crowd.
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What Teachers Have Learned About Online Classes During COVID-19 : NPR
Deborah Rosenthal starts her virtual kindergarten class on Zoom every morning with a song — today, it’s the Spanish version of, “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” Her students clap along.
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10 Ways to Sabotage Your Classroom Management
You know the basics: Establish clear rules and consequences, be consistent, keep students engaged. But even with all that in place, the small things you do could be wreaking havoc on your whole system.
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A Principal’s Reflections: Feedback is Needed More Than Ever
I think we can all agree that this school year has been unlike any other and not for the best of reasons. The pandemic has upended the entire education system as schools have moved to remote, then hybrid, and back to remote in some cases with no end…
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