Great blog posts from this past week:
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How to Create a Winning Esports Program During a Pandemic | EdTech Magazine
Given current social-distancing requirements, in-person esports championships have largely been cancelled or moved online.
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What To Do If You’re Attacked By A Student – Smart Classroom Management
She was kicked in the face while trying to calm him down. According to the NEA, six percent of teachers have been attacked by a student. That’s over 200,000 teachers.
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Sketchnotes: A mini-course and #Sketch50 challenges! – Ditch That Textbook
Sketchnoting is fun and very brain friendly, for you AND for your students! Learn how with a mini-course and #Sketch50 challenges. Let’s see if you sound like many people I’ve talked to about sketchnotes (and the former version of myself): “I’d love…
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Guiding Learning During a Crisis in DC
This is part of ongoing series of messages to Renton Prep families during COVID-19 for transparency and documentation.
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A 12-Year-Old’s Letter to Her Post-Pandemic Self – The New York Times
How will you retain gratitude for the return to normal life? “I’ve come from 2020 to remind you not to forget,” my daughter wrote to her future self.
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Is anyone NOT using computers in their lessons now? — ICT & Computing in Education
Back in those heady pre-pandemic days many of us were forever trying to cajole our colleagues to use computers in their lessons. Well, I suppose the positive aspect of Covid is that the virus has done quite a large part of our job for us. I came acr…
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Advancing with Blended & Online Learning – Dr. Catlin Tucker
In the last ten months, teachers have had to design and facilitate learning for various teaching and learning landscapes. Teachers in states hit hard by the pandemic, like my home state of California, have been online since March.
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Video: People on the Street React to Seeing the Moon Up Close | Science for All
There is obviously a lot going on in the world right now and I find that monitoring the news can be all-consuming. While I feel compelled to be engaged and enraged and involved. I also know that I need to occasionally step away and sink into some co…
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Edutopia – how-set-science-fair-during-pandemic
Let’s be real: When school started this year, we were all struggling to make it through each day. We looked for ways to balance all the things that needed to be done and maintain sanity in our ever-changing world.
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Road of Trials: Hero’s Journey Lesson Planning pt 8 – Returning with the Elixir – Classroom Powerups
This is part of my Road of Trials series in which I am chronicling my effort to plan a Hero’s Journey based Lesson in my 11th Grade HIS202: American History from 1877 to the Present.
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Free Technology for Teachers: Ten Time-savers for G Suite for Education Users
Do you have a New Year’s resolution to exercise more, read more, or just spend more time doing something fun? If you’re a G Suite for Education user, you might make more time for your New Year’s resolution by handling routine tasks more efficiently.
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Free Technology for Teachers: Every U.S. Election Through 2012 Explained
The events of the last 24 hours in Washington DC have stirred emotions in nearly all of us. This morning my students wanted to talk about it in my computer science class (they know that I used to teach social studies).
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Start an Esports Program at Your School with a Free Esports Computer Lab – Class Tech Tips
This post is sponsored by High School Esports League. All opinions are my own. Are you wondering how to start an esports program at your school? Last year I connected with the team at High School Esports League, and I can’t wait to share their speci…
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Online safety after Trump’s deplatforming – NetFamilyNews.org
Among many other things, the past 24 hours were a pivotal moment for content moderation – for online safety worldwide.
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This is part of my Road of Trials series in which I am chronicling my effort to plan a Hero’s Journey based Lesson in my 11th Grade HIS202: American History from 1877 to the Present.
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I was busy online with a small group of elementary social studies teachers yesterday afternoon when my phone started buzzing. I ignored it for a bit but after a teacher in the group sent me a private message in my Zoom window, my attention shifted.
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Control Alt Achieve: Play Backgammon with Google Slides and Drawings
So I am a big fan of tabletop games, as my bookcase full of games will show. They are a great way for people to connect, as well as build critical thinking skills. Although I mostly play newer games, I still love some classics such as backgammon.
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Social Studies Teachers: What should we teach today about events in Washington DC?
I’ve been on the phone and on email with a number of teachers since Wednesday afternoon (and also with a couple of high school students) that asked me how they should address the events that unfolded in Washington DC. This is my hurried response.
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Responding to the Insurrection at the US Capitol | Facing History and Ourselves
In his 1963 essay “A Talk to Teachers,” James Baldwin wrote: “American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.
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Classroom resource: Three ways to teach the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol | PBS NewsHour Extra
Directions: Watch the video, read the summary below and answer the discussion questions. To read a transcript of the video, click here. Summary: The nation on Wednesday witnessed a grave breach of its democratic traditions.
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In photos: the pro-Trump mob coup attempt that took over Congress – The Verge
On Wednesday afternoon, a mob of pro-Trump protesters stormed the US Capitol, resulting in chambers being vandalized and at least one death.
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Resources for teachers on the days after the attack on the U.S. Capitol. | beyond the stoplight
Two people wave Blue Trump 2020 flags in front of the U.S. Capitol as night falls on 1/6/2021. Photo Credit: CNNWe welcome this guest post from Dr.
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Free Technology for Teachers: Video – How to Annotate Your Screen in Google Meet
Last week I wrote a blog post about drawing on or annotating your screen during a Google Meet call. The way to do that is to use a free Chrome extension called Annotate Meet. Annotate Meet lets you draw on top of any tab or window that you share dur…
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How to Use Google Podcasts with Students – Class Tech Tips
There are so many wonderful ways to use podcasts with students. If you’re a regular follower of the blog, you know I love kid-friendly podcasts and have featured lots of favorites on the blog.
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7 geography tools that mess with the brains of your kids. Cause that’s a good thing | History Tech
We all know that I spent a significant amount of my formative years digging through old National Geographic maps. You know the ones I’m talking about. They got slipped into the middle of the magazine and unfolded into poster size after you discovere…
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Free Technology for Teachers: Google Docs Comments Now Include Autocorrect and Smart Compose
Smart Compose is a feature of Gmail and Google Docs that some people dislike, but I love it. I know that it saves me time when writing responses to emails. I also use it in Google Docs when I’m writing lesson outlines and find that it’s helpful ther…
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Control Alt Achieve: Translating Google Meet Menus, Chat, and Captions Live
Google Meet has done a great job connecting people from across town or around the world. However what if the person you are connecting with speaks a different language?
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WA STATE: FREE Middle School OpenSciEd Workshops | Science for All
This is a short post to help publicize this FREE middle school science professional development opportunity for teachers in Washington State sponsored by ClimeTime and the WA ESD Science Coordinators.
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This is part of my Road of Trials series in which I am chronicling my effort to plan a Hero’s Journey based Lesson in my 11th Grade HIS202: American History from 1877 to the Present.
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The tenuous link between video games and violent behaviour has been long running and fiercely debated on both sides.
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Well, happy new year everyone. I wanted to start 2021 off by talking about an incredibly satisfying gaming experience I had over Christmas. Playing Animal Farm on my phone.
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10 green screen project ideas for the classroom – Ditch That Textbook
This post is written by Megan Diede and Kara Risby. Megan and Kara both currently teach primary at Prairie Wind Elementary in Gillette, Wyoming. They are also the founders of IntegratED LLC a framework that challenges teachers to find a new norm and…
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Road of Trials: Hero’s Journey Lesson Planning pt 5 – Crossing the Threshold – Classroom Powerups
This is part of my Road of Trials series in which I am chronicling my effort to plan a Hero’s Journey based Lesson in my 11th Grade HIS202: American History from 1877 to the Present.
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Alba – A wildlife adventure game
Out now on PC and Apple Arcade. Launching on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in Spring 2021.
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Treehouse teaching and laundry art: Educators find creative ways to reach kids – The Washington Post
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With learning all-virtual, he packs a big Ziploc bag — for each student, each quarter — with things like fishing line, foam board, pipecleaners, magnets, Popsicle sticks and rubber bands. Whatever they will need for their projects.
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Make Badges with Google Apps – Teacher Tech
Gamification Works!! We know when we gamify activities it increases student engagement and increased engagement increases student learning. In my webinar today I went over how to create digital badges using Google Slides and Google Drawings.
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Edutopia – 3-tech-tools-distance-learning-and-beyond
These (mostly) free tools make it easier for teachers to connect with remote students and provide plenty of ways to engage them.
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Free Technology for Teachers: Boomwriter’s Writing Bee – A Unique Creative Writing Contest for Kids
A traditional student writing contest basically gives students a prompt and tells them to “go write” and then months later a few students find out that they’ve won. Boomwriter’s Writing Bee is not a traditional writing contest at all.
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Why I Love Assessment, But Hate Grading | Mike Kaechele
Assessment gets a bad rap. Volumes of books have been written over the years about assessment, but sometimes we overthink it. Assessment is a natural human behavior where we observe and evaluate situations or people.
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Control Alt Achieve: Using Originality Reports in Google Classroom
When students are writing in school, it is important for them to cite their sources properly and to avoid plagiarism. Even when students try their best, they may still miss a passage that needs to be cited.
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Cranky Uncle: Smartphone Game for Disarming Climate Denial | Science for All
I’ve spent a lot of time on Skeptical Science over the last couple of years and have used it as a foundational resources for a couple of secondary climate science professional development workshops. If you haven’t checked out Skeptical Science it is…
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Edutopia – using-gamification-increase-engagement-during-hybrid-learning
Games that take students on a quest can invigorate social studies and strengthen bonds among learners. One of the biggest challenges for teachers working in a hybrid classroom is keeping students engaged.
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John Thompson: What Teachers Should Do When Schools Re-Open | Diane Ravitch’s blog
John Thompson, historian and retired teacher in Oklahoma, followed the debate about what to do “after COVID,” and he shares his wisdom here. I’ve been wrestling with two quandaries regarding post-COVID schools.
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A Principal’s Reflections: Strategies to Accelerate Family Engagement
With all its challenges, the pandemic brought to light the need to either rethink or improve various aspects of practice. When it comes to leadership, the importance of effective communication skills to engage and empower families moved to the foref…
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Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: 5 Books for Families Who Are Rethinking School
· 4 #EdTech Blogs to Bookmark · 9 Must Read Blogs for Innovative Teachers · 10 Digital Citizenship Bloggers to Follow · 10 Education blogs worth following – eSchool News · 11 Ed Tech Bloggers to Follow · 20 Best Blogs in Instructional Technology · 2…
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Episode 056: Homegrown NGSS Curriculum Design with Suzanne Sullivan
Subscribe to our Newsletter for updates and blog posts right in your inbox. In this episode, Suzanne Sullivan shares with us the work her district’s vertical planning team has done with designing NGSS curriculum.
