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Week Ahead.....February 8-
Day 4
Out Of Building- None
February 9-
Day 5
Spring Picture Day
Out Of Building-Godfrey (Half Day PM)
February 10-
Day 6
RED OUT DAY
Out Of Building- Godfrey (All Day @WM)
February 11-
Day 1
Grade 3 Principal Calls Due
Out Of Building-Smith ( JH 9a-12p ), Godfrey (Half Day PM)
February 12-
No School
Bits & Bytes
(courtesy of Marshall Memo)
This is a great snippet from the article...if you have any questions or something piques your interest, let me know! ~Tim
Digital Tools to Support Effective Literacy Teaching
In this Literacy Today article, Detra Price-Dennis and Sarah Schlessinger (Teachers College, Columbia University) recommend digital tools that enhance teaching and learning in three key areas:
- Collaborative learning – These tools help students learn with and from each other and enhance conceptual learning, creative problem-solving, and classroom community:
- Google Docs – Students work simultaneously on one document from different devices and comment on shared documents.
- Padlet – Students work simultaneously on a shared digital “corkboard” from different devices, adding images, videos, text, PDFs, links, and audio messages.
- Coggle – Multiple students use this concept mapping tool to edit content simultaneously from different devices.
- VoiceThread – Students work independently or with a team to add images, videos, text, and their own audio, video, and typed or drawn annotations to a presentation-like format.
Each of these tools allows students to contribute individually to shared creations involving inquiry, peer feedback, and collaborative composition.
- Universal design and multimodal representations – These tools allow teachers to share information in interactive ways and get students producing their own narratives:
- Glogster – A platform that allows students to create digital posters including text, video, audio, photos, animations, and voice.
- iMovie – Voice-editing software that lets students create their own movies or book trailers.
- Storybird – A story-writing site that gives students access to professional illustrations.
- Educreations and ShowMe – Digital whiteboards that allow students to record as they draw and narrate image or video on a topic of their choice
- Accessibility – These tools support students who need accommodations and modifications to participate fully in the classroom:
- Read&Write – Tools for text-to-speech, speech-to-text, smart predictive text, highlighting organization, vocabulary support, translation, and voice commenting.
- NewsELA – Current-events articles, each written at five different Lexile levels.
- Readability – This app simplifies the screen by removing all distracting ads and images.
- Blendspace and Nearpod – These multimodal platforms allow teachers to input content and activities for students to work through as they view and respond to questions for each segment.
Price-Dennis and Schlessinger stress that the teacher plays a key role in getting the most from each of these tools.
PLC in Print
(courtesy of Tom Whitby @tomwhitby)
The Drill vs. The Hole: The Importance of Being a Relevant Educator
In the earlier 20th century, educators had very few tools to use to accomplish their goal of educating students. Pens, pencils, markers, blackboards, notebooks, and construction paper were staples in every classroom. Eventually, technology evolved and better teaching tools emerged: overhead projectors, record players, filmstrips, movies, VCRs, tape recorders, Xerox printers, and four-function calculators. Each educator made a personal decision as to how much, or how little, they would use the aforementioned tools. Those were the same tools, although very primitive by today’s standards, that society used for curation, calculation, communication, collaboration, and, the ultimate goal of education. Click here to read more.
