I was recently asked how I find cool Twitter chats, and honestly, it made me ask myself: How do I find cool Twitter chats? Most of what I find on Twitter is either what my colleagues and friends share with me, or what I simply stumble upon - which is exactly why Twitter is so powerful. When someone I follow on Twitter tweets using a hashtag, I click on that hashtag to see all the other great tweets on the same topic. Often that leads me to discovering great hashtags to watch or powerful Twitter chats. It’s this trail of clicking and reading and tweeting and following and clicking some more that perhaps seem disconnected, but after enough clicking around on Twitter, you’ll find that not only are you learning some cool things, but you’re building a Personal Learning Network (PLN). Without even really trying. When I think of my PLN, I think about one of my favorite quotes: My PLN is the room. But I digress. Because I was asked a question directly, I want to be able to provide a concrete answer. Especially for anyone who is new to the Twitter game. So I turned to my great friend Google, and I found some really useful resources for anyone looking to get in on some of the coolest educational Twitter chats happening all around us! This site lists just about every educational Twitter chat! The chat page shows you what chats are happening today, chats that are trending as well as suggested chats, and gives you some options to filter your search if you don’t know where to start. And because my Type A heart and Soul love a good calendar, this Google Site features an easy to follow Google Calendar featuring popular educational Twitter chats by date and time. If you use Google Calendar, you can click on any chat that interests you and copy it to your calendar - so simple and such an easy way to keep track of all the great conversations happening online. In my next post, I’m going to talk about some cool tools you can use to organize your Twitter life and continue building your PLN.
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We are excited this year for the implementation of Apple Classroom. Apple Classroom turns iPads into a powerful teaching assistant, helping you guide learners through experiences, see their progress, and keep them on track. With Classroom, you can easily launch the same app on every learner’s device at the same time or launch a different app for each group of learners. Classroom helps teachers focus on teaching so learners can focus on learning. If you are interested in learning more about how to implement Apple Classroom please visit the Apple Classroom Smore below. Some resources you will find:
Please reach out to me with any questions you have! I would love to support you! Do you have ideas for how you want to use Apple Classroom? Share in the comments below! Thank you Jacquie (@pinkgraves) for sharing Front Row Ed with me! Front Row Ed is a free website that takes the good parts of Reflex Math and Prodigy and combines them. Front Row Ed provides learners opportunities to practice Common Core-aligned skills in math, ELA, science, and social studies while gamifying content to increase engagement. Free FeaturesThere are additional paid features, but free features include:
Learner ScreenI created a sandbox learner account to experience the learning as the learners do. The learning screen has a lot of features to help learners be successful. Learners can have the question read to them, and there is a practice space on the right where learners can draw or use other tools to work through a problem. If a learner answers a question incorrectly multiple times, a reteach video pops up to help them understand the content. When a learner answers a question correctly, he earns a coin. Coins can be cashed in at the Piggy Store for different avatars and backgrounds. Thank you again Jacquie for sharing your learning with me and providing the opportunity to learn something new! Have you used Front Row Ed before? Are you interested in using it now? Want help? Comment below! Looking for an opportunity for your learners to make global connections? Dot Day is your chance! What Is Dot Day?International Dot Day, a global celebration of creativity, courage, and collaboration, began when teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot on September 15, 2009. The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to “make her mark”. What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has gone on to inspire countless children and adults around the globe. And each year on International Dot Day – with the help of people just like you –the inspiration continues. What started as a story in the pages of a book is transforming teaching and learning around the world as people of all ages re-discover the power and potential of creativity in all they do. - TheDotClub.org Apple Clips & FlipGridDot Day provides us a wonderful chance to connect to learners around the district - and the globe - using the apps Clips and Flipgrid. Clips is an app similar to iMovie that will allow students to record as well as dictate their recording from speech to text. This would be a great way for our multilingual learners to share their voice. Our first grid is based on the book The Dot, in honor of Dot Day September 15th. We are encouraging learners to:
There are many standards-based activities using data from this event for Dot Day and Beyond! We are currently gathering lesson plan ideas to share with you to continue the learning beyond Dot Day.
You already make such an incredible mark on every learner who walks through your door - let's see what they can do to make their mark! Epic! is a FABULOUS reading resource for K-5 classrooms. Epic! gives you instant access to a large digital library of fiction and nonfiction books for kids 12 and under. Educators also have the ability to create individual student profiles, personalized by student interest, and keep track of student progress. Epic! is available on iPads and on any computer. My favorite thing about Epic! is that it can be used in all areas of curriculum due to a wide range of non-fiction books. Check out the Epic! Educator Resources to learn how to set up your account, create student profiles and more. Once you have created your account and student profiles you can use this student introduction lesson to get started with your learners. What Is Watchkin? Watchkin allows educators to watch their videos with their kids in a distraction-free and safe environment by removing the clutter of ads and potentially offensive or obscene videos and comments. Watchkin is also great for educators who want to be able to share videos with their learners without the lure of "just one more." Watch your video and move on with your lesson. How It Works When you access a YouTube video, just copy and paste the URL into the search box on Watchkin.com and you’ll be taken to a clean page to watch your video. No distracting or potentially offensive videos will appear. Seesaw can be an awesome way to promote a school - home connection. Many educators are planning to use Seesaw for digital learning journals, portfolios, projects, reflection and more this year. The links below can help your learners get started with Seesaw.
Schoology can be an amazing management system for your classroom digital workflow. It also can support the home to school connection when parents are able to participate as well.
We are so excited to announce that Schoology has made its new Assessment Features available early to Coppell ISD! Not only are there some awesome new question types available, but an entirely new assessment piece of Schoology has been released as well. What’s New? Check out the overview in the video below. We are excited to be on the forefront of this release and can’t wait to learn along side you! |