Ontario Learn at Home

                  Future History Lesson

As students are home practicing social distancing and how to properly wash their hands, Ontario unveiled a learn at home webpage.  This webpage gives students, and parents a variety of resources that will allow students to continue to learn the curriculum. Students can continue to learn science and technology, mathematics, and language. The website also shares guides on how parents can help teach their children while they are at home.

Although this resource is great, it still may not be accessible for each student. Some students and families may not have a way to access online resources. As many families come from diverse backgrounds understanding the material can be problematic, especially if there are not strong English literacy skills. It also does not provide any differentiated learning. As Ontario just announced that schools will be closed at least until May, I look forward to seeing the e-learning plan that they unveil. 

I wonder if it will provide access to every student. I also wonder if students will be graded on the work they do? How will this be monitored? What a crazy time we live in. 

                                                   Brought to you by: Rav@NU

More Pix and Tix

Courtesy of Katt the Lifter @NU

Courtesy of JessD@NU

Brought to you by VICB@NU

Brought to you by Rach@NU

Building Art brought to you by Tomas and His Little Doggie @ NU

Courtesy of Nonna and Josie@NU

Starfall

Starfall Education Foundation is a non-profit organization, original created "where children have fun learning to read", but now is so much more. Specializing in reading, phonics & math the website provides educational games, movies, books, songs, and more for children from pre- kindergarten to grade 3. The website is divided into different grades, different subjects and even different learning stages. For example, reading is broken up into four sections- ABC's, Learn to Read, It's Fun to Read and I'm Reading. Starfall also has a section called Parent-Teacher Centre where you can find instructions on how to use the website, other free resources and best of all lesson plans. This section also provides customizable language practice sheets, math practice sheets, word/ picture cards, projectable books/ posters and mp3 songs and lyrics. Starfall is also super accessible, providing closed captions for the hearing impaired, dual switch devices, optional keyboard controls, screen readers, audio descriptions, and transcripts and visual descriptions.

I found out about this website from my associate teacher, she used it in her kindergarten classroom during exploration time. Two students can use the ipad and explore the site themselves. She said she even gets some lesson plan ideas from the site as well.

Some short comings I found was the website set up was a little all over the place, the pages looked too busy and might overwhelm some students. Also, the lesson plans that are provided are only for Pre- K and Kindergarten, nothing for grade one, two, or three. Starfall is also offered as an app for mobile devices, it's free but you can sign up for a membership to access the full content which is $35.

Overall, I think Starfall is a great interactive website for students to go and explore themselves but also teacher guided. Having such a variety of educational games, movies, books, songs, practice sheets and even lesson plans! 

Made possible from Sam@NU

You Gotta Read about My Experience

VanessaG@NU

Vooks - Story Books Brought to Life!

Quick fact: Did you know that reading 20 minutes a day can build vocabulary, love of reading, immersion, and fluency?

In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends daily reading aloud from birth to increase vocabulary and healthy brain development. 

As a first year teaching candidate, the use of Vooks is a popular resource which I have noticed many teachers using within their classrooms. Vooks is a kid-safe, ad-free streaming library of read-aloud animated storybooks. Their aim is to encourage the love of reading by retaining all of the important elements of story time: read-along pacing, life lessons, and a visual connection between words and text. It's quality screen time you can feel good about. It is enjoyed by millions of children every week, trusted by parents, and loved by teachers. It can be accessed on all of your favourite devices including tablets, smartphones and desktop computers. Although it is $4.99 a month, you will have access to thousands of animated virtual books. Did I mention that Vooks will allow its users to try their service for one month?! (Free of charge!) 

For all of you future educators, it is important to note that Vooks is adored by elementary educators all over the world. Their animated, read-along storybooks and downloadable teacher resources have been invaluable in engaging students and teaching valuable lessons of kindness, creativity, history, and so much more. 

So what are you waiting for teachers? Start your free trial now!

       

                                                       Courtesy of Lucia@NU

Magazine Covers, Special Pix, Event Tickets and Posters

 

Courtesy of Marco@NU   

Brought to you by SCandy@NU

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All inquiries go to AllyZ@NU

Ticket courtesy of SamJ@NU

A Few More Creative Masterpieces

Kevin wants everyone to cook and eat well while you're home

The art gallery has a prankster problem ...

Timely... 

Ah, this should be a good concert and holy moly, FLOOR seats - Not cheap though!

Brought to you by Kevin, Matthew and Jessica C. @NU

ASCD: Engaging Every Reader

Engaging Every Reader Developing enthusiastic readers is one of schools' central objectives. Yet, reading instruction is often beset by structural challenges, shifting resources, and competing priorities. This issue looks at effective practices for supporting engagement in reading at all grade and instructional levels, as experts tackle how schools can create strong literary cultures where students thrive. Stay in touch, The Editors

The Literary Magic in Combining Teacher and Student Expertise Though reading difficulties can be varied and complex, students often have solutions if a school's most valuable resource—the teacher—works backward to find them. 5 Indicators of Empowered Readers How do you know if students believe in themselves and their reading abilities? These signs spell a bookworm. Using Language to Learn (Video) Transferable literacy skills can help students across content areas. Turn Small Reading Groups into Big Wins

Literacy instruction is complex, especially for younger students. Reading in small groups is a big step in the right direction. CBS@OISE

Bumper Stumpers

License plates created ... 2019-2020

Thanks to EDU498 TCs ... Nice job.

ABCya! Bring the learning anywhere!

ABCya is an educational online website and app that can be downloaded.  It has over 400 fun and educational games for grades preK through 6. Both parents and educators have designed the games and designed them with the understanding that children learn better when they are engaged and having fun.

Games cover the subjects of math, reading and writing. They also cover basic life skills, such as counting money, learning about shapes and colours, speech, typing and even teaches children about different types of technology. The games themselves are colourful, appealing and even have animated characters. This allows children to stay focused on the game all while learning.  With so much variety there is something for every child at all learning levels and styles.

In order to access ABCya you can type it in on the Internet or download the app on any iPad or tablet to take the learning anywhere your child goes. Games are free to play and do not require a log in. There is the option to create a free account and also an option for parents to join a premium account for a fee. The premium account allows for no pop up ads, complete mobile access to the site and can be played on up to 5 devices.

Teachers can allow students to play on ABCya in class as well. After a lesson or activity students can use this site to enhance their learning on a subject. With everything going on today with schools being closed and students not getting the full learning experience. ABCya is a great website to incorporate into your child's day at home. They will be engaged with their learning with games that are grade level appropriate and fun to play.

Check out more at: https://www.abcya.com

Brought to you by Alexandrea@NU

COVID-19 and Online Learning

Online classes have recently become a must for all college and university students in Canada due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Due to this adjustment, many students are focusing on learning through online lectures and assignments. Many students do not find this to be of any inconvenience or to be a disruption to their daily lives because with today's technology it is accessible to complete schooling anywhere at any time. Also, students are regular advocates to online lectures and homework due to today's society giving such freedom on the world wide web.

                   

Studies show that many students at a college or university level would rather complete an online course versus a course on campus due to the availability that the online world gives them. However, there are downfalls that some students may struggle with, like distractions or not having hands-on practice which some students need. Also, some questions are drawn from such institutions that conduct online classes, for example, are students really learning or using search engines to acquire answers? Are students really as engaged online as they would be in a traditional classroom setting? Some may argue that these questions bring up great points, but there are many ways that future educators can integrate technology into a standard regular classroom. 

                      

Although some students may not like online classes it is hard to argue due to the fact that when students are in a normal classroom setting, they are constantly using their laptops or technological devices to make online notes or may be engaging with peers during such lessons. College and university classes also rely on technology as a way to conduct lectures and submit assignments. Overall, it is clear that online classes are just another way that the web is if not already being incorporated as a classroom essential. With that being said future educators should find ways to include blogs, newsfeeds, and communication logs with their students to help them succeed in the new 21^stcentury way of living without disrupting the standard classroom.

            https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-make-online-learning-work/

Brought to you by Jessica.C@NU

iDoceo - It's All You'll Ever Need

Teacher Planner, Gradebook, Resources Bulletin, Seating Plan Organizer, and much, much more.

More details can be found at http://iwww.idoceo.net

iDoceo is a powerful teaching assistant for the iPad. You can add an unlimited number of students and classes. You pay for iDoceo only once and you get the full app and updates. There are no additional subscriptions or in-app purchases.

iDoceo respects your privacy and confidentiality. It works completely offline and no internet connection required. All your data is only stored locally in your iPad, not in cloud or external servers.

MAIN FEATURES

GRADEBOOK

Keep all your student's personal data in one screen, add your own fields. 

Attendance stats with total and partial results between dates. Configure your own icons. Configure your own grades, either with text, numbers, icons or a combination of them all.  Keep track of your students’ progress with photos, audio, video or any other kind of file. Input your data in no time with specialized editors for each task. 

Grades, numbers, attendance, icons, colors. Organize your data visually with tabs in your grade book.  Represent some columns in different tabs at once.

Add handwritten notes anywhere. Unlimited pages, different paper styles.

·      No internet connection required.

·      Excel like calculations (weighted averages, additions, conditions, icon counters, etc.)

·      Add extensive annotations, files, audio and video to any cell.

·      Export full grade book pages to PDF ,XLS file format (for MS Excel and OpenOffice)

·      Import your current student data from a CSV/XLS/XLSX files

·      Add icons, text or colors on any cell , student or header

·      Assign colors to full rows, columns and cells 

·      Copy, move and edit columns

·      Prepared to last - keep your old classes (or replicate) hidden and focus on new ones.

E-MAIL AND REPORTS

Configurable student report with a summary of grades, attendance and personal details. Send personalized e-mails or messages in bulk. Print directly from your iPad with Air Print enabled printers. Include your grade book resources as attachments and URLs embedded in the PDF report.

DIARY, PLANNER, SCHEDULE AND CALENDAR

Integrate iCal and Google Calendars in your diary. Add & Edit your events.

Keep all your class' annotations, files and other resources in a diary per    class.

Configure multi-week schedules, rotating cycles and holidays with the calendar in full-size mode. Different views of your diary: day, week, month, timeline + two additional views of your planner: day and week.

SEATING PLAN

Up to 10 seating plans per class, configure its background, description and your hand drawings. Take attendance easily and fast.  Add columns and edit your data as if you were in the grade book view.  Different views of your plan: only photo, photo+name or badge mode (up to 5 fields from your grade book shown on screen).  Pick students randomly. Create random groups of students.

Courtesy of Spencer@NU

Good Memories

Using Photofunia, like Jenna did here, is a great way to make pix for a digital yearbook or even a hardcopy.  The possibilities are endless - once again, the tool is there for you.  All you need is your imagination in action!  How cool is that?

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Made with Photofunia: www.photofunia.com

Brought to you by Jenna@NU

TicketMaker

You can make authentic looking tickets for concerts, birthday parties, festivals, Christmas Concerts, Class Parties, or a gathering of any kind, just like Sam did.  Wow, Row 2 seats!!

To make your own fake tickets, you can visit their website:

https://tickets.kadsoftwareusa.com/

Brought to you by SM@NU

You can also enjoy the summer backyard party coming up - make sure you have your ticket - thx to Julia for this one - and only $5 admission.  Is it BYOB?  Or that Halloween party you always wanted to throw while your parents were away.

Tickets must be from the same scalper - the party dude!

Grad ticket needed by someone?

To make your own fake tickets, you can visit their website:

https://tickets.kadsoftwareusa.com/

Brought to you by JM@NU