eSchool News: STEM and PBL - How do teachers teach it?

 

How an art teacher tackles STEM and PBL
Hands-on subjects like art, STEM, and project-based learning aren't always easy to combine--but this teacher found an innovative way to do just that.

During this time when we are fully remote, it is especially frustrating knowing that students with high needs are struggling and as much as you try, it feels like you can never do enough to help them given the unprecedented circumstances we’re all living through.

This past year has been, without a doubt, the most challenging one of my entire teaching career. As an art teacher, I always say that my teaching style relies on that one-on-one connection with each student in order to help them build their confidence to prepare them for an engaging, hands-on learning experience.

For more information, visit this site:  

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2021/02/10/how-an-art-teacher-tackles-stem-and-pbl/?ps=jmasciarelli@niagara.edu-0010c00002Fjuky-0030c00002z9yd8&esmc=200247

Teaching Tech Tool: Gimkit

Teaching Tech Tool: Gimkit

https://www.gimkit.com

Gimkit is an app I learned about in my teaching placement that the students love! It is a crossover of Kahoot and Quizlet and like a face-paced game show style learning tool. Students compete against each other either live or independently by answering questions on their laptops or other electronic devices. Instead of earning points, students earn virtual currency, which they can "invest" during the game to boost their score. The app uses game codes to connect students where they can compete against each other or collaborate in teams or as a whole class.

My placement classroom loves to play the "among us" style game which they have just added to the free themes sections. One thing to note is that there are free features and paid features. An interesting feature is that teachers can require every participant to submit a question in order to join the game. This could be beneficial for a concluding lesson where students have learned a unit and the teacher can use the questions they submit to see where they are at with their understanding. It is important to note that the company's privacy policy states that Gimkit accounts are for adults only. However, the game questions can be generated for students.  privacy policy, Gimkit accounts are for adults only, but the game questions can be completely student-generated.

A concern I saw on a review that teachers should be aware of when using this app, is that their  website security and privacy do not seem to be a priority. Gimkit is a super engaging way for students to review lesson concepts in a way that they have a lot of fun with, but there are some privacy and security concerns teachers should be aware of before using.

Lauren@NU

Virtual Whiteboard - Whiteboard.fi

Looking for a great virtual whiteboard? Check out whiteboard.fi!

This free virtual whiteboard allows you to create a class and have your students join by a link, room code or QR code. Each student will get their own private  digital whiteboard and be able to view the teacher's whiteboard simultaneously. The teacher can view each student's whiteboard in real time. You can draw, write text, add images, etc. 

 

I found it a great tool for practicing math equations while observing your student's learning in action over cyberspace.

Brought to you by Sabrina@NU

Ipevo's Mirror-Cam

For all our virtual classroom leaders out there!

It isn't always easy to transition to teaching across the screen. Sometimes you just want to be able to draw something out like you would on a blackboard.  I had this problem when trying to demonstrate how to use a protractor to grade 5s. 

Ipevo has a product called Mirror-Cam that allows you to project anything onto your laptop screen in real-time. Just attach Mirror-Cam to the built in webcam on your laptop and it will instantly stream what is happening over the keyboard to the screen. The mirror, inside the Mirror-Cam, allows the webcam to capture perfectly the reflected image. 

Check out more about Ipevo's Mirror-Cam Click >>>>> here.

Sabrina@NU

Google Earth

Google Earth is an amazing web app that allows a user to primarily view the Earth (but also offers other planets in our solar system) in 3D based on satellite images. Users can focus on a city and view the urban make-up in 3D, including houses, skyscrapers, and other buildings. Users can also view the night sky with the stars. According to Google, the program covers 98% of the Earth's surface and has captured 10 million miles of street view imagery.

Google Earth has clear benefits to implement in a classroom. Teachers can ask students to research deserts, rainforests, lakes, rivers, etc. They can ask students to view the geography of various cities, countries, regions or continents of the world. These two suggestions can be implemented while teaching students social studies/geography. Science can also be a subject where Google Earth can be used--especially with understanding habitats, ecosystems, and even the planets and solar system. Google Earth can also be used to measure the circumference of planets or distances between various places, and can thus be used to enhance Math lessons as well.

Google Earth is a very useful tech tool that teachers should make use of in their classrooms. Best of all, it's free!

Courtesy of Giordano @NU

Exploring MyTicket

Made easy by Alexandra@NU

IT Leadership: Bridging the Gap

Here are some key ways school districts can develop a successful hybrid instructional approach during the pandemic.   5 ways to bridge the gap between in-person and online learning This may be the way for the future ... worth checking out. For more information, please visit: https://www.eschoolnews.com/2021/02/02/5-ways-to-bridge-the-gap-between-in-person-and-online-learning/?ps=jmasciarelli@niagara.edu-0010c00002Fjuky-0030c00002z9yd8&esmc=200232

10 Teacher Picks for Best Tech Tools in JK- 12th Grade

Jonathan Eckert explores 10 of the best tech tools for primary to intermediate grades!

10. Parlay: For those of us who like to discuss rich texts with students, Parlay lets us connect with students remotely, facilitate discussion, and track how the dialogue builds. As students respond, Parlay shows who is contributing and where the conversation is moving as the software visually tracks student responses in a discussion web. Teachers can use built-in tools to assess the frequency of students' answers in real time even when students are not in the same room. Teachers can then spend their time on deeper level assessment of the depth of student responses, which can also be recorded.

9. Flipgrid: One of the most popular tech tools in schools, Flipgrid won praise from teachers across the country because of the flexibility it gives students to submit digital projects and how it effectively supports peer and teacher feedback.

8. Edpuzzle: Teachers use Edpuzzle to make video clips interactive by requiring student responses, which are easy to collect and assess.

7. Pear Deck: Pear Deck does to Google Slides what Edpuzzle does to videos. Slides become interactive, and teachers are able to collect feedback immediately.

6. Prezi: A virtual presentation software that allows users to be on the same screen with the graphics, creating a more engaging presentation. Prezi offers teachers another tool to capture short lectures, explanations, or other content in a more visually appealing and personal way than as a disembodied voice or thumbnail in the bottom corner of a screen.

5. Screencastify: This tool was first recommended by a teacher in Kenya, who explained how Screencastify transformed her math assessments by allowing students to show what they're thinking from wherever they happen to be working. Screencastify is also valuable for reducing cheating as teachers can observe students working and explaining problems instead of just recording answers.

4. Mural: This has been a lifesaver for virtual collaboration. Mural allows teachers, students, and other contributors to write on virtual sticky notes and then organize and reorganize them in real time. The best in-person meetings are always the ones where the collective expertise of the room can be captured visually, and if we can't be in the same room with students—or colleagues—Mural is the next best thing. Even better, there's no need to go back and summarize or clean up evidence from the meeting. The Mural is the artifact. Many teachers are now using Jamboard in a similar way.

3. Gimkit: Created by a high school student who thought he could improve upon Kahoot!, Gimkit allows teachers to create question sets that students can answer over and over again while competing against each other, which is great for surface learning and review. Because Gimkit allows for repetition of answers and has a variety of ways for students to earn points, students remain engaged as they work at their own pace.

2. Mentimeter and Slido: These are both excellent for collecting feedback from groups. Slido allows participants to ask questions and then upvote others. There are many similar tools, but Slido is easy and free. Mentimeter allows students and teachers to collect real-time data on questions they have, in the form of word clouds, rankings, and various scales. These are great discussion starters that allow everyone to contribute to the collective wisdom of the group.

1. Learning Management System: A good LMS is key to reducing stress for teachers, students, and parents. A list like this one would be counterproductive if it left your educational delivery fragmented among disparate tools, and a good LMS helps you organize everything into a one-stop shop. Our LMS for Niagara University is Canvas.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/10-teacher-picks-best-tech-tools

Regards,

Kerry@NU

Positive Effects & Benefits of Technology

When we think of technology we often think of it as detrimental and specifically to children. However, it is also important that we understand that there are many benefits to technology as well.

 

This website lists the good that technology offers, some of which are; technology allows creativity and freedom of expression, technology aids in socialization and relationship building, technology allows for independence and empowerment. https://www.idtech.com/blog/benefits-of-technology-for-children#:~:text=Benefits%20of%20Technology%20for%20Kids.%201%201.%20Technology,Technology%20helps%20instill%20an%20entrepreneurial%20spirit.%20More%20items

Some children need technology! Non-verbal children, selective-mutes may only be able to communicate through technology. It is critical that as educators we always keep an open mind. 

 Kind Regards MariaT@NU

The Teacher Toolkit

        This website offers a wide array of tools that both beginning, and more experienced teachers can utilize to help students learn curriculum subjects; assess students' development; differentiate instructions for students with particular learning needs; and manage students' behaviour before, during, and after class. And each of the tool pages contains both videos that demonstrate them in action, along with templates for different grades that teachers can use.

        While each of these tools are useful, the ones that I found to be of particular interest pertain to differentiating instruction and classroom management, as I seek to ensure that my lessons are accessible to as many students as possible, and because limiting behavioural disruptions from students is required for lessons to proceed effectively. Examples of these types of strategies include sentence stems and non-verbal signals.

Sentence Stems

        Sentence stems help students form complete sentences by having a teacher write sentences and leaving fill-in-the-blank spots which students then need to find the correct answers to. This strategy can be used repeatedly to help students remember how to organize words and numbers into sentences, and is particularly useful for students who struggle with writing like English Language Learners (ELLs).

Non-Verbal Signals

        Non-verbal signals are hand gestures that are used to relay simple messages between teachers and students without speaking, thereby allowing them to communicate their needs without interrupting class discussions. Additionally, teachers can use hand signals to ask particular students questions without calling their names. By doing this, students have the opportunity to process a question and decide if they want to respond without feeling as though they are being put on the spot.

        Overall, this website has proven to be very helpful in my studies and I highly recommend it, especially in regard to classroom management.

Reference: https://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/about 

Presented to you by: moneill@NU

Technolo-Zzz

With education shifting to an online platform due to the Global Pandemic, it is more important to take how much time we spend in front of a screen under consideration. Students of all ages are glued to their computer screens for their school day, and once they are finished they rely on screens for their hobby's and extra-curricular activities.

Sleep is one of the most important elements to any student, and a good night's sleep is crucial to their success inside and out of the classroom. In fact, according to research from Sleep Health (2018), students with a healthy sleep schedule have a 0.14 GPA advantage over students with less sleep. This includes reducing the amount of screen exposure throughout the day, specifically closer to bed time because blue light from these devices are very detrimental to your sleep quality.

 In these times where technology consumes our entire day, it is Important to find a health balance between technology use and getting rest. Due to the fact that we rely on technology so much, we need to find a way to mitigate the effects on a student's academic success. Although we may believe that technology is getting us through these tough times, it is possible that the effects are more detrimental than we believe. 

Reference

Hartmann, M. & Prichard, J.R. (2018). Calculating the contribution of sleep problems to undergraduates'' academic success. Volume 4.  DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2018.07.002

Kevin@NU

eSchool News: Education Podcasts

8 great education podcasts to try this year
Educators are short on time, but these education podcasts are well worth the investment.

Taken from: https://www.eschoolnews.com/2021/02/11/8-great-education-podcasts-to-try-this-year/

Who doesn’t love a good podcast? True crime, self-improvement, history, finance–there’s something for everyone. And if you’re looking for new education podcasts to start your year off right, you’re in luck.  Are you searching for new edtech inspiration? Looking to find examples of innovation in districts across the country? Maybe you just need a little motivation during virtual or hybrid learning. Check out the following education podcasts to see which one (or two, or three..) piques your interest.

1. The House of #EdTech: The House of #EdTech is an edtech podcast that explores how technology is changing the way teachers teach and the impact that technology is having in education. Host Chris Nesi’s objectives include discussing the technology that is changing our classrooms and schools and sharing information you can hear about today and use tomorrow. Nesi talks to teachers, leaders, and creators like you and has them share their stories.

2. Getting There: Innovation in Education: Kevin Hogan, editor-at-large for eSchool News, speaks with district leaders as they share successes while managing school tech in the midst of the COVID crisis. Hogan is an acclaimed writer, editor, and commentator covering the intersection of society and technology, especially education technology.

3. 10 Minute Teacher: The 10 Minute Teacher, by Vicki Davis, is a 5-day-a-week podcast that will help you become a more remarkable teacher who inspires children to learn and grow. The 10 Minute Teacher is your 10-minute PD breakaway! You can become a more remarkable educator in just ten minutes a day. You could be on your way to work, at the gym, or washing dishes. Whenever you listen, the best and brightest educators and idea creators from around the world will inspire you.

4. Truth for Teachers: Angela Watson’s teacher podcast, Truth for Teachers, is designed to speak life, encouragement, and truth into the minds and hearts of educators.

5. The Wired Educator: Kelly Croy is the Director of Innovation and Instruction at Port Clinton City School District in Port Clinton, Ohio. Kelly hosts the popular Wired Educator Podcast where he interviews amazing educators & educational authors from around the world and shares their stories to help teachers level-up and make a difference in the lives of students.

6. TeachThought: The TeachThought Podcast delivers thoughtful heterodox conversations and ideas to help educators think about their craft and better prepare learners for the modern world.

7. School Psyched Podcast: The School Psyched Podcast covers resilience, trauma-informed care, school psychologist burnout, preparing students for life transitions, and more.

8. Teachers Talking Tech: Mike, Eric, and Marie talk about technology in the elementary classroom. Each episode is short, so that you can get some ideas and insight quickly and in a fun way.

Would You Rather Math

This is a great Minds ON activity for lessons on budgeting and financial literacy.

URL: https://www.wouldyourathermath.com

Would you rather math is a great website for introducing lessons on budgets, breaking things down into comparable units, and ultimately financial literacy which is now a required mathematics strand in Ontario. 

During my most recent placement, I observed my associate teacher introduce her lesson using examples from this website and it was very effective in getting the students engaged and thinking about the lesson. The purpose isn't about what is right or wrong, but rather, having the students justify their choices.

The following is an example that can be used from the website:

https://www.wouldyourathermath.com/category/3to5/

In my experience some students would choose the 12 pages option because the daily reading requirement looked smaller. However, some students realized that the second option of reading 50 pages 3 times a week would result in the book being completed much sooner than the first option. Although this example does not relate directly to finances, it does provoke the students to think about budgeting in terms of time. This is an excellent example because there is no correct answer, what is most important is that the students explain why they made the choice they did.

Andrew@NU (OTECA)

Kidblog

Kidblog is a platform for students to publish their writing, audio, visual or video projects. Teachers can create a class blog as a way to communicate with parents, including information like deadlines for assignments coming up and learning tips for students. Teachers could also use Kidblog as a digital portfolio, which could grow with students from year to year within the same school board. 

Users have the ability to adjust privacy settings, which invites the discussion of the issue of online privacy and safety with students. It's also a good idea to discuss with students the behaviour norms around acceptable and appropriate content. These discussions with students encourage critical thinking about safe ways to interact on the web.

Kidblog is a go-to resource for quick, safe and easy student blogging. But remember, Kidblog is just a platform- it's up to teachers to make the learning happen!

Here is a video further discussing how Kidblog works and a short overview on how to navigate this tool:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSQ_MXfPisw

Delia@NU (OTECC)

Ontario Certified Teacher Candidate

Niagara University

ASCD Topics: Formative Assessment over Network

 

As educators continue to navigate these realities, the contributors in this link (see below) share resources for hybrid and remote teaching and PD, ways to help students process current events, and strategies to ease stress.

Formative Assessment for Remote Teaching: Students Take the Lead

The success of peer collaboration depends on how teachers lead online learning.