Ed Tech Blog
Flex time is proving to be useful in the ongoing effort (by teachers, administrators, and parents) to increase student progress and achievement. Using a regularly scheduled flex period, such as a study hall or other period in which students have both free time and access to a helpful teacher, students can accomplish a number of critical tasks. Students who have fallen behind on completing required work, due to illness or another understandable situation, have the opportunity to make good on their promise to complete that work. Students who are current on the completion of their class assignments can use flex time to make progress on the goals established by their advisory committees (which often include the student, subject teachers, and the flex period teacher). There is, in fact, a seemingly limitless number of ways in which flex time can be used effectively. One area that is ripe for exploration is the integration of flex time directly into courses. And so, the question becomes, how can we do this effectively?
Generally, we have a certain vision of what teaching looks like. Students come into classrooms, take their seats, and teachers stand at the front of the classroom and provide direct instruction. They give lectures, assign textbook activities to be completed in class, go over those activities, and assign homework. This style, and similar styles, can still be seen in countless classrooms throughout the country (and the world).
However, we’ve seen a great deal of classroom changes over the past decade. In 2003, for example, most teachers began working with computers and the internet daily. By 2008, nearly all teachers used computer and internet as a part of daily instruction and classroom management (email communications, attendance, etc.), and students were regularly taken to computer labs to work on computers and internet...
Read more: Supporting Students by Combining Asynchronous Instruction and Flex Time
Small group Edmodo chats expand student audience and deepen meaning-making
Founded in 2008, Edmodo has evolved as a leader in education apps providing classrooms with a hub of connectivity and resources. In recent years, Edmodo has expanded its offerings to professional development resources and continually updated the classroom interface with student-friendly features like a daily agenda.
At its core, Edmodo creates a home base for classes to interact. Teachers also can utilize Edmodo much like any LMS to assign assessments, pose checks for understanding, or post materials. Edmodo’s strength, unlike some sites, lies in its ability to serve as a vehicle for easy discussion.
Aesthetically, an Edmodo classroom looks very similar to a social media feed, albeit a bit more academic. The “like” and “comment” feature invites students to quickly respond to teacher and peer contributions in a low-stakes, comfortable way. While some other LMS feeds and commenting systems are cumbersome and require multiple clicks, students often find the Edmodo feed much more intuitive.
Small Group Feature
Teachers using Edmodo in their classroom may find the small group feature to be particularly beneficial in setting up protocols for small-group discussion. Once students join the class, the teacher can group students...
Read more: Edmodo offers new and engaging way for students to discuss text
Introduction
COVID-19 taught all educators that we have the ability to be resilient and adapt to a changing technological world, including those of us who teach music. As we return to our normal classrooms, it’s important that we never forget the lessons we were taught during the pandemic. This article will outline various ways we can implement technology into the music classroom.
Music Technology for Elementary Music Specialists
Do you have old Music Play books in your classroom from decades ago? Did you know that it is all online? www.musicplayonline.com is a wonderful resource created by Denise Gagne for elementary music specialists. All your favourite songs like “Lucy Locket” are there with lesson plans, lyric videos, chords for guitar and ukulele, orff arrangements and boomwackers. In addition to a comprehensive list of songs organized by grade, there are also learning modules in rhythm, solfege, vocal warm-ups and games. This is a necessary resource for all elementary music educators.
www.bucketdrumming.net is another great resource for upper elementary and early middle school teachers. Sammy Foster has created an amazing bucket drumming curriculum that includes proper percussion technique as well as rhythm and pitch reading. I highly recommend his “6 Days...
Old school presentations centered around tri-folds and posters are an old-time favorite, but they seem obsolete in the modern world of Prezi and Powerpoint. However we can bring back the treasured tri-folds and poster boards, and more importantly, there is a way to make them interactive. By using a small device that is relatively cheap, you can convert an old-school presentation into a more interactive presentation that students, teachers, and parents will love.
So what is a Makey Makey? It is a circuit board with alligator clips and a USB cable. It can turn any conductive material into an interactive component. People have turned liquids, balloons, play-doh, etc. into interactive musical instruments. The major concept of a Makey Makey is you are creating a circuit. In order for any project to be interactive, you have to complete the circuit. Often one may have to hold an alligator clip while touching an object in order to complete the circuit, but this isn’t always the case. Different projects have different ways of completing the circuit. If you can dream it, you can probably turn it into an inventive project with a Makey Makey.
Some cool projects that you...
Teachers are often tasked with the challenging job of working in classrooms with large class sizes and difficult compositions. Teachers are masters at catering their lessons to their students. You may wonder, what do you do when there is such a large range of needs amongst students in one classroom? Assistive technology can be a way to aid in leveling the playing field for our students who have diverse learning needs.
Assistive technology (AT) is defined as any product, piece of equipment or system that enhances learning, working, and daily living for persons with disabilities. AT can be high-tech and expensive, such as reading software like Kurzweil or Dragon Naturally Speaking, or it can be low-tech and budget friendly such as pencil grips for students who have dysgraphia.
Some teachers shy away from the use of assistive technology because they believe that it requires additional specialized staff training, it’s expensive, it’s difficult to integrate into their lesson plans or they are concerned about technical difficulties. Hopefully this article will highlight how this is untrue.
Who Benefits from Assistive Technology?
In classrooms, AT will likely be implemented to support the following students:
1. Students with dyscalculia (deficit in understanding and learning numbers...
Read more: Integrating Assistive Technology into the Classroom
Introduction
How are you? cómo estás? Habari yako? These are just but some of the ways you can ask someone how they are doing in different languages. Trying to learn a new language or improve on the vocabulary of your language? Then consider using a language learning app. This can be very effective for students, whether they are beginners or are at an intermediate level.
An additional language is a key opportunity to interact with the world from an informed opinion and a different lens. However, learning a new language requires a lot of practice and dedication. That is why online language learning platforms like Duolingo have been gaining popularity over time.
Duolingo is a great platform because it can be seamlessly integrated into a classroom setting to teach native and foreign languages. The platform makes it easier to learn grammar and vocabulary and has an amazing feature that allows one to translate articles from the web.
In particular, Duolingo for schools is a great tool for teachers and students that makes learning fun and interactive with the different visual and audio cues.
As a teacher, here are some creative ways to use Duolingo in the classroom