The Ultimate Word Wall with ThingLink & Padlet

I am fortunate to be working with an amazing group of educators this summer for the ThingLink Teacher Challenge. This week's challenge to design an activity to  help students Dig Deeper Into Vocabulary, a topic I am very passionate about.

I also love Word Walls and have been using them for as long as I can remember. While I was once frustrated by trying to keep taped images up on a physical wall, I now find the process to be streamlined and slick with the help of one of my favorite tools, Padlet

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Embrace Change This Summer with Professional Development

Summer is the time of year when teachers can enjoy a break from the the highly scheduled daily routines of the school year. It's also a great time for teachers to engage in professional development to keep up with the challenges of our rapidly changing educational environment and connect with others to build a PLN.

I am fortunate and excited to be able to offer a variety of professional development experiences this summer to help teachers embrace change and adjust to the instructional shifts that will ultimately help our students develop the 21st Century Skills necessary for success. 

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4 Tools to Connect Students to Real World Math

On GettingSmart.com Today

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SAMR Through the Lens of the Common Core

One of my goals is to weave digital tools into the Common Core to design flexible, student driven learning experiences that are Above the Line as defined by the SAMR model. While this might sound like a mouthful of EdTech, I assure you that combining all that is on our crowded plates is far better than tackling each individual initiative in isolation. This idea is supported by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

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Instructional Shifts to Support the Common Core

Are you looking for ways to effectively implement and manage the Common Core aligned classroom?

The CCSS identify a spiraling set of skills necessary to prepare students for success. The standards are designed to teach students how to think. They call for increased comprehension, synthesis of information and the ability to clearly express learning. To facilitate the deep learning experiences supported by the CCSS, a shift in instructional practices is necessary. 

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10 Terrific Tools in My Toolkit

Flexible Learning Paths

The key to successful technology integration is the efficient use of digital tools tools that are appropriate for the task. Technology provides us all with the ability to develop our own toolkit of flexible resources for use when needed. Here is a toolkit I assembled that is filled with tools I frequently use for designing flexible student-driven learning experiences. Starting with a good toolkit is essential.

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Explore - Wagon Wheel Project Toolkit

And now for a mouthful of EdTech...

I have been weaving together digital tools with the Common Core to design flexible student driven learning experiences that start out Above the Line, as defined by SAMR.

Good news! My digital toolkit is filled with great resources to tackle these design challenges. Do you have a digitalt toolkit of resources? Take a look at mine.

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Apps to Create and Connect to the Common Core on GettingSmart.com

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Back to Mac

It’s been 3 years since the school district that employees me switched from Mac to PC. After the initial shock of the sudden change subsided, I had no choice but to embrace Windows 7. It didn’t take very long for me to become a highly knowledgeable and high powered PC user, although It never felt quite right. 

I'm fortunate to be a chameleon who can adapt easily to change and I believe this is one of the reasons I have been successful at using technology as a tool for learning. I'm happy to be able to have learned to work seamlessly between platforms to facilitate tech integration, but I'm really glad that my school district is going back to Mac!

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ICE Cold Mini Conference

I had a wondrful time at the ICE COLD Spring Mini-Conference this morning despite the April snow and downright blustery day. The event was packed, the information was interesting and relevant, and there was a lot of excitement everywhere.

Kudos to the organizers of this well organized and fun annual event!. $5.00 was quite a bargain!

Here are a couple of resources from this fun-filled morning of learning:

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REMIX: Adding Conversations to ThingLink

ThingLink has added a new feature to encourage collaboration and conversations about images. It's called REMIX.

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Next Webinar: Improve Writing Skills with Google Docs

Webinar on Tuesday
Please join me and Simple K12 for a webinar to explore the integrated writing and research tools available in Google Docs to help students improve writing skills.

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Mystery Photos

A few years ago I used Mystery Photos to kickoff some collaborative discussions among students participating in an online learning project I had the pleasure of facilitating, Regions of the United States. The ideas here are supported by the Common Core and worth revisiting. (CCSS SL-5,  CCSS W-7)

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Snow Similies

Here is another interactive graphic to explore Figurative Language.

CCSS L5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings

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Create a Figurative Language Poster

Figurative language spirals through the Common Core (CCSS) along with the seemless integration of research and technology. Why not combine the three to create figurative language posters?

ArtSkills.com is a free tool to create attractive posters . I used this tool to create my posters this time for a change of pace and appreciated the options available to ensure success.  

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