Virginia Society for Technology in Education
Check out this #EdTechReels episode from #VSTE and learn to use @Tinkercad with your littles!
From the Tinkercad website:
Tinkercad is a free web app for 3D design, electronics, and coding, trusted by over 50 million people around the world. We’re the ideal introduction to Autodesk, a global leader in design and make technology. It is free for everyone, safe for all ages, and emphasizes learning by doing.
Take a few minutes to listen to some great tips and insight from VSTE Education Committee co-lead, Tina Coffey and Sue Thotz of Common Sense Education.
Written by UnisonEDU founder, Patrick Hausammann. Connect with him at @PHausEDU on Twitter.
In my years within education, very few things have helped me connect with students as quickly and well as humor. Humor has the great dual benefit of creating both a sense of safety and connection at the same time as it helps boost retention. Think back… when you’ve laughed (I mean really laughed), did you have any concerns for your safety at that moment? Did you worry about not fitting in or being connected to those you were with? Do you have a tendency to remember things more that are tied to funny moments or to things that are just part of a normal day?
Humor and laughter are a big part of positive memories for many people and students. Why not use it in the classroom when we can? Here are some great resources to check out to build upon the thoughts and ideas that may be swirling around after your reading of the introduction:
One great way I’ve meaningfully incorporated humor into my classes over the years (in addition to only the best dad jokes), is the use of memes. Memes work because they’re quick & relatable. They present the content in an easily digestible way that allows students to show mastery of their learning and teachers to quickly gauge students' understanding. The added bonus of humor makes the activity both more enjoyable and more memorable.
Meme’s are also great within the classroom because they are simple to create and take little time to do so. Even if used only as an exit or entrance ticket, they can prove to be a worthwhile addition. I also found them valuable as study tools, note enhancers, and concept reinforcers. The slide deck linked below will provide you with the links throughout this post, some more meme examples, a templates & resources for meme creation, and numerous examples of meme use throughout education.
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“Do you have anything for translation?” This was a question I was asked many times in my first year as an ITRT. Little did I know that this question would send me on a journey that I never would have guessed I would become immersed in as a new ITRT.
In the past year, Spotsylvania County Public Schools has had an increase of over 500 EL (English Learners) or ML (Multiple Language) Learners. This is a trend that is only increasing as we begin to see an influx of these students in our schools.
As I started to become aware of the needs of these students, I reached out to some of my colleagues for support and information. We decided after some discussion about how best to support the teachers for EL students and the students themselves, that we would create a shared Google Drive to host a number of EL resources that could be shared throughout the county.
However, after some discussion about copyright and share settings, we decided to create what is now known as PROP-EL. Within this project, we created a hub for resources, a Canvas Course with Modules to keep track of the state required training needed by all teachers, and a website that hosts a number of resources to help all of our students.
Take a look at the presentation below and explore what PROP-EL is, what it can become, and what YOU can do to best help your EL students.
The Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Seal Program, developed by the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) and a group of U.S. education leaders, is a prestigious achievement for K-12 school systems that have implemented “strong, measurable, and publicly available” student data privacy practices. Rockingham County Public Schools (RCPS) received the TLE seal in June 2021 after nearly two years of work. The rural Virginia district recognized the protection of student data as critical to the district’s technology infrastructure.
Access this case study to learn how they did it.
