EdTech Welcomes You Back to School

Back to School is always a little bittersweet. I love the summer freedom of traveling, warm evenings of relaxing with a new podcast or book, the time for home improvement and crafts, and the overall slower pace of June and July. But it's also really nice to get back to a steady routine, meet new students and build relationships with them, experience their breakthrough moments and overcoming struggles.

I often reflect on the last school year and think about how I will improve the way I do things for this year. With the recent adoption of the APS District Strategic Plan, EdTech has been working hard on creating engaging and rigorous activities for your students, with a focus on the new district goals. We believe that technology can enhance your lessons, increase student engagement, and improve on skills they will need throughout their academic and professional lives.

Below are some ready-to-go activities, lesson plans, and even some student instruction videos that have been compiled with APS teachers and students in mind.

Blog post by Kristina Kennedy, EdTech PLUS team member.

Constitution Day Activities, Goal 1: Literacy

Celebrated every year on September 17, Constitution Day is when we teach our students about this important government document and the founding fathers who contributed to it's creation.

Digital Citizenship Lessons, Goal 4: Skills, mindset, habits

Let's encourage our students to take ownership of their digital lives and be able to fully participating in our community and make smart choices online and in life with our Digital Citizenship activities.

Meet your Technology, Goal 4: Skills, mindset, habits

Maybe you aren't a techie but that doesn't mean you can't teach your students technology! Students K-12 can learn about their Chromebook and Google Tools in these interactive activities.

Parent Teacher Conferences, Family Engagement

We know teachers have a lot on their plates and preparing for Parent-Teacher Conferences is a responsibility you can share with your students. Let them show their learning and present it to their families.

Constitution Day (Goal 1)

Celebrated every year on September 17, Constitution Day is when we teach our students about this important government document and the founding fathers who contributed to it's creation. For our younger elementary classes, students will listen to a story and then brainstorm ideas for a class constitution in Seesaw, older elementary students, take them through an interactive slide deck with a kid-friendly explanation of their rights. Middle school students can test their knowledge with a fun and competitive Blooket game, and high schoolers put themselves in front of the Supreme Court to argue real cases. You can also find more information on Constitution Day, including additional lessons and activities, on the Constitution Day website.

Primary Elementary

Create a Class Constitution Seesaw Activity
Class Constitution Lesson Plan

Intermediate Elementary

Do I Have the Right? Interactive Slide Deck
Teacher: Make a copy of the Interactive Slide Deck
Do I Have the Right? Website
Do I Have the Right? Lesson Plan

Middle School

Constitution Day Blooket Game
Blooket Game Lesson Plan

High School

Argument Wars Game
Argument Wars Lesson Plan

Digital Citizenship (Goal 4)

Let's encourage our students to take ownership of their digital lives and be able to fully participate in our community and make smart choices online and in life with our Digital Citizenship activities. With our Minecraft activity 4th-12th graders can explore concepts like digital theft, media literacy, sharing and harassment in a fun and engaging game world. If you aren't quite ready to let you kids into the virtual wild, try one of our interactive Google Slide lessons. 3rd-12th grade students can work through our self-paced modules or teachers can make a copy and teach the interactive lesson with their students. For more information on Digital Citizenship, you can check out Common Sense Education.

Minecraft Digital Citizenship

Minecraft World Download File
Minecraft Digital Citizenship Lesson Plan
Minecraft World Student Instructions Video ->

Self-Paced Digital Citizenship courses

Find the right course
Digital Citizenship Lesson Plan

Meet Your Technology (Goal 4)

Maybe you aren't so techie but that doesn't mean you can't teach your students technology! We created a course for Kinder-2nd graders to learn all about how to use a Chromebook. Older students can work through our Introduction to Google Tools activity for an interactive quick start tutorial on Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Forms, and more!

Introduction to Google Tools 3-12

Intro to Google Tools Slide Deck
Intro to Google Tools Lesson Plan

Introduction to Chromebooks K-2

Intro to Chromebooks Template
Intro to Chromebooks Lesson Plan
Intro to Chromebooks Lesson Plan with Standards
Intro to Chromebooks Teacher Overview Video

Parent-Teacher Conferences (Family Engagement)

We know teachers have a lot on their plates and preparing for Parent-Teacher Conferences is a responsibility you can share with your students. Have them work through the Student-Led Conference presentation where they can reflect on the beginning of the school year, create goals, track data, and show all of it to parents during conferences. Great for students in 3rd grade and up.

Student-Led Conferences

Google Slides Student-Led Conferences Template English
Google Slides Student-Led Conferences Template Spanish
Student-Led Conferences Lesson Plan

Our ultimate goal is to support the Albuquerque Public Schools community with the effective integration of technology. We want all learners to have authentic and self-directed learning experiences in a secure digital environment. If you want EdTech to collaborate with you and your students, please submit a service desk ticket and we will gladly visit your classroom and get your students excited to use technology!

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