Embedded Files
In this issue:
In this issue:
Engaging Students in Review
Did you Know? Accessibility Features
Monthly focus: Student Engagement and Year-End Review
Canvas End-of-Year Information
Blended Learning Symposium: Call for proposals!
May Digital Citizenship Focus
Student Review Tools
Resources
April SAMR Challenge Winner
Student Engagement Challenge for May
When traveling, sending post cards is a great way to share your adventures with others. Writing post cards allows you to review the highlights of your trip, capturing places you have been and moments you've treasured on your journey. Similarly, reviewing with students should capture the highlights of learning throughout the year. This newsletter will cover engaging ways to spice up your end-of-year review with your students. Choose a few ideas that will help cement the standards and concepts taught over the year.
Did you know that educators can obtain a free license of ReadWrite from TextHelp? This tool allows for read aloud, speech to text, simplifying text, word prediction, screen masking, dictionaries, translation, and highlighting. Students also have access to a free 30-day trial that is pre-approved in the chrome extension store or iPad student self-service. After the trial expires, students will still have access to the read aloud feature.
https://www.texthelp.com/products/free-for-teachers/read-and-write
If you need additional assistance, please contact the GCS Assistive Technology team to assist you with student use, tatej2@gcsnc.com.
Blended Learning Focus: Student Engagement
Blended Learning Focus: Student Engagement
The article "4 Blended Learning Strategies for Better Student Engagement" states:
"Gen Z is the first truly internet-dependent generation – getting their entertainment, information, and socialization online, oftentimes from social media. Therefore, to reach these students where they are, we need to evolve our instructional strategies. "
Here are a few things to consider as you look at when planning lessons in your classroom to ensure students take ownership for their own learning.
IMPORTANT Canvas Information
IMPORTANT Canvas Information
End of year close out is among us! Here a few things you should consider.
Blended Learning Symposium: Save-the-Date/Call for Proposals!
Blended Learning Symposium: Save-the-Date/Call for Proposals!
Join us August 8th and 9th for our first ever Guilford County Blended Learning Symposium! Please see the flyer, below, for additional information and a chance to submit a proposal to present. The deadline to submit a proposal is Friday, May 26th.
final Blended Learning Symposium 5.1.23.pdfMay Digital Citizenship Focus
May Digital Citizenship Focus
Digital Citizenship Supplemental Resources and Feedback
Monthly Guilford is Cyber Safe Digital Citizenship lessons and resources have focused on the six Common Sense Education Digital Citizenship Core Topics.
Please provide feedback on the effectiveness of these activities and resources to inform planning for next school year.
Through DPI, schools also have access to KnowBe4 Children’s Interactive Cybersecurity Activity Kit. These resources can be used as supplemental end of the year activities.
Student Review Ideas
Student Review Ideas
While reviewing with students can certainly be done without technology, below are some tools that can be used to help gauge mastery of the standards and have a high engagement factor. These tools are not district-supported, but are free for teachers and students (some may have a premium feature fee, but the basic level is free).
Our Favorites:
Use one of the Game Templates to review previously taught concepts. Family Feud, Trasketball, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire are just a few of the options.
The "Caption This and Comment" template could be used for any content area! In Math, students can be given a picture of a problem solved incorrectly and caption the mistake and how to fix it.
Have students create a newspaper article. Great for events in history and events in literary texts.
Amazon Product Review Template. Students can describe and critique objects, people, places, and more.
Need some graphic organizers? They have those, too!
*Many of these templates would make for an easy-to-create choice board, allowing students to choose how they would like to show their learning around a specific standard/s from the NCSCOS (North Carolina Standard Course of Study).
Our Favorites:
The Trading Card Creator can be used for vocabulary, events, people, fictional people, places, etc. Print them off and allow students to trade cards.
Have students write a postcard or letter from one literary character to another, from a particular time or event in history, explaining a concept from one classmate to another, etc.
Have students create an alphabet book for vocabulary or words having to do with a specific focus, like ecosystems.
*Many of these interactives would make for an easy-to-create choice board, allowing students to choose how they would like to show their learning around a specific standard/s from the NCSCOS.
Our Favorites:
Have students create a fake Facebook page (Fakebook) or tweet for a vocabulary term, a character, a historical figure, etc.
Use the Image Annotator to create an interactive experience with pictures. Students can type in information and embed links for each hotspot created.
Students can create a text message thread using the SMS Generator. Students can explain a concept, evaluate a text, summarize, etc. to another peer (could be done in pairs or individually).
Use the Breaking News Generator to create a headline for a historical event or discovery, a current event, a fictional event, etc.
*Many of these tools would make for an easy-to-create choice board, allowing students to choose how they would like to show their learning around a specific standard/s from the NCSCOS.
Other Tools
Other Tools
Students can use voki.com to create a talking avatar. Text can be entered (under speaker icon) to explain a concept, analyze, summarize, etc.
Use vocaroo.com to create a news broadcast or podcast.
*Many of these tools would make for an easy-to-create choice board, allowing students to choose how they would like to show their learning around a specific standard/s from the NCSCOS.
Resources
Resources
BL Resource Website: Visit our website for all things blended learning. Locate your blended learning specialist, find out about our virtual course offerings,
Air Table: Want to know what digital resources we have for you? Check out the district's Air Table. You can filter to find the information you need.
Resources Document for Look-fors: If you like the Blended Learning Look-for document but feel like you need to know more, please check out our resource page that directly aligns with each of the blended learning focus areas.
Digital Learning Resources Canvas Page: Need help with one of our GCS district-provided resources? Visit our digital learning resource page to find video tutorials and instructional guides on anything from Swivl to Canvas.
Congratulations!
Congratulations!
Erika Pence, from Cone Elementary, is the SAMR Challenge winner for the month of April. Ms. Pence won a $25 gift card to Fleet Plummer and a Chick-fil-A meal coupon for thinking of ways she can take her instruction to the next level of SAMR. A special "thank you" to Fleet Plummer and the Chick-fil-A on Battleground for their generous donations. Please check out our May Student Engagement Challenge, below. The next winner could be you!
Student Engagement Challenge
Student Engagement Challenge
Please submit a brief reflection of a lesson you have completed recently with students using one of these digital tools or another tool used for review that promoted high student engagement. Use THIS LINK to submit your reflection. Once you submit your response, you will automatically be entered into a drawing for a prize. Please submit your entry by Tuesday, May 30th.
Follow us on Twitter: @BlendedGCS
Blended Learning Network: Use #GCSBLN
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