Why do I get this everyday in Groupwise?
It is really a way to give you control and protect your account from filling up with spam. We created this video to better help you understand why and how it works.
Canva - You MUST check out this tech tool!
Yes, it is free to educators so I recommended using the free version to start off. Go to this link to get started.
https://www.canva.com/education/
I know you are wondering what is Canva and how will it help me. I will give the basics but it will do so much more. It is an online digital design platform. If you need to create any type of graphic, this is the tool.
I have created a number of graphics to use on our FB posts, newsletters, emails, etc. Check out this post from shakeuplearning.
- Headers for Google classroom and forms
- Classroom signs and decor
- Social media graphics
- Templates for anything you might need
- Certificates
- Presentations
- Schedules
I will warn you ahead of time you can quickly get caught up in all it will do, so go into the program with a specific goal. Otherwise, you will stay in it forever. Also, there is an app for your phone so go check it out and get creative!
As the World Turns
I know...you are saying what the crap does this have to do with anything. Just like the end of the soap opera era, the era of the traditional classroom ended with the beginning of COVID - March 13, 2020. This was our last day before leaving for our COVID adventure. Hard to believe it has been two years since the craziness ensued.
COVID has taken us on a wild adventure, but we have learned a lot during this time. It has made us rethink the traditional classroom and how we can use technology to better support our instruction. Think of the many things it forced us to learn:
- We had to immerse ourselves into the Google Classroom world. Assignments continue to be posted in Google Classroom, so students have access to them at anytime and students are submitting assignments via Google Classroom everyday.
- Teachers are providing immediate feedback on student work in the digital world. No longer do students have to wait until the teacher reads the "paper" and provide feedback.
- Recordings of class instruction are posted for students to reference. If a student is absent they can easily view the class instruction for the day.
- We discovered "remote learning is a supplement, not a substitute, for in-school instruction." Even our kindergarten teachers started posting support materials for students in the digital world. Now doing instruction via Google Meets for kindergarten was quite a challenge!
We have entered a new era of teaching. We have adjusted and embraced many changes in a short amount of time. We will continue to research and find new ways to better serve our students. We will continue working with one another and our students to meet whatever challenges and celebrate successes that come our way. Our world will continue to turn even though the soap opera did not!!! You got this!!!
