The Spark
National Teacher Development Newsletter, August 2020
National Update
Welcome to The Spark!
As we begin to kick-off the new school year, the Talent Development and Community team wanted to introduce (or re-introduce) this amazing resource to you, the fantastic teachers, administrators, and support personnel we strive to serve.
The Spark is a monthly newsletter where we share important updates, useful trainings, highlight the exceptional practices of teachers within our K12 network of schools, and most importantly share ready-to-use tips and resources you can implement in your online classroom.
If you haven't already, please visit The Spark Archive to peruse handy online teaching resources shared in past issues.
In this month's abbreviated issue, we are proud to share:
Learning Continuum- Trainings that are the most useful to you as you prepare your class for the new school year
Strong Start- Ways to connect and get support
Teacher Toolbox- Resources for setting up for success this school year
Products and Courses- Informative updates to the curriculum and platform tools you use
We hope you enjoy this issue we curated just for you!
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Learning Continuum
New Teacher On-boarding SY2021
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Strong Start
We are so excited to begin a new school year! As you are setting up your online classroom, do you ever want to just SEE something done, or have a space to ask questions? We've GOT you!
Make an appointment via our TDC Website and connect with a Teacher or Leader Trainer today!
Brittany Churchill
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Teacher Toolbox
Creating and Sharing Educational Narratives
Storytelling can be a powerful way to connect with your students and colleagues. Prior to the start of the school year, consider what your educational narrative is and document it. Once your narrative is complete, think of ways you could encourage students to share theirs in order to build relationships and find ways to support students on their learning journey.
Wondering how to start an educational narrative, check out a template with questions to ponder here.
Strong Start with Quick Checks
Clear expectations for active student participation
Frequent checks for understanding throughout the lesson
Opportunities for positive student interaction
Process for providing meaningful feedback
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Products and Courses
SY20-21 Course Changes
The Product Development team is excited to share more information regarding upcoming school year curriculum and platform product changes, bringing even more functionality and improved content to your school, staff and students.
The purpose of this document is to provide school leaders, administrators and teachers a consolidated summary of information needed to help each school plan for the upcoming school year. It also provides links to critical resources to further support preparation and planning.
Content includes the following:
- SY20-21 curriculum and platform product changes, and
- Highlights of existing products that can help support schools and students.
Please view the document here.
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K5 Power Hour- You don't want to miss this!
Have you signed up for the K5 Power Hours? This is a great opportunity to review functionality as well as ask how to make new tools work best for your classrooms. If you work with K5, be sure to sign up and remind your friends to sign up on K12training.com
Schedule for August:
8/6 1:00 EST Setting Up Your Gradebook
8/13 1:00 EST Understanding the New Student Auto Adjust Tool
8/20 1:00 EST Adding Content and Re-ordering Content
8/27 1:00 EST Managing Due Dates
Below are some exciting course and platform updates for K5 and the OMHS. To learn more details, explore the PDF here.
K5 Course Updates and Highlights:
New Student Alert
K5 Auto Adjust Key Features
To review full details of these updates please see the associated Learn, Know and Grow session recordings or attend a live K5 Power Hour for support on all changes.
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OMHS Updates and Highlights
On August 1st, several updates will be coming to the OMHS. Be sure to review the SharePoint page for details on each enhancement
Removal of the Content Carousel Widget
New Student Content Viewer for Summit Courses
Removal the YouTube and Flickr search options when in Insert Stuff
Updated Content Reports
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Newsletter Team
Adam Blaylock
Chelsea Wilson
Christine Spalding
Newsletter Organizer & Editor