GWAEA Digital Learning Update
to ensure success for all learners - Summer Learning 2020
Learning new things is part of education and there are so many places to get learning and we are going to share some places to go and different ways to get learning over the summer!
DLGWAEA Continuous Learning Field Guide for Online Learning Support
The Continuous Learning Field Guide has been developed by the Digital Learning Team to support the educator's understanding of continuous learning. This guide adopts the term “continuous learning” to encompass any methodology used to extend learning beyond brick and mortar district buildings, although these strong instructional practices can be effectively incorporated within the classroom walls as well.
Shortcut to site: https://bit.ly/GWAEACLFG
This field guide has been developed to help support teachers to teach in an online environment. In addition, these instructional strategies and tools may be used during on-site or hybrid learning situations to support teaching and learning.
The domains within this field guide contain key vocabulary, new learning, application with a digital toolkit, and reflection components.
The domains of continuous learning covered in this field guide include:
- Designing Online Instruction
- Delivering Online Instruction
- Enhancing Communication and Collaboration
- Planning Feedback and Formative Assessment
Resources and recordings of webinars to explain more about the field guide and how it can be used for professional learning can be found on this document.
Corey's Suggestion: CSTA 2020 Virtual Conference
I can't recommend the Computer Science Teachers Association annual conference enough! Whether you're an elementary teacher looking to integrate computational thinking into content areas or a secondary CS teacher, there is content and community for you.
I attended the CSTA 2019 Annual Conference and can say it is the very best professional learning experience of my career! I rekindled old friendships, connected with educators I met on twitter in real life, and developed new relationships that continue to help me grow as an educator and better serve our districts.
You can register here for $125. The full agenda is now live.
The Conference Committee also put together recommendations to help you get started.
I hope you'll join me in this wonderful conference this year! You can also follow along with the learning at #CSTA2020 on social media.
Jonathan's Suggestion: Podcasts!
Jonathan's Suggestion: Podcasts!
Many of you are probably already familiar with our podcast, The Edtech Take Out. It’s a great way to keep up with the latest edtech news and to hear about innovative ideas for teaching with technology. With guests like Leslie Fisher, Tony Vincent, and Dr. John Hattie, there are always great conversations to be had. However, the Edtech Take Out is not the only podcast with great learning opportunities for educators.
Matt Miller and Kasey Bell host the Google Teacher Tribe, a show that is dedicated to the best ways to use G Suite apps in the classroom. Teaching Keating, from Molly and Wes Kieshnick, takes the theme of a popular movie and applies it to school scenarios that all educators can relate to. Finally, The Cult of Pedagogy podcast is hosted by Jennifer Gonzalez and is well-known for teaching strategies, classroom management tips, and technology tools.
Together, these podcasts are a great way to take advantage of some on-demand learning this summer! They are free, easy to access on all devices, and available on-demand when you want them. If you need help finding any of these podcasts, let us know!
Maggie's Suggestion: Read and Watch with CAST
The annual CAST UDL symposium focuses on intersects between UDL and other hot topics in the field of education. This year's UDL Symposium will allow attendees to witness the great things happening in the field, and a unique opportunity to provide input on a more explicitly developed framework. This learning will be held on August 5th - 7th virtually! The CAST UDL Symposium Registration is open.
Another great learning opportunity is sitting on my nightstand. Allison Posey and Katie Novak are two outstanding educators and internationally recognized UDL experts have partnered to publish a new book, "Unlearning: Changing Your Beliefs and Your Classroom with UDL." This fun book takes educators through an unlearning process and challenges us to consider why we are in education.
Enjoy this summer and enjoy your learning! I'd love to connect with anyone interested in these learning opportunities. Email me, Maggie Pickett.
Gina's Suggestion: Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain
To support the exploration of this text, Hammond has a variety of resources on CRT and The Brain website: a book study guide, webinars, and her blog. Additionally, here are three other interviews she has done focusing on CRT.
- Interview on Cult of Pedagogy (Blog Post)
- Interview on The Transformative Principal (Podcasts)
- Interview on The Teaching Channel (Blog Post)
Although it is looking like my reading won't be happening by the pool this summer, I am excited to dig into this topic more deeply. It is so important for us all right now. Enjoy your time this summer!
Mindy's Suggestion: Facing History and Ourselves Instructional Strategies
Each time I visit this website, I think about how I might support the strategy with a digital tool. I think about accessibility and learner variability and how digital tools can support students that might find these instructional strategies difficult to engage in.
If you are an instructional leader, there is also an option to create playlists of these instructional strategies to help curate some new ideas for your colleagues. Each strategy gives a brief overview and 'why' behind the strategy, a step-by-step procedure, and variations of the strategy.
Don't forget to explore the rest of the site that has self-paced and facilitated online courses, webinars, and examples from classrooms!
Lynn's Suggestion: Resilient Digital Materials for Teaching and Learning: Copyright and Open Education Strategies Webinar Series
To help educators address copyright concerns, the American University Washington College of Law, in partnership with several other organizations including Creative Commons US, created the Resilient Digital Materials for Teaching and Learning: Copyright and Open Education Strategies webinar series (as well as a few stand-alone webinars). The webinars have included topics navigating copyright and Fair Use in regards to the use of music and read alouds, as well as exploring Universal Design for Learning.
The webinars have been extremely enlightening, the resources have been extremely helpful and I've learned so much. I'm looking forward to watching the rest and am excited to participate in the next ones being released!
Beth's Suggestion: InspireED Online Professional Development courses
The layout of the courses is easy to follow with many options to dig deeper and "see" the learning in action! But, the part that I like the most is the chance to connect with others on the same learning journey. I think that collaborative feature is definitely a value add!
This summer I plan to dig into the Personalized Learning coursework. I'd love to connect with some of you on this learning journey.
Amber's Suggestion: SXSWEDU
The four educators highlighted in this 1 hour conversation are:
- Christopher Emdin - who I saw keynote the year I attended SXSWEDU - associate professor at Columbia University, where he also serves as Associate Director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education and the author of For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood and the Rest of Y'All too.
- Jessica Lahey - who's book The Gift of Failure is currently sitting in my Amazon Wish List
- Esther Wojcicki - Author of How to Raise Successful People
- Mike Kleba - a public school teacher and author of Otherful: How to Change the World (And Your School) Through Others
I've already heard Christopher (in person), and Jessica and Esther (in podcasts) share their interesting ideas about education, and curious about Mike's point of view as well, so I'm excited to watch this larger conversation to help me this think broader about the scope of education. I'm also going to keep an eye on this as summer continues to see what other topics and conversations SXSWEDU will be sharing this summer.
Dianna's Suggestion: Read to Reflect on Race Relations in America
Taking the time to read a book (or more) gives me an opportunity to pause, process my own thoughts, and decide how I plan to grow. I cannot think of a better time than now to read Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, And You by Jason Reynolds.
This remarkable adaptation of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's book, Stamped from the Beginning, inspires hope for an antiracist future and examines historical racist ideas in America. It shows that while these ideas have always been easy to create and spread, they can also be discredited. Award-winning author, Jason Reynolds, shines a light on the many forms of racist ideas and provides ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their daily lives. Young Adults are the target audience for this book, but adults will also appreciate Jason Reynolds’ voice.
Click to borrow the Ebook or the audiobook.from the GWAEA Media Center. (Available only to educators & students in the GWAEA service area. Requires your school username and password. If you need that information, please fill out this form and we will get back to you ASAP.) Also available from public libraries and booksellers. A free extensive teaching guide is also available here if you would like to consider using this for classroom learning.
Stamped from the Beginning audiobook is also available for free at this time through Spotify.
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Email: digitallearning@gwaea.org
Website: http://www.dlgwaea.org
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA, United States
Phone: 319-399-6700
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Twitter: @DLGWAEA