Oakland Schools Digital Learning
Newsletter - April 2021
In this issue you will find
- free resources for Earth Day
- "Playing with Words" templates for primary students to use to practice sight words
- information about myShakespeare, an online place for students to engage with several Shakespeare plays
- samples of PBS Learning Interactive lessons for all ages - find dozens more on their website
- links to two of the best National Geographic YouTube playlists to use with students
- a link to download the free ebook "Teaching with iPads: Pages Practical Pedagogy"
- five, simple Jamboard lessons for any classroom
- a quick, easy-to-use random name selector tool
- information about three Blended Learning models that can help you better manage simultaneously teaching in-person and online students
- registration links for Coffee Break sessions-fast-paced, free professional learning opportunities
Please reach out if you have questions about any of the information in this newsletter.
~Laura and Vinos
Earth Day - April 22, 2021
Wide Open School - Earth Day Resources
On this website you will find free activities for Earth Day that help students explore our planet, lets them learn about global challenges, think of solutions, and take action. Activities are available for all grade levels.
Resources for Elementary
"Playing with Words" Slides
Resources for Secondary
myShakespeare
The teacher materials include curriculum guides for several of the featured plays including lesson plans; act-by-act resources; ideas for essays and projects; and tips for teaching Shakespeare. Additional help for getting started can be found here.
Digital Content
PBS Learning Media Interactive Lessons
PBS has created and freely shared dozens of media rich, engaging, digital lessons for a wide range of grade levels and subject areas. You can view all of the interactive lessons here and search by subject area or grade level. Be sure to check out the interactive lesson for teachers. It walks you through how to use these resources with your students.
- Animals and Plants Can Live in a City - A K-2 lesson that explores the basic needs of plants an animals.
- What Edison Teaches Us About Success - In this lesson, geared towards grades 3-5, students will study the character traits of Thomas Edison and look into how they contributed to his success.
- Storytelling with Words and Pictures - Students in grades 3-6 will explore story elements and structure and write a story of their own.
- Making the Case for Health - In this lesson for grades 5-8 students will examine an effort to address youth obesity while developing an argument for healthy changes they would like to make in their own school.
- Straight to the Source: Primary and Secondary Sources - 6-8th grade students will learn to identify primary and secondary sources as they watch video clips from a documentary.
- Latino Americans Share Their Experiences - This interactive lesson for grades 6-9 guides students as they examine the challenges three famous Latino Americans faced during their journey to success.
- Saving Crystal River - A 6-8 lesson that explores the effects an invasive species has on the environment.
- Invent Apps That Help Others and Build Empathy - This lesson takes students through a discovery of how new apps help improve the lives of people with disabilities or illness. In a final project students in grades 6-12 will use the design process to create their own app addressing a problem facing others in their community.
- Who, Me? Biased?: Understanding Implicit Bias - Implicit bias influences our thinking and actions without us even realizing it. In this lesson students in grades 9-12 will examine implicit bias and how it influences our thinking.
National Geographic YouTube Channel
National Geographic has great content on their website, but they also have a very robust YouTube channel. On their YouTube channel you’ll find videos that spotlight life in different parts of the world as well as a few locations in outer space. Some of the best resources for education can be found in the two playlists linked below.
- 101 Videos - Students can explore and experience some of nature's most intriguing phenomena via the 101 series, providing them a virtual science class unlike any other. If you are introducing new science content to students this could absolutely come in handy. Or if you’ve noticed some gaps in student background knowledge, you could use these videos to help "catch them up."
- 360 video content - View dozens of locations, sometimes with animals interacting in the environment, via 360 degree videos. Students should open each video in full screen mode. They can pan the video to look in all directions using either their keyboard or mouse.
Ideas for Using the National Geographic YouTube Channel
- View the settings/locations from books and other texts they are using
- Introduce geography, landforms or life cycles to students
- In the math classroom, make connections to how a certain equation relates to a structure or space in a different part of the world.
Check out the "Coral Reefs" video from the 101 Videos playlist below.
Google Workspace
Five Simple Jamboard Lessons for Any Classroom
John Sowash, has shared five, simple Jamboard lessons that can be used across the grade levels. Three of these Jamboard activities work well as whole-class assignments. Two more work best as individual or small-group activities. These Jamboard lessons work with Chromebooks, tablets, phones, and laptops.
Watch the video below for an overview of all five Jamboard activities.
iPads
Teaching with iPads: Pages Practical Pedagogy
You can download the epub of the book here, open it in Apple Books and find quick inspiration for new ideas to try with your students.
Blended Learning
Random Name Selector
Using Blended Learning Models to Teach Students In-person and Online Simultaneously
Dr. Catlin Tucker shares some good ideas that will help teachers who are teaching in-person and online students simultaneously in her article, "The Concurrent Classroom: Using Blended Learning Models to Teach Students In-person and Online Simultaneously." She describes the benefits and tips for using three different models, Station Rotation, Flipped Learning, and the Playlist. The Playlist model provides students with self-paced activities that can be created around a unit of study. The Flipped Learning model gives students and families 24/7 access to video instruction, this model will give the teacher more time to support students with their work. The Station Rotation model allows students to progress through three different learning activities, a teacher-led station, an online station, and an offline station. These models allow the teacher time to work directly with smaller groups.
Professional Learning Opportunity
"Coffee Break" Professional Learning
Coffee Break professional learning experiences have two parts to each session. The first part is a fast-paced, 15 minute, online session where you will learn how to use a special feature for a digital tool. The second part is an opportunity for you to create and submit an artifact that demonstrates how you have implemented the special feature highlighted at the online session. Oakland County/REMC 17 educators who attend part one of the sessions will receive, courtesy of the REMC Association of Michigan, a gift card to a local coffee shop to purchase something delicious for their next coffee break.
Session 1-Part 1: Wakelet and Flipgrid Integration - Tuesday, April 13, 2021 from 4:15 PM -4:30 PM
The Wakelet + Flipgrid integration allows you to record videos directly into a Wakelet collection using the new Flipgrid Shorts Camera. Use this Wakelet feature to bring a new level of engagement to your collections and enhance your students' learning. Create a video to provide feedback on a student’s Wakelet assignment, add an introduction to your classroom newsletter, and/or add personality to your asynchronous lessons by adding a short video with directions and words of encouragement. Students with Wakelet accounts will be able to respond to your videos by recording their own videos and adding them to your shared collections. Join us at this session to learn how to get started using Wakelet and Flipgrid integration and find out how you can earn 1 SCECH credit by adding Flipgrid integration into one or more of your Wakelet collections.
Session 2-Part 1: Using the Padlet Map Layout Online Session - Weds., April 21, 2021 from 4:15 PM - 4:30 PM
Padlet map is a layout that lets you pin locations in an interactive map. Once a place is pinned, you can add information to it. The information can be text, web links, photos, audio clips, videos and more. Students can collaborate together to build out the map. Some ideas for using the Padlet map layout include mapping events and/or people to show where historical, political or social movements arose and spread, sharing media from field trips, and identifying aspects of geography and/or posting questions about them for others to respond to. Join us at this session to learn how to get started using the Padlet map layout and find out how you can earn 1 SCECH credit by putting the map layout into practice.
Part 2: Create Artifacts - self-paced
Artifact submissions are due by May 21, 2021
Participants who complete both parts of any one session will be able to apply for 1 SCECH credit or collect a certificate for one hour of professional learning. Participants who complete all four parts can apply for 2 SCECH credits or collect a certificate for two hours of professional learning. Note: There is a $10 processing fee for SCECH credits.
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Oakland Schools Digital Learning Twitter posts can be found at os_edtech.
When you are posting to Twitter about things related to digital learning and educational technology, don't forget to use the hashtag #oakedtech.
Using the hashtag will help Oakland County educators, who are interested in the effective use of digital learning, to connect and better collaborate with each other.
Oakland Schools Digital Learning Consultants
Laura.Cummings@oakland.k12.mi.us
248-209-2283
Vinos Kassab
Vinos.Kassab@oakland.k12.mi.us
248-209-2229