The Purple Parade

Collaboration is the key to clear communication and cooperative learning.  Educators not only need to encourage collaboration in their students, but it is so great to learn from others through building professional learning networks and collaborating outside the classroom/school walls.  So, I'm sharing my favorite resources to encourage collaboration and communication. If you have a favorite, please feel free to share yours in the comments! Google Drive /Apps for EDU (obviously) - With all the products in Google Drive and the Apps for EDU suite (Docs, Slides, Forms, Sheets, Drawings, Sites, etc.) there is no reason not to collaborate on a daily basis. The easy to use Share button is the key to collaboration and communication! Smore - An easy to use newsletter/flyer creator. However, it isn't your usual newsletter, it's all virtual.  You don't print a Smore, you send it out via email.  You can embed links, images, and videos into your Smore. I love this site!!

I've been really investigating the SAMR model lately.  If you aren't familiar with the SAMR for integrating technology into the classroom, that's ok.  I first learned about it last year at a conference.  I went to a breakout session and came out more confused than when I went in.  So, I took it upon myself to learn about it through researching it online. The SAMR model is this:  Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition The more I investigated, the more I realized that our district needs to really look at where we are on this model.  Yes, we are a Google for Education district!  Yes, all students and teachers have access to Google Drive!  But, NO, we are not redefining education with technology. One day I was inspired by a fellow Google for Education trainer to really look at how we can use Google Drive to redefine our lessons.  So, I created the graphic below with ideas on how to use Google Drive and other Google products through the SAMR model.  

In our district we use Standards-Based Grading in all grade levels K-12.  Our teachers have truly embraced Google Classroom as a way to assess students on the course standards.  All students are graded on a 4 point scale using Dr. Robert Marzano 's proficiency scales template.  To see our district's SBG proficiency scales, click here . In order to make Google Classroom work best, many teachers make the assignments "worth" 40 points.  Since Google Classroom is yet to give the option for 1/2 point grading, the 40 points gives the following grading options: 40 = 4 35 = 3.5 30 = 3 25 = 2.5 20 = 2 15 = 1.5 10 = 1 0 = Level not determined (there is not 0 or .5 on our proficiency scales) The great thing about Google Classroom is that you can download all your assignments into a spreadsheet file so you can track all your standards. Add some conditional formatting to your spreadsheet to color code your "green", "yellow", and "red&quo