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...

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 pr...

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...

Did you notice that the Google Forms icon is now PURPLE ????  In your Google Drive, Google Forms and Google Sheets have both been Green , but now you can easily easily distinguish between the two types of files.  This makes this organizational maniac very excited!!  And, my favorite color is PURPLE , so it makes me even more happy!  So, if you want to find a form to edit, just look for the PURPLE .  If you want to view the responses of a form or look at a different spreadsheet, just look for the GREEN .  Hope that helps you in organizing and finding files in your Google Drive! Forms Sheets     

I had the pleasure of sitting in on a training in our district today by two of my colleagues (Amy and Heather).  I love watching them speak about their experiences with flipping the classroom.  They are so passionate about making their lessons available for students 24/7 and holding students accountable for their learning.  However, only 10% of the flipping process means that you should be assigning the videos for homework.  During their workshop, they showed a video by Lodge McCammon that describes the "pitch" for videotaping your lessons for homework is just 10% of the reason of why you should do it.  View the video below to hear Lodge describe it himself. Flipping the classroom can be such a powerful tool in the classroom.  Think about reteaching...  Think about instruction for students who are absent...  Think about having yourself in the classroom as your own co-teacher!  These are the reasons that you should be flipping your less...

With the inspiration of Google expert David Wees, I used his Choose Your Own Adventure idea with Google Forms for a Google training I am facilitating. Using his Choose Your Own Adventure story and adding some more details and pages, I created my own story based on his original.  It is called "The Lily Pad".   https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DX3uhiwGehYYk3ya_ww7cxriAlnY85P2jEtzUEAUL6A/viewform Using the "Go To Page Based on Answer" option in Google Forms, you can guide your viewers to different pages based on the answer they choose.  Think of the movie BIG with Tom Hanks.  At the end of the movie, he and his "girlfriend" pitch the idea of a choose your own adventure comic book with different cartridges with multiple choices to guide the reader which ever way they choose.  They can read the story over and over again with different choices.  Not only would this be an engaging reading activity for students, they could actually work on their writing skills b...

A Teacher's Best Friend!?! I know that this post may be a little touchy for some, but I think it does need to be said.  As I, and other educators, begin to build their professional learning networks on social media, many educators are turning to Pinterest for their teaching ideas.  I, too, use Pinterest for ideas.  I have boards on all types of educational topics.  I also have lifestyle boards with recipes, ideas for the house, my hopes and dreams, and more.  Pinterest can really be a time sucker if you let it. But, it can also be an educator's best friend.  There are so many great educational "pinners". However, Pinterest can also be a detriment to education if teachers use many of the ideas that are posted.  I love the ideas for classroom organization, experiments, instructional technology, and student collaboration.  However, I am seeing too many pins that are worksheets and things that say they are "Common Core Aligned".  I am reall...