The Purple Parade

Are you ready to have an awesome unlearning experience in St. Charles, MO?  Then join us for our very first EDCAMP!   After attending EdcampSTL, I was stoked to help plan our school district's first EDCAMP!  It will be a fun morning (8am - noon) of collaboration and learning  So, join us in St. Charles, MO on Saturday, June 4th!! For more information or to register, just go to:   https://sites.google.com/a/stcharlessd.org/edcamp-scsd/ Hope to see you there!  

Formative assessments do not have to be just paper/pencil tests. Technology is a great way to quickly assess your students to see where their level of proficiency is on the various subject standards. Have you tried any of the following technology tools to help you in your formative assessments? Mentimeter - quick exit ticket assessments Kahoot - game based quizzes that allow you to download the results Quizziz - review and practice content in a game-like format Quizalize - students complete assessment questions at their own pace GoSoapBox - features include Classroom Q&A and a "Confusion Barometer" Zaption & EdPuzzle - create assessment questions built right into your video instruction lessons Google Forms - amazing add-ons allow for differentiation and data collection Go Formative - use standards-aligned questions for a quick and easy snapshot of learning Don't let Formative Assessments drag you down!  Try using some of the technology re...

The 4C's include:  Collaboration, Creativity, Communication, and Critical Thinking.  The 4 C's came about by a joint venture of the National Education Association and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.  For more information on this, please view the following document: http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/A-Guide-to-Four-Cs.pdf Recently, I have looked for good resources online regarding the 4C's and technology, but haven't been able to find one that is current and applicable to today's classroom.  So today, I have decided to write my own blog post that demonstrates how to combine the 4C's with technology integration in the classroom. Many of the tools listed below can be used in conjunction with each other and overlap the 4C's to really increase the rigor and skill set. However, you must keep in mind that it is isn't just the technology, it is how the technology is used that's important.  Hopefully the following information will help you as you ...

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