Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session from November 2018, opens in Adobe Connect. Looking for the secret ingredients to make 5-star formative assessment dishes at every phase of the blended learning process? Join us at the Creativity Cafe to learn how the right tool at the right time in the right way can assist you in tailoring formative assessment to your students' differentiated and discriminating palates. We'll outline the different phases of blended learning and share the secret ingredients for formative evaluation for each phase or the process. Participants will explore free formative tools to provide quantitative and qualitative data and understand the importance of effective formative assessment to the success of any student-centered environment, especially a blended class. Participants will: 1. Learn the different phases of blended learning; 2. Explore digital formative assessment tools that support each phase of the blended learning process; and 3. Plan for the use of digital formative assessment tools in the classroom. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): assessment (118), teaching strategies (28)

This archived Twitter chat is from November 2018 and will open in TweetChat. The title of this chat is: Coding 101. Through this chat, participants will: 1. Explore the fundamentals of coding and creation, 2. Discuss ways to use technology to inspire our students to problem solve and think critically and 3. Share tech tools to help teachers introduce coding. Find great tools and resources to help create lessons that incorporate coding skills.

tag(s): coding (73), computers (102), twitterchatarchive (58)

This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers and students learn about coding, and for use as a guide for finding the appropriate tools for use with all grade and skill levels. Nurture problem solving, logic, and creativity. Find resources for just one hour of code or for use as ongoing technology lessons.

tag(s): coding (73), Computational Thinking (32), critical thinking (116), design (88), problem solving (294), STEM (205)

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session from November 2018, opens in Adobe Connect. Prepare your students to use today's digital tools to help solve tomorrow's problems. Pattern recognition, abstraction, algorithmic thinking, and decomposition are core thinking skills that apply to any subject. Come see how to integrate these components into any content area with Microsoft MakeCode projects and Hacking STEM lessons--hands-on activities that engage students immediately. Participants will: 1. Review the fundamentals of Computational Thinking and how they can be applied across K-12 disciplines; 2. Explore MakeCode and Hacking STEM, two resources that promote Computational Thinking; and 3. Plan for the use of Computational Thinking in the classroom. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): coding (73), Computational Thinking (32), critical thinking (116), Microsoft (59)

This archived Twitter chat is from November 2018 and will open in TweetChat. The title of this chat is: Personalize That Learning! Through this chat, participants will: 1. Define personalized learning and its characteristics 2. Share tech tools that aid in creating a personalized learning environment and 3. Share resources to help with lesson planning which incorporates personalized learning. Find great tools and resources to help create lessons that incorporate personalized learning strategies.

tag(s): differentiation (50), twitterchatarchive (58)

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session from October 2018, opens in Adobe Connect. Empower students to choose how they will meet their learning goals by helping them to focus on building knowledge, understanding, and essential skills. Learning Menus or Choice Boards allow your students to complete equally active, interesting and engaging assignments which demonstrate their comprehension of the presented material. This session will help you learn to create and use differentiated Choice Boards based on Tomlinson's model for differentiation. Participants will: 1. Understand Tomlinson's model for differentiation; 2. Learn about the use of Choice Boards for both instructional and assessment purposes; and 3. Plan for the use of Choice Boards as part of instruction. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): differentiation (50), teaching strategies (28)

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session from October 2018, opens in Adobe Connect. Engage students and deepen content area knowledge using Animoto to create instructional videos. Text, audio, and video provide additional context to content area instruction for your students. Use student-created videos as formative assessment. Brainstorm with others workshop participants on how you and your students can use Animoto in the classroom. Participants will: 1. Learn basic use of Animoto; 2. Explore three different ways to use Animoto in the classroom; and 3. Plan for the use of Animoto in the classroom. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): video (269)

This archived Twitter chat is from October 2018 and will open in TweetChat. The title of this chat is - Engage, Enhance, Extend: Creating Authentic Lessons. Through this chat, participants will: 1. Explore the main components of the Triple E Framework, 2. Discuss ways to successfully integrate technology into lessons, and 3. Share resources to leverage authentic engagement in the classroom. Find great tools and resources to integrate technology into your lessons while keeping the focus on learning goals through the understanding of the Triple E Framework.

tag(s): twitterchatarchive (58)

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session from October 2018, opens in Adobe Connect. Good readers take breaks to process what they are reading. Learn to use Microsoft Sway to guide comprehension through the use of research-based strategies. Helping students become aware of reading comprehension strategies allows them to manage their learning and empowers them to read strategically. While teaching students to think about how they read isn't an end to itself, it is a great instructional strategy. This is specifically helpful in a flipped or blended learning model. Join us and learn how to put this into action in your classroom. Participants will: 1. Learn three active reading comprehension strategies; 2. Understand where these strategies fit in the instructional cycle; and 3. Plan for the use of Sway during reading instruction. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): Microsoft (59), reading strategies (55)

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session from September 2018, opens in Adobe Connect. Develop social media savvy in your students using practice spaces focused on digital citizenship, critical thinking, persuasion and communication skills. Explore online and offline strategies and tools to create safe, authentic learning experiences for students in grades 2-12. These strategies can be applied to any content area. As educators, we can prepare every child to be influential by helping them understand how to leverage the power of social media. While students intuitively understand the mechanics of social media platforms, using them in a responsibly purposeful way to build influence is not instinctual and must be taught and practiced. Participants will recognize the cycle of information gathering, processing, and posting; followed by vetting ideas and voice amplification as both a professional use of social media and an experience that learners should have. Participants will: 1. Learn the importance of responsible social media use by students; 2. Understand the purpose of using social media practice spaces as part of regular instruction; and 3. Explore both paper-based and digital practice spaces that can be used with students. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): digital citizenship (68), social media (32)