PASD LTR for Staff

 This post is a guest post from Penny Whyte, Kindergarten Teacher! Have you wondered how to keep students connected to each other during  virtual learning? If you have a Seesaw classroom, adding the blog option might just be what you are looking for. Students can post material onto the blog and comment  on each other's posts using text or voice. All posts and comments require teacher approval before they appear on the blog. Some of the ways I used the blog with my Kindergarten class during quarantine were: Students shared pictures of activities I had assigned as lessons  (reading forts, sidewalk writing)  or just our best silly faces or pictures of our pets. Playing I Spy, (Each student took a picture of an area where they had hid something of the color of the day.  Students then comment back and forth about where the hidden item was.) Sending birthday greeting and other messages to friends Show and tell To set up your blog is very simple.  Seesaw has ...

  Many have used Screencastify to create their own videos and screen casts. However, many may not have explored Screencastify's newest gem: Submit.  This is a really neat feature as we have pivoted to virtual learning very quickly. Students can record their own video of their presentation, process or just a video of themselves (though Flipgrid works pretty slick for that) with a click of a button. No extensions need to be added, it all happens from the URL that you share. I used it recently with my 5th grade class on their virtual day. I wanted to know what they did for research and asked them to share with me the Google Keep notes that they had taken over the duration of our face to face and virtual days.  To get started I used the so helpful " Getting Started with Submit " link on the Screencastify Help page. This post has videos for you and also videos of what your students are going to see! I created my own video, but you could share this resource for the more indepen...

 PBS has a bunch of free teaching resources that includes lesson plans, videos, activities and more! Best of all, it's all FREE!  The link to find it is here:  https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/  If you have never been there before you do need to create your own account. I strongly suggest using your Google Account. When you first log in you have a few different options just from the top. You can search by: Subject Grade Standard There are predetermined collections based on show and topic.  Each video comes with a brief description, support materials and standards that it is related to. When you choose an item, you can assign it within the PBS Learning Media website or you can share it directly to Google Classroom. I really appreciate both of these features. Google Classroom is a no brainer most of the time because that is what I use to share materials with students. However, PBS Learning Media allows you to use some other features as well: The Lesson Builder al...

 As we continue to navigate the 2020-21 school year's twists, turns and bumps, here are a few reminders regarding Google Meet. There are two highly suggested ways to go about setting up Google Meets with students.  Option 1: Use the Meet Code generated in Google Classroom Eric Curts does a fantastic job in describing this in his Blog Post from April 10, 2020:  Google Meet is now integrated in Google Classroom!  There is even an amazing video of him giving those directions! Since we already strongly urge you to have Google Classroom set up with students with GoGuardian this is a great way to set up Meets for drop ins on the days that we are virtual.  You can toggle the Meet link on and off through your settings. Maybe you don't have Classroom or you want to set up a more 1:1 session with a student? This is where Option 2 comes in. Option 2: Create your own Meeting using a nickname 1)Set up a time with student(s) either while you are face to face or send them a ca...

This guest blog post is brought to you by Andi Achterberg! Have you ever used Flocabulary with your students?  My class LOVES IT!  If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s an online program that has fun videos for students.  They introduce grade-specific vocabulary words, then have daily activities you can assign, including a vocabulary game, read and respond, vocabulary cards, and a quiz.  There is everything from Reading and Writing skills, to general grade-level vocabulary, and even Science and Social Studies vocabulary.  You can also share it right to Google Classroom!  I’d be happy to show you how it works, if you’re interested!

Other Video Options video shared on 3/19/2020: https://www.wevideo.com/view/1617882812 Update for 3/20/20: I used Screencast-O-Matic today to record my Pandemic @ PASD with great success. If you are using your Chromebook I found it helpful to have the app and the extension on. Here is the app: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/screencast-o-matic/ofhomjgaaamjpmjogmkglfojkdlabekg/related Here is the extension: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/screencast-o-matic-launch/eefedolmcildfckjamddopaplfiiankl If this is something that you want students to use it is on the Web 2.0 list for MS and HS. You would want to share the links with the students so they can add it.