By Dana Bockman, Facilitator of Instruction and Assessment I find myself taking a deep breath in and a long exhale out before entering the building each morning. I think I am trying to center myself and prepare my mind and body to handle what the day might bring. I come each day with a plan for what I am going to accomplish and meetings to attend, but I am well aware that many items will not be crossed off and additional meetings will be scheduled. More often than not this year, fires ignite and need to be put out. I spend much time reacting to what has come up in the moment. I imagine I am not at all alone in this.
Then, this article was sent my way by Liz Fox. She shared that it really spoke to her. As I read, I kept nodding my head in agreement with every word on the page. I guess it was speaking to me too. It is a little lengthy, but a message I think we all should hear right now. Why Is This So Hard? On Workload, Pressure, and the Ways through the Woods by Dave Stuart Jr. It is okay to just be okay right now. It is okay to not like things right now. We should not measure our work this year against any other year we have ever been in education. If we do, we are setting the bar at an unreachable height. We need to go easy on ourselves. We need to allow ourselves some grace. This will not be perfect, and that is okay.
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By Kourtnie Hunter, DMS Collaborative Teacher The app Tik Tok is a popular way for students to connect to others through social media. The app is for making and posting videos, mostly with the intent to make others laugh, but with the many challenges happening right now, Tik Tok influencers have used their platforms to bring awareness to topics like racial inequality, mental health, and the LGBTQ+ community. I downloaded Tik Tok at the recommendation of my students because they thought it would make me laugh, and it definitely does! However, with the pandemic and school happening at the same time, I actually found a new (and better) use for Tik Tok. I don’t just scroll through my feed anymore. Instead, I have been learning new things from real teachers! Several teachers across the country are using Tik Tok to share their “teacher tips” with others. Even better, most of these tips don’t come with the price tag you would see on websites like Teachers Pay Teachers; in fact, I haven’t paid anything for any of the resources and information I’ve gotten on Tik Tok.
My main focus when watching teacher Tik Toks is to gain more knowledge with technology and online tools. Some of what I’ve learned is simple, like using the “Paint Format” button on Google Slides or using email templates, but there are other, more complex things I’ve learned (most being apps and websites). I’ve been able to incorporate what I’ve learned from Tik Tok into my classroom already, making lesson creating and online learning a bit less stressful. :) Some cool things to check out all thanks to Tik Tok: ● remove.bg → You upload a picture into the website, and it removes the background (great for using Google Slides). ● mailtolink.me → Ever have students tell you they don’t know your email? On this site, you type in your email in the “To:” spot (and a message if you want below it), and from there, you create a link--this link allows students to click on it, and it opens the Mail app with your email preloaded! ● Pixton → Using the free version, you can create a class with your students to start the fun! Students can design their own comics-- they can even use their classmates’ avatars to include them as characters in their story! ● teachermade.com → This website allows you to take a PDF worksheet and turn it into an online worksheet that students can complete at home. It also can grade your worksheets much like how Canvas would a quiz. ● whiteboard.fi → This is a great alternative to the traditional use of mini-whiteboards. Here, you can share the “teacher” whiteboard with your class, and you can see your students’ whiteboards, too, all at once. This site includes math and music features as well with the whiteboards. ● Class Dojo → This app allows teachers to give feedback to individual students on behavior and soft-skills. You can personalize what skills students are assessed over, and a quick click tells parents how their student’s day went. You can also create a class feed (looks like Facebook) to show parents what is happening in your classroom. |
AuthorsDCSD Teachers, Instructional Coaches, Learner Advocate, and Collaborative Teachers Archives
April 2024
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