September 23, 2016
Volume 5, Issue 4
TIS & THAT Don’t Fall Into DEVOLSON
In This Issue
Otherwise known as, ‘Dark, Evil Vortex of Late September, October and November.’ Tech-Based Field Trips: Turn a boring, traditional field trip into something engaging for students.
2 Learning in Your Own Backyard: Check out field trip ideas across West Virginia.
2 Brain Breaks: Find some easy ways to incorporate brain breaks in your classroom.
3 As most of us approach one month or more back in school, this is the time of year where it becomes easy to fall into DEVOLSON: the Dark, Evil Vortex of Late September, October, and November. According to Love, Teach, this is the time of year where teachers are the busiest, craziest, and usually
the saddest. We find ourselves in the middle of nearly an 11-week track completely free of any significant breaks. This issue of TIS & That will help you find some ways to avoid the pitfall of DEVOLSON.
Tech Time Savers: Work smarter, not harder with our tech time savers.
4 “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” Aristotle
Five Awesome Blogs for Teachers In need of motivation? Searching for new methods? Or just need a laugh? Check out the following blogs to keep you inspired throughout the year: www.loveteachblog.com Love, Teach is an anonymous writer that shares her experiences as an educator. Her posts are funny and very relatable.
www.thecornerstoneforteachers.com/blog Angela Watson is the author of The Cornerstone for Teachers blog. Her posts are very inspirational and encouraging for educators. In addition to writing her blog, she has written three books and releases weekly podcasts. (Continued on page 4)
September 23, 2016
Volume 5, Issue 4
From Traditional to Techie: Tech for Your Next Field Trip By: Ashley Skavenski The field trip: every teacher’s worst nightmare and best friend. It’s a chance to get out of the classroom and a chance for authentic learning. This year, make that authentic learning more engaging and meaningful for students with a tech-based field trip. Here are some tips on ‘technofying’ your next field trip. 1. Allow students to bring mobile devices (cell phones, tablets) on the field trip with them to record demonstrations and activities. These videos from students can then be created into a class video to share, discuss, and learn from after the field trip is over.
2. Prior to attending the field trip location, create a scavenger hunt for students to complete while they are on location. Have students to take pictures of items on the list, later to turn into a presentation to share with their peers. 3. Ask students to pair up with a partner and create a “newscast” where they interview and record employees at the location they are attending. Have students plan and create for their newscast prior to attending the field trip. Allow students to edit and share their newscast when they return from their trip.
5. If you promote learning through social media, create a unique hashtag for your students to use on Twitter and Instagram to encourage them to share their learning experiences.
4. Have students create a podcast based on the experiences they had on their field trip.
A Wealth of Learning in Our Own Backyard: WV Field Trip Ideas 1. Cass Scenic Railroad State Park—Located in the mountains of Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Group tours are available to Whittaker Station or Bald Knob. There are many activities that can be planned with the organization to meet the needs of your students. http://www.cassrailroad.com/group.html
2. Blackwater Falls State Park—Imagine looking at the waterfall during the leaf change! What a sight to see! Blackwater Falls is named for the Blackwater River.
WV Learns offers courses on designing virtual field trips. Check out their site for registration information. 2
http://www.blackwaterfalls.com/group.htm
Continued on page 5
September 23, 2016
Volume 5, Issue 4
Get Moving & Motivated in Your Classroom By: Anne Vopal
Looking for ideas to motivate your students and keep them engaged throughout the day? Consider incorporating brain breaks into your daily routine! Brain breaks are short activities that allow students to take a break from instruction to focus on movement, flexibility, mindfulness, and more. GoNoodle.com is a great site filled with brain breaks for students of all ages. The following is a review of three channels on GoNoodle. Check out all of the channels by visiting GoNoodle.com! Brainersize with Mr. Catman This channel is filled with activities to exercise the brain. The minute plus activities challenge students to coordinate movements and practice crossing the midline. Not only are the activities great, but Mr. Catman is quite an a�mew�sing leader.
Fresh Start Fitness There are currently nine videos ranging from two to 20 minutes long. The videos include a variety of stretching, strength, and cardio exercises and are led by an enthusiastic host. The pace is relatively fast and would provide a great opportunity to get students moving for a short period of time. Empower Tools Empower Tools blend mindfulness and yoga poses to create calming, yet powerful activities. Video titles include Manage Frustration, Have Compassion, and Be Kind to Yourself. These activities could help to address various needs of students of all ages.
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September 23, 2016
Volume 5, Issue 4
Time-Saving Tech Tools By: Jonas Knotts
As the shine wears off the new school year and you stand on the edge of falling into DEVOLSON, remember to work smarter, not harder. With the deluge of so-called ‘teacher timesaver’ websites out there, we are sharing some of our favorites. Let’s Recap www.letsrecap.com Turn your boring old paper exit slip on its end with this digital solution. Gone are the days of trying to keep tabs on hundreds of Post-It’s or paper slips. Students use the Let’s Recap app to create short selfie videos on your exit slip topic which are digitally uploaded for your viewing. Works on Android, iOS, and web. Random Name Picker http://www.classtools.net/random-name-picker/ Time to move away from the ‘call-on-me cups’ and check out this random name picker. Upload your class rosters into the picker and it creates a ‘Wheel of Fortune’-style game that automatically picks students’ names. You can save classes for future use. Great for a multitude of classroom uses and won’t take up space on your desk. Kahoot www.getakahoot.com Gamify your classroom with Kahoot. Create quizzes and more for a wide variety of assessments. Students can use any device to take the quiz which functions like a pub trivia game. The longer students take to answer the question; the fewer points the question is worth. The site keeps track of results and provides deep teacher data reporting options. Planbook www.planbook.edu Planbook is a web or app-based lesson planning solution. Create electronic, completely customizable lesson plans. Plans can be printed, emailed, uploaded to the cloud, or more. There are some Planbook haters out there because the service used to be prone to glitching. However, the product has undergone an overhaul and is much more stable and user-friendly. It’s worth giving it a look. The basic service is always free, but the premium service will cost you. Schoology www.schoology.com This one goes without saying. Schoology is a wonderful, free LMS that allows you to give, collect, and grade assignments, quizzes, tests, and more. You can also post course materials, handouts, links, and more.
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Five Awesome Blogs for Teachers (Continued from page 1)
www.weareteachers.com/blogs We Are Teachers is authored by numerous individuals who write about a variety of educational topics. Blog categories include classroom management, school leadership, professional development, STEM, and laughs & inspiration.
www.coolcatteacher.com The Cool Cat Teacher Blog is written by Vicki Davis. She is passionate about teaching and her mission is to help educators become better teachers. Her blog focuses on themes such as technology integration, differentiation, and building relationships with students and colleagues.
www.freetech4teachers.com Richard Byrne authors Free Technology for Teachers. His blog focuses on technology integration and shares information about free resources educators can use in their classroom.
September 23, 2016 WV Field Trip Ideas (Continued from Page 2) 3. Orr’s Farm Market—Orr’s Farm Market, located in Martinsburg, offers several different field trip options based on ages of students. Contact them to let them know your demographic and they will plan out a wonderful excursion for your students! For the fall, students tour the farm and learn how they grow produce and view livestock that is living on the property! This field trip is a must for anyone in the Eastern Panhandle! http://orrsfarmmarket.corecommerce.com/ School-Tours.html 4. Harper’s Ferry National Historic Park— Located in Harper’s Ferry, Harper’s Ferry National Park offers a variety of learning experiences for students. It is recommended to make a reservation for either a self-guided experience or a ranger-led lesson. https://www.nps.gov/hafe/learn/educatio n/classrooms/fieldtrips.htm 5. The Mountain Institute—The Mountain Institute is a 400-acre nature preserve located in Spruce Knob, Pendleton County. The Spruce Knob Center is home to Mongolian Yurts that are self-supporting structures that were created by Bill Coperthwaite. The Mountain Institute offers several experiential education programs where students learn about adventure and conservation. http://www.mountain.org/educationprograms 6. Blennerhasset Island Historical State Park—The Island is open May through October each year. The tour of the park is around three hours, including a boat trip to and from the island. Students have the opportunity to visit the museum on the property and tour the home on the property. http://www.blennerhassettislandstatepark. com/Group_Services_School_Groups.pdf
Volume 5, Issue 4
Fall 2016 WVDE eLearning Course Listing: 21st Century Instruction with Project Based Learning for Active WV Educators 21st Century Teaching and Learning in the Career and Technical Education Classroom for Active WV Educators Balanced Reading Diet Grades Pre-K Through 5 for Active WV Educators Classroom Management for Active WV Educators Creating Your Personal Learning Network (PLN) for Active WV Educators Cyber Safety for Educators for Active WV Educators Designing a Virtual Field Trip for Active WV Educators Developing and Implementing WebQuests for Active WV Educators Differentiating Instruction for Active WV Educators Digital Citizenship for Active WV Educators Digital Citizenship for Administrators, WV Central Office Staff and WV County/School Support Staff Digital Storytelling for Active WV Educators Early Childhood Book Reading Practices for Active WV Educators Finding the Best Education Resources on the Web for Active WV Educators Getting Ready for Algebra Using Virtual Manipulatives for Active WV Educators Helping Struggling Readers Improve Comprehension for Active WV Educators Improving Reading and Writing in the Content Area for Active WV Educators Intel Teach: Blended Learning in the 21st Century Classroom for Active WV Educators Intel Teach: Collaboration in the Classroom for Active WV Educators Intel Teach: Thinking Critically with Data for Active WV Educators Math 1: Functions for Active WV Educators
(Continued on page 6)
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September 23, 2016
Volume 5, Issue 4
Fall 2016 WVDE eLearning Courses (continued) INational Board Awareness for Active WV Educators
Classrooms for Active Educators
Office 365 Applications for Classroom Instruction for Active WV Educators Office 365 for Administrators, WV Central Office Staff and WV County Support Staff School Nurses: Clinical Skills for the WV School Nurse for Active-County Full-Time Employed School Nurses School Nurses: Renewing Your Knowledge in School Nursing for Active-County Full-Time Employed School Nurses Supporting Literacy in Lower Elementary Classrooms for Active WV Educators
Using Digital Portfolios to Foster Student Learning for Active WV Educators
September 28: RESA 6
Using Rubrics to Guide Student Learning for Active WV Educators
September 29: RESA 8 (at WV School for the Deaf and Blind)
West Virginia Comprehensive School Counseling Programs: Design and Implementation for Active WV School Counselors Word Study Grades Pre-K Through 5 for Active WV Educators
Registration closes October 4th Courses begin October 5th
Teaching and Learning in the Developmentally Responsive Middle School for Active WV Educators
TIS Fall Regional Meetings:
https://wvlearns.k12.wv.us
October 3: RESA 7 October 7: RESA 3 October 13: RESA 1 October 14: RESA 5 October 24: RESA 4
Teaching and Learning With Mobile Devices for Active WV Educators Text Sets: Pre-K Through Grade 5 for Active WV Educators The Developmentally Responsive Middle School for Active WV Educators
October 26: RESA 2 (at Cabell County Board of Education) Registration Information: http://tinyurl.com/TISFall2016
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)/Special Students in Regular
TIS & That September 23, 2016 Volume 5, Issue 4 Editors: Ashley Skavenski Anne Vopal Jonas Knotts
DEVOLSON courtesy of: Love, Teach Blog http://www.loveteachblog.com/2012/10/devolson.html Certain images courtesy of Freepik www.freepik.com