Eduspire Course Starting in Hershey

I hope you are off enjoying some well deserved summer fun!!

Back at the District we are gearing up for some great Graduate level Courses from Eduspire during the next two weeks.

The iPads in Education course from Eduspire started today in Hershey. We are super excited to be hosting this course however it is full for this session. Bill Gates will be instructing. Two DTSD peeps will be his official assistants; Tara Valoczki, Instructional Coach for Technology and Christen Manari a third grade teacher. I will also be there everyday helping out as a DTSD representative. We are super excited, I know many DTSD teachers will be there. However, never fear if you didn't get to take the course this summer, I am working with the good people at Eduspire to bring the course back in the Fall and Spring.

Next week we will be hosting The Institute on Using Technology to Personalizing Learning. This course is still open if you are interested.  Our own Jeff Mummert will be teaching one day of the Institute.

Enjoy!

Twitter Homework

As a result of our class. Please spend 1 hour on Twitter. You job is to reflect upon your experience on Twitter. Do you see how you could use it in your own professional life or even in the classroom? After you have done that please respond to this blog post and answer the following questions regarding Twitter. This response will complete your homework and your act 48 Trade Time. 

1. What is Twitter?

2. What is your Twitter name? @.....

3. Identify 4-5 people you chose to follow on Twitter? 

4. Identify 1 chat you might be interested in joining.

5. Things I've Learned on Twitter!! Share 4-6 things that you learned from other people you follow on Twitter. 

This response will complete your homework and your Act 48 & Trade Time requirement. Homework Due March 27. 

March On!

Welcome March, Welcome Spring!!!

March 1st is Friday. This month has some exciting activities. Below are some links to some fun, seasonal resources. Enjoy!

Read Across America Day Pinterest Resources 

• Suessville
• Cat in the Hat Games - PBS

St. Patrick's Day Pinterest Resources

Easter Pinterest Resources

• Transport your Students to a Working Egg Farm - A Virtual Field Trip from DiscoveryEd
• Funschool Easter Games
• My Pinterest Board for Spring Crafts

Jumbled Sentences Apps - 5 Different Levels for Free!!

Ideas for Blogging

How might you use a blog in your own classroom? Some options are;

• Merely communication with parents and families
• To communicate and have a give and take with students - have students comment back to you
• To have students author their own blog and interact with each other

Items and Links to Share

Hi Everyone, 

February is just around the corner. It is always a short yet very busy month packed with special days and holidays. I have shared some links below for your classroom use. Enjoy!

Check out your DTSD Grade Level Wikis for monthly links. Scroll down on the Monthly Links page to Feb section to see the links for all the holidays and special events that are coming up. 

Groundhog's Day - 

• Groundhog's Day Pinterest Page
• Internet 4Classrooms Groundhog Resources
• The Teacher's Guide - Groundhog Resources

Valentine's Day - 

• Valentine's Day Pinterest Page
• Apples 4 the Teacher - Valentine's Day Resources
• Internet 4 Classrooms - Valentine's Day

Superbowl - 

• My Superbowl Pinterest Page
• Fun4Brain - Power Football
• DTLK - Superbowl Activities and Links

100th Day - 

• My 100th Day Pinterest Page
• The Teacher's Guide - 100th day PDFs and Interactives
• Vickie Blackwell - 100th day

President's Day

• My President's Day Pinterest Page
• The Teacher's Guide - President's Day
• Vickie Blackwell's Site - President's Day

As the holidays are quickly approaching, faster than I'm prepared for, I wanted to share some links and sites for some fun seasonal and yet educational activities.

My Pinterest Page for School Christmas. There are links to pages with an Advent Calendar, Free Holiday Apps and Interactive Holiday Sites to use at centers or on your interactive whiteboard and MUCH more!! Enjoy!

Your Grade Level Wikis - Each wiki has a page called Monthly Links with a section labeled December with games and links for the kids. Great for centers or indoor recess during the next couple days.

Elf on the Shelf Website - I have noticed that some of you have the Elf on the Shelf in your classroom. The section called North Pole has links to some games and other interactive activities. You can even customize your elf's outfit with different patterns and props, print your elf and use it as a cute writing prompt.

Portable North Pole - For kids young and old! This site allows you to create your own personalized video from Santa himself that is emailed directly to you. Just go through the steps on the website wizard and in a few short minutes you will have a magical video. You will love it.

Storyline Online - Polar Express - The classic story is read to your students by actor Lou Diamond Phillips

Holiday Activities from Woodlands Jr - Interactive Advent Calendars, Games and Stories

Rudolf is Missing - Interactive story and game with comprehension questions.

Okay that's it for now. Enjoy this magical time with your students!!

Personalized Learning Resources

If you are interested in exploring Flipping the Classroom, here are some resources you should check out.

TEDed - I just learned about this one. There is free content out there but by creating a free account you can create your own free lessons from your own videos or any youtube or TEDtalk. You can include questions for formative assessment and additional resources all right from the site. Watch the short tutorial this tool has great potential.

Epic Online Courses - Joe McFarland shared this site and video at a recent meeting. The Online Courses page has a great list of free open content resources for anyone to use. The EPIC 2020 video is great to watch.