Virtual Meet the Teacher

3 Comments

On my campus, we are making plans to have our first ever VIRTUAL Meet the Teacher. While we can’t safely invite all parents and students into the building at this time, we still want everyone to get to meet their teacher and have a quick get-to-know-you conversation, see the classroom, practice walking from their entrance to class, AND we still need to gather lots of information from families. We know that just like when homeroom letters went home in the past, when these Virtual Meet the Teacher’s go out, parents and students will talk to each other and compare who got who. We want this to be a GREAT first impression for ALL of our teachers – so myself and three teachers from my school (Kelsey French, Brittany Laurell, and Ina Nguyen) developed a template for all teachers on campus to use with easy to follow instructions so that we all make the same GREAT first impression.

Continue reading →

Rank & Justify Slides Template

Leave a comment

I have seen so many educators on twitter, facebook, and instagram working on and sharing bitmoji classrooms. I love this! Teachers know that at least some of their students and families will choose to learn online this year due to the pandemic and they are working to make their online learning spaces just as warm, welcoming, and easy to navigate as their real-life classrooms! This is such a great place to start – but we can’t stop there. We’ve got to plan for great, engaging, research-proven strategies for learning – and we’ve got to come up with new ways for our content to be delivered ONLINE.

Continue reading →

Blended Learning ONLINE Checklist

2 Comments

On my campus (and I’m sure on many of yours) we are working on growing our blended learning practices. Many define blended learning differently. On our campus, when we say blended learning, we mean teaching our students in differentiated small groups based on data, while students work through a paper checklist that details what they need to complete in the areas of independent work, future ready (collaborative activities), and a digital component (this could be an additional mini-lesson from the teacher which has been recorded or adaptive software that meets students where they are to fill in gaps and take them farther).

Continue reading →

Daily Slide Deck: Keep your teaching organized and on track whether Remote or Face-to-Face

7 Comments

This summer, our district is providing live remote instruction utilizing Zoom and Schoology for summer school. I’m not a part of summer school, but have been lurking on facebook and twitter to learn from those who are! I’ve been most interested in HOW teachers are sharing content – HOW they are keeping themselves and students on track – and WHAT has been most beneficial. The constant I’ve seen in social media posts, conversations, and examples shared with me has been having a Google Slide Deck for the teacher to teach from throughout the day that contains all links, videos, examples, reminders (to self and students) all in one place. This Slide Deck is NOT shared with students for them to click through, but for them to see on the screen as the teacher is talking and teaching (teacher shares their screen). This has been helpful because (obviously) everything is in one place, but also because it is visual for students to easily follow along with.

Continue reading →

Creating in Slides Shortcuts: Little tips and tricks for creating that can save you BIG on time!

1 Comment

Recently, some colleagues and I were working collaboratively to create a document that captured our ideas. As we worked, one teammate said, “How did you just do that so fast?” I didn’t know what she meant. It was little shortcut I knew that she hadn’t learned yet. Sometimes it’s the little things that can make all the difference! I am a huge fan of any shortcut – no matter how tiny – that can shave time off my workload! Here are a few shortcuts for creating in google slides that – when used together – can save you a ton of time!

Continue reading →

Have Fun in your Online Meetings! Game Ideas for Class, Staff, or Family Online Meet-ups

5 Comments

Have Fun in your Online Meetings

On my campus, while we are working hard to meet the academic needs of students remotely, we are also focused on ensuring that students still feel connected to their teacher and their classmates.  In the same way, while I want to meet the work needs of my staff members, I also want to ensure that we stay connected as a staff and continue to grow and build our culture – even remotely.  Teachers are planning weekly class Zoom meetings for team building and culture building. As a staff, we are hanging out in a virtual staff lounge on Zoom and also sharing memes, jokes, and ideas on a staff padlet wall. Staying connected during this difficult time is so important for our students’ and our own mental health! After the first few – “It’s so great to see you” Zoom class or staff meetings, it can be hard to come up with more ideas for bonding and having fun together from a distance. Here are some ideas I’ve found across the internet that I hope you’ll find useful! Continue reading →

Positive Incentive Chart

Leave a comment

Positive Incentive Chart (2)

In preparation for Day One of our emergency school closure due to COVID-19, I created a simple behavior chart to encourage and motivate my personal children to complete learning tasks and chores in order to earn game, screen, and toy time. I didn’t want them to start the day begging for my phone or vegged out in front of the TV… I was hopeful they would be happy to complete some learning activities with me. Both of my kids were REALLY excited when I showed them this chart (ages 8 and 4) and… we are mid-way through day one… and it is working great for us so far!

Positive Incentive Chart

Continue reading →

Master the Slide Master

Leave a comment

Master the Slide Master

Have you ever used a slide template and wished you could move an object in the background over just a little? Or maybe you wished you could add your school logo, class name, or presentation information to every slide in the deck without having to actually go through and add it to EVERY SINGLE SLIDE individually? The answer is to MASTER the SLIDE MASTER!!! It is so easy you’ll wonder where this little tip has been all your life!

Continue reading →

Fun with Fonts

1 Comment

Fun with Fonts

I am a font lover. There. I said it. I love great fonts and I cannot lie! I believe that a well-chosen font has the power to change the entire aesthetic of a slide deck, document, sign, or assignment. I think we can all agree there is a big difference here:

Font Example

One note makes you feel loved while the other makes you scared for your life! Continue reading →