Tag: Google Drawings

Digital Breakout Made EASY!

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Digital Breakouts made easy (1)

There are lots of resources out there for creating digital breakouts or escape rooms, but I have to admit, I thought I just wasn’t creative enough (and didn’t have enough time) to create one myself. I challenge my staff all the time to take risks and try new things, so I decided I better practice what I preach! A couple of weeks back, we had a staff meeting scheduled on a week that turned out to be very bust – with lots of other events, schedule changes, and meetings that popped up after the initial staff meeting was planned, so I knew I wanted to do a flipped meeting or virtual meeting instead of having everyone come in at the same time before school. This was the perfect opportunity to try out a Digital Breakout/Escape room with my staff! Continue reading →

4 Ideas for Promoting Creative Thinking with YOUR Content

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Creative thinking

Today is International Dot Day! This is a day to be creative and not be afraid to share what you create! The day is a celebration of creativity based on the book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. Click here to learn more at the International Dot Day website.

Vulnerable moment: Every single time I write a blog post, at some point I think to myself, “This is dumb.” or “This isn’t good enough to share.” But, just like the teacher in The Dot encourages her student to “make her mark”, I attempt to make my mark with each blog post. I think it is important to model risk-taking for our students AND to give them opportunities to take risks and be creative. These are the life-long skills they will need in the workplace.  Continue reading →

Use Your Desktop to Reinforce Positive Behaviors

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desktop header

Every minute we have with our students has value. I am always looking for ways to get the most out of every moment. As an elementary school administrator, I walk through numerous classrooms each and every day. Something that inevitably occurs in every class, even with the best planning and execution, is the teacher’s desktop from his or her computer is occasionally projected big and upfront for all to see. Even if it is only seen for a couple seconds while switching between programs, often all students see this image (or something similar) multiple times per day: Continue reading →

Super Bowl Squares Choice Board

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Copy of Super Bowl Squares Choice Board - GRAPHIC

The past few years we have enjoyed playing Super Bowl Squares with our staff. If you don’t know about this game, you can check out the full rules here and get some helpful templates. On our campus, we don’t sell the squares, instead, teachers earn them by completing tasks or being caught implementing a specific initiative. Here’s the basic overview of how we’ve adapted for our staff: Continue reading →

5 EASY Tech Strategies to get Student Collaborating TOMORROW

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StudentCollaboration

The research shows, and we can all agree, that incorporating student collaboration into our lessons has numerous benefits including:

  • developing higher-level thinking skills
  • enhancing student satisfaction with the learning experience
  • promoting positive attitudes toward the subject matter
  • developing communication and social interaction skills
  • and so many more benefits!

Why, then, do we not incorporate student collaboration strategies more often? Continue reading →

Safe for School Meme Generator Google Drawings Template!

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IMG_4464

One of the awesome teachers I have the privilege of working with at Ault, Nicole Donaldson @mrsdonaldson5th , who teaches 5th grade Language Arts, told me about a class meeting activity she recently had her students complete. Instead of standing in the front of the room and going over school rules again, she gave students the assignment to create a meme (you know, those hilarious pictures you see on the internet with white text at the top and bottom) which exemplifies or explains a school rule in table groups using one safe-for-school (but still fun) image she selected. While each table had the same grumpy cat face, they all selected different school expectations to reinforce for their classmates in this super fun, silly, and engaging assignment. Continue reading →