“I think imagination is at the heart of everything we do. Scientific discoveries couldn’t have happened without imagination. Art, music, and literature couldn’t exist without imagination. And so anything that strengthens imagination … can help us for the rest of our lives.” Lloyd Alexander, Award-winning Author You’ve probably heard “generative AI” a lot these days and might be curious why it’s created such a buzz among some educators. You might also wonder why some educators are encouraging you to get students using generative AI tools. Generative AI is computer technology that creates produc ..read more

“Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world.” – Napoléon Bonaparte As the school year comes to a close and summer approaches, we need to encourage families to read and learn with their children at home. If our students are actively reading and learning at home, then they increase their knowledge, do better in school, and grow empathy and appreciation for lives lived much differently than their own. In order to help you encourage families to read at home, I am sharing with you reading challenges, reading adventures, and ways for families to receive free books ..read more

Part of the December 2020 STEM Resources Digital Calendar! The good news is there are thousands of digital tools and apps (many free) to support teachers, students and families. The bad news is there are thousands of digital tools. Teachers need to quickly find the right tool to meet their students’ needs and means. The websites below have search engines to narrow down the choices along with short descriptions and reviews. This way you search for a tool that works on all student devices, is easy to use for the age group you teach, within your budget even if this means free, and accomplishes th ..read more

Part of the December 2020 STEM Resources Digital Calendar! Students love being trusted with responsibility. They want to help. When students help you allow their peers to celebrate them and learn from them. During remote and distance learning student helpers can really help you manage a lot more. Below are ways to allow students to help you. I’ve used these tips and resources this year and student helpers have really helped make hybrid and virtual learning run more smoothly. ?Discover more ways to integrate technology effectively by taking one of my fully accredited online courses or get one o ..read more

Part of the December 2020 STEM Resources Digital Calendar! If you are a teacher who uses Google Classroom then you know how easy it is to assign a template of a Slide, Spreadsheet, Doc or Drawing for students to complete. Even if you don’t use Google Classroom. You can easily force a copy to students with a simple link. Creating these templates doesn’t have to take hours. There are tons of Google Guru educators who freely share their lesson templates for teachers to copy and edit. Using templates saves you and your students a lot of time and stress! All you need to do is copy the template you ..read more

Part of the December 2020 STEM Resources Digital Calendar! The first step in student ownership of their own learning is goal setting. We can help students identify what they know, how they want to grow and commit to plans to making this happen. One way I help my students set learning goals is by having them complete the vision board template below, which is free for you to copy and assign to students. I also tie this to the “One Word Project.” You can read more about student vision boards in my book, The 30 Goals Challenge for Educators: Small Steps to Transform Your Teaching. ?Discover m ..read more

Part of the December 2020 STEM Resources Digital Calendar! My students love doing any learning when they get to brainstorm on their desks with a dry erase marker. Brainstorming on a canvas with words, symbols, icons, lines, stylized font, shapes, frames, and color is a fun way for the brain to make connections and make sense of information. The digital whiteboards and brainstorming tools below provide features for students to create sketchnotes and concept maps. Use these tools for brainstorming sessions, diagramming, concept mapping or to get students to fill out different types of graphic or ..read more

Part of the December 2020 STEM Resources Digital Calendar! Too often students will just Google or YouTube topics when they are curious. The top results aren’t usually the best results. Instead, introduce students to the search engines and research websites below which are safe and made for education. Click here to make a copy (click Use Template) and edit a research choice board with some of these websites listed. ?Discover more ways to integrate technology effectively by taking one of my fully accredited online courses or get one of my books! Recommended Research Websites The following are w ..read more

Part of the December 2020 STEM Resources Digital Calendar! Imagine, plan, and design are important steps in the Engineering Design Process. After presenting problems for students to solve, they need the opportunity to brainstorm then draft a blueprint, model, or design of their ideas. Students who are given the opportunity to sketch and map out the brilliance in their minds are given the power to transform their communities and world. This important step allows the ideas to come out before those ideas disappear. Below discover digital tools to help students, even toddlers, design and visualize ..read more

“Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world.” – Napoléon Bonaparte As the school year comes to a close and summer approaches, we need to encourage families to read and learn with their children at home. If our students are actively reading and learning at home, then they increase their knowledge, do better in school, and grow empathy and appreciation for lives lived much differently than their own. In order to help you encourage families to read at home, I am sharing with you reading challenges, reading adventures, and ways for families to receive free books ..read more