One of the many things that educators are missing this year are annual conferences. Conferences provide educators with a variety of opportunities to learn about the latest innovations in their field. Some popular education conferences include FETC, BETT, TCEA, SXSW EDU, ASCD, CUE Conference, and ISTE (I won’t bother writing out each because they’re that popular). Education conferences can provide teachers the means for earning professional development hours/credits by attending presentations and sessions facilitated by expert speakers and thought leaders. By connecting with other education professionals, educators acquire a broader understanding of the prevalent issues and concerns in education. There is no doubt that these conferences serve many purposes and are incredibly valuable. BUT, this year, conferences have taken a hit of sorts. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, conferences were cancelled, postponed, or customized to be delivered as virtual experiences for attendees.
Benefits and Drawbacks of Attending a Virtual Conference
Topics: Virtual Conference
PODCAST: Display Technology and the Hybrid Learning Environment
Recently, Larry Jacobs from Equity and Access (ace-ed.org) had a chat with Mario DiAntonio, Sales Director for Strategic Partnerships for Samsung Electronics America. The discussion centered on how display technology has helped educators boost interactive learning and student engagement, even within a hybrid learning environment.
Topics: hybrid learning, Samsung, Podcast
Skills Needed for Quality STEM Education — It’s an Equity Issue
“STEM allows kids to build and create ideas from scratch and have deep critical thinking. We need to prepare our kids for that future.” – Braydon Moreno, co-founder of Robo 3D
Topics: STEM, STEM education
Topics: Lessons, MimioConnect, ELL, English Language Learners
8 Tips for Using a Document Camera in a Socially Distanced Classroom
Schools that have reopened are fastidiously following local health and safety guidelines, including physical distancing of student desks. This can hamper some common instructional practices that help students understand new concepts such as sharing math manipulatives or working as teams on science activities. Teachers need to adapt to different ways of facilitating lessons and document cameras have proven to be an easy-to-use tool for doing so.
Topics: MimioView, tips for teachers, social distancing, hybrid learning
Growing up, my dad spent lots of time in the garage working on things — his 1972 Ford Pinto (understandably), my brother’s bikes, and making small items for our home. The garage was his makerspace and he used it to design, plan, and follow through on his creative ideas. Later, my brother used the garage as his makerspace. These days makerspaces are moving out of the garages of hobbyists to classrooms and schools for our students to engage in interactive experiences that spark imaginations.
Topics: STEM, STEAM, virtual classroom, Makerspace
At this point of the year, not only are we appreciating the beauty of leaves changing color, the aroma of a pumpkin spice latte, and cozy sweaters and blankets, we are in a teaching “groove.” Many teachers are getting the hang of facilitating live teaching sessions, engaging their students, and planning blocks of time for small group and one-to-one conversations. But there is quite a learning curve for those not altogether comfortable with ed tech and the virtual classroom — both teacher and student. With this in mind, Boxlight-EOS has designed the Platform Essentials (PE) Course for teachers and students to get acquainted with all that Chromebooks and G Suite, or Windows 10 and Microsoft 365 have to offer. Each course includes seven ready-to-use materials and resources that engage the learner, help them apply necessary skills for distance teaching and learning success, and build the confidence needed to use these tech platforms.
Those stepping into the adventure of teaching should expect that professional development requirements come with the journey. The purpose of professional development is to keep certified educators current on new instructional tools, strategies, and research. Teacher PD can cover a variety of topics such as educational technology, classroom management, subject-specific research and strategies, and curriculum tools and applications. PD requirements differ from state-to-state, so it is best to regularly check state teacher credentialing websites for up-to-date information.
STEM Lesson Idea: Using Virtual Learning to Drive Environmental Change
Many teachers are struggling with how to address STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) topics in this time of social-distancing and remote-learning. Even for schools that are meeting in person, many of the hands-on lesson plans that teachers might have previously utilized are incredibly challenging under distancing and cleanliness guidelines. After all, who really has time to sanitize every block in a base-ten-blocks set between students? No one.
Topics: STEM Lessons, STEM, STEAM, distance learning, virtual classroom, steam lessons, STEM education, hybrid learning, Virtual STEM kits
Can you believe we’re heading towards the 8-month mark of … well, you know (hint: masks, handwashing, hibernating in the summer)? Of course, this has impacted many areas of life including education. Our teachers are juggling with maintaining health and safety guidelines while providing quality instruction, regardless of the learning environment. To say that this can be a little stressful is an understatement, yet teachers are making every effort to keep their students engaged and motivated to try despite this challenging time. What does this entail? That teachers express enthusiasm and positivity to encourage their students, especially when they see them anxious or worried. This can take a toll on teachers.
Topics: teacher support