In an age where we communicate online more than ever before, it’s important to be aware of the footprint you’ve left behind on the web. Social media has the power to be a positive social and professional outlet, but only with responsible use. As important as it is for everyone to be mindful of their online footprint, it’s especially important to teach the next generation how to carefully curate their online presence.

Gobble gobble! There is so much to be thankful for this time of year as we get ready to gather around the table with our family and friends. But until the big day rolls around, there’s still plenty of learning to be done! Here is our collection of themed content to help you keep students engaged all month long:

On September 24, my district had an in-service day. The homeroom teachers in my building were piloting a new writing program and were asked to attend a training. This left specialist teachers with nothing to do, as we would not need to be trained on this new program.

We were all wondering what our duties would be for the day when we received an email from our principal encouraging us to make arrangements to observe in another district for the day. She proceeded to help us find schools to host us—fellow teachers will understand why this was amazing. When do we ever have the time to go to other districts without painstaking measures of using personal days and arranging for subs? And how many of us have principals who understand the importance of observing others in our same content area?

It’s that time again—time to move on to the next activity or learning opportunity. It is time to transition! These can be stressful times in a classroom, when disruptions increase and learning decreases. Transitions are a natural part of any classroom, so how can teachers capitalize on the opportunity to smoothly move on to the next activity and maybe learn something at the same time?

When I began my career in education, the current theory was “Don’t smile until December.” I tried that, and I can tell you it didn’t work. The way to manage a class isn’t to pretend to be stoic and uncaring—you need to get to know your students and learn techniques to create a positive learning environment. Both rookie and veteran teachers alike benefit from learning and relearning classroom management strategies. Here are five online resources to help you with your management techniques. I hope they can be of use to you.

Trauma Responsive: Best Practices for All Students 

In the first part of our trauma-informed series, we defined the term and discussed best practices for working with students in trauma. For many educators, after we read the research supporting trauma-informed practices, we are quickly convinced that we need to act. The data strongly supports intervening early for students and with a therapeutic approach (instead of a punitive one). 

With the variety of options available today, education technology is increasingly becoming the solution to everyday classroom issues that teachers have struggled with for years. However, the wide range of EdTech solutions available can make it difficult to choose what will work best for your students—and experimentation with different products isn’t always possible with your school’s budget.

To help you make the best decision for your classroom, we’ve compiled a list of six tried-and-true tech solutions that other educators recommend to solve your everyday classroom problems:

For those teachers who have been in the field of education for a while, we often feel that the pendulum in the larger world of education is swinging back and forth all the time. For a few years we will head in one direction, and then for the next few years we will head back in another direction.

Why do they feel this way? There are a number of reasons for it—some are simple, while others are more complex. Here are a few: 

In the world of education, the term “trauma informed” has caught on over the past few years. It is a term used by many to define an approach to students—particularly in how we discipline them. If you have heard the term but don’t feel as though you completely understand it, this information may be helpful to you.

Professional learning communities (PLCs) are at the forefront in education today. This initiative was brought forth after much research was done on the highest-performing schools in the lowest socioeconomic areas. The big takeaway is when school leaders and teachers implement best practice teaching for each child, overall school achievement improves. By all appearances, PLCs look like a group of grade-level teachers (or department teachers) who plan, organize, and implement a curriculum. However, effective PLCs are quite different.