Beyond Integration

For our next 2 episodes we’re talking about the “B” word… Bullying. Bullying and Cyberbullying are important topics to talk about with our kids. In this episode, the first of two in this mini-series, Nikki and Amanda go out to a local high school and ask some teens to talk with them about “The B Word.” Cyberbullying for R2Parents Infographic

     Student engagement and its role in the learning process for students is vital in the classroom. Often bolstered by the role motivation plays, student engagement can make the difference in what a student learns, how the student learns, and how that learning affects decision making. - 1 What is Student Engagement?     At its core, engagement is the reciprocity between a stimulus and the learner with the result of growth.  The Glossary of Education Reform defines student engagement as “ the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught, which extends to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education .” -2  Though reciprocity is at the core of engagement, how the student responds is key to determining that engagement that occurred. When looking at how students are engaged, researchers have discovered different areas that students engage with the wor...

 Putting the Google Slides you already have into VoiceThread to increase student engagement! Last month Brian Heyward shared great information and research about the benefits of using VoiceThread in your classroom. But wait… you don’t have to start from scratch! you can import the great Google Slide decks you have already created? It’s as easy as…

  Most teachers had the opportunity to explore MobileMind during Richland 2 in-service days. This month we are highlighting the DyKnow courses offered in MobileMind. What is DyKnow? DyKnow is a district-paid-for resource to help teachers manage and engage students in a 1:1 classroom. From the teacher side of DyKnow you can: monitor student usage (and get reports, too!), create blocking plans to help students stay on task, and even ask students check-in questions that magically appear right on their screen!  Three courses to check out on MobileMind include:

  Since its release in January 2022, we've seen numerous ways that WeVideo Classroom Editor has shown ways that it can support intrinsic motivation in our students. As we are looking to move beyond compliance to engagement in our classrooms, consider these 6 Intrinsic Motivators to Power up Your Teaching as written by Mike Anderson. Below, you’ll see a summary of the 6 Motivators, but you can access the entire article here . With access to the new WeVideo Classroom, teachers can utilize this tool, along with best practices, to power up student motivation. Autonomy We often hear students should have voice and choice, but I’d venture to include “informed” choices. These informed choices come about by students being aware of how they learn best, thus making the decision to demonstrate their learning in a way that works best for them. This could include product creation through the use of multimedia tools such as WeVideo. Belonging Simply grouping students is not enough to foster ...

Are  you struggling with getting students to complete classwork or homework? Maybe you are struggling with grading the same assignment 25+ times. Have you considered providing your students a choice in how they engage with the content and demonstrate their understanding? A simple way to provide students with an opportunity to make a choice in their own learning is with a choice board. What are Choice Boards? In a nutshell, it is a board comprised of squares that allow students some choice in their learning. Each square lists an activity students can complete, whether it is a concept or skill. This differentiated approach allows students to learn content or demonstrate their understanding in a way that interests them. Choice boards can be used in any subject and offer a variety of learning contexts for all learners. What are the benefits of using Choice Boards? Choice boards allow students to make their own choices, increasing intrinsic motivation. I am sure you are more motivated ...

Remember growing up playing with Legos or Lincoln Logs? Maybe you are one that still dabbles in building with Legos. Yes, we know there are many adults that build Legos and we are good with it. It taps into your creative side so we think it's great. This is pretty much what Minecraft is - a 3D world where our kids are building anything they imagine. Tune into the latest podcast episode and learn more about this game our kids are playing.  Available on Spotify I Heart Radio Google Podcast Amazon Music Anchor Resources: Podcast Transcript https://www.webwise.ie/parents/a-parents-guide-to-minecraft/   https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/about-minecraft

  Many Richland 2 employees had a chance to play around with MobileMind during our August in-service. The focus then was on learning about the district’s Responsible Use Procedures. But MobileMind is so much more than that! MobileMind is THE platform for any busy teacher who has a “need to know now” skills-based question!  Take a micro-course (usually less than 10 minutes) to learn… how to force copy a document for each student (so they don’t type on your master copy);  how to bring drawings / images into a Google Doc from Google Drawings; how to set up templates in your GMail or Classroom to save time when typing commonly-used phrases; OR how to use “Add-ons” to expedite turning a Google Doc into a Google Form … just to name a few! Not to mention: Learning paths to help you “Master a Google App” like Google Drive or Google Earth Badges to become a “Google Researcher” or a “Google Certified Educator!” Teachers can explore all that MobileMind has to offer by signing in ...

     As schools return to in-person learning, a number of feelings are emerging from students and teachers about using technology. One reoccurring feeling described has been exhaustion. An Education Week article and survey calls it "Tech Fatigue". 1  As teachers and students return to the traditional classroom spaces post-pandemic, one big technology factor has changed: Access . More students and families now have access to the internet through individual devices and with that access comes an open door to limitless possibilities. One of the rising arguments in tech exhaustion from teachers as well as parents has been the lack of guidance and boundaries for students in the new world of access and possibilities. This has led to the rise in digital misconduct. 2     Misconduct is an intentional word because many students don't realize what the appropriate conduct is as they discover and interact with the web. In the classroom, this is continuing to be a grow...

Whether you're just getting started using the platform, or you've been in for a while, watch this to see a few things that you may want to know about using Pathblazer. 

        B elieve it or not, students naturally possess the skills to process and think. They naturally explore the things in their world that interest them. 1 As an educator, part of our responsibility is to help them make appropriate connections and explore other connections and why they don't logically connect. Since we don't have the ability to literally look in their brains, we have to find ways and teach our students to demonstrate how their thinking is working. We often refer to this concept as visualizing their thinking. There are a number of tools that can be used to help visualize thinking, but I'd love to highlight VoiceThread.  VoiceThread provides students a number of ways to visualize their thinking. Students can use video, audio, as well as visual medias such as images and drawings. Because of VoiceThread's flexibility, assignments can be placed in a way where students can show process instead of just produce a product. Students can reflect o...

What is all this buzz going around about Roblox? What is Roblox and should I be concerned if my kids are playing it? In this spotlight episode, Amanda and Nikki discuss this 3D Virtual platform that allows them to share experiences with friends and play games that were created by users their age. Available on Spotify I Heart Radio Google Podcast Amazon Music Anchor Resources: Transcript of Episode Parents Guide to Roblox and How Your Kids Play it Safely

  If you haven’t been to Discovery Education in a while, it’s time to go in and get check it out again. They have really revamped their website adding different types of media, and readymade created activities to engage your students in their own learning, to virtual field trips. I can go on and on about the new updates. We will get into those resources in later posts, I want to focus on the video quiz feature Discovery Education now has. If you are familiar with using EdPuzzle, there will not be a big transition for you, as the process of creating and assigning a video quiz is similar. I think the biggest benefit of using Discovery Education, over EdPuzzle, is the fact it is free and you have unlimited storage space. EdPuzzle’s free basic plan allows you to store up to 20 videos before you have to pay for more storage. For our friends in our district, you would access Discovery Education through Classlink.  Once you’re in Discovery Education, you will click on the Quiz tile ...

  The Influential Parent - Episode 9, Summer Care Tips   With devices going home for the summer in our district, we wanted to take some time to share some tips for parents that will help them set some guidelines for technology use over the summer. We also encourage you to go to your school's website to locate the summer resource page, allowing your child to continue their learning over the summer. Here is another resource to locate camps for your child(ren) to participate in throughout the summer. Online Camps for a Summer of Learning Adventures , Common Sense Media

  The Influential Parent - Episode 8, My Child Wants to Create a TikTok - Now What? Your child has come to you and said, I want to create a TikTok video. Or, maybe they have already started creating TikTok videos but you haven't had the conversation around TikTok. It's not too late. Join us in this episode to learn about the pros and cons of our children creating TikToks, or maybe even you creating videos. Hear how you can support your child on the journey to create a successful experience and a positive digital footprint.

  The Influential Parent - Episode 7, So Your Kid(s) Want TikTok? TikTok is gaining momentum with a variety of age groups, especially our kids. It is a fun and creative way for anyone to watch, create and share videos. Whether you are new to TikTok, your child wants a TikTok account, or have been using it for a while, we share some fun facts and tips to help parents navigate the consumer side of this popular social media platform.  

  The Influential Parent - Episode 6, Learning with Technology Remember when we were growing up, we had to pile into the car, drive to the library, and check out books to learn this stuff. Now our kids have it all at their fingertips. Our kids are wired to look for information this way. There is no longer the barrier of waiting for parents to take us to the library and hoping the book is not checked out. If you -like us- are also monitoring your digital habits or your children’s digital habits, remember not all usage is “bad”. Our children have interests that they want to explore more, and they will continue to develop new interests because of something they’ve heard or seen. Listen to this episode and find out what a few people use technology to learn. 

  The Influential Parent - Episode 5, The Digital Habits That Impacts Ourselves Picking up where we left off last week, we talk more about notifications and the phenomenon of DOOMSCROLLING (du-duh-duhhhh!!) How does scrolling and scrolling through social media affect our children (and ourselves) physically, mentally, and emotionally? How does endless time in front of a screen affect young brains? Amanda also challenges Nikki with the question: How much time do you think your kids spend on a device each day?  We dig into these interesting topics this week! 

  The Influential Parent - Episode 4, The Digital Habits that Impact Ourselves How much time do you spend on your device? It may be more than you think. In this episode, we spend some time talking about how you can become more aware of your digital habits by using an app. And what about those notifications? Do you have them turned off or on? Listen in to hear our perspectives on what these phone notifications can lead to. 

  The Influential Parent - Episode 3 Our Digital Habits that Impact Others What digital habits do you have that you hope your children will not learn from you? Tune in to find out a few habits from the parents we interviewed. We also discuss how those habits can impact others around them. 

  The Influential Parent - Episode 2 Setting Guidelines Around Media Family Media Plans are a great way for families to develop some rules or guidelines for using devices and have everyone on the same page about the healthy and powerful ways to use technology. We cannot assume that everyone knows what is appropriate and what is not. So it is important to have expectations even for families so there is a common understanding for all family members. Listen in to find out where you can start and a few topics to consider as you build your family plan. Click here to see Common Sense Media's example of a Family Media Plan.  https://www.commonsense.org/education/toolkit/family-engagement-resources

The Influential Parent - Episode 1 Digital At Home Talking Points for Parents Our first episode starts with ideas of what to talk about with your children and how to talk to your children about technology. Listen in so you can start your journey toward healthy digital behaviors with a few tips. Click the image for a printable version.