Anything Goes Google
I love Matt Miller's "Ditch That Textbook" blog. When I read his posts I realize I want to do what he does instead of teach! LOL :P Not really... but kind of?!
First, gaining free access to his free e-book, 101 Practical Ways to Ditch That Textbook, is an instant win! I downloaded the e-book and found it to be very useful. The e-book has a very user friendly format. On bright colorful pages each "practical way" is boldly numbered. There is only one additional informative page after the cover and then you see it; 1. Use Google Drawings to make interactive graphic organizers.
Ahhhhh, how refreshing. The list begins and includes just enough information to promote the suggestion and provide a link to free products and "how to" articles. That's it. Then you see 2, then 3, and so on.
Some of the links, which are indicated as selectable with a royal blue font color, send you to apps. Again, this is sooo user friendly. Anyway, I love the e-book but Matt Miller doesn't stop there.
While the e-book is worthy of standing alone, Miller's blog offers many more resources. Matt provides article after article about various things Google. This blog is a place to go to whenever I want/need a new Google tool or recommendation. He blogs about creating student newsletters and writing papers to necessary add-ons, apps, and sites. Moreover, Matt shares articles about pedagogy and tech education. So often we come across articles that are rife with information only to realize that implementing the ideas or suggestions discussed is beyond our grasp. Miller's posts make it easy to understand ideology becoming reality. He writes in a way that facilitates actual motivation, movement, and execution.
I have been fond of podcasts for a long time. Now, I also enjoy screencasts. The Ditch That Textbook blog has a Screencasts section which shows how to use certain tools and how to apply them to teaching. How wonderful! :D
Throughout the site readers are encouraged to leave comments and/or ask questions. I want to leave two enthusiastic thumbs up for everything I see! During this upcoming summer I will be spending a lot of time perusing Ditch That Textbook so that I will rise to the challenge and become, according to Matt Miller, one of the "teachers who will take risks, who will reject the status quo if it isn’t producing results."
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Thing 11 (2): DIY
Furthering My Pedagogical Practice
In preparing for facilitating a dialogue group for a conference, I came across this site:
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com
While the site very much reminds me of what this Cool Tools PD is teaching/compiling/sharing, I decided to subscribe and tour the site as well as use some of the resources it offers. :)
The site was started by Jennifer Gonzalez who taught English for 16 years. Basically, the site offers many "how-to" posts, articles, videos, and other resources. I was very impressed with Gonzalez's "Big List of Discussion Strategies". The list is presented in a very user friendly format as Ms. Gonzalez breaks the strategies into 3 different categories: high prep, low prep, and ongoing. Instantly I felt that this person "gets" teaching. Additionally, she provides her opinion as to what each discussion strategy would work well in certain situations. Her comfortable diction is open and allows followers to feel their own opinions are valuable as well.
As I scrolled through the list of discussion strategies there were many things I liked. Within each listed strategy, there is a step by step process on how to employ the strategy. Jennifer incorporated short, yet informative, videos for some of the activities on the list. Another thing I really like about Jennifer's site and postings (one gets the feeling she would prefer the first name basis...) is that when she finds these resources and posts/posts about them, she gives credit up front to her source. Suffice to say, I found a low prep discussion strategy that will work quite well with my up-coming dialogue group as part of a college readiness conference.
As I wandered around the site I found a section called "Go Deep" that included a "Learning Theory" blog. I was very happy to see that many of the postings consider issues, about which I (and many others) happen to be currently passionate. After visiting many sites over the last few years I can honestly say that I have never come across one page of one site where almost everything posted not only held my interest but gripped it! I only wish I had more reading time at present.
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/category/learning-theory/
There are 12 different blog categories and they seem to cover the gamut of what pedagogically mindful teachers care to investigate. Jennifer seems to incorporate others' posts, research, and inquiries as well as her own which keeps the site inclusive rather than exclusive (realizing that she does have final say as to what to include). Of course, these are my first impressions but the site seems to be pro-pedagogy and not pro-bias. Is it actually redundant to specify that pro-pedagogy at least tries to avoid bias? I think somewhere, in a good, well deserving pedagogical model, it would be redundant. Certain characteristics do not, in fact, belong to the true goal of the discipline such as ego... Anyway, I digress.
Ms. Gonzalez provides a podcast section on the site. I like podcasts. I'm not sure of anyone who very much doesn't like podcasts. I think it is a matter of what one selects to listen to that determines liking or not liking. With all the podcasts out there, I should think anyone could find something they like, especially if they drive. ;)
As of now, there are 66 episodes on her podcast list. Upon listening to one I discovered that Jennifer is a good host. She speaks loudly, clearly, and cohesively which is what I expected from her writing. I definitely enjoyed listening to the podcast and I plan to listen to more in the future. I especially want to hear about how curation should be "our" next big project. When I started teaching 20 years ago, portfolios were in fashion. Then, as the pendulum swung, portfolios were no more.
I see that curation of student work is now the trend and I am wanting to get on board. With the advances of technology, it is evident how portfolio-keeping has evolved into curation. The remainder of this school year doesn't allow me time to put the project together but I plan to use it with my students next year. I'm finding that as I get deeper involved with incorporating more mindful metacognition into my teaching (both for my students and for myself), I feel strongly about using curation as a central tool for metacognitive learning.
So, back to the site. :) The "Videos" tab includes videos regarding instruction and assessment, technology, and classroom management. Finally, the "Teaching Materials" tab promotes Gonzalez's store on Teachers Pay Teachers but she does include a few of her more popular resources on this page.
Overall, I am impressed with the site. I predict I will use it at least once a week until late June. During summer break I will use it more often provided I am not traveling.
In preparing for facilitating a dialogue group for a conference, I came across this site:
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com
While the site very much reminds me of what this Cool Tools PD is teaching/compiling/sharing, I decided to subscribe and tour the site as well as use some of the resources it offers. :)
The site was started by Jennifer Gonzalez who taught English for 16 years. Basically, the site offers many "how-to" posts, articles, videos, and other resources. I was very impressed with Gonzalez's "Big List of Discussion Strategies". The list is presented in a very user friendly format as Ms. Gonzalez breaks the strategies into 3 different categories: high prep, low prep, and ongoing. Instantly I felt that this person "gets" teaching. Additionally, she provides her opinion as to what each discussion strategy would work well in certain situations. Her comfortable diction is open and allows followers to feel their own opinions are valuable as well.
As I scrolled through the list of discussion strategies there were many things I liked. Within each listed strategy, there is a step by step process on how to employ the strategy. Jennifer incorporated short, yet informative, videos for some of the activities on the list. Another thing I really like about Jennifer's site and postings (one gets the feeling she would prefer the first name basis...) is that when she finds these resources and posts/posts about them, she gives credit up front to her source. Suffice to say, I found a low prep discussion strategy that will work quite well with my up-coming dialogue group as part of a college readiness conference.
As I wandered around the site I found a section called "Go Deep" that included a "Learning Theory" blog. I was very happy to see that many of the postings consider issues, about which I (and many others) happen to be currently passionate. After visiting many sites over the last few years I can honestly say that I have never come across one page of one site where almost everything posted not only held my interest but gripped it! I only wish I had more reading time at present.
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/category/learning-theory/
There are 12 different blog categories and they seem to cover the gamut of what pedagogically mindful teachers care to investigate. Jennifer seems to incorporate others' posts, research, and inquiries as well as her own which keeps the site inclusive rather than exclusive (realizing that she does have final say as to what to include). Of course, these are my first impressions but the site seems to be pro-pedagogy and not pro-bias. Is it actually redundant to specify that pro-pedagogy at least tries to avoid bias? I think somewhere, in a good, well deserving pedagogical model, it would be redundant. Certain characteristics do not, in fact, belong to the true goal of the discipline such as ego... Anyway, I digress.
Ms. Gonzalez provides a podcast section on the site. I like podcasts. I'm not sure of anyone who very much doesn't like podcasts. I think it is a matter of what one selects to listen to that determines liking or not liking. With all the podcasts out there, I should think anyone could find something they like, especially if they drive. ;)
As of now, there are 66 episodes on her podcast list. Upon listening to one I discovered that Jennifer is a good host. She speaks loudly, clearly, and cohesively which is what I expected from her writing. I definitely enjoyed listening to the podcast and I plan to listen to more in the future. I especially want to hear about how curation should be "our" next big project. When I started teaching 20 years ago, portfolios were in fashion. Then, as the pendulum swung, portfolios were no more.
I see that curation of student work is now the trend and I am wanting to get on board. With the advances of technology, it is evident how portfolio-keeping has evolved into curation. The remainder of this school year doesn't allow me time to put the project together but I plan to use it with my students next year. I'm finding that as I get deeper involved with incorporating more mindful metacognition into my teaching (both for my students and for myself), I feel strongly about using curation as a central tool for metacognitive learning.
So, back to the site. :) The "Videos" tab includes videos regarding instruction and assessment, technology, and classroom management. Finally, the "Teaching Materials" tab promotes Gonzalez's store on Teachers Pay Teachers but she does include a few of her more popular resources on this page.
Overall, I am impressed with the site. I predict I will use it at least once a week until late June. During summer break I will use it more often provided I am not traveling.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Thing 39: Productivity
Tool #1
In searching for productivity tools, I realized that before I get tools from EdShelf, I needed to register with EdShelf. Alas... this is an amazing productivity tool itself!
I love EdShelf! Making my own shelf full of tools that I determine useful is such a convenient way to organize them and keep them in one place. :D
This is what I would call a productive tool.
There is an "open directly" option that bypasses EdShelf but I need to figure that out. For now, as a new user, even though we can shelve our favorite tools here, once selected, we need to launch the tool from the "Get this tool" icon. Still, it beats having to type everything into the address bar or take up bookmark space.
I plan to share this with my students as we use a few different tools in our classroom. This way, my students can have all of our tools in one place just like I do. When I write up a lesson plan, it will be easier on me as well as I can have them go to their own EdShelf and select which tool I plan to use.
The best feature is that we can add websites or apps to shelves that aren't yet in the EdShelf directory. I was very happy to see this!
Tool #2
Once I got the hang of EdShelf, I dragged and dropped a few tools onto (into) my "For School" shelf (not a very creative title, I know). One of my tools is called Super Teacher Tools. I selected it because it offers a few different games students can play. Also, there are useful classroom tools, and it lists that digital tools are on the way.
Again, I mainly want to use the games Super Teacher Tools offers. The games include Jeopardy, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and Speed Matching (my favorite). Like Kahoot, one can search a database of existing games by topic, or create new games. I am all about existing games if I can find any as it saves me a lot of time.
The databases are not as extensive (or pretty) as other educational games I've found but there are enough for me to use it now and then. It seems that there are more social studies games than English/Language Arts games, at least for the high school level. The downside to searching the database is the actual visual of the search page. It reminds me of DOS. 😒 It doesn't look nice or inviting and actually makes me think one needs to be a tech specialist to use it.
The other tools in Super Teacher Tools are pretty groovy. There is a group maker that will randomly assign students to groups. One simply enters either how many groups or how many students per group are needed. There is a random student selector and a seating chart creator as well.
I will definitely use Super Teacher Tools with students and I may even create a game or two on this. The Millionaire game is an excellent way to review. Just like the game show on T.V. one wrong answer warrants a start-over. Of course, this would shut some students down but I can think of other students who will go the distance to reach the top!
In searching for productivity tools, I realized that before I get tools from EdShelf, I needed to register with EdShelf. Alas... this is an amazing productivity tool itself!
I love EdShelf! Making my own shelf full of tools that I determine useful is such a convenient way to organize them and keep them in one place. :D
This is what I would call a productive tool.
There is an "open directly" option that bypasses EdShelf but I need to figure that out. For now, as a new user, even though we can shelve our favorite tools here, once selected, we need to launch the tool from the "Get this tool" icon. Still, it beats having to type everything into the address bar or take up bookmark space.
I plan to share this with my students as we use a few different tools in our classroom. This way, my students can have all of our tools in one place just like I do. When I write up a lesson plan, it will be easier on me as well as I can have them go to their own EdShelf and select which tool I plan to use.
The best feature is that we can add websites or apps to shelves that aren't yet in the EdShelf directory. I was very happy to see this!
Tool #2
Once I got the hang of EdShelf, I dragged and dropped a few tools onto (into) my "For School" shelf (not a very creative title, I know). One of my tools is called Super Teacher Tools. I selected it because it offers a few different games students can play. Also, there are useful classroom tools, and it lists that digital tools are on the way.
Again, I mainly want to use the games Super Teacher Tools offers. The games include Jeopardy, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and Speed Matching (my favorite). Like Kahoot, one can search a database of existing games by topic, or create new games. I am all about existing games if I can find any as it saves me a lot of time.
The databases are not as extensive (or pretty) as other educational games I've found but there are enough for me to use it now and then. It seems that there are more social studies games than English/Language Arts games, at least for the high school level. The downside to searching the database is the actual visual of the search page. It reminds me of DOS. 😒 It doesn't look nice or inviting and actually makes me think one needs to be a tech specialist to use it.
The other tools in Super Teacher Tools are pretty groovy. There is a group maker that will randomly assign students to groups. One simply enters either how many groups or how many students per group are needed. There is a random student selector and a seating chart creator as well.
I will definitely use Super Teacher Tools with students and I may even create a game or two on this. The Millionaire game is an excellent way to review. Just like the game show on T.V. one wrong answer warrants a start-over. Of course, this would shut some students down but I can think of other students who will go the distance to reach the top!
Saturday, March 4, 2017
Thing 18: Student Assessment & Feedback Tools
Many of our professional development meetings are focusing on providing meaningful feedback for students. My school recently purchased copies of the book Embedded Formative Assessment by Dylan Wiliam. I thought that the "chatroom" venue of TodaysMeet would be a good way to provide feedback to a quiet and thoughtful "discussion" of concepts.
We all know those students who have great things to say but never say them. With TodaysMeet, some of those students feel more inclined to participate in meaningful discussion. Creating a nickname helps. For credit, I insist the student email me his/her nickname via our Google Classroom account.
I like to provide instant feedback to students' thoughts, suggestions, and questions and TodaysMeet allows me to do that. It is sometimes easier, however, to have a few different rooms open with groups of students. I can switch between "rooms" to see how discussions have developed and then provide feedback. With a large class participating at once, it can be quite overwhelming for both teacher and students.
One thing I find is that students like it. Even in the most talkative classes I see students engaging in the quieter form of discussion and feedback. Also, the "written" format allows for accountability. For example, students are less likely to type derogatory comments to one another as I can review the conversations when filling out rubrics for grading. Additionally, it cuts out the possibility of students interrupting one another. ;)
What I like most about written discussions is that it allows my students to deeply process what they want to say. Research has shown that when we are forced to put our ideas into written words it helps us to know the material better because we have to communicate the ideas to others in an understandable way.
Anyway, back to the feedback point. :P TodaysMeet is one way to directly embed feedback to students in "real time". What a beautiful thing it is that I read and type much faster than my students and hence, I need to send shout-out to my typing teacher from high school. Thank you Mrs. Geoca!!
We all know those students who have great things to say but never say them. With TodaysMeet, some of those students feel more inclined to participate in meaningful discussion. Creating a nickname helps. For credit, I insist the student email me his/her nickname via our Google Classroom account.
I like to provide instant feedback to students' thoughts, suggestions, and questions and TodaysMeet allows me to do that. It is sometimes easier, however, to have a few different rooms open with groups of students. I can switch between "rooms" to see how discussions have developed and then provide feedback. With a large class participating at once, it can be quite overwhelming for both teacher and students.
One thing I find is that students like it. Even in the most talkative classes I see students engaging in the quieter form of discussion and feedback. Also, the "written" format allows for accountability. For example, students are less likely to type derogatory comments to one another as I can review the conversations when filling out rubrics for grading. Additionally, it cuts out the possibility of students interrupting one another. ;)
What I like most about written discussions is that it allows my students to deeply process what they want to say. Research has shown that when we are forced to put our ideas into written words it helps us to know the material better because we have to communicate the ideas to others in an understandable way.
Anyway, back to the feedback point. :P TodaysMeet is one way to directly embed feedback to students in "real time". What a beautiful thing it is that I read and type much faster than my students and hence, I need to send shout-out to my typing teacher from high school. Thank you Mrs. Geoca!!
Thing 30: Flash Cards, Quiz Games and More
All hail Kahoot!!!
THIS is a gem! Everybody should try this. My students love it and they learn with it.
Teachers need to go the the getkahoot.com sign in, create a free account and then create, or search for, Kahoots. The best part about Kahoot is the fairly extensive amount of public Kahoots already available. So far, I have yet to create my own and I've searched for the following with results:
Literary devices
Rhetorical devices
Othello
Author's purpose
Understanding Rhetoric (graphic textbook)
Hamlet
RTI (Response to Intervention)
Yesterday our Kahoot topic was rhetorical devices and techniques. The particular list I selected had questions that involved some devices we had yet to cover. The students were up to the challenge and I noticed they were critically thinking to choose the best answer. Those who got the the difficult questions correct actually started clapping. We had so much fun and they loved the challenge. It was a great way to "introduce" new devices and techniques.
I know my students well and I am looking forward to officially introducing the new terms covered in the Kahoot. I feel fairly certain that a few of them will recognize the term at the very least which will motivate them to learn the word more so than without the Kahoot point of reference.
Teachers, go ahead and "treat yo'self"; play Kahoot with your students.
THIS is a gem! Everybody should try this. My students love it and they learn with it.
Teachers need to go the the getkahoot.com sign in, create a free account and then create, or search for, Kahoots. The best part about Kahoot is the fairly extensive amount of public Kahoots already available. So far, I have yet to create my own and I've searched for the following with results:
Literary devices
Rhetorical devices
Othello
Author's purpose
Understanding Rhetoric (graphic textbook)
Hamlet
RTI (Response to Intervention)
Yesterday our Kahoot topic was rhetorical devices and techniques. The particular list I selected had questions that involved some devices we had yet to cover. The students were up to the challenge and I noticed they were critically thinking to choose the best answer. Those who got the the difficult questions correct actually started clapping. We had so much fun and they loved the challenge. It was a great way to "introduce" new devices and techniques.
I know my students well and I am looking forward to officially introducing the new terms covered in the Kahoot. I feel fairly certain that a few of them will recognize the term at the very least which will motivate them to learn the word more so than without the Kahoot point of reference.
Teachers, go ahead and "treat yo'self"; play Kahoot with your students.
Thing 9: Databases & Search Tools
I couldn't help checking out
From there, I found Doctopus/Goobric instructions. The instructions were "in owners trash" but I made a copy anyway. I just hope they work and the directions weren't thrown away because they were faulty.
Basically, these two will link together so that rubrics can be graded electronically and emailed to students.
I have to modify the directions a little as my students already finished and turned in their assignments. Let's see how this goes...
After a long time following the directions it worked!! It is actually pretty neat and while I had to backtrack a little and modify I found it a lot more fun than grading the rubric on paper. Below are the links to my final results. I purposely left out a few sheets necessary to complete to get to the final spreadsheet.
Overall, I like the process but I need to report the CONS as well. First and most importantly learning it is VERY time consuming. As you all know, teachers have sooooo much free time that why should that ever matter? :P Right?!!! I was determined to finish the "project" and so I stuck with it. I'd be lying, however, if I said I didn't think about abandoning the whole thing a few times. Secondly, in the end, I still needed to calculate the final grades. That part didn't take long but for the amount of time it took me to set up, I thought perhaps the process would do my laundry for me as well. (Sigh)
So I recommend it if, and only if, you have time. Summer fun perhaps???
The instructions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1otOyzwgVcp9Qhi0vsCrIyqnz821FFg67O9X9Vo_gI5E/edit
The Rubric:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZCENs6P3jncKaJN7Ke4g2BEOkBcKkyzcupqdvWA9yrY/edit#gid=0
Final Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/134tF-j0SLRERCwHyodKoLvja1Kpd2OYB2E5DsgbK6yM/edit#gid=122540047
After a long time following the directions it worked!! It is actually pretty neat and while I had to backtrack a little and modify I found it a lot more fun than grading the rubric on paper. Below are the links to my final results. I purposely left out a few sheets necessary to complete to get to the final spreadsheet.
Overall, I like the process but I need to report the CONS as well. First and most importantly learning it is VERY time consuming. As you all know, teachers have sooooo much free time that why should that ever matter? :P Right?!!! I was determined to finish the "project" and so I stuck with it. I'd be lying, however, if I said I didn't think about abandoning the whole thing a few times. Secondly, in the end, I still needed to calculate the final grades. That part didn't take long but for the amount of time it took me to set up, I thought perhaps the process would do my laundry for me as well. (Sigh)
So I recommend it if, and only if, you have time. Summer fun perhaps???
The instructions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1otOyzwgVcp9Qhi0vsCrIyqnz821FFg67O9X9Vo_gI5E/edit
The Rubric:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZCENs6P3jncKaJN7Ke4g2BEOkBcKkyzcupqdvWA9yrY/edit#gid=0
Final Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/134tF-j0SLRERCwHyodKoLvja1Kpd2OYB2E5DsgbK6yM/edit#gid=122540047
Thing 11: DIY
Updated info!! 😃 April 18, 2017
So, on to the next one! :) I decided to try Common Curriculum. The "basic" level is free and very professionally created. There is a "pro" version for either $6.99/mo. or $4.89 if you pay for the year (roughly $59 total). It is also available for schools to purchase for many teachers. The site provides a nice breakdown of what each subscription level has to offer.
What I've found is that it takes a little bit to learn the whole thing BUT it is fairly extensive and easy once you get the hang of it. There are many different lesson plan templates to choose from which is nice! Once you select one, entering information is simply a matter of editing. Also, teachers don't have to stick to the same template! One can switch to a different template for each day or for each class or anything. Common Curriculum is quite flexible.
To get set up, the first thing to do is to enter days off for the year, which I find to be a nice feature. Once the schedule is set up, there is an option for "turning off" any day that one is not actually teaching (during exam week, or perhaps, there is an assembly during a certain class period). In addition, teachers have the option to download, copy, paste, or print any day's lessons. The lessons can also be made into full screen mode. I especially value the "Shift Lesson" option! At my school, attendance can be very unpredictable. We often have to compile alternate lesson plans in the event that more than half of the students in one class are absent. If only six out of 23 students show up on a day where the lesson requires group work and/or new material, the alternate lesson can be shifted into place and the original lesson can be shifted forward for the next day (or even later).
One of the most user friendly aspects to Common Curriculum is the feature that allows teachers to search for standards and directly insert them into the lesson plan. Standards are banked and searchable by state (including Common Core State Standards), grade level, and key terms. This is truly convenient and saves a lot of time for those of us who have yet to memorize them for four different preps.
Overall, I highly recommend using Common Curriculum as an online teacher planner. It is an extensive user friendly tool with many choice options for teachers who like (or must have) formal, organized/structured, and complete lesson plans.
OLD FYI below:
MyStudyLife ... NOT for teachers... yet anyway. (Not sure if this will count toward a task number but wanted to share nonetheless.)
Last week I went on a search for an online teacher planner and after reading all about it, I decided to try out MyStudyLife. Again, I ended up disappointed after a few hours of trying my best to get it to work.
After downloading the app (available from iTunes) onto my Mac, I went through the process to register and eventually had to email for help Below, is my email and the developer's response.
I'm afraid we're not currently accepting any new applications for our schools beta (teacher account) as it is being phased out in favour of our new offering for schools (including MIS integration, allowing students timetables to be automatically populated). We don't offer a teacher specific account for this at the moment (the beta account was very similar to our student account), however, this is something we're working to add. If you're interested in MIS integration for your students, please let me know.
Many thanks,
Josh
So, on to the next one! :) I decided to try Common Curriculum. The "basic" level is free and very professionally created. There is a "pro" version for either $6.99/mo. or $4.89 if you pay for the year (roughly $59 total). It is also available for schools to purchase for many teachers. The site provides a nice breakdown of what each subscription level has to offer.
What I've found is that it takes a little bit to learn the whole thing BUT it is fairly extensive and easy once you get the hang of it. There are many different lesson plan templates to choose from which is nice! Once you select one, entering information is simply a matter of editing. Also, teachers don't have to stick to the same template! One can switch to a different template for each day or for each class or anything. Common Curriculum is quite flexible.
To get set up, the first thing to do is to enter days off for the year, which I find to be a nice feature. Once the schedule is set up, there is an option for "turning off" any day that one is not actually teaching (during exam week, or perhaps, there is an assembly during a certain class period). In addition, teachers have the option to download, copy, paste, or print any day's lessons. The lessons can also be made into full screen mode. I especially value the "Shift Lesson" option! At my school, attendance can be very unpredictable. We often have to compile alternate lesson plans in the event that more than half of the students in one class are absent. If only six out of 23 students show up on a day where the lesson requires group work and/or new material, the alternate lesson can be shifted into place and the original lesson can be shifted forward for the next day (or even later).
One of the most user friendly aspects to Common Curriculum is the feature that allows teachers to search for standards and directly insert them into the lesson plan. Standards are banked and searchable by state (including Common Core State Standards), grade level, and key terms. This is truly convenient and saves a lot of time for those of us who have yet to memorize them for four different preps.
Overall, I highly recommend using Common Curriculum as an online teacher planner. It is an extensive user friendly tool with many choice options for teachers who like (or must have) formal, organized/structured, and complete lesson plans.
OLD FYI below:
MyStudyLife ... NOT for teachers... yet anyway. (Not sure if this will count toward a task number but wanted to share nonetheless.)
Last week I went on a search for an online teacher planner and after reading all about it, I decided to try out MyStudyLife. Again, I ended up disappointed after a few hours of trying my best to get it to work.
After downloading the app (available from iTunes) onto my Mac, I went through the process to register and eventually had to email for help Below, is my email and the developer's response.
Hi,
I am a teacher in Rochester NY. I have downloaded the application and I’m trying to sign up. I can sign in using Google. I select Teacher and then it asks for a code emailed to me when my school registered.
I don’t know how to register my school. The app says it is free.
When I sign in via Google I am using my school district (RCSD121) purchased Google account. The app says it doesn’t recognize it. Then, I tried signing in with my school district Office 365 email account. That is not recognized by the app either.
Please send me an activation code. I would like to start using the planner and don’t have a lot of time to spend trying to sign up.
Thank you,
Kara Muddle
1478950@rcsd121.org (Google mailbox)
Kara.muddle@rcsdk12.org (Office 365 mailbox)
I'm afraid we're not currently accepting any new applications for our schools beta (teacher account) as it is being phased out in favour of our new offering for schools (including MIS integration, allowing students timetables to be automatically populated). We don't offer a teacher specific account for this at the moment (the beta account was very similar to our student account), however, this is something we're working to add. If you're interested in MIS integration for your students, please let me know.
Many thanks,
Josh
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