If you have not accessed Grasshopper Coding yet, get on it. By no means am I a coder. After years of teaching coding concepts to elementary school students, I felt confident in the basics. When I wanted to make things with a Raspberry Pi, I learned Python, but only the elements I needed for each […]
Kami
The Kami extension in Google Chrome is quickly becoming one of my favorite tools. Kami allows you to annotate PDFs, documents, and images. It integrates directly with Google Drive. You can share and collaborate in a file. Users have the option to start with a file or begin with a Blank Paper Lined Paper Grid Paper Music […]
Veteran’s Day
Do your students know what Veterans Day is? Here is a fun mini PBL for students to learn about the day and design a memorial for their home town. Sixth graders were engaged through the entire project and designed amaingly thoughtful monuments. https://sites.google.com/millburn.org/veteransdaymonuments/home
Google Keep For Note Taking
When students are taking notes one of the hardest parts is getting them to record their sources at that moment. In all honesty, I am the same way. When you are on a roll, reading and taking notes, chasing down sources, finding new information, and getting new keywords, stopping to create an MLA or APA […]
Student Voice AND Admin Voice- Library Remodel Part 2
Looking for Library Remodel Part 1? Click here Who uses your space the most? … the students. When redesigning the library I had a goal, ask the students. This was going to be their space. We as educators also have ideas in mind of what we need but this was there going to be their […]
Disrupting Thinking
We as humans often get stuck in routines, even with our thinking. We do the same things, day after day, and expect things to change, to get better. As teachers, this happens with our teaching and it ends up extending out to our students. Sit in the same seats, take attendance, read this chapter, answer […]
Library Remodel- Part 1
This year I started my new job in an outdated high school library. The collection of almost 14,000 items had an average age of 1997. (This is after the previous Library Media Specialist weeded 10,000 books one year prior). The room itself is full of traditional wooden tables and chairs, and book stacks that took […]
rowCall
Where would we be without Google Drive add-ons? If you do not know what an addon is, now is the time to learn. Add-ons are within Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Forms individually, and allow you to do more with each tool. My new favorite add-on is in Google Sheets: rowCall rowCall looks through a column and sorts […]
The Pringles Challenge
Last year was the first year I participated in the Pringles Challenge with 90+ fourth graders and their five teachers. It was one of the best STEM projects of the year. The Pringles Challenge is now accepting participants for this year: https://sites.google.com/site/newpringleschallenge/ Challenge: Students must design a unique package that will allow a SINGLE pringles chip […]