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Just This Week

1/25/2013

In just this week alone I saw some unbelievable teaching practices and educational technology integration that helped promote the success of all students. Here is the unbelievable list......

Our newly formed Student Tech Club met and is excited about working together in order to ensure that our middle school's technology is working and staff is supported in any way possible.
In language arts class Mrs. Hotchkiss is using KidBlog to give students a 21st century voice in a safe learning environment.
The final stages of preparation for a BYOD pilot and Digital Learning Day are coming together with great excitement.
In social studies class Mrs. Connahan incorporated the SmartBoard, Online Textbook, Graphic Organizers and laptop stations so students could really grasp the culture and geography of Ancient Egypt.
The District Wide Online Book Club is ready to start next week. We will be reading Dave Burgess' "Teach Like a Pirate" and holding conversations online using Edmodo.
Everyone is wearing their favorite sports jerseys for spirit day. Of course I am wearing my Philadelphia Eagles jersey and getting booed.
Advisory went off with great success. Students were collaborating, talking and learning to work together as a team.
Mr. Pizzo was recognized as the 2013 "Teacher Who Makes Magic" Congrats goes to a very professional and well liked teacher.
The weekly Tech Tuesday was very successful as teachers came in on their own time and learned about the power of Google Apps.
The boys and girls basketball teams were very successful with important wins against arch rivals.
The BOE presentation on 2012 test scores and school highlights was very impressive and made everyone proud.
In social studies class Mr. Cullen utilized iPads to assess student's knowledge with an app called Socrative.
Ms. Hey and Mrs. Meierhofer visited John Fritzky of the Mt. Olive School District to learn about "flipping the classroom."
Ms. Palumbo and Ms. Sheridan successfully leveraged the power of SmartBoards during their units on math and science.
District Administrators attended a seminar at Seton Hall University on Teacher and Principal Evaluation Tools/Models
Students took the online SRI reading comprehension test for diagnostics purposes. This allows our teachers to use timely data to impact instruction.
The willingness to learn about and try new "tools of the trade" is tremendous and evident by Mrs. Vilagos developing a game plan to incorporate digital portfolios in her art class.

Imagine what next week will hold. Very honored and proud to be apart of the unbelievable educational experiences that are going on in the Chester School District.

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Social media, web 2.0 tools and technology have changed the way educators receive professional development. These are exciting times in education due to the numerous options available in maintaining that status of a lead learner. We live in the 21st century now and educators need to be connected in order to promote the success of students in a relevant fashion. Below are some examples of ways in which educators can leverage the power of innovative technologies to keep themselves on top of their game.

Join or create an online book talk using Edmodo, EdWeb, or Google Community. I am aware of three examples that have taken place or will take place: Todd Whitaker's Shift the Monkey Daniel Pink's Drive, and Dave Burgess's Teach Like a Pirate.
Create a school or district based hashtag so that staff members can archive educational resources found on Twitter. Daily, weekly, or monthly discussions can be held on Twitter with fellow staff members on best practice teaching techniques and ideas as well.
Start up a Tech Tuesday initiative where staff members come together in small or large groups throughout the school day and learn about the many great tools available that enhance instruction.For example, staff members could learn about the many great educational apps that Google has availlable for classroom application.
Curate a weekly Bundlenut of educational resources which is culled from various online resources such as Twitter and share with staff via email. This is a much appreciated practice that keeps all school stakeholders current and relevant.
Attend Edcamps or other conferences such as Edscape virtually or in person for free or very little cost. These professional development opportunities allow educators to collaborate and learn from one another.

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Expand Your Knowledge with SmartBrief

1/9/2013

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A great way to receive relevant information related to your subject matter is to sign up for a daily or weekly SmartBrief email. This free service sends an email that contains a digest related to your interests. Below is a list of educational SmartBrief sign-up links by subject area......

ASCD (Association for Curriculum and Development) ~ https://www.smartbrief.com/ascd/index.jsp

EdTech ~ https://www.smartbrief.com/edtech/index.jsp

STEM ~ https://www.smartbrief.com/acte/index.jsp

Accomplished Teacher ~ https://www.smartbrief.com/nbpts/index.jsp

ACTF2 (World Language) ~ https://www.smartbrief.com/actfl/index.jsp

Rosetta Stone (World Language) ~ https://www.smartbrief.com/rosettastone/index.jsp

CEC (Special Education) ~ https://www.smartbrief.com/cec/index.jsp

MiddleWeb (Middle School) ~ https://www.smartbrief.com/middleweb/index.jsp

NCLE (Literacy) ~ https://www.smartbrief.com/ncle/index.jsp

NCSS (Social Studies) ~ http://www.smartbrief.com/news/ncss

NCTM (Math) ~ https://www.smartbrief.com/nctm/index.jsp

Leadership ~ https://www.smartbrief.com/leadership/index.jsp

Social Media ~ https://www.smartbrief.com/socialmedia/index.jsp

SmartBlog on Education ~ http://smartblogs.com/education

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Just This Week

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