Distance Learning - Week 29

Here are more tools to enhance your Distance Learning experience:

Week 29 (March 23 – March 27)

Giggles:                 How do you get a squirrel to like you?

                                                      Act like a nut!

#CUSDFamily. What a whirlwind of a week.  And you all weathered it with grace, courage, and kindness.  I saw some of you at the video training hosted by Sherri Johnston.  I saw some of you in Google Meet as we connected over tech-rich ideas.  For some of you, I really enjoyed watching your Flipgrid video.  And, for some, we connected via email as you asked great questions.  You are the heart of Clovis Unified.  You make this learning environment what it is.  I cannot say enough great things about your tenacity, grit, fortitude, and compassion.  You are gems.  I am thankful to work with such magnificent people.  You are doing a great job.

The hearts of our children are on display in the comments we see in Google Classroom.  Resilient and longing.  A combination of both.  It’s okay to affirm and support these sweet hearts as they navigate this experience.

Flipgrid. Hang out with the cool kids.  Click that circle.  Leave your video.  Challenge someone else to post a video too.  Use your long email (@Clovisusd.k12.ca.us).

Here are some of the questions that are coming my way:

Reset Student Passwords. Many of our kinder and first-grade parents are emailing you to reset those passwords.  And, they need help.  For some, this is their first child in school, and they don’t use Parent Connect very much.  So, here’s a video that will help them reset those passwords. VIDEO LINK HERE

What is Zoom? How does it work? This video tutorial can answer some of your questions on how to get started.  It did not show you how to share the URL or generate one.  Email me if you need help with that.

What about Google Meet? Everyone keeps talking about it.  How does it work? Here is a tutorial to get you started.

You shared a link to a free resource by the name of Epic!. What is that? How does it work?  HERE is a video tutorial for students.  It doesn’t show you the teacher side of things, but it can get your students started if you are sharing a new-to-them resource.

PowToon. Just got an email from their CEO.  Their resources are free for students until June 30.  You can see how to find that in THIS VIDEO HERE.

Image credit here.

PE at home. My parents are asking me for online content to get the children moving. What resources do you recommend? GoNoodle is the online tool I recommend for movement and relaxation. PARENT LINK HERE. Feel free to share that with parents, or find content you can post to Google Classroom.

Image credit here.

I want to use this time to learn all I can about tech-rich teaching and learning. I’ve always been curious about 3D printing. What do you recommend? PrintLab just released a lot of their content FREE. Now is a perfect time to learn about 3D printing and 3D print design. HEAD HERE to learn more.

Image credit here.

I want to send an email, but it’s 11:30 at night.  Is there some way I can delay the delivery of that message?  THIS VIDEO tutorial will show you how to delay the delivery of a message.  Got it on your mind, but don’t want to send it right now?  Delay it with this tutorial.  

Video conference PD.  Team, if I start hosting digital PD, what topics are most important to you?  Email me.  Let me know.  And is 2:00 a good time for you?  What about frequency?  Twice each week or every day?
    a) Google Classroom. Introductory or advanced lessons.
    b) Google Sites. How do I do more advanced things or even beginning things in my website?
    c) Screencastify. How does it work?  How can my students uses it?
    d) Flipgrid. How do I get started?
    e) WordArt. I want my students to do an art project. Can you help me get started with that?  How do they share their work with me?
    f) Collaboration. I want my students to share their work with a classmate to get feedback from a peer. How do the kids to that?
    g) Feedback. How do I effectively provide feedback on Google Classroom assignments?  Where is the comment button and how does it work?
    h) Parents are concerned about screen time. What are some at-home tools that parents can use to monitor what their kids are doing on technology?
    i) My colleagues are designing great Google Classroom assignments.  How can I get a copy of those and share that with my students?
    j) Microsoft Outlook. So, how do I create a signature? And, how do I design folders? And how can I get those cute balloons to show up easily?
    k) Video-based teaching. How do I get started? What are some tools I should/could use? Is closed captioning an option? It could really support my EL kids.  But, how do you use that bit?
    l) The link to my website is so long. I want one of those short ones. How do I fix that?
    m) Other. Suggest ideas of your own.


We can do this,
Melissa Culver