Getting Started This Year – Week 00

CN Area Elementary Teaching Team:

Week 00 (Aug 03 – Aug 07)

Weekly Giggles:                Q: What do you call a shoe made from a banana?

                                            A: A slipper.

Yes, it is still vacation. You can totally ignore this. It is not important at all. If you are curious or interested, then feel free to explore the content in this email/blog.

Online Training. For those of you who signed up for online training, be sure those dates/times are in your calendar this week. Log into that training a few minutes early to be sure you get in on time. For any training that you miss, there will be video links posted the week of August 10. You can go online and watch those videos later. The CUSD training link is HERE: bit.ly/CUSDOnlineLearningResources. That URL is CASE SENSITIVE. Be sure that any capital letters are capitals when you type that URL into your navigation bar. I do not have the FCOE (Fresno County Office of Education) video link yet.

Curriculum Instruction & Accountability. Debbie Para sent out a video the other day from CI&A. Did you know that resources are being constructed for you right now to support Benchmark? They are designing resources so the children can interact with online documents to support instruction you are doing in the classroom.  To find out how to locate those resources, please CLICK HERE.

Introduction Letter. As you think about how you will interact with your students/families, for the first time, here is a model to consider. There are several details to share with your families. If I showed you a map of Paris, could you easily navigate the roads with skill? Maybe. Maybe not. Your website is natural to you because you made it. For others, it’s like a map of Paris: lots of information all over the place. They won’t know where to go. I recommend an intro letter. Here is a template to consider. Download. Adjust. Work your magic. Make it yours. LINK HERE

Note: Send this to parents via email. Do not put this on Google Classroom (as a first path of communication). Families do not know what your class code is yet. You can reshare this on Google Classroom. But don’t make Google Classroom the first time you share this. Your website is fine, but do families know how to get to your website?

Distance Learning Video. Shout out to Kristin Brewer for finding this gem of a video. If you are nervous about the How, What, and Why of teaching in a distance learning environment, this is helpful pedagogy. New system. New processes. New strategies. And what does it all look like? VIDEO LINK HERE

Stylus and other teaching tools. Some of our computers come with a stylus. It depends on the computer you requested at your last refresh. Check to see if you already have one.  If you have one, it is located here on the side of your computer:

And, if you are interested in other support tools, check out THIS VIDEO. In this video, I show you the tools I use, and I explain why I use them. One of them you already have at home (or more). Don’t spend money, if you can avoid it. Talk to your site about funds that are available for things like this.

Can I use my doc camera with a projector? Some computers work with our document cameras and some do not. Here is a PDF that will walk you through the steps to see if your computer will work with a document camera.  PDF LINK HERE

I was on the Fugman campus for four hours last week trying to configure a classroom for effective distance learning techniques. After all of that investigation/practice, I came to this conclusion:
       1) Take pictures of the book content.
       2) Email that to yourself with the iCloud Link option (or use the power cord as a transfer cable).
       3) Drop it into a Word document.
       4) Use the Draw options to write on the screen (if needed).

Adobe also has features to edit a PDF, depending on the version you have. You can evaluate to see if it is a helpful teaching tool for you. I have Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. Mine has advanced features.

Not everyone uses the same practices. If the document camera works for you, please use it! When we tested it out, we used another computer as a “student computer” and the quality was not to our satisfaction. If you can get it to work in your demo sessions and you are satisfied with the quality, please use that strategy.

I am here to serve you. Reach out with questions. Together, we got this!

Okay, head back to more great books, ice cream, and time by the pool.

Kindly,
Melissa Culver

Distance Learning Gems – Week 00

CN Area Elementary Teaching Team:

Week 00 (July 27 – July 31)

Weekly Giggles:        What time is it when the clock strikes 13?
Time to get a new clock.

 

Yes, it is still vacation. You can totally ignore this. It is not important at all. If you are curious or interested, then feel free to explore the content in this email/blog.

I only want to highlight a few ideas in this blog. I want to keep it simple. If you wish to email this week to request more YouTube content, feel free to do so. I will add it to my queue to see what I can get to over the next few weeks. Technically, I’m still on vacation too. But, I also know that we all want to be prepared for the weeks ahead.

Short story: As a first-time mom (back in 2002), my mother told me, “She (our new baby) isn’t quite sure how any of this works either. You’re in the same boat. You’ll figure it out together.” We’re in a totally different situation, but I feel like this same advice applies. Your students have never been in THIS grade before. And, they have never done this grade with YOU. So, you’re both new to the same thing, together. My word of pause is this: “It’s okay to be nervous together. And, you’ll figure it out together.”

With that being said, here are a few tools to consider:

What are some potential teaching expectations for Week 01 given that this is a Distance Learning environment? This video may be helpful. In my opinion, you probably won’t have robust teaching expectations for Week 01. Families may be navigating new tools, new Wi-Fi, new router. Families may need to pick up materials from the classroom. You have no idea who these kids are. You’ll want to work on getting to know everyone. So, here’s that VIDEO LINK:

What do assessments look like? For now, here is one strategy to consider. This is the strategy that some of the summer school staff used. Watch as I explain one solution to at-home assessments. Is it perfect? No. Kids can still use their cellphones. Someone can stand behind the computer. Can a child open an additional tab and research online content? Yes, I know this. But, for now, it’s a potential deterrent. VIDEO LINK HERE.

Bitmoji Classroom. Do you want to set up a graphic-based learning environment where students can click on the tools they need each week? Here is a tool that may interest you. IF THIS IS NOT YOUR JAM, please avoid it. Do not fall into the pit that says, “Everyone is doing it. You’re not a cool teacher if you aren’t doing this.” Your special spark. Do you. Whatever your awesome is, bring that. I only put this in here if you find it interesting. And, if you cannot find this later, you can find it in my Distance Learning Playlist in my YouTube channel. Video link HERE.

Google Classroom. Feel free to archive any old classrooms if that is helpful for you. And, ALWAYS START the year with a NEW Google Classroom. If you need help with that, you can head to this video for more help. Some buttons may look different, but for the most part, it should be the same process. Video LINK HERE.

Are you a K-2 teacher? Are you interested in Seesaw? I do not know if the district will pick up that cost. But, I know some of you have reached out to ask me questions. There are two videos in my Distance Learning Playlist that are specific to Seesaw. Or, you can find the PreK-2 teaching VIDEO LINK HERE. Our students would access this via Clever.

Feel free to disengage from all things school. Head back to that good book or those documentaries in Amazon Prime. This can wait for another week or two.

Thankful for you,
Melissa Culver