Pineapple Tidbits: a little of this and a little of that

-by Susan Hitt

Not surprisingly, the land of the Internet is filled with amazing resources and inspiration for educators. However, it goes without saying that finding the time for teachers to sit down and sift through the overwhelming amount of videos, tech sites, blog posts, podcasts, etc. is a daunting task. Plus, who has the time to do that? Well, grab your coffee (or hot tea, which is my own preference) and scroll down to see the resources I've curated for this today's Pineapple Tidbits! 

Instead of...Try This

                                                                       -by Andrea Raines, BT & Staff Development Specialist 

This post originally appeared on the blog Aligned on October 3, 2017 by Andrea Raines.

Each year as I set up my ELA classroom, I always strive to arrange it so that it allows all students to be successful. As educators, we are continually exposed to new strategies and research to implement in our classrooms. Over the last few years, I have found several strategies that help me encourage my students to be successful within ELA standards.

Top 5 Blog Posts of 2017

by Susan Hitt

As 2017 comes to a close, I thought I'd take a moment to highlight the top 5 Education Celebration blog posts from 2017. So without further ado, let's take a look at the top 5 posts of the year:

Four Reasons to Try Actively Learn

-by Hannan Moon, Laney HS
@MrsHanMoon

In my last blog post, I mentioned a college professor who always encouraged teachers to keep students engaged and learning outside of the 4 classroom walls. In an effort to keep the learning alive after class hours, I’ve been searching for programs and activities that are easily accessible to students, easily manipulated by me, and easily gradable. The latest program that I’m using is Actively Learn. This program meets all my criteria: easy for me, easy for students, and keeps the learning outside of class.

Blended Learning: The Station Rotation Model

This post originally appeared on Aligned on September 6, 2017, by Susan Hitt.

Differentiation. It’s a commonly used term within education, but just because it’s a common term does not mean it’s easy to accomplish. Differentiation means altering instruction to meet the variety of needs students bring to the table during a class period. As teachers, we know we need to meet the needs of each of our students; however, when working with a classroom of 25 or more students, this is often a daunting task for even the most seasoned of educators.

Padlet: A Must-Try Digital Tool for Your Classroom

Brenna Sheehan, Laney HS

Padlet is a digital canvas to create beautiful projects that are easy to share and collaborate. It acts like a virtual pinboard in which students can post video clips, photos, links, comments, etc. This awesome digital tool is not just for students to use! I’ve used it to create an introduction to The Kite Runner that serves as the base of a webquest (scroll down to see this Padlet). You can also create a group Padlet for several people to collaborate. This would work really well on a group project or simply serve as an inspirational pinboard for your class.

Engaging Students to Think Outside the Classroom Walls with Flipgrid

-Hannah Moon, Laney High School

Becoming a 21st-century educator requires many of us to take a step back and evaluate ourselves, our teaching practices, and our students. For our students to be thoroughly engaged, we as educators must put ourselves in the desks of our students—how do they learn in today’s age of technology? What will keep all students engaged? How can we use the students’ knowledge of technology to our advantage?

Self-Paced PD? Yes, please!

-Susan Hitt

Looking for ways to bring innovative technology into the classroom, but don't know where to start?

Check out the district's Be Awesome Badges to earn CEUs while also implementing new and engaging technology in your classroom! There are over 30 options with more constantly being added.