Tech Tuesday for November 21, 2017 Connected Educators

Odds and Ends What is a Connected Educator? This week's newsletter is all about being a connected educator. Connected can mean a few different things. On one level, it means being connected to electrical power or the Internet. More importantly, it means you are connected to other educators. You are part of the education conversation. My humanities professor always said, “Art is a conversation.” Artists and musicians learn from and expand on the artistic work of those that came before them. Connected educators do the same thing with their teaching. There are so many ways to get connected. You can read books and blogs. You can listen to podcasts. You can follow other educators on Twitter. You can join Facebook or Google Plus groups about education. You can even just talk to teachers in your own building. The important thing is that you are part of the conversation.

App Pick of the Week Twitter twitter.com Twitter is a fantastic way to connect with other educators. There are hundreds of educational Twitter chats every week. There’s even a website that compiles a list of all the chats so you can see which ones will be of interest to you.

Google Tip of the Week Google Plus Communities Google Plus Communities allow teachers to come together around a certain education topic. Here are some Google Plus communities that have been helpful to me. We also have a Google Plus community just for Westfield educators! Chromebook EDU G Suite for Education HyperDocs Google Classroom Indiana eLearning Coach Community

What I've been training on Connecting with Teachers I recently spent all day at Carey Ridge. I met with each grade level during their prep time. We mostly talked about Google Drive and Google Classroom. I am available to do training for your building or department on whatever educational technology will help you. Please reach out to me and we can set this up.

Teachers Using Technology Do you know of a great use of technology by a Westfield Teacher? Share your own technology tip with me or nominate another teacher! Teacher of the Week: Charme' Smith, WWES Kindergarten Teacher Charme’ is a connected educator for sure! She has shared a ton of resources with us. Most of these are geared toward working with younger students so the specific resources may not apply to you. However, the takeaway is to see what it looks like to be a connected educator. If Charme’ needs to find a new tool or resource, she is connected with other educators so she knows where to go looking and asking for help. She also stays up on the education trends by being part of the conversation. Resources: Education Groups on Facebook Seesaw Teachers Kindergarten Word Work Ideas for K-2 Teachers Benchmark Literacy PLC Fountas & Pinnel Literacy Primary Collaborative Twinkle Toes Training Whole Brain Kindergarten Teachers Kindergarten Tips & Tricks by Miss Kindergarten Dr. Jean and Friends Simply Kinder Importance of Play For Shopping and supply ideas Teachers Stretching Dollars Teachers Bargain Basement Blogs or Email Serve Lists Kindercraze Simply Kinder Mrs. Willis’ Kindergarten Kindergarten Kindergarten Mrs. Jump’s Class The Butorac Group Cassie from Create-abilities.com Happies4Teachers The Edge Foundation The Curriculum Corner Danielle at Teacher Sherpa Understood.org readingandwritingproject.org Seesaw App: a way to include families in the learning process as well as to send quick reminders or even the class newsletter https://web.seesaw.me/ As a kindergarten teacher, Charme` is always looking for ways to use technology and other resources to improve student learning and to connect with parents. Charme` has implemented Seesaw as a fantastic parent communication tool. Parents can receive reminders, photos/videos of the work being done in the classroom, and can communicate with Charme`. Child-specific messages and classwork can be shared in each child’s private family folder. Throughout the year more and more responsibility for documenting and sharing learning on Seesaw will belong with her students. Kindergarten students are able to do this with a little training! Connect with Charme`:  smithc@wws.k12.in.us                    Phone: x7954

Access the archive of past newsletters in this shared Google Drive Folder. WWS Tech Tuesday Newsletter Archive Access our Google+ Community here.