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- We are all life long learners
- You can learn a lot from being a substitute
- Don't just take the first job offer, know what you value before accepting the job. Find the job that is a good fit for you!
- Pick positive colleagues to be friends with!

COVID 19 impact
-Math: just because we did it doesn't mean they remember it.
-Figuring out the necessary parts- getting rid of the fluff.
-Need for more SEL
-Focusing on students has become a little bit more difficult.
-There is a lot of trauma and many students have not recovered from quite yet. (MS students not having food or having to raise elementary siblings).
- You can tell when students are struggling with the transition.

How has technology changed in your classroom and in your school?
-the access has changed way more accessible.
- 1:1 for everyone. Tech has just exploded.
- from overhead projectors to 1:1.
- How to share the new tech and make it beneficial with students.
- We are using more paper so there isn't an over-reliance on tech. Many students are asking for paper copies and are so over using technology in the classroom.

How have your students changed over you're entire career?
- education has become a chore (a burden to be at school)
- some students value being at school, not all of them see the value though. There has been a loss of motivation with learning.
- kids are overbooked. (travel sports all year, band, music, plays etc.) it also pulls them out of school

Challenging behavior issue:
-explain the issue, and give them one thing a day.
- have conversations with students and see what is going on.

If your first job offer is not a good fit, don't accept it.

Collaboration:

Team meeting and department meeting are so beneficial.
Team meetings can help make sure you are benefitting students with the time you give them a project.

sometimes you have to seek out collaboration in your school.
Ask about set planning time and collaboration time in interviews.

Department model: each department has its own hallway. And once a week there is a grade level meeting.

Team model makes planning easier.

10-day rotation: 3 days = team 2 days = grade level partner.

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https://wakelet.com/i/invite?isSpace=true&code=yecvfuwy Code: yecvfuwy

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CMLA Summit (Georgia College & State University CMLA )

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CMLA Summit (Georgia College & State University CMLA )

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Young Adolescent Development: Adolescence is a time for transitioning and there are many developmental changes happening at once.
-The YA brain goes through a growth spurt just before puberty and then a period for pruning. YA development can be inconsistent and there everyone can be at a different stage of growth.
-Design lessons that included a full range of sensory-motor experiences (music, smell, touch, and emotion)
-YA seeks autonomy and independence and craves social interaction to learn rather than watching you write at the board.
-prefer active involvement with learning.
- desire personal choice, social acceptance, like to test limits of acceptable behavior.
-They are trying to answer the question of who they are and declare their identities.

Motivation & Engagement: "when am I ever going to use this?"
-include student interest: they are more likely to attend class and participate because they see value
-Benefits of collaborative learning: development of higher-level thinking, oral communication, self-management, and leadership skills.
-Hands on activities: stronger connections in the brain and learning for long-term memory!

Involving students:
Things that involve students: Content variety, behavior management, assessments.
-let students negotiate the curriculum.
-culturally responsive: collective world view (make relationships)
-integrated curriculum
"The only person who knows more about your student is who they go home to!"
Service-learning.

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CMLA SUMMIT (Georgia College & State University CMLA) 

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CMLA SUMMIT (Georgia College & State University CMLA) 

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Patterns with a Purpose: Building Conceptual Understanding of y = mx + b

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Patterns with a Purpose: Building Conceptual Understanding of y = mx + b

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1lR9GlFmtyOilQFbcIu-FiN1GSpJcobEgBWxc5rQs_Uo/edit#slide=id.g92add86d7b_0_25

Silent board game:
https://technology.cpm.org/general/silentboardgame/
https://technology.cpm.org/general/silentboardgame/

“Positive Interdependence arises when students feel mutual accountability for their learning and believe that their own learning will benefit through their interactions with each other.”

https://student.desmos.com/activitybuilder/instance/617feb0794d8460c40860e9d/student/618681f01499c6ffb3a92e98#screenId=5bf8d19a-9d83-481d-920c-f4be471d6a1f

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50 Nifty Tech Tools for the Blended Learning Classroom

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50 Nifty Tech Tools for the Blended Learning Classroom

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1. Ed Puzzle
2. Coggle (mapping)
3. Freckle (adapted, Differentiated Learning) - has all 4 subject areas
4. Class Kick (monitor work & give instant feedback)- see students solve problems live. Peers can give feedback too!
5. Mathigon (interactive math textbook & manipulatives) - super fun.
6. Verso App (online discussion with student voice) - anonymity w/ peers but the teacher knows who it is.
7. PlayPosit (create and share interactive video lessons)
8. EduCreations (interactive screencasting tool & whiteboard)
9. VoiceThread (create interactive multimedia presentations)
10. Applied Digital Skills(teach and learn practical digital skills) - combines life skills with digital skills together. could be good for future emergency sub plans.
11. Prodigy (adaptive, gamified math practice)
12. Gimkit (interactive live learning game created by a hs student)
13. JoeZoo (assessment app with AI feedback)
14. Mentimeter (interactive presentations)
15. SiLAS (SEL curriculum)
16. Tiki-Toki (interactive 3D timelines)
17. Cretely (Diagram/Flow-chart creator)
18. Piktochart (infographic & digital story maker)
19. Bakpax (grading with artificial intelligence) - help teachers be more efficient.
20. Learn around the world (virtual field trips)
21. OER Commons (public repository of free resources)
22. WriteWell App (writing templates & exemplar essays)
23. Purposity (generosity for students in need)
24. Blooket (gamify formative assessment)
25. Desmos (math curriculum and activities) deeper learning :)
26. Delta Math (math modules with assignments & instant feedback)
27. Flipgrid (amplify student voices with videos)
28. Nearpod (interactive class presentation tool)
29. Kami (PDF and document annotator)
30. Scholastic study jams (math/science lessons & practice)
31. Hyperdocs (interactive digital documents) -documents with hyperlinks
32. For all Rubrics (rubric, feedback, and badging platform)
33. Showbie (LMS with in-app annotation & voice recording)
34. Edulastic (interactive formative and summative assessment)
35. Padlet (digital bulletin board)
36. Hapara (instructional management software)
37. Data Nuggets (science activities with real-life data)
38. Gismos (math/science virtual labs & simulations)
39. Mote Chrome Extension (provide voice feedback in google workspace)
40. VideoAnt (web-based video annotation)
41. Whee of Names (random student or topic picker)
42. Lifeliqe (3d, VR and AR science lessons & models)
43. Formative (formative assessment tool)
44. Kaizena (fast, personal feedback)
45. Venngage (infographic & reports makers)
46. Legends of Learning (math & science learning games)
47. GoSoapbox (web-based clickers)
48. ClassCraft (gamified classroom management)
49. CoSpaces EDU (VR Creation Platform with coding)
50. Insert Learning (add learning checks to websites) - like ed puzzle for websites.

- sound trap
- MinecraftEDU

presentation: cody.training/50nifty

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50 Nifty Tech Tools for the Blended Learning Classroom - AMLE 2021

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Change your Entire School Narrative! Start the Day Around a Campfire!

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Change your Entire School Narrative! Start the Day Around a Campfire!

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They created a school from scratch to fully encompass the successful middle school. (White River Valley middle school is in Vermont) There are not enough students for some schools so they started combining schools (25 students to 50 students).
They developed a student/teacher centered program. To create a community where everyone feels safe and knows they belong. Students will problem solve and negotiate with teachers.

- Recess Period before lunch, students can be creative and are allowed outside (outdoor ed, pod time)
- Teachers are supportive
- Students are supportive
- students wish they had more sports and were educated more on pressing issues.
- small school climate
- Lots of outside time
- pod (sounds like exploratory) - fav project was cardboard boxes, identity web.
- advisory w/ pod structure

Playing is learning. Learning happens everywhere in school (including the cafeteria).
Having a strong team that is bonded to the middle school mission and model = good school.
Common planning time = beneficial.
This school had 3 planning times their first year.
1. whole school
2. common faculty
3. plan for classes

Restorative Practices:
Meaningful circles and community to implement practices to have restorative circles that talk with students and build a community before an issue arises.
They begin their day with the circles.
Engaging the community with the school >>>>>
Involving parents, and having kids take ownership of those discussions when calls are sent home. Adults think in circular format. Leadership is in a circular model.

School wide book read: the whole school selects a book to read and throughout the day each teacher will read a chapter to their class, no matter what class it is. For example Chapter 1 would be read 1st period, chapter 2 would be read 2nd, chapter 3  3rd.

This school really emphasized supportiveness and kindness.

Middle Grades Institute: https://middlegradescollaborative.org/institute/

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This summer’s fully online Institute prepares individuals, teams, and schools to implement both remote and face-to-face learning environments that respond to students’ needs, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The struggle is real: Creating opportunities for productive struggle in all content areas

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The struggle is real: Creating opportunities for productive struggle in all content areas

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Productive Struggle: learning opportunity that students struggle and grow and learn through the process. There is a fine line between productive and unproductive struggle. (Can be different each day). There must be a growth mindset tied to this.
Praise students for efforts, not answers.

Productive Struggle In Mathematics:
Provide opportunities for students to safety struggle.
Problems that make you think:
- Ken-Ken
- Logic Puzzle

Challenging, Empowering, Engaging

Productive struggle should occur in other subject areas as well, not just math.

SS: Thinking like a historian. Looking through different lenses.
Science: Nature & Practice of Science. Engage with the process. Observations/investigations, formulating questions/hypothesis, testing/revising. Science begins with a problem and then works to explain or solve the problem.
ELA: sentence diagraming, grammar.

Let students use each other as a support system rather than just giving them the answers.
Giving answers= learned helplessness
Not giving answers= problem solvers

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Grading Practices Need to Change: Where to Begin? 

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Grading Practices Need to Change: Where to Begin? 

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Education is constantly changing, but our grading practices are almost exactly the same as 120 years ago. A percentage will not tell us enough information about the world around us. It is time for a change, this will need to be a cultural shift.

Teacher Questions:
- How will students be motivated to do their homework if it is not graded?
- What penalty do we give for a student who hands in their assignments late?
- Is a student allowed to redo an assignment or test and what is the highest "grade" they can get?
Yes! Mastery takes time and has no time limit.
-So am I able to still give a chapter/unit assessments? Yes but you have to be mindful of why you're using these.
-Mode Vs. Recency
Multiple assessments so we gain a good understanding of student process and progress. If a student is achieving the standard we can rely on the mode. Recency: if the student continuously progresses towards the standard and the student achieves the standard. Recency is reporting on the most recent assessment.
- Is an 80% considered progressing?

When using standards-based grading, it empowers students because it highlights what students know and gives them the opportunity to see where they do well and to see where they can make improvements. This contributes to a growth mindset that encourages students to want to work hard.   Standards-based grading is all about empowering our students.

When you grade standardly, you report out individually for each standard. These reports can change throughout the year with student progress.

SBG can be helpful when it comes to transferring schools because the new school will get more detailed data on the student's educational progress and will know the areas in which the student has yet to master.

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Thanks for these great notes Ellen! I am so gad you all went to this! Powerful stuff. :) 

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Thanks for these great notes Ellen! I am so gad you all went to this! Powerful stuff. :) 

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Middle school students need to have their own voice and personality in their education. YA notice the world around them. They are more self aware and are beginning to define their identity. The middle school has been designed for YA agencies in their education and life.

If students were the principal they would keep 3 core classes and allow more choice in electives to try many different things so they have the opportunity to discover what they enjoy and the kind of occupation. They would encourage students to be involved in school. They would ensure the school entrance and decor is welcoming and want to ensure the school is safe and welcoming.

Students emphasized how including student choice into the curriculum would impact their education. They also want to be able to explore in school as well and discover what is out there and want to learn for a career. "Kids want to explore in their education"  They do not want to focus on grades.

In order to achieve the goals of making everything focused on the student and preparing them for their careers is interdisciplinary learning. The school schedule can be more fluid so the material in one class connects to another class. There can be opportunities for local internships and local businesses supporting students in the community. We can also build exploratory experiences based on student input.

Teachers are leaders of students and admin is leaders of teachers. This gives students good role models and options for choices in which path they may go on through life. There are every day tasks that can develop leaderships skills. Everyone is a leader, we just have to embrace student strengths and help them develop them into leadership skills.

Students do not like standardized testing, it makes them uncomfortable. Test scores do not mean much to students, test scores do not show the student's whole story or demonstrate their strengths. Standardized testing will never be successful because it takes too much time and takes away a lot of time that could benefit students. There are other methods that can measure student growth. We could try standardize what mastery looks like rather than just giving them all the same test.

Our current grading system is so focused on points and getting the most or minimum number of points. There is not really a focus on learning so maybe changing things to project based, may change this attitude towards learning.

Students want to be respected and want trusted adults in schools. They want to be able to be vulnerable without regretting it. Vulnerability in a safe place is essential for a positive middle school experience. The adults within their school are their role models. When teachers are"recognizing what adolescent joy is" they create a more positive experience consisting of school-life balance.