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 "Train up" to identify and serve this unique and diverse group of learners. These courses are aligned with district policies and procedures. 

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Schoology Courses - BCPS Gifted and Talented Advanced Academics Trainings from the Advanced Academics Office

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Schoology Courses - BCPS Gifted and Talented Advanced Academics Trainings from the Advanced Academics Office

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Super Quick Way to Share Link to Current Grades with Parents and Guardians

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Super Quick Way to Share Link to Current Grades with Parents and Guardians

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In your Schoology Course, at the top left, click on Course Options > View Course As > select student name > Grades > copy and paste the grades view link into an email to parents.

I explain that the titles of assignments that have a "not submitted" comment can simply be clicked on and all of the information opens up, even on locked assignments. My students then simply send me their responses to locked assignments as a Schoology Message. Easy!

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This is a template shared on Cult of pedagogy that I have found useful in the past two years.

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To align with Principal Jones' accessible documents note in his 3.5.21 Hybrid Learning Update email, I offer the following website for AEM. I found this site to be extremely helpful to me when my work on the MSDE GT Discover website required me to update my knowledge of current accessibility practices.

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Are you new to accessibility? This page is meant to be your entry point into the creation of accessible content with familiar tools such as Microsoft Office and Google Docs. You will learn about five practices that can have a significant impact on the learner experience for all students, especially those who rely on assistive technology for their access to the curriculum. To help you remember these practices, we have created the mnemonic SLIDE, which stands for:

Styles are used for section headings

Links are descriptive and meaningful

Images have text descriptions

Design is perceivable, with high contrast

Evaluation is holistic and authentic

Each of the practices is described in more detail in a series of closed-captioned video, with step-by-step directions you can follow at your own pace.. You can pause the video, try things out, and reach out to us if you have any questions. While the practices are explained in the context of creating an accessible document, with one exception (Styles) the techniques apply to slide decks as well.

Print-friendly handouts for SLIDE are also available:

Once you have watched the videos, you will have an opportunity to put your new skills into practice with a document you will revise based on the best practices you've learned about in the videos.

Are you up to the challenge? Let's get started with the first practice, Styles.

Styles

You are likely already familiar with section headings and how they can be used to break up long walls of text on the page and make the content easier to process through "chunking." However, not all section headings are created equal in the digital world. It is not enough to just select the text and choose formatting options to make the text stand out (by making it bold and increasing the text size). Each section heading also needs to have a style assigned to it. This will allow the text to not only look like a heading, but function like one. This is especially important for users of assistive technology, who can use the styled headings to navigate the document by skipping through the section headings until they find the content that is most relevant to them.

Slide titles perform a similar function in a slide deck: orienting the reader and improving navigation. Each slide title should be unique and descriptive. You can use the Outline view (View, Outline) to review your slide titles.

Links

Screen readers are an advanced type of text-to-speech technology learners can use to listen to the content, and most screen readers support a keyboard shortcut or gesture that brings up a list of all the links to assist with navigation. If a link reads as "click here" or "learn more" when presented on a list, it will be difficult to determine what will happen when the link is selected. For this reason, links need to be meaningful on their own, without relying on the surrounding content to provide context.

Images

Screen readers can use alternative text to describe the image to the reader. Text alternatives can also be helpful if learners only have access to the internet through a smartphone with wireless connection. The text descriptions can take the place of the images to ensure important information is not lost when images are turned off to save bandwidth.

Design

The effective use of color can add visual appeal and make content more inviting to learners. However, text with low contrast may be difficult to see and require more effort for some learners, including those with low vision or those viewing the content in less than ideal lighting conditions. With good color contrast, learners can focus more of their energies on gaining a better understanding of the information, rather than on overcoming barriers caused by poor design choices.

Evaluation

Some authoring tools now include a built-in accessibility checker. Even the best of these automated accessibility checking tools have their limitations due to the subjective nature of many accessibility techniques. For example, an automated checker can determine if an image has alternative text, but it will not indicate whether the alternative text accurately describes the content of the image. As long as you keep the limitations of these checkers in mind and don't see them as a replacement for learning accessibility best practices, they can make a valuable contribution to your accessibility work. The best automated checkers will include extensive guidance on how to fix identified errors, and thus can also be a valuable tool for building your knowledge of accessibility.

The ultimate measure of whether content is accessible or not, however, is how well iit supports learners in reaching their goals. Thus feedback from actual users of assistive technology should be sought along with the results of accessibility checkers to ensure content is usable for all.

Your Turn

Are you ready to put what you learned from the videos into practice? This activity will allow you to check your understanding of the new practices you have learned, and you can contact us at any time if questions arise as you explore your new accessibility skills.

Download the provided Microsoft Word or Google Docs document and apply the techniques discussed in the videos to improve the heading structure, include descriptive hyperlinks that make sense out of context, and add alternative text to the images.

When you are done, use the built-in Office accessibility checker (or the Grackle add-on for Google Suite) to check your work. There are also "after" versions of each document you can use as exemplars.

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Creating Accessible Documents and Slide Decks

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Are you new to accessibility? This page is meant to be your entry point into the creation of accessible content with familiar tools such as Microsoft Office and Google Docs. You will learn about five practices that can have a significant impact on the learner experience for all students, especially those who rely on assistive technology for their access to the curriculum.

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I use a predictable schedule to support families in these unpredictable times. 

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I use a predictable schedule to support families in these unpredictable times. 

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M - Week's Lesson Overview; Discuss submit the Think About It during Independent Work Time.
T - Learn About Its & Tech Tuesday
W - Asynchronous Wednesday Assessment - see my adjacent panel
Th - Try It and Show What You Know Studio Time
F - Show What You Know Student Time and additional Training videos for students who have submitted the SWYK already. "No Child Left Bored."
Sat. - Message all classes that all grades for the assignments that closed last night have been posted and encourage students to review their grades and contact me with any questions.
Sun. - Message all classes that the lesson for the coming week has been published. Encourage students to look it over before Monday for additional "Think Time."

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In Semester 1, I have been using this very simple format to support engaging, independent learning for all students. It can be done on phones or devices. In addition to supporting late work completion on asynchronous days with Small Group and Schoology Messages, this method provides engaging learning for all students, including those students who always turn in work on time. I  embed a short video segment or highly visual reading related to the unit of study  into the Schoology Assessment feature. (This feature supports unique learners with its functions like Read Aloud.) I include 5 questions that self grade (no writing - only multiple choice, matching, true/ false, ordering) and allow 2 attempts. The submitted Assessment shows up immediately in my grade book. The Assessment is published from 8am - 3pm, when I can easily and quickly see completion in the gradebook and enter attendance.

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This 2018 document from The National Association of Gifted Children has helped guide me as I plan instruction for my gifted students of color and as I look for trainings to improve my GT AA practices in my classroom. 

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This 2018 document from The National Association of Gifted Children has helped guide me as I plan instruction for my gifted students of color and as I look for trainings to improve my GT AA practices in my classroom. 

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Donna Y. Ford, Kenneth T. Dickson, Joy Lawson Davis, Michelle Trotman Scott, and Tarek C. Grantham

The authors of this Bill of Rights for Gifted Students of Color have extensive experience and expertise in gifted education and multicultural education. We are leading Black scholars in gifted education with an individual and collective mission that is equity-oriented and multicultural/culturally responsive. We have written and provided mentoring, teaching, advising, leadership, and professional development in gifted education on behalf of gifted students of color at professional organizations around the world, such as the National Association for Gifted Children and Council for Exceptional Children - the leading U.S. organizations in both gifted education and special education, specifically subgroups devoted to equity, diversity, and inclusion. We have authored and published in gifted education and multicultural journals, books, and a host of other scholarly, grassroots, and social media outlets. The sections are not mutually exclusive but, instead, represent a culturally and equity grounded holistic approach to do what is necessary to desegregate gifted education and advanced learner programs to support and advocate for students of color. We are honored to present this culturally responsive and equity driven Bill of Rights for gifted students of color.

NOTE: The term educator is used in the broadest and most comprehensive sense, which includes teachers, administrators, coordinators, counselors, and school psychologists.
I. ADVOCACY and ACCOUNTABILITY
Gifted students of color have:

The right to all gifted education policies and procedures grounded in equity and inclusion

The right to an administrative structure committed to hiring and retaining gifted teacher of color

The right to be served by educators devoted to recruiting and retaining students of color in gifted education programs

The right to be served by educators committed to removing barriers to accessing gifted education services

The right to state and district policies that require educators to be formally prepared/trained in gifted education

The right to state and district policies that require educators to be formally trained in culturally relevant and rigorous curriculum and pedagogy

The right to have gifted students of color communities fully engaged with educators in collaborative advocacy processes

The right to a family and community advocacy group that represents their culture, background, and experiences

The right to an administrative structure that seeks funding for gifted programs and services in all federally funded programs - particularly Title I, II, III and IV

The right to a guarantee that all equity data are inclusive of opportunities, access and support within Consolidated States' plans. This includes the Every Student Succeeds Act

(ESSA) plans (and future legislation), as well as state level equity plans

II. ACCESS to PROGRAMMING and SERVICES
Gifted students of color have:

The right to participate in gifted education programs and services, including Advanced Placement, accelerated, magnet, early college, and other programs for advanced students/learners

The right to equitable access to gifted education programs and services

The right to access all district, regional and state level services that nurture their giftedness across all domains and content areas

The right to be served in their area(s) of gifts and talents

The right to access gifted and talented before school, after school, Saturday morning, and summer programs

The right to participate in college awareness and career development programs at institutions of higher education, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

The right to the development and implementation of general and gifted program policies that are equity-based

The right to be assessed with tools and practices that reduce and/or eliminate bias in traditional assessment tools and practices

The right to be assessed for gifted education potential even if they have been referred for and served in special education (i.e., thrice exceptional - students of color who have gifted and special education needs)

The right to free or reduced fee gifted education programs and services

III. GIFTED PROGRAM EVALUATION and ACCOUNTABILITY
Gifted students of color have:

The right to district, regional, and state program assessments conducted every 3-5 years by external and culturally competent program evaluators with gifted education expertise

The right to annual reports to the community that reveal the "equity goal" for gifted education and all advanced programs and services

The right to annual equity goals and objectives for district, regional, and state programs

The right to teachers who engage in continuous and systematic professional learning experiences in cultural competency and multicultural education

The right to a program philosophy/mission/belief statement that explicitly addresses the needs of gifted students of color

IV. GIFTED EDUCATION EVALUATION and ASSESSMENT
Gifted students of color have:

The right to a culturally, racially, and linguistically diverse/different gifted education assessment committee

The right to general education, special education, pre-service, and current professionals trained and dedicated to recognizing and valuing their expressions of gifts and talents

The right to be evaluated and identified using multiple criteria

The right to be evaluated in multimodal and multi-dimensional ways

The right to be assessed with non-biased tests and instruments for screening and identification

The right to be assessed with non-verbal tests for screening and identification

The right to be evaluated by bilingual test examiners (e.g., school psychologists)

The right to be assessed by tests and instruments in their predominant or preferred language

The right to be assessed by tests and instruments translated into their primary or preferred language

The right to be assessed with culturally normed checklists

The right to be evaluated with tools re-normed to represent their cultural experiences and realities

The right to be evaluated by tests and instruments normed on students of color for screening and identification

The right to be assessed by tests and instructions normed locally

The right to educators who adhere to official testing and assessment policies and procedures

V. EDUCATORS
Gifted students of color have:

The right to pre-service and current educators who are unbiased and hold culturally responsive philosophies

The right to pre-service and current educators who are committed to becoming culturally competent

The right to pre-service and current educators who are committed to gifted education

The right for pre-service and current educators to be trained in multicultural education and gifted education

The right to a racially diverse/different pre-service and current gifted education teaching force

The right to have access to pre-service and current educators of color and members of their community who represent and can advocate for their interests, needs, and potential

The right to pre-service and current educators who have bilingual training and credentials

VI. CURRICULUM and INSTRUCTION
Gifted students of color have:

The right to culturally relevant curriculum and instruction

The right to authentic and multicultural content in all content areas

The right to rigorous multicultural curriculum and materials that reflect their cultural, racial, and linguistic background and heritage

The right to rigorous and authentic multicultural literature reflective of all cultures

The right to curricula that promotes cultural, racial, and linguistic pride

The right to their views being encouraged and honored rather than silenced

The right to curricula that will prepare them to be globally competitive and knowledgeable of world cultures

The right to program experiences that allow international travel and virtual engagement with their peers around the world

VII. SOCIAL and EMOTIONAL
Gifted students of color have:

The right to supportive services and programs by school counselors trained in multicultural counseling (theories, methods, strategies)

The right to counselors familiar with and skilled in racial identity theories

The right to counselors who understand and promote racial identity development

The right to counselors and teachers who understand the unique challenges of being a gifted student of color

The right to pre-service educators, current educators and counselors formally trained in the socio-emotional needs of gifted children of color

The right to counselors who understand the relationship between racial identity and achievement

The right to interact and be educated with peers from similar cultural, racial, and linguistic backgrounds

The right to academic support when they underachieve, fail, and/or make mistakes

The right to understand the area(s) in which they are gifted and talented

The right to be taught how to self-advocate to increase their access to appropriate instructional and support services

VIII. FAMILIES and COMMUNITIES
Gifted students of color have:

The right to educators who value the importance of their families feeling welcome in schools

The right to educators who collaborate with their families and communities

The right to educators who provide professional development to families to strengthen advocacy for their children

The right to have community leaders (e.g., faith leaders, community center leaders) who know and understand them in different contexts involved in the referral, identification and service delivery process

The right to have their families assist others in the community with understanding the benefits of gifted education programs and services

The right to have their families serve as 'cultural agents' to inform educators and mediate the cultural mismatch that exists between their communities and dominant culture school personnel

The right for schools to recruit and engage members of their communities who have been successful to serve in the critical role of mentoring

The right for administrative structures to respect the norms, traditions and culture of communities of color when planning and conducting events

The authors are members of the NAGC Special Populations Network.

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A Culturally Responsive Equity-Based Bill of Rights for Gifted Students of Color

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The authors of this Bill of Rights for Gifted Students of Color have extensive experience and expertise in gifted education and multicultural education. We are leading Black scholars in gifted education with an individual and collective mission that is equity-oriented and multicultural/culturally responsive.

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The recently created district Schoology Group "BCPSOne Digital Content and Instructional Tools" is extremely helpful. Resources are continuously updated to let staff know what is and is not accessible and current approved methods to access instructional tools. I am happy to send you the Join Code if needed. 

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The recently created district Schoology Group "BCPSOne Digital Content and Instructional Tools" is extremely helpful. Resources are continuously updated to let staff know what is and is not accessible and current approved methods to access instructional tools. I am happy to send you the Join Code if needed. 

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- Monica Rastegar

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In Learn It each week, I post a detailed agenda for the week. The example below is from my 6th grade this week. It has been super helpful to keep kids informed on what to expect for the week.

Example:
Monday:

1. Introductions and welcome

2. Expectations on Google Meets & class

3. Mrsgorton.com information

4. Supplies http://mrsgorton.com/?page_id=702

Tuesday

1. Review expectations

2. "What is engineering?" power point/ activities

3. What is engineering kahoot assessment

Thursday & Friday:

1. inventions vs. innovation powerpoint/ activities

2. Show it (may have to complete on own)

On your own: Wednesday & individual work times

Follow the instructions below to watch 2 short videos.

Go to https://bcpsone.bcps.org/

Click Digital Learning

Click Discovery Education

Videos should show up right away saying they were assigned by Mrs. Gorton. If not, search for these videos:

1. Inventors and Inventions: Identify and Describe Scientific Contributions. (8minutes 57 seconds)

2. What is engineering? (6 minutes 21 seconds)

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A customizable PowerPoint alternative!

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I learned how to duplicate JamBoards so kids can't ruin other kid's work.

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Mrs. Beto 11/17/2020

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Join a game of kahoot here. Kahoot! is a free game-based learning platform that makes it fun to learn – any subject, in any language, on any device, for all ages!