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Recently, during one of the professional development events I occasionally facilitate as Discovery Education's Vice President of Learning and Development, I asked a group of building-level school administrators, "What keeps you up at night?" This question, asked as part of the process of framing the day's learning targets, at first elicited a few laughs and a number of comments about late night eating and the recent Super Bowl. However, as we drilled a little further into the conversation, the administrators identified the ongoing challenge of meeting the needs of a very diverse group of learners as their number one concern.

Defining diversity in the context of this challenge engendered its own discussion. For these administrators, meeting the needs of a racially diverse population was indeed a challenge. Equally daunting, though, was how to meet the diverse needs of students with differing economic and cultural backgrounds, not to mention varying learning styles. From offering a range of reading levels within a classroom to ensuring the cultural relevance of topics within the curriculum, the administrators I was working with were stretched quite thin as they sought to support the success of all learners in the district.

The administrators in this example are not alone. As I travel across the country working with school leaders in districts big and small, I have found that the question of how to meet the needs of increasingly diverse groups of learners is leading to many sleepless nights for many school leaders.

To help solve this issue, I find more and more educators are turning to a culturally responsive teaching framework for actionable strategies to address needs of diverse learners within the classroom. Gary Howard's work in outlining principles of culturally responsive teaching is one of the frameworks at the forefront of this effort. His research calls for:

Ensuring the learning environment is physically and culturally inviting.

Accommodating the differences in learners through student-centered instruction.

Stressing collectivity of interactions as well as individuality.

Affirming students through cultural connections, particularly in relationship to the curriculum.

Educators nationwide are embracing these simple principles, but the how is where I am seeing my colleagues struggle. They ask, "How do I implement these principles effectively in a classroom with 25 students or 35 students?" In urban, rural and suburban classrooms, students bring with them into the classroom multiple cultures, languages, economic backgrounds and learning needs, and the task of addressing the many needs of these students rapidly becomes overwhelming.

Digital content is among the tools educators can use to integrate a culturally responsive teaching framework into classroom instruction. It can help students develop their own voice and become academically successful and critically conscious forces of change in their communities. Here's a quick list of the seven ways educators can use digital content to implement culturally responsive teaching effectively:

1. Integrate digital content into your instruction. Digital content captures up-to-date images, situations and subjects to illustrate and pose real-world problems. In turn, this will grow engagement among students of all abilities and backgrounds and will allow students to "see themselves" in the content, thus making classroom instruction even more relevant.

2. Ensure the digital content is high-quality. High-Quality Digital Content (HQDC) provides learners multiple pathways to understanding, ensuring that there is almost always another pathway to learning immediately available. Beginning with a graphically attractive visual design, students are naturally drawn into the material. If a student stumbles on the meaning of a word, HQDC provides alternative explanations. If students struggle with reading fluency, HQDC provides a read aloud options. If the text is too complex, HQDC provides a lower level of complexity. If reading the text did not engage students, there is a video alternative, or better yet, an interactive tool to help them understand the concept. HQDC also provides multiple language options for students learning a second language.

3. Use digital activities such as high-quality graphics, games, virtual labs and robust math and science challenges to motivate students. Think of digital content as the thin end of the wedge and use it to engage students in topics traditionally taught through direct instruction. This will not only create more student-centered instructional opportunities and encourage students to think more deeply, but it will also help support teachers as they become facilitators of learning.

4. Build students' vocabularies with a variety of different digital resources such as videos, animations, and images. Different types of videos, images, animations and definitions (of course) enable students to determine the meaning of content vocabulary while also allowing them to exert control over how they best learn words. This will help in bringing elements of learner agency into your classroom.

5. Engage students in experiences, such as a virtual field trip to the North Pole, that they wouldn't ordinarily have, or perhaps may never have, to build understanding of others. Recent technological advancements in virtual reality and augmented reality can help build new experiences for students that would be impossible to replicate in any other way. These experiences work with minimal technology investment and can be viewed with the inexpensive Google Cardboard device. In addition, students can access these experiences on a laptop, PC, or tablet and still receive an exceptional 360° perspective through the use of arrow keys, a mouse, or by dragging on a touch screen.

6. Close the "belief gap". The belief gap is defined as a lack of belief among some educators in the potential of students from low-income families and students of color. Going digital provides us with the opportunity to move students from consumers of information to creators of information and empowers them to share, display and showcase their work, their thinking and their accomplishments to the community and globally. Equally important is the fact that by encouraging students to use digital resources in their daily school work, educators can show students that they are preparing them for success in the world beyond the classroom.

7. Know your students and the communities you serve. Take the time to learn about your students' culture, their history and their backgrounds. Just as digital content can fill in the gaps in your students' understanding of the world, you can use it for your own personal professional development to learn about who your students are and from where they come. In addition, take the time to know your students' personal circumstances. For example, find out which of your students do not have internet connections at home so you can devise strategies to help them access content outside the classroom. Or, learn which language is spoken in your students' homes so that you can create plans to better connect with parents for whom English is not the primary language. This type of information will help you better serve your students.

As you reflect on culturally responsive teaching in your schools, digital content has the potential to serve as an equalizer. Also, keep in mind that not every student needs a device in a classroom powered by digital content. In fact, some of the best instruction that I've seen has occurred in non-1:1 classrooms, because that's where teaching has to be more agile due to the fact that not every student has a device in front of him/her. Cultural responsiveness through "going digital" is about being able to answer yes to these questions throughout all classrooms in your school:

Is instruction relevant to students' lives and the world around them?

Is your teaching preparing students to be future ready?

Do the instructional resources enhance students' learning?

Do the instructional resources reflect the students in any way?

How is what you're teaching going to impact or change students' lives?

Answering yes to these questions is what all students need and deserve.

For more, see:

Dr. Karen Beerer is Discovery Education's Vice President of Learning and Development . Follow them on Twitter: @DiscoveryEd
Stay in-the-know with all things EdTech and innovations in learning by signing up to receive the weekly Smart Update

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Building Culturally Responsive Classrooms with Digital Content

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Recently, during one of the professional development events I occasionally facilitate as Discovery Education's Vice President of Learning and Development, I asked a group of building-level school administrators, "What keeps you up at night?"

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Online Resources provide sources for multicultural and social justice classroom content:

Online resources like Alpac's Jill Woodruff's Blogpost provide ideas for elevating students' identities in the classroom.

Story-telling applications like Storybird and Storify support students' development and expression of their identities.

Classroom library assessments assist teachers in developing culturally responsive classroom libraries.

Students connect with classrooms around the world through platforms like Empatico , building curiosity, kindness, and empathy for children ages 7-11.

Google search features allow students to find resources from the perspective of other cultures, narrowing searches by language (in search bar tools) or region/country (search term site:country code).

2 - Teachers are personally inviting.

are a great way for teachers to create a personal BIO for students and parents.

Electronic tools like Backchannel Chat, discussion boards, and Google collaboration tools provide ALL students an opportunity to participate.

Google Classroom and collaborative tools redefine the 'front of the room,' and remove, 'the back row,' allowing the teacher to be throughout the room and extending leadership opportunities and roles to students.

3 - Learning environments are physically and culturally inviting.

Classroom activities promote access to STEM for diverse groups of peoples

Cultures Connecting environment survey provides prompts for assessing and strengthening the learning environment

Online references are consulted for guidance in observing important dates to students:

4 - Students are reinforced for academic development.

Gmail, Doctopus/Goobric and other electronic feedback tools reinforce student effort and provide students feedback specific to their growth.

Student-centered strategies like those shared from the resource library of Facing History and Ourselves support students' literacy development, critical thinking skills, and an inclusive classroom environment.

5 - Instructional changes are made to accommodate difference in learners.

Language settings can be changed on a Chromebook to support ELLs.

software reads text aloud, simplifies vocabulary, and provides translations for students while Co:Writer word-prediction software scaffolds the generation of text for students needing language supports.

Google Translate provides access to language translation for students or families; Google Docs allow teachers and students to translate documents back and forth in a student's first or preferred language.

Online Resources provide sources for multicultural classroom content and non-dominant perspectives (See #1).

6 - Classroom is managed with firm, consistent caring control.

7 - Interactions stress collectivity as well as individuality.

Google Apps () allow real time and asynchronous collaboration, communication, and support among students and teachers.

Seven Principles of Culturally Responsive Teaching from Gary Howard's Deep Equity framework.

Adapted from: Shade, B.J., Kelly, C. & Oberg, M. (1997). Creating Culturally responsive classrooms. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

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Technology and Culturally Responsive Teaching - ASD Instructional Tech

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Online Resources provide sources for multicultural and social justice classroom content: Online resources like Alpac's Jill Woodruff's Blogpost provide ideas for elevating students' identities in the classroom. Story-telling applications like Storybird and Storify support students' development and expression of their identities. Classroom library assessments assist teachers in developing culturally responsive classroom libraries.

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Culturally Responsive Teaching

Zaretta Hammond shared practical strategies for fostering students' independence and agency while they are learning at home.

Independence is clearly needed for students working at home, so teachers should foster it very intentionally, said Hammond, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain. "Culturally responsive instruction doesn't mean you're only mentioning issues of race and implicit bias," Hammond said: By seeking to expand learning capacities of historically marginalized students, "you're also focused on building brainpower by helping students leverage and grow their existing funds of knowledge."

"By giving students more agency, the idea is to disrupt old routines around teaching and learning that make the student dependent on the teacher for receiving knowledge," Major writes.

Hammond offered three suggestions for implementing CRT in the current situation:

1. Use students' background knowledge: The knowledge students have from their families, communities, and lived experiences informs the ways they process and retain new information, and Hammond said educators can guide students to connect what they're learning in classes to that background knowledge.

Hammond encouraged teachers to survey students to find out their interests and then use those as the foundation to help them build more knowledge. Students can take a walk with their parents to find "community curiosities" that spark their interest, for example, or create a list of shows or documentaries that focus on their interests.

Guiding students is about more than curating resources, Hammond said. Provide a framework that shows students how to explore a subject. For example, ask "What was your biggest surprise from this book/show?" Hammond suggested. Asking students to reflect on and share what they observed or learned in a video or audio note can reinforce the knowledge gained.

2. Build routines for the brain: Establishing questions for inquiry is "essential to processing and hardwiring information in the brain," Major writes. Using a regular set of prompts in every send-home assignment builds students' capacity to "begin to think that way even when you're not in the classroom to reinforce that way of thinking." Hammond called this being students' "personal trainer of their cognitive development."

Hammond suggested asking questions that encourage students to draw connections between pieces of information and to relate parts to the whole. For example, a basic question such as "What's the relationship or connection between these things?" gives students a consistent lens for examining new information. While the concepts are simple, the repetition of these questions will help students "internalize these prompts until they become almost instinctual."

3. Boost vocabulary: Creating active student engagement in vocabulary building is an important equity strategy, Major writes. By helping "students engage in wordplay, word consciousness, and word knowledge," educators boost students' understanding of words in a way that is more robust and engaging than a worksheet, she says. Word games and searches "are small, familiar but high-leverage activities because they're fun but also require a high cognitive load."

Poetry activities and word scavenger hunts, for example, can be engaging ways to build interest in new words. "Kids have different interests in words, so find out where their energy is," Hammond suggested: "The idea is to get them actively involved in word consciousness."

As students develop these skills-connecting new information to background knowledge, establishing cognitive routines, and improving vocabulary-they become more independent in their learning. And autonomy is a valuable asset not only for distance learning but for becoming more empowered, engaged learners.

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The Value of Culturally Responsive Teaching in Distance Learning

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Culturally Responsive Teaching Zaretta Hammond shared practical strategies for fostering students' independence and agency while they are learning at home. Independence is clearly needed for students working at home, so teachers should foster it very intentionally, said Hammond, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain .

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About This Show

Show Info:

Monica Burns from the popular EdTech blog ClassTechTips brings you teaching strategies, tips and activity ideas. Each podcast focuses on how to make EdTech integration easy with a shout out to favorite EdTech tools for classrooms. Monica provides actionable, relevant tips for teachers so you can make this school year the best one yet! Join author, speaker, and blogger, Dr. Monica Burns for an EdTech podcast that helps take the stress out of integrating education technology into your classroom.Read more "

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Listen to Easy EdTech Podcast with Monica Burns episodes free, on demand. Monica Burns from the popular EdTech blog ClassTechTips brings you teaching strategies, tips and activity ideas. Each podcast focuses on how to make EdTech integration easy with a shout out to favorite EdTech tools for classrooms. Monica provides actionable, relevant tips for teachers so you can make this school year the best one yet!

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Google certified educator with lots of ideas, suggestions, and tips.

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Alice Keeler Teacher Tech blog provides tips and resources on teaching with Educational Technology EdTech.

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Improve Your Website

Get specific suggestions on how to improve web pages with simpler, more effective writing using plain language. Analyze the whole page or selected passages. Catch long sentences, spot complex words, and search for simpler synonyms.

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Get specific suggestions on how to improve web pages with simpler, more effective writing using plain language. Analyze the whole page or selected passages. Catch long sentences, spot complex words, and search for simpler synonyms.

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A blog to share ideas about innovative, real, and relevant learning.

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The best Education Technology blogs from thousands of blogs on the web and ranked by traffic, social media followers & freshness.

Education Technology Blogs

Here are 100 Best Education Technology Blogs you should follow in 2024

Education Technology Bloggers

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100 Best Educational Technology Blogs and Websites in 2024 (EdTech Blogs)

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Educational Technology Blogs Best List. Find information on educational software, instructional technology, history of educational technology, school technology and much more by following Educational Technology Sites.

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Check out rubric section and "There's an App for That"

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Educational technology for K-16 educators

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Cult of Pedagogy: Ed Tech Tools for 2020

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Cult of Pedagogy: Ed Tech Tools for 2020

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Listen to this post as a podcast:
Sponsored by Pear Deck and ViewSonic

It's that time again!!

As I do every January, I'm releasing an all-new update of my Teacher's Guide to Tech. If you're not familiar with the guide, here's a quick video I made last year to give you an idea of what it is:

With every new release, I also put together a list of tools I think are worth checking out in the upcoming year. What does it take to make this list? Here's what I'm looking for:

Tools I just learned about in the past year or so. They may have been around a lot longer, but I'm just now hearing about them, so that makes me think a lot of others haven't heard about them either.

Tools that are doing something I haven't seen before, something a little bit groundbreaking that will likely be copied by others down the line. This is the case with five of the six tools featured here.

Tools I would like to see more students using. This is why I chose #5. I'm pretty sure there are other apps that do the same thing, but this one seems rock-solid in its category, and I think it would work beautifully in classrooms at all grade levels.

Beyond that, I look for tools that can be used in lots of different subject areas and those that appear to "have their act together"online: an easy-to-navigate website, an explainer video that makes sense, and a social media presence that tells me they've been around longer than five minutes and are therefore likely to stick around a while.

OK! Enough talk. Here they are...

The Tools

1. Floop
floopedu.com
Feedback is arguably one of the most effective tools for learning. The sooner students get it and the more specific it is, the better it works. Floop was built by teachers to make feedback faster and more specific.

Here's how it works: Students send pictures of their work in progress to the teacher, along with questions they need help with. The teacher views the work, types in comments that are anchored to specific locations on the photos, then sends it back to students, starting a feedback loop that allows for iteration and improvement.

What makes this tool unique is the mechanism that allows students to point directly to places on their work that they need help with, then get assistance that can also target specific spots on the assignment. We've been able to do that with writing assignments through tools like the commenting feature in Google Docs, but it hasn't been quite as available in other subject areas.

Although I'm not quite sure how teachers will manage work/life balance with this tool in play, it definitely offers more opportunities for specific, immediate feedback than anything I've seen before.

2. GooseChase
goosechase.com
If you're a fan of BreakoutEDU, you'll probably love GooseChase as well. This app helps you facilitate scavenger hunts, where teams of students compete to find items you assign (in the physical world), then take photo evidence at each point and post it on the app. The app then keeps track of team points so you know which team won by the end. The video below provides a basic overview, but for a more detailed look at how the app works, watch this one.

This tool offers so many possibilities for fun, interactive, team-building activities: Not only would it be great for icebreakers at the beginning of the year, it would work beautifully for new student orientation and field trips as well. You could also plug just about any content into to keep it academically focused while still getting your kids moving and working together.

3. iorad
iorad.com
It actually took me a little while to understand this tool. Not that it was difficult (it's actually really easy), but I've never seen anything like it, so I had to have it explained to me twice. Once I understood it, I got pretty excited about its potential as an educational tool.

So iorad is kind of like a screencasting tool: It allows you to create interactive online tutorials that demonstrate how to do things on a screen. Suppose you wanted to create a video showing students how to use a piece of technology. Using iorad, you could make something that feels like a screencast video, except the video stops every once in a while to ask the user to click on various parts of the screen to follow your prompts, and it won't continue unless the user does that. This makes the end product a lot more interactive for the user; this will potentially make the learning stick better.

I would love to see what teachers and students could create with iorad. It would be excellent for flipped learning, for teaching classroom or tech procedures, or for student-made instructional videos.

4. Parlay
parlayideas.com
Of all the tools listed here, this is the one I've heard the most buzz about this year, and it's easy to see why: Parlay has done a beautiful job of pulling together a thoughtful suite of tools for conducting class discussions.

Start by choosing a discussion topic from their library: These contain readings and videos to give background information so that students come to the discussion well-prepared. Then students submit written responses to the prompt and respond to one another in writing. Finally, the class can conduct a live roundtable discussion, using Parlay to track and facilitate their participation. When the discussion is over, the teacher gets a report to see who participated and how.

For anyone who uses Harkness, Socratic Seminar, or any kind of whole-class discussion as part of their instruction, Parlay seems like it would supplement that work really nicely.

5. Stop Motion Studio
cateater.com
This tool enables users to create stop motion videos, made from a series of photos in which items are moved just a bit in each frame. The app includes tools to help you position objects, add titles, credits, and voice-over narration, a green screen tool that lets you change the background, and a library of music clips and sound effects.

I included this tool because of the potential it has for student work. We want to see our students writing for different purposes: To entertain, to tell stories, to make compelling arguments, and to inform. Many of these texts could just as easily be scripts for a short film, which would likely have more impact on an audience than a piece of writing. Putting together a short film seems like something that would really engage students, and a tool like Stop Motion Studio makes it possible for students to do that without ever leaving the classroom.

6. Creatability
experiments.withgoogle.com/collection/creatability
Creatability is the name for a collection of tools, referred to by Google as "experiments," designed to make the arts more accessible to users with disabilities. The tools include a keyboard you can play with your face, body, mouse, or keys; a canvas you can draw on by moving your face; and a tool called Body Synth that allows you to make music just by moving your body.

This appears to be an ongoing project, so more experiments are likely to be on their way, but I thought it was worth directing people over there now to play around with what they already have up. While all of your students will likely enjoy working with these tools, it could be pretty incredible to see what students who may have been left out of the arts altogether could do with them.

Honorable Mention

Playmeo

playmeo.com
This site houses a massive library of interactive, team-building games you can have students play. For each game, you get step-by-step instructions available on the site or as a PDF, a video tutorial that shows the game in action, and other ideas for implementation. Although this is not really a tech tool at all, it's a site worth checking out for any teacher who wants more ideas for fun classroom activities.

TextingStory

textingstory.com
Not long ago, I saw a video that looked just like two people texting back and forth. It was cool. It was funny. Then it was suspenseful. I wondered how it was made and found TextingStory, which is probably one of many apps that do this. Apart from just being a fun thing to play around with, I thought it would make a pretty interesting option for a writing assignment.

The Teacher's Guide to Tech

This is now the SIXTH year I have put out the Teacher's Guide to Tech, and I can say with full confidence that this one is the best so far. With over 350 tools in over 50 different categories, this is the resource you need to quickly make smart decisions about the technology you choose for your classroom.

Where to Get Your Copy

Single-User Licenses: If you just want a copy for yourself, you can get a copy at Teachers Pay Teachers or on Teachable.

Multi-User Licenses: To get the guide for your team, school, or even district, you can save a lot by getting multi-user licenses. I offer the deepest discounts for these on Teachable.

Purchase on Teachable
Purchase on TpT

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Listen to this post as a podcast: Sponsored by Pear Deck and ViewSonic As I do every January, I'm releasing an all-new update of my Teacher's Guide to Tech.

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TalkingPoints - Improving student outcomes through meaningful school-family partnerships.

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TalkingPoints - Improving student outcomes through meaningful school-family partnerships.

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Translation

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"ClassTag is transformational. I have never seen this level of parent engagement. A must have tool for every teacher!"

Rebecca Karow Kindergarten Teacher, Success Academy, New York City

"What I love about ClassTag is that if I have something in my calendar, or that parents need to respond to, ClassTag sends them automatic reminders, so I don't need to do any of that work."

Danielle Fugazzi 1st Grade Teacher, Now Assistant Principal, New York City

"We had the idea to have parents choose their own times for parent-teacher conferences...We implemented that with ClassTag, it was super cool. Teachers bought into it... it was fabulous!"

Susan Oehlertz Technology Integrationist

"ClassTag has opened up the gates for teacher-parent communication! There's no more waiting for responses or risking lost papers getting sent to and from school. It is a super way to send reminders to parents!"

Leslie Aden 5th Grade Teacher, Pocahontas Area Elementary, Iowa

Everyone's Invited

Parents don't have to download an app to join the party. ClassTag's smart messages reach all parents based on their preferred channel (SMS, email, app, web or paper) automatically translated into 100+ languages.

Easy to Get Involved

Parents can participate with one easy click

* Events

* Sign-ups

* Volunteer Opportunities

* Donations and Supplies

* Parent-Teacher Conference

One Simple Source of Info

Share classroom moments through messages, videos, file libraries and virtual backpacks - all in one place

I'm a Teacher

Connect with Parents
Sign up

I'm a School Leader

Better communication
Sign up

I'm a Parent

Connect with Teachers

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Free Parent-Teacher Communication That Works, For Everyone

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ClassTag transforms how you connect with parents, saves time on communication, and brings in free supplies for your class. Plus, it's free!

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Framing the Future of Learning with Technology

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What works when bringing together education technology (EdTech), information technology (InfoTech) and assistive technology (AT) for students with disabilities? CITES, the Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems, is partnering with school districts from across the country to answer that question.

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The NEW Google Classroom - Full Tutorial

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Rolling Google Workspace for Education out to 300,000 students with Chicago Public Schools

Chicago Public Schools made Chromebooks and Google Workspace for Education available to 300,000 students and 25,000 teachers - centralizing device management and inspiring new options for classroom instruction.

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Education Fundamentals | Google for Education

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Chicago Public Schools made Chromebooks and Google Workspace for Education available to 300,000 students and 25,000 teachers - centralizing device management and inspiring new options for classroom instruction.

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Microsoft Tools and Resources for Teachers & Educators | Microsoft Education

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Empowering teachers with the tools and resources of Microsoft enabling educators to teach students in today's schools and classroom environments.

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The SMART Exchange website ( exchange.smarttech.com) includes thousands of lesson plans, question sets, widgets and other content that you can download and then open in SMART Notebook software.

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Using SMART Exchange with SMART Notebook 17.1

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The SMART Exchange website ( exchange.smarttech.com) includes thousands of lesson plans, question sets, widgets and other content that you can download and then open in SMART Notebook software.

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Rewordify.com | Understand what you read

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Rewordify.com helps you read more, understand better, learn new words, and teach more effectively.

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Edmodo gives teachers the tools to share engaging lessons, keep parents updated, and build a vibrant classroom community.

The all-new Edmodo app has been redesigned from the ground up to focus on how YOU communicate with your students, parents, and fellow teachers.

TOOLS THAT TEACHERS NEED

A home stream for following and discovering resources from teachers across the globe.

All your classes and assignments organized in one place.

Send messages directly to students and parents.

Discover content that empowers your students and encourages mindfulness.

ENGAGE YOUR STUDENTS

With Edmodo, you can reach every student in your class. Students can login and participate from any phone, tablet, or computer. Facilitate discussions with your entire class or check in individually with direct messages. Help your students stay organized with an automatically-updated planner.

RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

Share and discover new lessons and resources from across your school, district, or a global community. Edmodo makes it easy for you to explore professional content and teacher trends. And the improved home stream means you can find dozens of educational resources for your classroom all at once.

EdTech Digest Award Winner - Best Product

For more information, visit www.edmodo.com.

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Edmodo gives teachers the tools to share engaging lessons, keep parents updated, and build a vibrant classroom community. The all-new Edmodo app has been redesigned from the ground up to focus on how YOU communicate with your students, parents, and fellow teachers.

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Please contact Blackboard for further information

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New! Introducing ContentNav

Using the power of AI-driven search and ranking, provide the most relevant content you need to inform instruction.

Learn how you can support personalized learning for your students and staff with PowerSchool Schoology Learning.

Read the Benefits Overview

The Most Comprehensive K-12 Teaching and Learning Solution

The leading learning management system that enables K-12 school districts to improve student performance and empower educators.

Learn how PowerSchool Schoology Learning fits into our new Personalized Learning Cloud. Provide everything an Academic team needs all in one place!

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Leverage a complete set of online teaching and assessment tools needed for today's learning environments-all in one integrated platform.

Get the Most from PowerSchool Schoology Learning

Interoperable classroom tools are no longer a nice-to-have-fortunately, PowerSchool Schoology Learning has deepening integration with PowerSchool's suite of solutions.

Additional Resources on PowerSchool Schoology Learning

PowerSchool Schoology Learning FAQ

When you have your parent access code, go to: app.schoology.com/register.php.

1. Click the "Parent" button below the "Instructor" and "Student" buttons in the "Sign Up for Schoology" section.

2. Enter the access code you received, and click Continue.

3. Enter your name and email (not the student's) and choose a password.

To sign in with your existing account, open the PowerSchool Schoology app in your web browser or mobile device:

1. Go to app.schoology.com.

2. Enter your email address and password and tap Sign In to complete.

Technically, yes. However, most schools and districts using Schoology Learning have opted to have just one LMS to increase consistency and productivity throughout their organization.

Technically, yes. However, most schools and districts using Schoology Learning have opted to have just one LMS to increase consistency and productivity throughout their organization. Schoology Learning also provides additional features, including standards mastery tracking, parent engagement, support for younger learners, and an enhanced overall look and feel of course layouts that Google Classroom does not support.

PowerSchool Schoology Learning has over 20 million users across 60,000 schools across the globe. To learn more about bringing Schoology Learning to your school, please request a live demo of our LMS solution.

Ready to Learn More?

See how our K-12 learning management system can help support student growth and performance to ensure learning continuity.

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Schoology Learning K-12 learning management system makes it easy to implement hybrid learning and integrate your favorite teaching and learning tools.

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Helping Teachers Be Awesome See all your students working and give high-quality feedback–from anywhere. Sign Up (Free!)

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Host interactive online meetings | Poll Everywhere

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WordArt.com is an AI-powered word cloud generator that enables you to create amazing and unique word clouds with ease.

Professional quality results can be achieved in no time at all, even for users with no prior knowledge of graphic design.

Word clouds (also known as tag cloud, word collage or wordle) are visual representation of text that give greater rank to words that appear more frequently.

Word clouds are perfect for creating stunning personalized gifts. No sign up required!

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Create Stunning Word Clouds in Seconds | WordArt.com

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WordArt.com is an online word cloud generator that enables you to create amazing and unique word clouds with ease

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millions use Screencastify to create amazing videos

/* Sets tab pane to display block instead of default display:none */ /* Allows CSS opacity transitions */ .w-tab-pane, .w--current { display: block; } /* Any .w-tab-pane that does not have webflow .w--curent sets opacity 0 */ .w-tab-pane:not(.w--curent) { opacity: 0; } /* Any element with .w-tab-pane that has .w--tab-active sets the opacity 100% */ .w-tab-pane.w--tab-active { opacity: 1; } /* Set the opacity transition to 1 second ease-in */ .w-tab-pane { transition: opacity 1s ease-in; }

Educator, student, marketer, engineer, gamer. Whatever part you play, you'll have simple, yet powerful screen recording and editing tools.
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Easily share your creations in multiple channels. Let more viewers watch, pause and rewind on their schedule while maximizing time by eliminating unnecessary meetings.
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Collect video assignments to ensure any team or student is heard. Track viewing activity and add interactive questions and more to ensure your message is understood.
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Educator, student, marketer, engineer, gamer. Whatever part you play, you'll have simple, yet powerful screen recording and editing tools.
Learn more

Easily share your creations in multiple channels. Let more viewers watch, pause and rewind on their schedule while maximizing time by eliminating unnecessary meetings.
Learn more

Collect video assignments to ensure any team or student is heard. Track viewing activity and add interactive questions and more to ensure your message is understood.
Learn more

loved by everyday video creators

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Screencastify | Screen Recording and Video Editing

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Screencastify is the leading screen recorder for Chrome. Install the extension to record, edit, and share videos in seconds. Create video class assignments, training and tutorials, and make business communication faster.

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MindMeister: Online Mind Mapping and Brainstorming

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Create, share and collaboratively work on mind maps with MindMeister, the leading online mind mapping software. Includes apps for iPhone, iPad and Android.

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ThingLink: Create unique experiences with interactive images, videos & 360° media

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Easily create interactive and immersive visual experiences for online communication and learning. Start a free trial!

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Infographic Maker Trusted By 11 Million Users - Piktochart

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With Piktochart AI, you can create stunning infographics, reports, presentations, and more in seconds. No design experience needed. Start for free.

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easel.ly | create and share visual ideas using infographics

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Easel.ly is a simple web tool that empowers anyone to create and share powerful visuals (infographics, posters)... no design experience needed! We provide the canvas, you provide the creativity.

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Scratchwork goes beyond the traditional online whiteboard model with usage scenarios designed specifically for classrooms and engineering teams and an api for developers.

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Symbaloo: Bookmarks & Favorites - The #1 Homepage for Educators

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Easily save, share, and organize your favorites with Symbaloo; the best online bookmark manager for educators. Use Symbaloo as a homepage on any browser or Internet-enabled device. Create a free account today!

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Wakelet | The All In One Content Platform

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Wakelet allows you to bookmark, organize, collaborate and present on content all in one platform. Harness your content to build remarkable things.

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Review student understanding at the class, individual student, or question-level.

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Nearpod: Foster a love of learning in every student

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Create active learning experiences students can’t wait to be a part of.

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Silver Spring, Md. (Tuesday, July 21, 2020) Discovery Education -the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms-today announced the acquisition of Spiral. Based in the United Kingdom, Spiral provides educators a multiuse platform that supports collaborative learning and formative assessment both in the classroom and the remote environment. Terms were not disclosed.

Discovery Education's acquisition of Spiral supports the company's efforts to keep students connected to learning wherever it is taking place. Spiral's product features compliment Discovery Education Experience's curated high-quality content and existing assessment and student collaboration tools. The addition of Spiral's features to the company's flexible K-12 learning platform will give educators even more ways to facilitate instruction, deepen student engagement, and create high-impact student learning experiences.

"Discovery Education is focused on providing school systems outstanding digital services that connect students to learning in and out of the classroom," said Discovery Education Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy Philip Nanney. "The acquisition of Spiral aligns with our strategy of adding features to our digital services that save educators time and increase student engagement. We look forward to welcoming Spiral to the Discovery Education team."

Spiral is a past winner of the prestigious Common Sense Education Best EdTech Award. Recognized for empowering teachers to create interactive learning experiences either in advance or on the fly, Spiral also enables teachers to probe class understanding in real time through digital multimedia content.

Spiral is the latest acquisition by Discovery Education. In August of 2019, Discovery Education announced the purchase of Inspyro, a provider of leading virtual reality and augmented reality content also based in the United Kingdom.

"Spiral's team is incredibly excited to join Discovery Education," said Hamish Kennedy, Spiral's Founder and CEO. "Discovery Education shares our commitment to connecting students to learning no matter where they are, and we look forward to working closely on that mission with our new colleagues."

For more information about Discovery Education's digital resources and professional learning services, visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through Facebook, follow us on Twitter at @DiscoveryEd, or find us on Instagram and Pinterest.

###
About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms. Through its award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia resources, and the largest professional learning network of its kind, Discovery Education is transforming teaching and learning, creating immersive STEM experiences, and improving academic achievement around the globe. Discovery Education currently serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 140 countries and territories. Inspired by the global media company Discovery, Inc., Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to empower teachers with customized solutions that support the success of all learners. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.
Contact:
Discovery Education
Stephen Wakefield
Email: swakefield@discoveryed.com
Phone: (202) 316-6615

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Discovery Education Acquires Award-Winning Interactive Learning Platform Spiral

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Discovery Education Acquires Award-Winning Interactive Learning Platform Spiral

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Book Creator - Love Learning - Book Creator app

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Teachers love it. Students love it. Book Creator is the simplest, most inclusive way to create content in the classroom.

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Video for student engagement

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Interactive whiteboard

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Create interactive lessons, record video tutorials and collaborate real-time with your students.

Explain Everything, the leading digital whiteboard platform for delivering engaging lessons, is now joining Promethean.
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Create interactive lessons, record video tutorials and collaborate real-time with your students.

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Explain Everything is the leading interactive whiteboard for teaching.
Loved by 24+ M teachers and students across the globe. Check for yourself.

Create interactive presentations

Create or import an already existing presentation. Make it fun! Draw and add more slides to engage your students.

Record whiteboard videos & tutorials

Turn your teaching materials into quick tutorials and explanation videos. Share it instantly with anyone, anytime.

Collaborative projects with students

Create group assignments and let your students work on collaborative projects together. Teach them the value of teamwork.

We are on a mission to help educators provide engaging and effective learning experiences in any teaching scenario.

Meet the teacher template

Introduce yourself to your students and their parents in a warm and welcoming way. This customizable template allows you to share important information about yourself, your teaching philosophy, contact details, and classroom policies. Open template

Well-planned lessons enable teachers to make the most of the time they have with their students. Use this free template to focus on delivering meaningful content, engaging activities, and effective assessments to enhance student learning outcomes. Open template

Start off your lesson with a little icebreaker. Lesson plan templates bring structure, efficiency, and clarity to the lesson planning process, enabling teachers to deliver effective and engaging instruction that aligns with educational goals and standards. Open template

A multiplication chart is a versatile tool that can be used in various ways to support students' understanding and mastery of multiplication. Open template

Math axis template perfect for student assignments. Use this template to create visually appealing axes, and plot mathematical functions and data. Open template

This Pros and Cons template provides a straightforward structure to list the pros and cons of a specific topic without going into detailed explanations. Open template

Color theory is a fundamental concept in art, design, and various creative fields. Teach how colors interact, harmonize, and create different visual effects. Open template

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Your presentation is ready? Perfect. Now turn it into a tutorial or instructional video. Just tap the Record button and start talking. Magic. Share it with students in seconds.

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Explain Everything | Interactive Whiteboard for Teaching

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Interactive whiteboard for teaching. Record video tutorials, create interactive presentations. Join 24+ million users of Explain Everything.

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Pear Deck is on a mission to help teachers create powerful learning moments for every student, every day - using the tools you already know and love.

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Create videos and presentations

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QRCode Monkey - The free QR Code Generator to create custom QR Codes with Logo

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Create custom QR Codes with Logo, Color and Design for free. This QR Code Maker offers free vector formats for best print quality.

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Create video lessons

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Easily create beautiful interactive video lessons for your students you can integrate right into your LMS. Track students' progress with hassle-free analytics as you flip your classroom!

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Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool. Use it to create social media posts, presentations, posters, videos, logos and more.