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Flipgrid allows teachers to develop a topic/prompt and have students respond through videos. This is helpful during distance learning when it is not possible to interact face to face. The site also allows users to engage in a discussion on each other's posts by commenting/responding to videos. This helps to provide feedback and encourages collaboration virtually amongst peers.

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Flipgrid empowers social learning in PreK to PhD classrooms around the world. Use video the way your students do.

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Edpuzzle makes videos more interactive for students by allowing teachers to embed stopping points and questions throughout the video. Teachers can develop their own video assignment or make a copy of a video already created by a user. The videos can be pulled directly from YouTube. Edpuzzle allows teachers to assess and track student progress and the site easily integrates with many learning management systems.

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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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Canvas is a Learning Management System that allows teachers to create modules for their courses that include assignments, discussion posts, resources, and assessments. Canvas has a feature that syncs grades to PowerSchool Teacher Gradebook and also integrates with Google Drive. This LMS features a parent portal and a mobile app that can be accessed by teachers and students.

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Canvas is a web-based learning management system, or LMS. It is used by learning institutions, educators, and students to access and manage online course learning materials and communicate about skill development and learning achievement.

Canvas includes a variety of customizable course creation and management tools, course and user analytics and statistics, and internal communication tools.

Institutions may provide users with a Canvas account, or individual users can try the free version by signing up for their own account.

Learn more about how institutions around the world use Canvas to increase student engagement and success.

Canvas Defined

Condensing something as robust as Canvas into a simple definition is quite a challenge but we'll try.

Canvas LMS is an open and reliable web-based software that allows institutions to manage digital learning, educators to create and present online learning materials and assess student learning, and students to engage in courses and receive feedback about skill development and learning achievement.

Additionally, while Canvas is primarily a web-based software, any user can access Canvas on a mobile device from the Canvas Teacher, Canvas Student, and Canvas Parent apps. Learn more about the Canvas mobile apps.

Basic Canvas Features

Canvas includes a variety of built-in course construction and management tools that can be customized to create unique and accessible teaching and learning experiences.

Instructional designers and instructors may create and share course content using Assignments, Discussions, Modules, Quizzes, and Pages. They may also choose to foster a collaborative learning experience using Collaborations, Conferences, and Groups. Depending on course settings, students can access these areas in Canvas to find learning materials and interact with other course users.

Canvas also allows institutions and instructors to add state and institutional learning outcomes to rubrics in order to measure and track student skill development and learning achievement. Additionally course creators can use the Course Import Tool to bulk-upload pre existing LMS course packages and/or course materials.

Instructors can provide students with comprehensive feedback on assignment and quiz submissions using SpeedGrader and manage grade reporting in the Canvas Gradebook. They can also facilitate real-time course interactions using Chat and communicate course news and updates with students using Announcements as well as the Calendar and Syllabus.

Instructors and admins can gain greater insight into student success and make informed instructional decisions using data provided in Canvas Analytics. Admins can also access SQL data about their Canvas user and usage details form Canvas Data Services.

Canvas also includes the Canvas App Center, where admins, designers, and instructors can enable a variety of Eternal Apps (LTI Tools) and services. The ever-growing app library offers a wide array of interactive resources, content repositories, assessment tools, social media integrations, and other digital learning and teaching resources.

Learn more about all Canvas features, review the Canvas Guides, and compare Canvas Free for Teacher features with features included in a paid account.

Additional Canvas Features

Institutions may choose to include additional Canvas features specifically designed to meet a variety of institutional, educational, and learning needs.

Canvas Catalog is a digital marketplace where students can register, enroll, and pay for courses.

Canvas Studio is an interactive video management platform that enhances student engagement and collaboration.

Canvas Commons is a learning object repository where teachers can store course content for their own use and for collaboration with colleagues both within and outside of their institution.

MasteryConnect allows designers and teachers to build, deploy, and manage formative and summative assessments across an institution. It provides schools with actionable data to improve teaching and learning.

Portfolium is an ePortfolio platform that integrates directly inside of Canvas. However, students also always have access to their Portfolium portfolios outside of Canvaseven after they lose access to the LMS.

Canvas Users

Canvas includes the following six standard user roles: Admins, Designers, Instructors, Teacher Assistants, Students, and Observers. However, institutions may create any number of custom user roles with varied Canvas access.

A user's assigned role determines their Canvas access and interactions. For example, Canvas administrators may have access to create user accounts, add course enrollments, and manage institutional grading periods. Instructional designers may use Canvas to create and manage course content and review course analytics to identify areas for improvement in teaching and learning. School counselors may use Canvas to review student course progress and assess student achievement. Parents and guardians may use Canvas to review and communicate with instructors about student course progress, including assignment submissions and grades.

Using Canvas

Anyone can use Canvas. New admins can check out the Admin Getting Started tutorial for information about setting up an account for their institution. Instructors can use the interactive Getting Started with Canvas flowchart to learn how to quickly and easily get a course ready for student participation. Students and observers may be automatically enrolled in a course by their institution, or they may receive course invitations via email. Once enrolled in a course, students can participate with their instructors, course materials, and peers.

To try a free version of Canvas, sign up for a free Canvas account.

More information about utilizing Canvas can be found in the Canvas Community, including how-to Canvas guides, question and answer forums, and special interest groups.

If you have a suggestion to improve this guide, or if you want to recommend corrections, please share your feedback

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Canvas is a web-based learning management system, or LMS. It is used by learning institutions, educators, and students to access and manage online course learning materials and communicate about skill development and learning achievement. Canvas includes a variety of customizable course creation an...

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Blackboard is a Learning Management system used by many higher education organizations. Instructors can post course content, assignments, and provide grades to students. A prominent feature of Blackboard is the discussion board that allows participants to respond to a specific prompt/question designed by the instructor. Participants can view each other's posts and respond to them which encourages a collaborative discussion in a virtual setting.

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Did you know Blackboard is now Anthology?

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Discover Anthology’s suite of solutions for learning effectiveness, including: Blackboard, the best LMS for modern teaching and learning, and Anthology Ally, for building inclusive environments and making digital content more accessible for all.

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Google Classroom is a Learning Management System that seamlessly integrates with Google Suite. Instructors can create different classes/sections and post content, announcements, assignments, and assessments. Files from Google Docs, Sheets, and Forms can be directly attached from Google Drive and utilized by students in Google Classroom. There is also an option to add a Google Meet link for students to learn through a video conference directly on a class's page.

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Enrich and personalize learning

Drive student agency with tools that meet students where they are - and build skills for their future.

all editions

Make learning more personal and foster student agency

Amplify instruction with tools that simplify everyday tasks

Boost instructional time with tools purpose-built for teaching, productivity, and collaboration

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Tools designed for seamless teaching

Get creative with hundreds of apps

Hundreds of EdTech apps integrate with Classroom to spark creativity and enable more opportunities for learning.

Operate with solutions designed to gain visibility, insights, and control

Create learning environments that are easier to manage and support educators and students with connected, safer tools.

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A secure, reliable, and extensible platform for school communities of all sizes

Level up your Classroom with apps

Discover a world of apps that seamlessly integrate with Chromebooks and Google Workspace for Education.

How Classroom can make a difference for you

Classroom can be learned in minutes and serves all types of learners and educators, regardless of their tech savviness. Empower educators, and encourage adoption and proficiency with new tools and techniques, with a broad range of resources.

Teachers can immediately set up classes, easily create coursework, distribute it to the whole class, and grade it efficiently and transparently.

Admins have as much control as they need while they access and analyze their data for insights and choose from a range of upgrade options for additional capabilities to fit their specific needs.

Need more information about Classroom?

Bring all of your tools together with Google Workspace for Education

Google Workspace for Education empowers your school community with easy-to-use tools that elevate teaching, learning, collaboration, and productivity - all on one secure platform.

Ready to transform your school?

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Classroom Management Tools & Resources - Google for Education

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Get started with Google Classroom, a central hub for tools and resources designed to help educators manage classrooms and enrich learning experiences.

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Although "ELA" is in the title, this site provides a variety of news articles that apply to history, math, science, current events, and social-emotional learning. Teachers can find articles for a specific grade level, Lexile level, and content area. Most articles feature "quizzes" with multiple choice and short answer questions that assess students' overall comprehension and analysis of the text. These assignments can be synced with learning management systems, such as Canvas.

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It's time to improve literacy skills during social studies instruction and ensure that readers of all abilities have what they need to access grade-level social studies concepts.

Join us on Thursday, December 7 for a look at scaffolded materials that provide extra literacy support while building key social studies concepts and skills.

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Newsela | Content and assessment platform

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Content Aligned To National & State Standard, Flexible To Support Relevant Curriculum. Find the Perfect Piece Of Content For Lessons. Go beyond the book.

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This site features video tutorials and practice activities for K-14 humanities, math, and science and provides standardized test prep. The mission of the site is to make high-quality instruction accessible to everyone, so it is free for users. There is also a teacher dashboard that tracks students' grades and overall progress on assigned activities. Khan Academy is a helpful tool for a flipped classroom since students can view and complete the activities independently on their device outside of the classroom.

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A required part of this site couldn’t load. This may be due to a browser extension, network issues, or browser settings. Please check your connection, disable any ad blockers, or try using a different browser.

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This website is similar to Edpuzzle. Teachers can either create or search for interactive videos with stopping points and questions that students complete as they view videos. Students are prevented from skipping ahead in a video and teachers can also edit the videos. Teachers can have students respond through audio, pictures, written responses, etc. There are also templates provided to check for student understanding and foster student interaction during the videos.

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PlayPosit | Interactive Video Learning Objects

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With over 5 million learners and counting, PlayPosit offers a variety of options for interaction customization, premade templates, playback control, LMS LTI integration, and more. Instructors and instructional designers can build lessons as they envision them while expanding the traditional and onli

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Poll everywhere allows teachers to create multiple choice polls, surveys, word clouds, and open-ended responses for students to answer in real-time. Teachers can choose to have students respond with their name or anonymously and the results can be displayed to students. Poll everywhere is beneficial when discussing a debatable topic or gathering whole class data.

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Host interactive online meetings | Poll Everywhere

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Kahoot is an online game that features multiple choice questions students can answer on various topics and grade levels. Students compete against each other in real-time to answer the questions from their own devices (computer or cell-phone). Teachers can design their own games or search for content that has already been created by users. After students complete the game, teachers can view responses and gather data on student mastery and gaps.

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Kahoot! | Learning games | Make learning awesome!

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Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform that brings engagement and fun to 1+ billion players every year at school, at work, and at home.

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Similar to Newsela, this site provides learning activities for a variety of subjects and grade levels. Teachers can integrate the resources with learning management systems and have students view videos/images and take assessments. The site allows teachers to develop activities on their own or assign "ready to use" activities that can be differentiated by reading level.

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Discovery Education | Your Daily Learning Platform

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Discovery Education inspires educators to go beyond traditional learning with award-winning digital content and professional development. Learn more today!

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This site features educational standards for learning and technology. Rather than breaking the standards into grade levels or content areas, there are specific objectives for leaders, teachers, students, coaches, and computational thinking. The site also features professional development courses that teachers can complete on a variety of technology topics such as digital citizenship, project-based learning, and designing online learning experiences.

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The ISTE Standards provide the competencies for learning, teaching and leading in the digital age, providing a comprehensive roadmap for the effective use of technology in schools worldwide. Grounded in learning science research and based on practitioner experience, the ISTE Standards ensure that using technology for learning can create high-impact, sustainable, scalable and equitable learning experiences for all learners.

For over 20 years the standards have been used, researched and updated to continuously reflect the latest research-based best practices that define success in using technology to learn, teach, lead and coach. The standards have been adopted in all 50 U.S. states and many countries throughout the world. Aligned to UNESCO's Sustainable Development Goals, the standards are available in eight languages.

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The ISTE Standards are a framework for students, educators, administrators, coaches and computer science educators to rethink education and create innovative learning environments. The standards are helping re-engineer schools and classrooms worldwide for digital age learning.

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14. New Jersey Student Learning Standards

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14. New Jersey Student Learning Standards

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This site provides a comprehensive explanation of state standards in the following categories: Life skills, Health, Technology, Math, English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Visual/Performing Arts, and World Languages. Users can click on each other these subjects and find specific standards for each grade level, so that teachers, parents, administrators, and students know what is expected at each stage of learning.

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The site provides information on nationwide educational standards for student success in English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics. The standards have been adopted by 41/50 states, including New Jersey, and are grounded in rigor, higher-ordered thinking, and college readiness. The site breaks down each content's standard into sub-categories and grade levels for educators.

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Disclaimer: On this page you can find the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics and English Language Arts. The standards are temporarily located on this page while we work to address technical challenges with CoreStandards.org. Thank you for your patience and we will share an update on CoreStandards.org when we have one.
English Language Arts Standards English Language Arts Standards (ADA Compliant) Mathematics Standards Mathematics Standards (ADA Compliant)

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Disclaimer: On this page you can find the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics and English Language Arts. The standards are temporarily located on this page while we work to address technical challenges with CoreStandards.org. Thank you for your patience and we will share an update on CoreStandards.org when we have one.

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This resource includes educational articles and videos geared toward educators and school leaders. The content is research-based on includes content on six different transformational strategies: project-based learning, social and emotional learning, comprehensive assessment, teacher development, integrated studies, and technology integration. The site is funded by the George Lucas Educational Foundation.

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George Lucas Educational Foundation

Our Foundation is dedicated to transforming pre-K-12 education so that all students can acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to thrive in their studies, careers, and adult lives. Founded by innovative and award-winning filmmaker George Lucas in 1991, we take a strategic approach to improving education.

Edutopia is a trusted source shining a spotlight on what works in education. We show people how they can adopt or adapt best practices, and we tell stories of innovation and continuous learning in the real world.

Our Vision

We believe that improving education is the key to the survival of the human race.

We envision a new world of learning, one where students become lifelong learners and develop 21st-century skills. It's a world where innovation is the rule, not the exception. It's a world where schools provide rigorous project-based learning, social and emotional learning, and access to new technology. It's a world where students and parents, teachers and administrators, policymakers, and the people they serve are all empowered with a shared vision to change education for the better.

We call this place Edutopia, and we provide not just the vision for this new world of learning but the information, the evidence, and the community connections to make it a reality.
In particular, in the 21st century, we believe three skills are fundamental

Contact Us

Whether you're a teacher, a parent, an administrator, a student, or any one of the other millions of visitors to Edutopia each month, you are an essential part of our community, and we'd love to get to know you better.

The George Lucas Educational Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, private foundation that is operated for educational purposes, and, as such, we do not take positions on any legislation or ballot measures, nor do we endorse or oppose any candidates in elections to public office. We welcome all who are devoted to improving education.

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Our Foundation is dedicated to transforming pre-K-12 education so that all students can acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to thrive in their studies, careers, and adult lives. Founded by innovative and award-winning filmmaker George Lucas in 1991, we take a strategic approach to improving education.

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Many educators are evaluated using the Danielson Rubric, so this site reminds teachers of the requirements for each domain assessed on the Danielson Framework for Teaching. The resource gives detailed information for each sub-category and includes reflective questions for educators to consider for each component. There is also professional development resources that can be purchased which would would be helpful when leading a Danielson training for district teachers.

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The Updated Framework Is Now Available

The wait is over: the updated Framework for Teaching is now available. For more than 26 years, the Framework for Teaching has been used by millions of educators in the United States and around the world. Start exploring today!

DEDICATED TO THE PURSUIT OF GREAT TEACHING

We focus on what’s most important: always ensuring
great teaching for every student, everywhere.

Online Learning and Facilitated Sessions

Work with an organization committed to great teaching? Explore partnership opportunities like online workshops and self-paced courses designed to help teachers and those who support them.

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Updated FFT Webinar Series: Session 3 Recording Now Available

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Subscribe to the DG Newsletter to stay up to date on our partnerships, upcoming courses, and new resources that will help you put the Framework to work.

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We are pleased to partner with organizations offering educators companion resources and subscriptions to support the Framework for Teaching

Featured Resources

the UPDATED framework for teaching

Over the last two and a half decades, the Framework for Teaching (FFT) has been used by countless educators worldwide, and we’ve seen the FFT’s power to accelerate teacher growth, improve student outcomes, and create a more rewarding and sustaining professional environment. Start exploring the updated FFT in your efforts to expand your practice, learn new ways to engage with students, and create innovative approaches that will forever change the way we think about school.

Explore the key changes within the updated Framework for Teaching using this summarized overview of the FFT’s domains, components, and elements.

Explore intellectually engaging instruction through our current thinking, recommendations for reflection and practice, and suggestions for professional learning.

Use this companion tool to the Intellectual Engagement Guide to work with individual teachers to reflect on their practice in the area of intellectually engaging instruction.

Use this companion tool to the Intellectual Engagement Guide to work with to reflect on your practice as an educator in the area of intellectually engaging instruction.

Our reach

2021 will mark the 25th anniversary of the FFT

The Danielson Group has partnered with over 1,500 organizations worldwide.

We have directly supported educators in 46 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

We have worked with school and ministries in Canada, Lebanon, Colombia, Mexico, Jamacia, and ten other countries

Our resources and publications have been downloaded over 50,000 times in the last year

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The Dg is proud to feature our current partners & their stories:

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The wait is over: the updated Framework for Teaching is now available. For more than 26 years, the Framework for Teaching has been used by millions of

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Website features numerous Ted Talk and Animation lessons on all content areas. Teachers can customize the provided lessons. Each lesson has 4 components. The "watch" is the provided video, "think" includes multiple choice and open-ended questions pertaining the video, "dig deeper" promotes students to make connections to other content, and finally "discuss" is a virtual discussion board about the video that users can respond and discuss on.

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TED-Ed celebrates the ideas of teachers and students around the world. Discover hundreds of animated lessons, create customized lessons, and share your big ideas.

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This site provides free professional development courses and certificate programs for educators for different aspects of Google Suite. Topics range from the Basics of Google Workspace to becoming a Certified Coach that trains other educators to use Google Platforms in their school districts. All the content is strategically designed with the teacher and student in mind and focuses on how to optimize Google programs for educational purposes.

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Educator Resources & Technology Training - Google for Education

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Discover numerous educator resources including technology training for teachers, courses, certifications and professional development for educators.

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Remind is an app that allows teachers to send secure messages and announcements to students and parents. Users get alerts on their phone when the teacher sends a message. It is useful to send reminders about deadlines, upcoming events, or to provide students who were absent with what they have missed. The app allows teachers to send messages to whole classes/groups or individual participants.

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Adoption and usage

Simple, effective, and surprisingly easy to use

With nearly 30 million users in 80% of US schools, the numbers speak for themselves: students, families, and educators love using Remind.

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Remind | Communication Platform for Education

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Remind is a communication platform that reaches students and families where they are and supports learning wherever it happens. Millions of educators, students, and parents use Remind to connect with the people and resources that help them teach and learn.

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This app connects with Canvas (Learning Management System) and sends students notifications to keep them informed of upcoming deadlines for assignments and assessments. When students complete a task, it also sends positive feedback through the app. The program is free and can be used in Kindergarten to higher education to assist students in managing their school workloads.

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The first resource that I have found the most helpful is the Canvas Learning Management System. Our district adopted this site during virtual and hybrid learning in 2020. It allowed every teacher to make their content web-based, so that every student could access education from their personal devices at home. The gradebook is also very user friendly since it allows you to easily send a message to any student who has not submitted a specific assignment. Also, teachers can share materials with other teachers which saves time and builds collaboration amongst staff.

The second resource that I find the most important is Ted Ed. Not only does the site feature engaging videos, but lessons contain higher-ordered thinking questions that help students analyze and synthesize the content. YouTube videos can be created by anyone and often have inaccurate information. Ted Ed is a trusted resource that has been vetted and provides reliable information to students.

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Our school district recently adopted Play Posit for the 2022-2023 school year. Currently, teachers utilize videos in their instruction and stop periodically to have students discuss questions. However, this program would be a beneficial addition since it ensures 100% participation and hold students accountable for interacting with video content. This also would boost engagement because the program provides multiple ways for students to interact with the video lesson at their own pace.