App of the Week: Otus

Ed. noteApp of the Week picks are now being curated by the editors of Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. Click here to read the full app review.

What’s It Like? 

It’s not often that teachers come across a technology tool that delivers as much as Otus, much less a free one. With many opportunities to manage grades, class content, and student data, the site can feel overwhelming at first; however, with some up-front investment, teachers will find it a valuable resource for managing instruction and pulling in valuable data points from third-party resources such as Khan Academy, PARCC, NWEA, and more. Use Otus to create and grade standards-based assessments, to get feedback from and about students, including video responses, document uploads, and quick polls, and to access detailed reports to disaggregate data and create more individualized assessments and targeted skill practice. Host topic discussions and cultivate writing skills via a class blog. Draw from the item bank to address specific skills, and then automatically assign an assessment to a group of students you’ve identified.…Read More

Fixing the grade passback pain point

Grade passback is a pain point for educators and school systems. Just go online and look up the help desk for popular grading platforms and you’ll notice the cries for help from users:

“Anybody have a solution for passing a midterm and final letter grade to their SIS?”

“Who is having problems with grade passback?”…Read More

Getting started with blended learning

“I don’t think I’ll teach any differently this year. We just won’t use the Chromebooks in math class.”
—Me (at the beginning of the school year)

Last school year, our school started a one-to-one Chromebook initiative for the sixth grade. That meant our incoming seventh-graders would not only have Chromebooks, they would know how to use them!

What I thought would happen (aka delusions of grandeur):…Read More

How to use data to increase student success rates

Roughly 10 percent of freshmen class students nationwide find themselves struggling to earn enough credits to pass ninth grade, leaving them with only a 20-percent chance of graduating on time. This past year, the Metropolitan School District (MSD) of Decatur Township teamed up with the University of Chicago to combat this issue by implementing a Student Transition and Enrichment Pathway (STEP), a research-based program proven to produce growth in academic achievement and graduation rates among high school students. With its new STEP program in place, Decatur Township experienced significant success in just six months.

Does your school district face the same problems with its graduation rates? If you’re looking to improve the success of your students these steps can help you get to the root of the problem and establish strategies to increase key graduation statistics.

Identify the indicators of falling behind
In order to effectively battle increasing dropout rates, educators need to first research statistics and identify specific indicators that lead to high school students falling behind. The STEP program identifies these indicators by reviewing each student’s academic performance and attendance. This allows educators to distinguish which students are “at risk” and need additional support and encouragement on their path to graduation.…Read More

Weak cell service? How schools can solve this still-pervasive problem

Today’s students are more connected to their devices than ever before, whether they’re using their tablets or cellular devices to take notes in class, conduct research, or write a report. As such, strong cellular connectivity has become a must for schools and universities. Faculty and students rely upon secure wireless data and mobile coverage in order to teach, learn, and grow together. Having good cellular service also enhances safety on school grounds, keeping staff connected in emergency scenarios in which an instructor or staff member is not near a landline telephone and must instead place a cellular call for immediate assistance.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of cellular signals, schools can’t always provide consistently strong cellular signal for students, faculty, and staff. Accessing a strong indoor signal can be difficult depending on campus size and location, the distance to the nearest cell tower, or natural obstructions such as mountains and district budgets.

Construction materials can also cause issues with cellular signal. Modern schools and universities are usually a combination of older buildings and newer, environmentally friendly construction. Both styles can interfere with radio frequency waves coming from the nearest cell tower. What’s more, the many hundreds of students and teachers in the buildings can easily overload a weak network.…Read More

A year in the life of a student-centered library

There’s no “typical” day for a library media specialist. In one school day, we can teach a class about fake news, help one student find the perfect resource for his research project, and guide another toward a “just-right” book series that appeals to her personal interests. For 21st-century media specialists, the idea of the library as a quiet space is out and creating new opportunities for deeper learning with students is in.

Our district, Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) is the eighth-largest school district in the nation. We provide a wealth of educational opportunities for students and families that range from Head Start to adult-education programs within our 227 traditional public and magnet schools. We are a melting pot of urban, rural, and suburban areas. The word “diverse” doesn’t begin to describe our wide array of students and schools. It’s our job to make sure that at every school, every student has equitable access to high-quality reading, learning, and technological resources.

As we look back on 2017, we’d like to share the best practices that have worked for us, as well as a few predictions about what 2018 will look like for media specialists.…Read More

Adaptive literacy? 3 must-knows for teachers and admin about adaptive learning

The use of differentiated instruction to individualize each student’s learning experience is becoming more common in today’s elementary classrooms, but creating meaningful differentiation for a typical class of 25 students or more can still be a challenge. What should educators and administrators know about adaptive learning?

In “Adaptive Literacy Learning 101,” presenters reviewed findings from Tech & Learning’s 2017 survey on adaptive learning and highlighted key points that everyone should know.

1. Value is Abundant…Read More

AR for ELL: ‘I had students screaming and jumping up and down’

Almost 10 percent of students in US public schools are English language learners (ELLs), and that percentage is growing every year. One of the biggest challenges today’s teachers face is helping ELLs develop the literacy skills they need to keep pace with their peers. An essential first step in that process is getting their attention in class.

Here, two educators discuss how they use the engaging powers of the emerging 3D technology, augmented reality (AR), to do just that.

Hugo E. Gomez: Using AR to Engage Kindergarteners…Read More

6 tips for making the most of your Chromebooks

Before my second year of teaching, my principal suggested that I pilot a class set of 35 Chromebooks in my ninth- and 11th-grade English classes. In exchange for exclusive use of this Chromebook cart, I agreed to provide professional development on the Google for Education platform to the rest of our small staff and to simply use the devices in my classroom every day.

I was ecstatic about the possibility of transforming my classroom into a nearly paperless learning environment. I knew the potential for creativity, differentiation, and student-directed learning that one-to-one Chromebooks would offer my teaching, and I was lucky to have an administration that supported experimentation and innovation.

However, with more than 80 percent of my students qualifying for free and reduced lunch and a majority lacking access to computers at home, I worried about the feasibility of training them to use technology effectively. I didn’t want the introduction of technology to derail the respect and order I had worked hard to establish in my diverse and sometimes difficult classroom.…Read More

For PD, the days of one-and-done are dead and gone!

According to research from the Center for Public Education, “one-and-done” professional development sessions for teachers simply don’t work. With new standards rolling out every year, a one-class-covers-all approach just won’t cut it anymore. Educators aren’t that different from their students when it comes to their learning, so why should they be expected to learn everything at once instead of gradually, as they hope their students can?

Ongoing professional learning opportunities that provide teachers with constant access to support through continually improving online and offline resources are essential for truly effective instruction.

However, many of us still get stuck when attempting to approach this topic. It’s not unusual for a district to assume that teacher learning is straightforward, something that can be covered quickly and checked off in day.…Read More

3 tips for maximizing your PLC participation during the new school year

For educators across the country, it’s time to get back at it. Summer is over, and if we are not yet back in school teaching, we are sorting through class rosters, getting our first week planned, and tying up the hundreds of loose ends that need to be addressed before we welcome our students back to school.

However, for many of educators, the end of summer signals not a return to work, but rather a continuation of our efforts to support the success of all students. While school was out over the summer, we attended workshops, participated in conferences, and stayed connected to our fellow educators through our involvement in various professional learning communities (PLCs).

While educators seem predisposed to worrying about the needs of others before they address their own needs, now is the time to be selfish about personal growth. As a new school year begins and your responsibilities again increase, I encourage you to continue learning, sharing and connecting with your PLC, or if you are not yet participating in a PLC, I urge you to join a learning community that will enrich not only your professional practice, but all facets of your life.…Read More

How to have a coach for every teacher, without breaking the bank

Every good athlete needs a coach to help them improve their practice, from student athletes to superstars like LeBron James and Serena Williams. This same principle can—and should—be applied to our teachers.

Teacher effectiveness is an essential factor to ensure that each student is achieving their highest potential in school. In my suburban Chicago district, Maine Township High School District 207, each and every one of our teachers receives coaching on a regular basis. In fact, this year’s seniors are the first class to go through a district where every teacher was coached every year.

Teachers Coaching Teachers…Read More