Defining Moments

Some people say that there are divine appointments orchestrated by fate or God himself for a person to experience. While I'm not sure that everything “happens for a reason,” I do believe in these divine appointments, or moments when two people were meant to cross paths. One such divine appointment happened to me in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in June of 2005. It was this summer that would eventually lead me to my future career path.

Tech Challenge #9: Animoto Book Trailers

Are you looking for a way to put a new spin on the book report assignment? Why not combine your persuasive writing unit with a reading unit and ask your students to make book trailers for their library books?

Today's Tech Tool: The Computer Lab and Animoto.com

The Goal: Students will make a persuasive book trailer to tease key themes and events of their book to an audience.

Tech Challenge #8: Nearpod

 I try not to have too many lessons in which students are just taking notes, but sometimes at the beginning of a long unit, notes are necessary! Note-taking days are hard on everyone. I lose my voice from reciting powerpoint slides 6 times a day. Students strain their eyes to read the board. Some kids get bored having to wait on the slow writers who have trouble reading the board and simultaneously writing. It's just awful!  Nearpod has solved many of these problems for me! Nearpod is my newest favorite teaching tool for days that students have to take tedious notes.

Today's Tech Tool: A classroom Set of Ipads & a Computer with internet access

The Goal: Give students  chunks of important new information without boring them to death and losing my mind.