Library Learning Commons
” A learning commons is a whole school approach to building a participatory learning community. The library learning commons is the physical and virtual collaborative learning hub of the school. It is designed to engineer and drive future-oriented learning and teaching throughout the entire school. Inquiry, project/problem-based learning experiences are designed as catalysts for intellectual engagement with information, ideas, thinking, and dialogue. Reading thrives, learning literacies and technology competencies evolve, and critical thinking, creativity, innovation and playing to learn are nourished. Everyone is a learner; everyone is a teacher working collaboratively toward excellence.”
What classroom activities can be adapted for online teaching?
“Audrey McLaren talks about the best activities for online teaching (1m 57s).”
How do you know your students are listening and engaged in an online class?
“Peggy Drolet talks about student engagement in an online setting (5m 17s).”
Voicethread
“A collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to navigate slides and leave comments in 5 ways – using voice (with a mic or telephone), text, audio file, or video (via a webcam)”
What skills do students need to be successful online?
“Kerry Cule highlights the top 3 skills needed to be a successful online learner:
1. Motivation 2. Organization 3. Communication…NOT tech skills!!! (1m 10s)”
What activities can you use in an online class to build community?
“Peggy Drolet talks about ‘getting to know you’ activities and discusses how a virtual class forum can be similar to the school cafeteria or student lounge, as a place for students to socialize (1m 01s).”
How important is it that students be comfortable with technology before making the shift online?
“Kerry Cule talks about student comfort with technology (0m 57s)”
How do you provide opportunities at the beginning of the year that allow for students to connect with you and each other?
“Peggy Drolet talks about beginning the year with online students. (1m37s)”
How do online teachers communicate with their students?
“Audrey McLaren talks about communication strategies with online students. (1m 36s)”
How to Combat Screen Fatigue
“The workshop was on March 29th, 2021 from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM. It was hosted by Frank Furfaro, educational consultant at the EMSB and chairperson of the EPC committee, Marc Gariépy and Emilie Bowles, RÉCIT consultants for Adult General Education.”
“Here is the outline of the workshop:
- LEARN what screen fatigue is
- RECOGNIZE the signs
- UNDERSTAND what causes it
- IDENTIFY what you can do about it with research-based strategies to help you cope”
The Distance Learning Playbook, Grades K-12
An online resource by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey and John Hattie made available by Corwin: A SAGE Comapny
12 Key Ideas: An Introduction to Teaching Online
A free online book by Dave Cormier and Ashlyne O’Neil .
Learning to Code: from procedural puzzle-based games to creative programming by Romero et al.
A research article about programming.
Educational Robotics: from procedural learning to co-creative project-oriented challenges with LEGO WeDo
“Romero, M., & Dupont, Y. (2016). Educational robotics: from procedural learning to co-creative project oriented challenges with LEGO WeDo. Presented at CIDUI.”
Hummingbird and Finch Program Manager
Learn more about products BRAINBIRD TECHNOLOGIES.
LEGO Lesson Plans
Check out LEGO’s lesson plans and STEAM activities.
Strawbees Learning
Learn about how to use Strawbees in your classroom. Includes lesson plans.
Hummingbird and Scratch Introduction
Hummingbird robotics kit lessons.
TurtleArt
“TurtleArt lets you make images with your computer. The Turtle follows a sequence of commands. You specify the sequence by snapping together puzzle-like blocks. The blocks can tell the turtle to draw lines and arcs, draw in different colors, go to a specific place on the screen, etc.” You Can Request to download offline editor from creators for educational/personal purposes
Programming in Scratch
A collection of video tutorials by Colleen Lewis.
SPHERO and OLLIE Activities
Lesson plans by grade level and subject using the Sphero and Ollie Robots.
Scratch JR Lessons
“Each of these activities gives you a quick way to learn how to do new things with ScratchJr. “
SNAP!
“Snap! is a broadly inviting programming language for kids and adults that’s also a platform for serious study of computer science.”
What is UDL?
“UDL is an educational framework based on decades of neuroscience research and is endorsed by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This framework is being adopted by teachers, schools, and districts around the globe and is considered best practice for teaching ALL students in an inclusive learning environment. UDL empowers both teachers and students by putting students in charge of their own learning.”
UDL Lesson Plan Template
“UDL lesson plans consider four curriculum components, which make up a complete learning
experience. Educators have many options and choices for how to format their lesson design.
Below is only one example. Regardless of the format you use, all UDL lesson plans consider
goals, methods, materials, and assessments. You will notice that in the sample below, you
design the lesson by first considering goals, and then designing assessments before considering
methods and materials. This backwards design relates to the Understanding by Design (UbD)
framework. Using UDL and UbD together ensures that the backwards design of curriculum
meets the needs of all learners.”
The One-Week Job Project
“What makes you come alive? The One-Week Job Project was created by Sean Aiken who worked 52 jobs in 52 weeks to discover his passion.”
Microsoft Teams resources
Microsoft Teams resources on Wakelet (courtesy of Stuart Gray RECIT WQSB).
Distance Learning and Assessments
A website containing apps, tools, and subject-specific tips to evaluate and assess students online. A website available courtesy of Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board.
The Inclusive Virtual Classroom
“A “grab and go” resource requiring minimal reading and/or viewing of videos. We have summarized the main points of all the research-based resources that are referenced in the Inclusive Virtual Classroom, saving you this work!”. A site built by Heather Moores and Heather Scott.
UP Skills for Work
“UP Skills for Work helps learners develop key employability skills through free workshops and downloadable workbooks. The nine topics covered are: Motivation, Attitude, Accountability, Presentation, Teamwork, Time Management, Adaptability, Stress Management, and Confidence.”
