Instruction
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Heat and Health trackers
- Climate and Health Outlook, Heat.gov
- Climate Prediction Center Probabilistic Extremes, Heat.gov
- Extreme Heat Vulnerability Mapping Tool, Heat.gov
- Heat and Health Tracker, Heat.gov
- National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network
- Climate Change Tracker, Washington Post
- NOAA Climate Data Online
- NASA’s Climate Time Machine
-
- Meadows Center Lessons on Weather vs Climate (TEKS-aligned)
- National Science Teaching Association (NSTA)
- National Center for Science Education
- Think Earth Environmental Education Foundation
Meet ALDO: The Amazing Lesson Design Outline #tcea #tceajmg
Images created by author.
Ever wish you had an easy-to-follow checklist when designing learning for students? I know I have…often. Some of my colleagues effortlessly design amazing lessons, but I have to plod through each point. But lesson design is something that is critical to ultimate success in the classroom for each student. That’s why I’d like to take a moment to share my latest version of the outline I use. At the end, you will find a custom GPT you can use to get an AI spin on ALDO.
More ALDO Goodness
Micro-Reflections: Crafting Reflections in the Moment #tcea #tceajmg
Get a copy of all images shown via Google Slides. Inspired by The Actiope Model. [Learn more online.](https://blog.tcea.org/micro-reflections/)
Want to get the most out of what you learn? You may be missing out on an important step – reflection! Here’s a heuristic to make it easier. How do you reflect on your daily work? Reflection can be a bit daunting. After a long day’s work, you may stagger home, plop on the couch, and pass out. You know reflecting on your day is important, but waiting until the day’s end is too hard.
How to Easily Convert Quizzes Between Platforms #tcea #tceajmg
Need to get a set of quiz questions from one system (e.g. Quizlet, Kahoot!) into another? Find out how to convert quizzes easily! Are you an online quiz user? Not the social media quiz kind, but the teacher who uses tools like Quizlet, Kahoot!, Quizizz, and others? While quiz questions are often available in various places, they may not be on the platform you want them to be in. How do you get a quiz from Quizlet Flashcards into Kahoot!? Or a quiz from Kahoot! into ClassQuiz? Let’s learn how to convert from one quiz maker to another and how to export and import questions. We’ll walk through the following actions, and you can feel free to jump to any section that will meet your needs.
New Reading Tools to the Rescue from Google and Microsoft #tcea #tceajmg
Get the latest on Microsoft’s Reading Coach and Google’s new Reading Practice features for Google Play Books. Google and Microsoft continue to announce exciting new tools that enhance reading. Let’s take a moment to review their contributions to improving reading skills.
Seven Ready-to-Use Story Bin Activities #STEM #tcea #tceajmg
Embark on a journey of story-fueled engineering design and problem-solving with story bins. Explore this creative idea for young learners!
“Have you heard of STEM Bins?” Peggy Reimers said. “No, I haven’t,” I replied. In a moment, I’d fallen off the plank, submerged into a sea of learning. Like treasure chests filled with tools for creative imagineering, STEM Bins are fun. I like to think of them as Story Bins, because they turn stories into powerful learning opportunities. Let’s explore several practical ideas for elementary Story Bins.
Exploring Extreme Heat Science: Five Resources for Educators on Climate Change #tcea #tceajmg
All over the world, people are longing for a cool breeze to relieve the extreme heat. As school begins, it’s important to learn about extreme heat. It is sobering to think that this summer may be one of the coolest ones that people experience from this point on.
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Heat Science a la Hemingway
In the late summer, the world grew hotter. The ice melted, the seas rose, and the heat waves came more often. Scientists measured the heat stress in the sunlight using a complex formula. They called it the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature. It took into account the temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle, and cloud cover. The cloud cover told them about the solar radiation. In the shade, they used the Heat Index, which considered only the temperature and humidity. The world was changing, and they measured it all. (Source: An amazing revision a la Hemingway via Perplexity.ai, which rewrote of my original glossary of terms).
Resources
A round up of websites raw data and graphs:
A Personal Note: One of my favorite blog entries was this one. I learned quite a bit about the science behind heat. Now, I’m re-reading it to remember. It’s ironic that I used AI, which is stressing the environment with its water usage and more, to revise a portion of it.
Five Fun Science Projects with Paper Clips #tcea #tceajmg #science
As National Paper Clip Day approaches, learn a little history and explore ideas for using paper clips to teach science!
TCEA Responds: Interactive Touch Screens #tcea #tceajmg
TCEA’s Miguel Guhlin responds to a member question about interactive touch screens and motivating staff when it comes to tech integration. When technology use aligns with evidence-based practices, it’s hard to argue against its use. Of course, I might argue cost of the technology, but when interactive touch screens replace whatever was there before (e.g. digital projectors and screens), learning to use them is a necessity. There are several strategies that support teaching with interactive touch screens. It’s all in how you structure student learning activities. For example, Direct Instruction is one high-effect size instructional strategy you can use. Vocabulary Programs, Formative Assessment, and Retrieval Practice (a.k.a. Practice Testing) are others.
Five Free WebSites You Need to Know About #tcea #tceajmg
Want to access a wealth of OER resources, practice fact-checking, and double-check your critical thinking with free resources and tools?
Want to access Spanish-friendly resources, and dig into history, science, math, or philosophy? Perhaps, you want to double-check your critical thinking processes? Let’s explore exciting Open Educational Resources (OER) and educational websites. I have all of these websites bookmarked and easily accessible on my computer. Why? They broaden my knowledge and awareness of the world in ways my traditional education did not. Explore them as powerful enhancers for your own learning and teaching.
Coaching, Building Relationships, and Brain Engagement #tcea #tceajmg #coaching #teaching #education #edtech
Looking for ideas to build coach-to-teacher relationships that serve as the foundational obstacle to success? This blog entry can help.
Are you an instructional coach supporting teachers with instruction or technology questions? You may find this collection of tips and resources worth pondering for next year.
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World Password Day
Celebrate World Password Day with Password Guardian, a free educational game that teaches students how to create strong, secure passwords. One of my favorite television shows features Jimmy Fallon and Keke Palmer— the Emmy-award-winning show Password. Every day, many of us play our own “Guess That Password” password game as we attempt to log in to one of our many online accounts. This can be hard since, on average, we need to remember 80+ passwords. On World Password Day, let’s make this game a little easier for ourselves.
Timelines Made Easy
Why not introduce students to the concept of creating timelines to document their adventures? Consider guiding them through crafting timelines of their recent experiences. Demonstrating how to illustrate events with pictures and videos can be a powerful learning experience at any time of the year.
How to Make Flexible, Data-Informed Student Groups
Don’t let behavior or ability levels determine your student groups! Here’s a five-step process for flexible, data-informed student grouping. Would you believe that, according to teachers, behavior is the most important factor when it comes to grouping students? There are several reasons to group students, and, recent research suggests that there are benefits to creating student groups. The teacher can tailor them to optimize learning and use grouping students to address varied: learning needs; abilities; and interests. Let’s dig into this a bit more.
Digital Reading Tools for K-5 Readers #tcea #tceajmg #edtech #education
Explore research relevant to K-5 readers and the evidence-based use of digital reading tools. Discover seven tools to try!
Aligning TCEA Courses to the ISTE Standards
I was curious about how these online, self-paced courses would align to edtech standards. Here’s a rough table that tries to show how they match up.
| EdTech Standards | Standard Description | TCEA Self-Paced Courses |
|---|---|---|
| Learner | Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning. |
- Artificial Intelligence Educator - Canva Specialist - ChatGPT for Educators |
| Leader | Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning. | - Effective Engagement with Self-Reported Grades - Teacher-Library Collaboration - Google Certified Trainer |
| Citizen | Educators inspire students to positively contribute and responsibly participate in the digital world. | - Cybersecurity for Teachers - Social and Emotional Learning |
| Collaborator | Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems. | - Blended Learning - Dynamic Instruction with Project-Based Learning (PBL) - Google Workspace for Education Courses |
| Designer | Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability. | - Creative Response to Literature - Effective Math: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12 - Canva Educator |
| Facilitator | Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE Standards for Students. | - Strategies That Work, Part 1 & Part 2 - Jigsaw Method - Robotics and STEM/STEAM Courses |
| Analyst | Educators understand and use data to drive their instruction and support students in achieving their learning goals. | - Assessment-Based Feedback - Evidence-Based Teaching - Kernel Essays for Writing and Reading |
ClassQuiz: A Free Tool Supporting High-Effect Size Instructional Strategies #tcea #tceajmg
Wish you had a free no-cost, open-source tool that supports evidence-based strategies but doesn’t violate student privacy? Try ClassQuiz.
How to Easily Convert Quizzes Between Platforms #tcea #tceajmg
Need to get a set of quiz questions from one system (e.g. Quizlet, Kahoot!) into another? Find out how to convert quizzes easily!
Five Free WebSites You Need to Know About #tcea #tceajmg
Want to access a wealth of OER resources, practice fact-checking, and double-check your critical thinking with free resources and tools?
Coaching, Building Relationships, and Brain Engagement #tcea #tceajmg
Looking for ideas to build coach-to-teacher relationships that serve as the foundational obstacle to success? This blog entry can help.
Primary Sources, Interactive Resources, and Maps for Teaching History
Scouting new resources for teaching history or social studies as you head back to school? Don’t miss this roundup!