Friday January 8

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and welcome back everyone!! I hope you had a chance to relax and recharge over the break. It is often difficult for people outside of the teaching profession to understand how truly necessary the break is. Doing what you do is demanding. There are a few things of interest in this week's blog so I hope you find something of use!

Professional Learning Opportunities

It has been great to be in all of the schools over the course of the past few months. I truly enjoy working with you and your students when I visit. Since September I have worked with teachers and students on blogging, website creation, Google Classroom setup, basic setup of Google Drive, and using Google Apps for Education to facilitate feedback, just to name a few. I am scheduled to be in all of the schools throughout the rest of the year. Watch your email for days and schedules of when I will be in your school. 

Many times, teachers say to me that they would like to work with me but are unsure of what to work on. My response to this would be to sit down together for a little while to discuss ways that I might be able to help. If you aren't sure how we can work together, just ask! I'm sure we can come up with something that will be beneficial to you and your students.

Still, sometimes having the opportunity to attend a predetermined workshop is best. As such, we have scheduled three workshops for all staff over the next few months. All workshops will take place from 4-6PM at the Grasslands Board Office. Please RSVP to sean.beaton@grasslands.ab.ca to attend. They are: 

1. February 4: Introduction to Google Apps for Education
2. February 25: Collaborative Learning with Google
3. April 19: Using Google Apps, Extensions and Add Ons. 

I am always open to other workshop ideas, so, if you have some suggestions, please let me know!

Some Resources

I came across these two websites over the last few days and they look like they may hold some promise. The first is a great list of Google Add Ons that are specifically geared to teachers. The second, is a resource to help create interactive, digital books, handouts, and presentations. This one uses both Google Slides and other software applications. Enjoy!

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2016/01/best-google-drive-addons-for-teachers.html

http://ditchthattextbook.com/2016/01/06/8-interactive-google-slides-activities-for-classroom-excitement/?utm_content=buffer4f021&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer