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Tag: immersivereader

Saying Goodbye to a Friend

Saying Goodbye to a Friend

Back in January of 2020 I wrote about this exceptional tool, Skype in the Classroom. Just a quick recap of that article:  Skype in the Classroom is awesome!  Skype boasts six ways that you can connect to the world:    Virtual Field Trip    Skype Collaborations    Mystery Skype    Guest Speakers    Theme Collections/Lesson Plans   Special Events   Fast forward to December 2020 and this tool is changing. As Microsoft has continued to invest in Microsoft Teams and Flipgrid, they are discontinuing Skype in the Classroom during the summer of 2021. You might remember…

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Gamification, Game-Based Learning and Your Classroom Part 1: Gamification

Gamification, Game-Based Learning and Your Classroom Part 1: Gamification

This year we will start a book study with the book ‘Power Up Your Classroom’ by Lindsey Blass & Cate Tolnai. Last year I met both amazing educators at ISTE and it inspired me to purchase their book so I can help each of you reimagine your classroom and classroom environment through Gameplay. Before we begin though, I thought I would share with you my understandings of both Gamification and Game-Based Learning so that when we are moving through the chapters, you can see my…

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SPS Digital Learning Hour Episode 90: CSforAll Springfield Part 2

SPS Digital Learning Hour Episode 90: CSforAll Springfield Part 2

In this week’s episode of the SPS Digital Learning Hour we look at CSforAll Springfield. This is the second in the series of episodes all about CSforAll Springfield. This episode is focusing on our the researchers from UMASS Rick Adrion & Florence Sullivan and a few of our coordinators Rachel Chouinard, Melissa Zeitz & Scott Wohlers. Check out Part 1 here. CSforAll Springfield is a four-year project which started during the 2018-2019 school year. UMass Amherst, in partnership with Springfield…

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SPS Digital Learning Hour Episode 89: CSforAll Springfield Part 1

SPS Digital Learning Hour Episode 89: CSforAll Springfield Part 1

In this week’s episode of the SPS Digital Learning Hour we look at CSforAll Springfield. This is the first of two episodes for CSforAll. This episode is focusing on our CIO Paul Foster and teachers, Emma Bartlett, Jamiee Thomas and Danalyn Haynes. CSforAll Springfield is a four-year project which started during the 2018-2019 school year. UMass Amherst, in partnership with Springfield Public Schools (SPS), was awarded a $2 million National Science Foundation grant which aims to bring researchers and SPS…

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Skype in the Classroom

Skype in the Classroom

​Have you ever thought “my students would love to talk to an author like Cressida Cowell, Jane Yolen, Jacqueline Woodson, Kathryn Erskine, D. J. MacHale, Richard Peck, or Jacqueline West?” They might also like to go the Redwood Forest, visit an animal rescue in the UK, talk to a sea turtle expert, visit the Coral Reefs, learn about the Geology of Yellowstone, hear from Dr. Jane Goodall, meet an expert from Australia in the Great Barrier Reef, visit Joshua Tree National Park, or meet a doctor from any…

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SPS Digital Learning Hour Episode 88: Gamification Revisited

SPS Digital Learning Hour Episode 88: Gamification Revisited

This week we are hitting the Wayback Machine to learn more about where we have come from on Gamification Learning. As you’ll learn in this episode, we are looking back at Game-Based Learning and Gamification in both our blog and podcast as we gear up for a book study.  Here are the descriptions from the three weeks that we had this conversation. Week 1: This week Mike, Suzanne and Brendan begin a deep dive into Gamification within the classroom and…

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SPS Digital Learning Hour Episode 87: Game-Based Learning

SPS Digital Learning Hour Episode 87: Game-Based Learning

This week we are hitting the Wayback Machine to learn more about where we have come from on Game-Based Learning. As you’ll learn in this episode, we are looking back at Game-Based Learning and Gamification in both our blog and podcast as we gear up for a book study. You’ll also see how far we’ve come as a podcast since this was from Episode 10. All the links are listed below. Links: FETC: https://wke.lt/w/s/0tXoYh BETT2020: https://wke.lt/w/s/7aFDqP Main Article: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-05-30-how-game-based-learning-encourages-growth-mindset

Ride The Wakelet Wave!

Ride The Wakelet Wave!

Do you like to organize your students? Do you wish that there was a better way to create a Pinterest board that you could share with your students and not worry about all the other stuff that comes along with Pinterest? Do you wish you could organize materials for your classroom in a more elegant way? Have no fear, Wakelet is here! Wakelet’s mission is one of helping people find, organize and share information in a clean, elegant way. They…

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