Thursday, February 28, 2019

Flippity Fun

Looking for ways to create your own custom learning games and activities for your students? Look no further than Flippity! With Flippity, you can easily turn a Google spreadsheet into a set of online flashcards and other cool stuff, including Quiz Shows, Random Name Pickers, Scavenger Hunts, Timelines, Crossword Puzzles, Memory Games, and more. Check out the video tutorial below to learn how you can use Flippity to engage your students.



Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Build Your Own Tour in Google Tour Builder

Kids love Google Earth. And why not?--it's pretty awesome! Google has created an enormous interactive map for us to play with, allowing us to explore the world in ways we could not have imagined a generation ago, bringing us down to street level to view cities, neighborhoods, buildings, and landmarks in 3D. They have even partnered with NASA, National Geographic, and other 3rd party institutions to showcase travel, nature, cultural, and historical destinations with their Voyager tool. But did you know that you and your students can create your own custom tours using Google Tour Builder? Tour Builder allows users to build a location-based tour much the same way they would build a slideshow. It lets you search and select locations; add photos, text, and video; share the creation; and view it in Google Earth. Learn more about Google Tour Builder here and view the videos tutorial below for a step-by-step walk-through. If you are up for a challenge, you could also check out Google Tour Creator to create your own Google Expeditions virtual reality tours. For more resources, visit this link from Donnie Piercey. 

Part I: Build a Custom Tour with Text and Images




Part II: Open and Navigate in Google Earth





Thursday, February 7, 2019

Professional Development: Supporting English Language Learners

When New York State adopted the Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) requirements for educators who hold "professional" certificates, it was mandated that 15% of professional development be dedicated to language acquisition addressing the needs of English Language Learners (you can read more about Part 154 and Subpart 80-6 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education here). It is my goal to invite the professionals at the OCM BOCES Mid-State Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network (RBE-RN) office to conduct at least 3 hours of ELL-related professional development at West Genesee annually so that we may meet our required 15 hours every 5 years. If you were unable to attend the ELL workshop on our most recent Superintendent's Conference Day, you may be feeling anxious about meeting the requirements. Fortunately, the RBE-RN office conducts ELL PD on a regular basis through face-to-face as well as online workshops that count toward CTLE hours. You can review some PD opportunities via the links below: