Teach Learn Lead

          TEACH LEARN LEAD

Starting out as a new teacher you are going to have many questions and will want all helpful advice you can get. Who better to get these questions answered by then other teachers? Teach Learn Lead is like Facebook but just strictly for teachers!
It was created to bring new teachers together and support each other along our journeys. You can connect with other teachers from anywhere in the country, and share relevant experiences. It is a free app you can download on your IPhone, Android or use on your computer. Also with this app, you can start discussions and polls to share lesson plan ideas or other career advice to others.

Lego Social Skills Club

One fun way to model and strengthen social skills for students- especially for those with Autism- is by facilitating a Lego Social Skills Club. Most people enjoy Legos, and this is even more true for many people young and old with Autism. Autistic people like to line things up, like things in order, like to focus on one thing; Legos easily fit that.

Social skills are an area of difficulty for Autistic individuals. What Lego Social Skills Club aims to do is fill the need of teaching social skills without the individuals even knowing that it is occurring. Students are placed in groups of three at a table with Legos and an project direction booklet. Each person is given a job; Student 1 is the Lego Finder, Student 2 is the Direction Giver, and Student 3 is the Builder. The students have to work together on the task to build the final product. Without forcing social skills or interactions, the students each have their job to do, communicate at their own level, and interact as they can to hopefully successfully build their project successfully. The group will feel good about their contribution, as well as their group work. The group does this three times, with jobs rotated so each student can be a direction giver, a brick finder and a builder. All of this is important, as the love of Legos and their drive to build a project helps them overcome any social skill issues they may have such as hesitation of communication, being near others, etc.

This model of Social Skill Group has proven successful at Autistic Centers such as Eastern Michigan University, studies have been done and books have been written on how to facilitate the system. I believe it would transfer successfully to GenEd students as well, as Legos are a universal tool of friendship and communication. Here's to Legos!

Kaplan FloorPlanner

Having a hard time trying to plan out the design of your classroom?

With FloorPlanner you can create your dream classroom with this FREE online classroom design tool. You can enter the exact dimensions of your classroom and then just drag and rearrange the products until you have your floor plan. This website is great because it has 3D results that give you a realistic view of what your classroom would look like in real life. 

To start designing your own classroom you just simply have to create a FREE account and then start designing! 

If you do not know where to start on the design process, FloorPlanner gives you example classrooms for what age level you have. (Ex. Toddler Classroom, Pre-K Classroom, Elementary classroom, etc.)

Example of a Kindergarten Classroom floor plan

Example of a computer lab floor plan

Fakebook

Fakebook is a website where students can create profiles that look like Facebook profiles but they are fake and on the Fakebook server. Students are forced to learn while they make the profile because they are prompted to enter in information such as family members and date of birth which would require research. Fakebook users can make posts and comment and like other users posts which could be used in the classroom by having students asking each other questions. Students can also post things like videos and pictures on other students walls so you could have multiple requirements for your students. Fakebook is very useful in History or Language Arts classes to have your students create a profile based on a character in the chapter you are reading or something or that time period or something along those lines. Students would enjoy using Fakebook because they are used to the format of Facebook and they would like using computers.

https://www.classtools.net/FB/home-page

SeeSaw

With today’s technology, it is no surprise that teachers are able to use apps to keep in contact with their student’s parents and guardians rather than the traditional ways of phone calls, sending notes home in cubies, and emails. Keeping in contact in this modern way has been not only more convenient and a time saver for teachers, but for parents as well. From one app, you can do it all. You can see weekly updates, check your student’s grades, and even keep in contact with the teacher themselves, asking them questions and voicing your concerns.

While this is great, wouldn’t it be nice to see the school day from your child’s point of view as well?

This is something that is made possible with SeeSaw, an app that has the opportunity to be student lead. With the use of SeeSaw, students have the ability to upload pictures and videos of what they have been working on that day to their own “page”, which is visible to their parents and the teacher, but no one else. This is a great way to avoid the “What did you do at school today?” question, getting no response from your child. Rather, you can ask specific questions, or give praise on something you saw that they did today.

Not only is this great for the family, but it can be very useful for the student as well. From be able to upload their own work, this gives them the opportunity to look back at things they have done in the past, letting the students reflect and watch their own growth, giving them even more confidence to continue to succeed. 

Vizia

Many students today enjoy learning through videos and short clips. With the easy to use and free website Vizia teachers can create video based quizzes for students. Teachers can edit the questions to be multiple choice, true or false, and even short answers. Students are to enter their name so scores are easily recorded. Unlike paper quizzes it is very hard for a student to make the excuse that they “lost” their copy of the quiz, it even decreases a student’s chances of cheating off peers. It is easy to use and fun for the whole classroom. Many students struggle to retain what they’ve learned from a twenty-page chapter related quiz. With Vizia students can watch a short video that their teachers chose to sum up a current lesson topic or concept quickly and effetely. Another great benefit to using Vizia is the zero copies of quizzes teachers must make for a quiz. So, save a tree and download Vizia today!

It's Lego Time!

Legos are so fun and interacting of any age group. Students can build so much with Legos and their creativity can go wild. Lego Education website has different resources that are available from preschool too elementary to middle school. At the preschool level, it is all about building character, social skills, and also beginning science and math at an early age. They focus on creativity, social and emotional development, early science, math, language, and literacy subjects. In elementary school, the resources trigger student critical thinking and it also encourages problem-solving skills. Subjects also include math, science, language arts, reflection and dialogue, and STEM. In middle school, they also focus on STEM. Students are more engaged in the digital world, and the real world and that is what the lessons emphasis on. Teachers can use these resources in their classrooms and it will be the beginning of a new future for many students. The educational resources will expand on student knowledge and their creative side in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, (STEM)!

https://education.lego.com/en-us