Feb 21, 2020

Wrapping up an Epic Learning Experience: How to Facilitate Student Reflection

Each time you and your students embark on a new story, your characters undergo a transformation. If you lead your students through the elements we’ve discussed (creating an epic classroom, uncovering a conflict, and traversing the rising action to solve the conflict) then the transformation will happen by itself. A critical part of epic learning is helping students to realize that metamorphosis and use what they’ve learned. Here are a few activities to facilitate reflection and wrap up your epic learning experience.

Feb 14, 2020

Our Top Five Resources in January 2020

Each month we publish blogs and several newsletters full of digital learning, funding, professional growth, social media, and STEM resources. Below are items from our blogs and newsletters that educators turned to the most in January.

Feb 07, 2020

Integrate Computer Science and Literacy in Your Elementary Classroom

Are you curious how you might integrate computer science in your upper elementary classroom, or are you looking for a unique way to have your students share their favorite books? With technology playing an increasingly important role in every profession, a foundational understanding of computer science is becoming an essential component of student learning. To authentically integrate computer science and literacy, I’m going to teach you how to support your students in using block-based coding to program book trailers.

Jan 31, 2020

Train, Observe, Collaborate

As an educator of many years, change has always been an influential companion on this exciting journey of teaching students. Lately, change seems to be the driving force of everything. This became very evident when I asked my students what careers they would like to have in the future. Their answers were very different from the usual pro ball players and nurses—they said they wanted to be YouTubers! This shows just how prevalent technology is in their everyday lives, both in and out of school.

Jan 24, 2020

Seven Strategies for Guiding the Rising Action of Your Students’ Projects

We’ve talked about the elements of story and creating conflict. Now we’re going to get into structuring the rising action of your classroom’s story. As your students work towards resolving the conflict you’ve introduced, they will traverse different paths that ultimately lead them to a climax and a resolution. These are seven strategies that can be used to guide your students’ stories:

Jan 17, 2020

Our Top Five Resources in December 2019

Each month we publish blogs and several newsletters full of digital learning, funding, professional growth, social media, and STEM resources. Below are items from our blogs and newsletters that educators turned to the most in December.

Jan 10, 2020

To Lead Others and to Be Led…

Merriam-Webster defines “mentor” as “a trusted counselor or guide.” The actual origin of the word dates back to the end of the eighth century when Homer wrote The Odyssey. Mentor was a trusted friend of Homer and he stayed behind during war to watch over Odysseus’ son. The word was then adapted to mean “someone who teaches or gives help and advice.”

Jan 03, 2020

Using Conflict to Engage Students in Active Learning

My previous blog discussed how to structure classroom projects into stories. There are five elements of a story you must consider when creating an epic project: theme, plot, setting, characters, and conflict. I’d like to dive deeper into one of those elements: conflict.

Dec 13, 2019

Our Top 5 Resources in November 2019

By Taylor Kremer

Each month we publish blogs and several newsletters full of digital learning, funding, professional growth, social media, and STEM resources. Below are items from our blogs and newsletters that educators turned to the most in November.

Dec 06, 2019

The Partnership of Technology and Social–Emotional Learning in Education

Students come to school with, as Dr. Adolph Brown describes, two backpacks. One of the backpacks contains academic tools, such as pencils, calculators, and textbooks, that represent their readiness to learn. The second backpack represents the invisible emotional weight that burdens each student entering our school buildings. Anxiety, stress, rage, self-doubt, and low self-worth resulting from bullying, child abuse, substance abuse, and neglect cannot be unpacked and shoved into a school locker. This backpack accompanies students throughout the school day and impacts their engagement, attentiveness, and interactions. Educators don’t always see the contents of this backpack, yet they witness its negative impact on student learning every day. So how can educators and leaders reach these students? How can we unburden them and teach them coping and relationship skills that allow them to participate in their education fully?

Nov 22, 2019

How to Use Storytelling to Inspire Epic Learning in Your Classroom

How many times have you listened to a lecture, memorized the information, and passed the exam only to be unable to recall most of what you learned just weeks later? How many times have you read a powerful story or watched a movie and been able to recall the plot years later? Information presented in a story doesn’t fade away after it’s been used; it sticks in the mind, ready to be accessed and used at any time.

Nov 15, 2019

Our Top 5 Resources in October 2019

Each month we publish blogs and several newsletters full of digital learning, funding, professional growth, social media, and STEM resources. Below are items from our blogs and newsletters that educators turned to the most in October.

Nov 08, 2019

Six Steps to Crafting a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign

With all of the great success stories out there about crowdfunding, you may be wondering if it’s time to give it a try. Crowdfunding can be a helpful resource to support a special project, but only if you take the time to craft a compelling campaign. Here are the steps to take to ensure your project is successfully funded.

Nov 01, 2019

Bolster Emotional Learning In and Out of the Classroom

In the last few years, social and emotional learning (SEL) has increasingly become one of the most prevalent topics in education. Educators around the world are incorporating SEL into their classrooms and, according to the article “Reflecting on Social Emotional Learning: A Critical Perspective on Trends in the United States” by Dianne M. Hoffman, there are several benefits of teaching SEL that make it an important piece of the curriculum puzzle.

Oct 18, 2019

Our Top Five Resources in September 2019

Each month we publish blogs and several newsletters full of digital learning, funding, professional growth, social media, and STEM resources. Below are items from our blogs and newsletters that educators turned to the most in September.