Empowering Diverse Learners with Student-Paced Lessons

In the era of increasing diversity in classrooms, educators must find innovative ways to meet the needs of all learners. This session will explore how student-paced lesson planning can be used in conjunction with MTSS and UDL frameworks to create inclusive, engaging, and differentiated learning experiences that empower each student to work in ways that align with their unique needs and abilities.

Bonnie Nieves is the author of Be Awesome on Purpose as well as a contributor to EdReports and The American Biology Teacher Journal. She has nearly two decades of experience as a high school science teacher. Bonnie holds a master's degree in Curriculum, Instruction, and Educational Leadership and is a member of many professional organizations including MassCUE, ISTE, and NSTA. Her passion for creating immersive and authentic experiences that fuel curiosity and creating student-centered, culturally responsive learning spaces that promote equity and inclusion has led her to establish Educate On Purpose Coaching. Connect with her on Twitter @biologygoddess, Instagram @beawesomeonpurpose, and LinkedIn.

Making Accessible Print Documents

Even when we are creating documents that will be printed and handed out, there still needs to be a digitally accessible equivalent to ensure accessibility for all.  In the course, you will learn why this is so important, and how to create accessible print documents.

Evaluating Science Lessons Using PICRAT and SAMR

Are you looking for unique lesson ideas that incorporate technology? In this session, we'll explore a science lesson and share tips for selecting a technology tool that is going to help you transform the lesson. We'll dive into the PICRAT and SAMR models for technology integration to help you assign a level to the tools you are considering. We'll also use these guidelines to evaluate technology integration. With this new knowledge, you will be able to evaluate your own lessons and ensure that you are creating valuable learning tasks and activities for your students.

Using Screencastify to Provide Special Ed Accommodations

Teachers now know a lot more about remote learning and have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't. However, you may still be struggling with figuring out how to make your assessments more reliable and accessible for your Special Education students. In this course, we'll cover how programs like Screencastify can help you provide Special Education accommodations — such as the “test-read” option — even when students are not learning in a face-to-face setting.

Manual Testing for Website Accessibility

Automated testing, although it is useful to check for website accessibility, actually only accounts for 30% of website accessibility issues.  In this session, learn how to check for the other 70% of issues that prevent an accessible website.  You will learn 4 easy manual tests to conduct yourself, 5 things to ensure your website has, and 6 things to avoid on your website.

Expanding ELL Vocabulary Through STEM

Are you struggling to find the right tools to bridge the gap between STEM and ELL vocabulary? We know that teaching ELLs outside of the English classroom can be challenging, but communicating through STEM subjects can make it that much easier! In this session, we'll discuss strategies to increase acquisition of academic English language through STEM and NGSS across all grade levels. We will also learn how STEM literacy and English Language Learner literacy can be used productively together.

SEL in a Socially Distant Classroom

Social distancing can pose an extraordinary challenge for classroom teachers. For educators who regularly relied on group work and activities that got students moving around the room, the prospect of teaching students six feet apart can be quite daunting. Additionally, this experience will be challenging for students as well. In this course, we’ll discuss how to continue social and emotional learning despite these challenges, and cover some tips and strategies to continue group work while keeping your students motivated, focused, and safe.

Creating Quality IEP Goals with Remote Learning in Mind

Making changes, such as creating new annual IEP goals, becomes a little more complicated and the process may look different in remote learning situations. Join us as we share some strategies, such as using data collected remotely, to help you maintain the same quality in your IEP writing and ensure that your students are working towards appropriate and attainable goals for the next school year!

Social-Emotional Learning for New Teachers

Social-emotional learning is just as important for teachers as it is for students. What can we do to ensure that our mental health and well-being is supported, right from the start of the school year? In this session, we’ll learn the importance of social-emotional learning for educators as well as strategies for handling the stress and unknown of the new school year. We will also dive into specific resources that can help to support both you and your students. Let’s work together to create a positive mindset!

Using Raz-Kids in Your K-5 Classroom

Looking for a way to monitor your students’ at-home reading and ensure that they are selecting appropriately leveled books? Encouraging and monitoring reading can be a struggle, especially when we aren’t able to meet with students face-to-face. In this course, we’ll explore Raz-Kids, a leveled library of books that can be shared with your K-5 students, and all its features that will help you excite your students to read, progress monitor and so much more during times of remote learning or over the summer vacation!

Co-Teaching Remotely with Microsoft

Whether you're within the walls of the classroom or connecting with students and other educators remotely, Microsoft provides the tools you need to support classroom management and keep students engaged with high-quality instructional materials and activities. Microsoft has a number of education tools from Office 365 to Teams that can support co-teaching during remote instruction situations. Join us as we walk through some of the Microsoft tools to help support collaborative teaching during distance education.

Co-Teaching Remotely with Google

Google has a number of education tools from Classroom to Drive to Hangouts Meet, and everything else in Google Workspace for Education, to support co-teaching during remote instruction situations. In this course we’ll provide an overview of how to get started with distance learning including how to teach online using the Google Workspace for Education applications, and how to collaborate with co-teachers and service providers to provide high-quality learning opportunities for your students while teaching remotely.