Using NCwiseowl for instructional materials
Ebsco and 
Encyclopedia Britannica- Here is a short scavenger hunt of some resources we learned today


NCWISEOWL is automatically logged in from school. 

Can use elem
Science

Go to AZ list


Literary reference center

Gothic using twitter to explore characterization


Science reference center
    Quicksearch and look
    
Lesson plans
Science experiments even lexile level

support.ebsco.com
Help.ebsco.com



Novelist -Quicklinks- Extenders


Brittanca
http://school.eb.com/levels/middle

https://britannicalearn.com/state-access/welcome-north-carolina-educators/

Teacher tab
Copy and paste
Cite icon



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This PD post was inspired by an example created by two students compacting out of Mr. Kollar's 6th grade math unit.  They chose the topic "Content Curator" from this Curriculum Compactin Contract and created a math EOG review website to help them and their fellow 6th graders prepare for end of grade testing. They chose to make this site because they did not know of one like it and they wished for it themselves. 

Their product can be used as a model for any teacher who wants to use digital tools to more effectively serve their students. Here is the workflow of a student visitor using their site.

1. Visitors navigate to the homepage https://piedmontstudyhelp.weebly.com/
2. From there, visitor opens placement test by clicking those words in the menu navigation. Placement test instructions are designed to facilitate collection of  quality data by specifying that visitors should NOT guess, and by giving an “I’m not sure” answer option. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfgCPO7zL0VezmZm2AsQBsGV_BbDLraJRNdUs0Qd1H05rorFQ/viewform
3. The google form of the placement test autocorrects and upon submission visitors get feedback. If you get something right it praises them. If it is wrong, it sends visitor to a teaching page.
4. Visitor reads a spare yet complete and visually enhanced tutorials like this one https://piedmontstudyhelp.weebly.com/multiplyingdecimals.html
5. Visitor then checks to be sure they learned via the “Show What You Know” link with a two question check and a space to ask questions if they are embarrassed to ask in class.

(Take the test and submit your answers then view results to see for yourself.)

This sleek 5 step online, self-paced, self-correcting review system is a great way to  use Google Drive and Weebly, Google Sites, a Google Classroom, Canvas,  or whatever website you wish.

What is compacting?

Curriculum Compacting is one way to help your gifted high fliers. It can even help underperforming students who may be underperforming due to boredom.


Who should compact?

Students in your class who  have already mastered the material as determined by you via: 

• standardized test scores such as MAP and EOG
• teacher created pre test  (or give the test before the unit begins)
• verbal interview or demonstration
• portfolio work
• other.

Some students who do not know the material at the time of introduction are still good candidates for compacting if they are fast learners on their own.  Those students may wish to compact out of the practice and reinforcement lesssons their classmates do.

Additionally, students who have mastered some of your content can compact out of the parts they already know once they prove mastery. 

How do I determine mastery?

The easiest way to do this is to begin with the end in mind. List the skills you want all students to know at the end of your unit and how each can be assessed. Offer to test those whose test scores or performance (very high or oddly low) indicate they may be a match for compacting. 

Where can I find help?

Ms Gurthie in the makerspace can help with compacting independent studies! 

Students can come to my office to work on an assignment you chose , but the latest research says that gifted student should be allowed to work on the project they wish. To that end I wrote this  Compacting Contract.  Feel free to contact me if you would like to try this.
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Related Posts: 

piedmontpd.weebly.com/lesson-ideas/turn-your-checklists-into-playlists

Sign up in MyTalent to receive 1 CEU Literacy credit for participating in Ms. Barone's  Faculty meeting PDs this school year.

Here's how:

1. Go to MyTalent at  https://cms.truenorthlogic.com
2. Click the tab "Professional Learning" across the top.
3. Type 418792 into the search box at top left and then hit the search button
4. You will see the course as listed below.
   
5. Follow the instructions on your screen  "Click on the section to register."  You should receive a confirmation email. 

That's it! Happy learning! See Lisa Gurthie or email her if you have any trouble registering. 


418792 LIT 497 Professional Development Readings Discussion Groups
Piedmont teachers will meet monthly on Wednesdays to discuss PD topic research reading assignments. Students arrive with completed readings and written annotations, ready to discuss each professional development topic aligned with the multi-year ILT strategies of close reading, writing, text-based Academic Conversations, and text- dependent questions (TDQ). Resources and materials will be ILT aligned professional development readings, group members, and note-taking and annotation supplies including Google Drive and other web tools. Credit will be issued upon completion and submission of assignments, group meeting notes which include written growth reflections and knowledge gleaned from the wrap up presentations. 
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Are you interested in professional learning this summer? So far I've taken courses about ESL, tech, and social studies. Want to take part? are some summer PD options, some of which are slated for stipends. Peruse these catalog links for the course codes then register in MyTalent 
​CMS TECH
​

• July/August Catalog 

CMS PL Department Offerings

• PD - At Home (Canvas Courses to do online whenever/wherever you want this summer)

Virtual PD Catalog Best practices for the modern school-learn to use your 1:1 Chromebooks more efficiently and even how to freshen your teaching strategies without tech 

• PL Showcase: By Educators for Educators is now live in MyTalent!

Tuesday, August 15th, 2017 8:30-3:30, UNCC Uptown (Lunch on your own)
UNC Charlotte Center City, 320 E. 9th Street, Charlotte, NC 28202
Free parking at First Ward ES
Sign Up in MyTalent with the Code: 433913
Keynote Speaker: Dean Shareski author of Embracing a Culture of Joy: How Educators Can Bring Joy to Their Classrooms Each Day 
Interested in learning more about strategies that practicing PL educators have been incorporating into their classroom? Then come join us for our PL Showcase by educators for educators. The goal of the showcase is for PL educators to share resources and current examples of Personalized Learning practices and strategies from their classrooms to help others gain ideas. You will have the opportunity to interact with ideas, people, and possibilities with Personalized Learning expertise in a safe environment to network, learn, and share. We look forward to learning with you!

• Read.Write.Inspire! Course are now open in MyTalent and are filling up already! Register Today!

 

•  PL Micro-credentials and Badges Check out this flyer for more information

Here is the updated Title IX Harassment and Bullying Lesson Training for Teachers  (replaces that other Canvas course which was removed)

On May 31st here at Piedmont, all students must receive this anti-bullying and harrassment lesson unless parent/guardian returns the opt-out form. Ms Gurthie will teach the make up lesson during sessions on June 1st (We will call down students who were absent).

TRAINING Link (prior to May 31)

All licensed staff are required to access and complete this Canvas training, which should take no more than 10 - 15 minutes.  You will need to sign into NCEdcloud to access

Course Name: Title IX Harassment and Bullying Lesson Training for Teachers
 https://cms.instructure.com/courses/138929
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Outside the door I could hear Ms Beckham explaining the activity. Students were to make connections between terms they'd been learning. She explained clearly not skipping a beat as she sensed my presence and opened her door without turning her back to the class.

Students immediately got to work on their group's poster, a quiet hum of discussion as they made decisions together on which words could link and how.

It was academic conversation at its best. Students in control of their argument and reasoning and practiced in the process of respectful disagreement.

I returned at the end of class to take a photo of the choices and the first thing Ms Beckham said was "Its not mine" she may have said that out of consideration to not take credit for someone else's lesson design, but she couldn't be more wrong - it was hers, regardless of where it originated and it reminded me to write this post for others:

It isn't more nobel to wrIte the lesson - the Internet is full of great ideas It's all about the student and you - why reinvent the wheel if there's something ready-made out there that will work?

The secret is doing what Ms Beckham did: choosing carefully a high interest lesson that will work for your curriculum and students, and owning it well enough to explain to the class what you want to see at the end!

No guilt! Make it yours!
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It's natural to want to learn from those who teach the same grade and content as ourselves. However, there's no denying that the older kids get, the less they like school so it's worth our time to take a look at what's working in elementary. (It's a cop out to say that disengagement is a natural part of growing older- and research on non- traditonal strategies and homeschooling anecdotes prove it a lie.)

I have recently seen a lot that can apply to middle school from elementary school personalized learning classroom tours. Below are photos of things you may want to try. Scroll through and if you see something that could work for you, I can help you adapt it to your students. If a photo doesn't appeal to you,  keep scrolling. The goal is to find one or two things that inspire you.

You don't have to officially declare yourself a "Personalized Learning" classroom to adopt some of these. In fact, you may find that your classroom is somewhat personalized already and it's not even about the tech you use. Mr. Monismith as a health teacher always begin class by giving students the final exam. From there he could decide what to teach and what had already been mastered. You could do the same with the terms concepts or curriculum goals of your class.
​
Thanks to the schools for letting us tour and for the teachers featured.

Below are two slideshows of strategies in use in Pineville and Smithfield Elementary classrooms. Each photo was taken because I thought it could be adapted to work in an upper level teacher.  What do you think?

From CMS:
"All licensed staff are required to access and complete the Canvas module, which should take no more than 10 - 15 minutes"
NoteL

• All CMS students must receive these OCR lessons.
• Lessons should take about 40 minutes. Do not skip or add anything to the lessons.
• Lessons may be delivered at any time between March 21 and April 28.  Absent students must be noted because they must get the lesson at a later date before April 28.
• Let a counselor know if a student is exhibiting distress.

Preparing to Teach the Lesson: Complete the Canvas Course:
​ (Slideshow below shows how it will look)

1. Be sure which grade level you are going to be teaching the student lessons to
2. Click this link to go to the Canvas Course: OCR Sexual Harassment Prevention Lessons Training Link to register in Canvas: https://cms.instructure.com/enroll/BFJ93K
3. Register in Canvas: Click  the enroll in course  button
4. Click the "Go to course" button
5. Read the intro message on the home tab that opens immediately
6. Click the modules tab at left of the inner Canvas screen (see photo below)
7. Work in order by clicking each module title, starting with the introduction.pdf  (YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DOWNLOAD! Just click the words "Introduction.pdf" and give it time to load and it will show in a box inside your screen.)
8. Once you are done reading or working inside the screen you will see a box at the bottom right that says “next” if you click that it moves you automatically to the next step and it will load in the box (again, no need to download) (see photo below)
9. Be careful before you go to “next” that you have done all slides/pages (see photo) of that activity. You can do this by clicking through page by numbered page or by scrolling down on the right hand slider. You can also choose to go fullscreen and press the escape button (ESC)  on your keyboard when done.
10. When you get to “Grade K” , click back on the word “modules” and skip to the grade you will be teaching to ….
11. ...view and download the 3 resources for that grade level. These will be what you use to teach ( For example Grade 7 should download the 3 files called: Grade 7 lesson.pdf, Grade7powerpoint.pdf, and Grade7pre-post.pdf )

Teaching the Lesson:
Instructions: 

1. Ready the 3 lesson resources you downloaded from your Canvas training (above)
2. Print or re-read the Facilitator’s guide that was in your Canvas training https://cms.instructure.com/courses/138929/files/7233308/download?download_frd=1
3. Take attendance. Send list s of all absent students to Ms. Gurthie.
4. Teach the lesson using those three resources and gude.

See Gurthie for questions you have before the day of the lesson, and she will work with counselors to make sure you have the answers.

CMS has assigned all teachers and admin to complete a 21st Century skills assessment by April 28th. 

We last took a 21st-century skills assessment through Atomic Learning in 2014.If you are new to Piedmont, this will be your first time. If you have taken it before the assessment is a different one than it was before.

The test is required by CMS. Your score is meant for you to see which areas you are stronger stand and where you might wish to improve.

 

Here is step-by-step  guide to logging in. (See photos below)

Use Chrome browser  plus  the password I sent in your email and contact me if you have issues.

1. ​Log in to atomiclearning.com using the password you were emailed
2. Click the blue "My Training" tab
3. Under "assessments" Click on the hyperlinked words "CMS Teachers and Administrators 21st Century Skills Assessment 2016-2017" 
4. Launch test  (If you get a pop up blocker message instead of a "Launch" button,  follow steps on the photos below to remove it)
5. Note your areas of strength and weakness according to your score. You do not need to download or print anything unless you wish to for yourself.

​Our wonderful IT specialist Heather Ramsey also created this 2 minute video showing  how to log in. 

The test will take you approximately half an hour, more or less depending on how fast you read and how much pondering you do.

Related Posts:

• http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/piedmont-pd/take-charge-of-your-professional-development
• 2014's Atomic Learning Skills Assessment  ​http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/piedmont-pd/atomic-learning-21st-c-skills-assessment