December 2016 Updates

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Students and teachers are filled with the excitement and gratitude of the holiday season, and busy days seem to make the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks fly by. Relevant and authentic reading, writing, and math opportunities are abundant during these couple of weeks. Please let me know if I can help you in your classroom or during your planning in the weeks ahead!

Resources for This Month

Technology Integration Check Up Form

I will be meeting with many of you over the next few weeks, but please don't hesitate to click on the link to my Book Me Calendar if you need to make an appointment. If you'd like to earn a tech credit for the innovative strategies and tools you are trying this month, please click HERE to complete the Self-Reflection Form for December!

Tech the Halls

One of my favorite things about this month is getting to see all of the wonderful displays of student work for our annual Tech the Halls competition! Please check out the Thinglink below for more information.

• Make your own editable copy of the Display Tag.
• Check out the 2016 Tech the Halls Rubric.
• Complete the FORM to let me know you are participating!

November Guided Math Follow-Up

For my follow up session at Powdersville Elementary, we decided to focus on how to utilize Dreambox Learning as a tool to differentiate independent work for students. I also used this time to share a few more Math Station Task Cards, which I've posted below.

At Concrete Primary, I hosted another Grab & Go session to share the task cards for Guided Math and Guided Reading Stations (posted below). These sessions have also allowed me to meet one-on-one with teachers to discuss their individual needs in the classroom.

Task Cards for Guided Math & Reading Stations

Please click on the links to create your own editable version of the task cards. These can be adapted to meet your needs, laminated, and reused for stations. 

CPS Fact Fluency (K-2)

CPS Make a Model (K-2)

CPS Number Collection (K-2)

CPS Tell Me About It (K-2)

PVES Create a Comic (3-5)

PVES Fact Fluency (3-5)

PVES Make a Model (3-5)

PVES Number Collection (3-5)

PVES Tell Me About It (3-5)

Book "Shelfie" Task Card

Book Review Task Card

Writing Center Task Card

Task Completed! (All Grades)

Vocabulary Task Card

SC EdTech 2016

Last week, Kristen Gunter and I had an opportunity to attend SC EdTech in Myrtle Beach, where we facilitated a BreakoutEDU session. It was a great chance to connect with other Instructional Technologists across South Carolina and to grab ideas for future PD sessions. One attendee created the Padlet below to share session resources:

Looking ahead to future sessions, we really liked Greta Flinn's Iron Chef Technology session. In between sessions and fun in the vendor hall, Gunter and I brainstormed ideas for Tech Speed Dating, Technado, and Tech Trivia sessions. As a teacher, I always loved feeling renewed and full of fresh ideas leaving a conference, and SC EdTech did not disappoint!

BreakoutEDU: A Classroom Challenge Inspired by Escape Rooms

For SC EdTech this year, Kristen Gunter and I put together a Breakout Game based on the Dr. Johnson's Lab shared on the BreakoutEDU site. The experience of participating in a Breakout game to begin the session made it much easier to discuss and plan for games to use in the classroom.

After arriving early to set up the room, Kristen and I began to get nervous as more and more people began to arrive. Though we've done this Breakout before with a group of around 30 adults, we were excited to see what would happen with a group as large as 75 people!

Packed house with 11 minutes to go @PreisigJessica #SCEdTech2016 pic.twitter.com/ZIpdtZYfpr

— Kristen Gunter (@guntk) November 3, 2016

@PreisigJessica & @guntk lead a packed session of @breakoutEDU fun! Thanks for sharing your tips & resources. #scedtech #SCEdTech2016 pic.twitter.com/LdevfANo2H

— Greta Flinn (@flinng) November 3, 2016

We started the session with a PowToon to introduce the story line and some quick tips on the importance of communication and teamwork. Since the group was so big, I created a Today's Meet backchannel for participants to share clues and ask questions to the group. This was a great solution for such a large group, and I'll likely suggest this for my teachers using Breakout in the classroom.

Thanks to all who came to #BreakoutEDU this morning! #zombies #SCEdTech2016 pic.twitter.com/0TN823yV58

— Jessica D. Preisig (@PreisigJessica) November 3, 2016

Though there were some who became frustrated during the session (which also happens with students in the classroom), our group was able to breakout in just under 20 minutes using one hint! This allowed us plenty of time to debrief the session, share ideas based on our own experience, and review the resources posted in our shared slides presentation. It made me so happy to see such a positive response from our session today!

I can't wait to incorporate @breakoutEDU in first, interactive teach of #4Cs @sprshines @Gwd50Schools @sprgwd50 @CindyH061 @PreisigJessica

— Mrs. West (@ClassWest) November 3, 2016

YES!!! First time ever I can't wait for a Monday to get here! @WKDigitalCoach @WhiteKnollHigh @breakoutEDU @KristyRykard @PreisigJessica

— Adina Wilson (@adinawilson) November 3, 2016

@PreisigJessica enjoyed the presentation and can't wait to #Breakout with my students and teachers

— Mykeida Middleton (@MykeidaM) November 3, 2016

Can't wait to start using @breakoutEDU! So many cool ideas shared at @scedtech Thanks to @PreisigJessica @guntk pic.twitter.com/U5nOAsy1sS

— Julie Sessions (@Julie_Sessions) November 3, 2016