Rodel Teacher Newsletter: Kicking Off the School Year
Kick off the school year with some great events, resources, and tips from the latest edition of the Rodel Teacher Newsletter:
Create a Student-Powered Project with THINK IT UP. In partnership with DonorsChoose.org, THINK IT UP invites public school students in grades seven through 12 to develop student-powered, teacher-led crowdfunded learning projects to address real-world problems, generate new ideas, and prepare for 21st century challenges.
P-K-1st Stronger Together Conference: Request for Workshop Proposals (due by Sept. 23). The 2015 P-K-1st Stronger Together Conference will take place Dec. 5, in Dover, DE. This conference offers preschool, kindergarten, and first grade teachers, support staff, and administrators an opportunity to gather as a professional team, learn from each other, and celebrate collective work. This conference will give participants the opportunity to gather additional ideas, strategies, and tools to utilize in helping students ages three to eight grow and learn. The conference will have separate tracks for teachers, administrators, and support staff, and is seeking workshops with deep content and a practice-rich focus.
An Evening With M. Night Shyamalan (Sept. 25). The public is invited to join Senator Bryan Townsend, Delaware’s 2015 Teacher of the Year Megan Dalfovo-Szabo, and DelaCORE leaders for a lively discussion and book signing with filmmaker and education advocate M. Night Shyamalan–author of I Got Schooled. The event will be at Theater N (1007 N. Orange Street) at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25. RSVP to reserve your seat.
Colonial Tech Conference 2015 (Oct. 17, New Castle, DE). “K-12 Connected Learning” will feature Richard Byrne, the author of Free Technology for Teachers, iPad Apps for School, Android 4 Schools and Practical Ed Tech. Register.
ECET2 Tri-State Teacher Convening (Oct. 16-17, Philadelphia, PA). “Connect, Collaborate and Continue: Building and Empowering Regional Networks” is a FREE teacher-led convening of Tri-State Teacher Networks. Local and regional educators will be drawn together to connect existing teacher networks, collaborate on innovative instructional practices, and continue to build on existing networks to further enhance teacher voice and leadership. Register.
Wilmington Education Improvement Commission Meetings (Sept. 15, Oct. 20, and Nov. 17). The Wilmington Education Improvement Commission (WEIC) has named the initial members of its five committees. These committees include members of the commission, community advocates, educators and other stakeholders, and experts. As the work of the commission proceeds, members may be added. All commission and committee meetings are open to the public, and educators are encouraged to contribute their thoughts, suggestions, perspectives, and to get involved. For more information on upcoming Oct. 20 and Nov. 17 commission meetings, committee meetings, and other opportunities to get involved, please visit www.solutionsfordelawareschools.com.
Smarter Balanced Digital Library Spotlight Webinar and Forum Series: Supporting Students with Disabilities and Illustrative Mathematics (Sept. 2015 through Jan. 2016). The Smarter Balanced Digital Library Spotlight Webinars highlight Digital Library resources related to timely and relevant topics and are facilitated by national experts and innovative practitioners. Spotlight Forums connect educators across Smarter Balanced member states to discuss the resources and topics covered in the Webinar. Please share this information with other educators, instructional coaches, and other responsible for professional development.
Blended Learning 101 for Your Classroom. Check-out these FREE Blended Learning modules available through RELAY GSE:
- BL-101: Beginning to Blend – Learn about the why and how of “blended,” how blended learning is changing the face of teaching & learning, and leave with “recipes” that you can implement along the blended spectrum in your classroom immediately.
- BL-102: Rolling Out Blended – Learn about the building blocks of blended: setting up your space, rolling out routines, and building a blended culture, and why they are so vital to a successful blended roll-out plan and your blended implementation as a whole.
- BL-103: Teaching Each Student – Learn about how to leverage technology to address your instructional challenges by looking at and using data with an informed eye and then transferring that knowledge to your planning in a meaningful manner.
