Common Sense Privacy Evaluations

WEBSITE ↬ Common Sense Privacy Evaluations

AUDIENCE ↬ parents, teachers & admins

CONTENT ↬ technology

GRADE LEVELS ↬ all grades

I have become more and more aware the last several years of the risks we are taking with all of the programs we have our students and our own children using. Unfortunately, not all companies have our kids best interests at heart and I want to make you aware of a resource I have often used before allowing my own daughters use an app or program and I have used to check out programs for use with my students at school. Please do not just say "yes" to everything. Our kids want the latest and the flashy and what everyone else has ... but that opens doors to risks that you may not want for them.

The evaluations are simple and clear. Super easy to understand and then if you decide it's ok, you will be better informed as to why you've chosen to allow it.

HOW CAN PARENTS and TEACHERS USE THIS RESOURCE?

I can see parents using this resource when their kids ask about a new app for their device. We don't know what we don't know ... and sometimes the "fun" apps open our kids up to security risks. 

And I see teachers using this resource when they want to try a new website or app with their students. We take the place of parents at school in making these decisions, so we need to be just as cautious when making these choices.

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Civic Online Reasoning

WEBSITE ↬ Civic Online Reasoning

AUDIENCE ↬ teachers

CONTENT ↬ all things digital citizenship & evaluating sources; ELA, Science, History, etc

GRADE LEVELS ↬ middle & high school

This site is amazing! There is a mind boggling amount of information available at our students fingertips ... how do we help them decide what is credible or not ... valuable or not ... real or fake? I know I struggle at times. I also know that we can't afford to NOT help our students learn how to properly fact check and verify. As they state on their homepage, "The COR curriculum provides free lessons and assessments that help you teach students to evaluate online information that affects them, their communities, and the world."

HOW CAN TEACHERS USE THIS RESOURCE?

I can see teachers using this in ALL classrooms. Especially ones that focus on research and evaluation of sources. The lessons are freely available - once you create your account - and they are high quality. Organized in collections, it helps you provide a consistent approach.

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Ditch That Textbook: Templates!

WEBSITE ↬ DTT: Templates

AUDIENCE ↬ teachers

CONTENT ↬ all

GRADE LEVELS ↬ all grades

Matt Miller, of Ditch That Textbook, has a wonderful website packed with templates that are free and available to teachers everywhere. I love how he has them organized into groups to make it easier to find what you are looking for. The categories are:

• Social Media Templates
• Game Templates
• Interactive Activities
• Graphic Organizers
• Lesson Plan Templates
• Communication Templates
• Feedback Templates
• Exit Ticket Templates
• Back to School Templates
• End of Year Templates

HOW CAN TEACHERS USE THIS RESOURCE?

I can see teachers using DTT's Template Gallery to hep themselves in quite a few ways. Feedback & Exit Tickets are helpful in many classrooms. Having students provide each other feedback is helpful to learn and improve. The Back to School & End of Year Templates are a great way to help start and reflect on the school year. If you only check out one of the categories, be sure to hit up the game templates ... so many different games that you - AND your students - can customize and create using.

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5 Clue Challenge

WEBSITE ↬ 5 Clue Challenge

AUDIENCE ↬ students

CONTENT ↬ research

GRADE LEVELS ↬ middle school & high school

I remember hearing about the 5 Clue Challenge years ago, but I somehow lost track of it only to be stumble upon it again recently. It is just as fun as I remember! Michael Soskil created this idea to encourage students to practice research skills and have a little fun along the way. The way it works is you watch the video and use the clues in the video to help you research. The quicker you can guess the location the more point you earn.  

HOW CAN TEACHERS USE THIS RESOURCE?

I can see teachers using this as a warm up for class or even when you find that you have a few extra minutes. For more of a challenge, you can team students up to work together or make it into an individual challenge. After your students are comfortable, you might even encourage them to create their own 5 clue challenge to share with the class.

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Finding Flow Solutions (Truth for Teachers)

WEBSITE ↬ Finding Flow Solutions

AUDIENCE ↬ teachers

CONTENT ↬ all

GRADE LEVELS ↬ middle school (Grades 6, 7, 8) & high school (9-12)

This resource is amazing! Created by Angela Watson - of Truth for Teachers - to help teachers help their students. We all know students have to be willing participants in their learning or it won't happen. As a classroom teacher, I am frustrated with the lack of engagement and the behaviors that cause disruptions and take my attention away from those who want to learn. I am hoping to utilize Unit 1 soon in my classroom.

As of December, 2024 - there are 6 units ready for middle school (grades 6-8) and 6 units for high school (grades 9-12). Elementary units are noted to be coming soon. It's also important to note - the first unit is available completely FREE! 

HOW CAN TEACHERS USE THIS RESOURCE?

I can see teachers using this in their classrooms for sure! I'd recommend being strategic with the lessons. I'm sure you can repeat them, but I'd think a building-wide approach would benefit all students. With 6 units, it'd be ideal to assign them to grade levels so there is a wholistic approach. 

Licenses can be purchased for more than one teacher, too. 

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Questions to encourage students to use intuition

WEBSITE ↬ Questions to encourage students to use intuition

AUDIENCE ↬ teachers

CONTENT ↬ all

GRADE LEVELS ↬ all grades

I came across this PDF on Twitter and held onto it. It isn't glamorous. It isn't pretty or fancy. But I believe it is powerful and can help all teachers. Two pages of questions teachers can ask their students for many different purposes but all stretch their thinking. This gathering of was published by Tracy Zager in her book, Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You'd Had: Ideas and Strategies from Vibrant Classrooms.  

HOW CAN TEACHERS USE THIS RESOURCE?

I can see teachers using this to push their students' thinking. To challenge them. The PDF can be kept on hand and used at various times. No preparation is needed. Teachers might also embed specific questions in lessons to purposefully encourage students to use their intuition.

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Digital Inquiry Group: Reading Like a Historian

WEBSITE ↬ Digital Inquiry Group: Reading Like a Historian

AUDIENCE ↬ teachers

CONTENT ↬ History, ELA

GRADE LEVELS ↬ all grades

I cannot tell you how I connected with this website, but am I glad I did! Wow!!! I had a conversation with a SS teacher in my school about teaching her students to read historical material and help them make sense of it and the very next day, I received an email highlighting this activity. (Ironic?) This site works on that very skill! I really wish I had this when I was teaching history! Amazing! The two big sections are US History and World History, and then you can dig in by era. 

HOW CAN TEACHERS USE THIS RESOURCE?

I can see teachers using this to teach students how to better read historical material. It will also allow teachers to introduce students to historical material and provide a better understanding of events of the past. This is a bookmark for sure!!! 

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