Adams County Teaching and Learning Conference

Just a reminder that the ACTLC will be held June 6, 7, and 8 and there is still time to sign up.
EdCamp to be held in Littlestown
Posted: Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Local teachers are gearing up for a learning conference this summer and a new feature called EdCamp Adams County.
The Adams County Teaching and Learning Conference (ACTLC) was started when two districts came together in an effort to connect more local educators, learn from each other, and create a space where powerful conversations could take place.
Approximately 100 teachers attended the first conference in 2016, and more than 30 sessions were offered.
In its second year, the conference continues to grow and attract more educators who are passionate about learning. Sessions this year range from Google Classroom, Breakout Edu, Coding in the Classroom, Digital Portfolios, Fantasy Geopolitics, Makerspace, and more.
This year's conference will be held June 6, 7 and 8, at Maple Avenue Middle School in Littlestown. On the third day, June 8, ACTLC is teaming up with EdCamp Adams County, to give teachers more great options to grow professionally.
EdCamp is sometimes referred to as an "unconference" where teachers can lead sessions on things that are important to them and everyone can share their knowledge. The best part? It's free.
When educators come into an EdCamp, they are greeted with sticky notes where they write down any topic they'd like to learn about. Once done, these notes are posted in one central location and sorted to create sessions. The sessions are posted on the EdCamp website and organizers help guide you to where you need to be. Each session has a group of educators who are all passionate about the same topic. Everyone talks and shares ideas, resources, failures, success stories, etc. It's a neat way to bounce ideas off others and you do not need to be an expert, according to organizers.
EdCamp participants come away with many new ideas, apps and websites on how to integrate anything into their classroom, campus or district.
For more information, visit the website https://goo.gl/AZsBpo , follow them on twitter @edcampadams, or email with any questions at edcampadams@gmail.com
Registration is completely free.

Apps to Help you in Your Teaching

Classroom Management Apps
​ShowMe
TeacherKit
Air Sketch
MasteryConnect Student
Doceri
Skype for iPad
Gradebook Pro
Jump Desktop
Google Classroom
Puppet Pals HD
Sock Puppets
Educreations

Curricula Support Apps
​Popplet
e-Science Magazine
TED
Science 360
Geoboard
Strip Designer
Diptic
Drawing Pad
Google Earth
National Geographic Kids
Photogene
Pictello
Tellagami

Instructional Tools
​Pages
Penultimate
Dragon Dictation
Book Creator
TinyTap
iBrainstorm
Sticky Notes HD
Keynote
Notability
Noteshelf
Newsela
Phraseology

Personal Organization Apps
​Flipboard
Instapaper
Evernote
Things
Dropbox
GoDocs for Google Drive
iAnnotate PDF
Pocket
Google Calendar
Attendance
Workflow
Google Keep

Discovery Education 

Sadly the district usage of Discovery Education continues to decline.  I assume this decline in usage is due to the unending number of resources that are available to teachers and students via the web.  In weighing the cost of the subscription and the very little usage of the product the district will not be renewing the Discovery Education streaming for the 17-18 school year.  I enjoyed the benefits of Discovery Education and I know there were a handful of users who also enjoyed this resource, but I feel positive that there are free resources out there that will replace this tool for us.  So in preparation of this change in my blog I will begin to  focus on resources that can be utilized as supplemental materials for K-12 teachers.  If you are a Discovery Education user and you know there are specific video resources that you will be looking for please let me know and I will keep my eyes out for replacement material as I go through my blog and meet with my network of tech coaches.

Exploring Digital Content and Resources

As we move forward with the district R2R plan we will want to keep our eyes open for great digital content that can supplement or even replace the use of hard copy textbooks.  Below are some resources I have come across that look well organized and interesting.

 Mosa Mack Science- provides a scope and sequence for grades 4-8.  It can be used as the core content or as supplemental materials.  There is a cost associated with the Pro version of the product but you are welcome to register and receive a free lesson to check out.  Click here to go to Mosa Mack.

Science Buddies- This site appears to be free and  has many resources and project ideas for STEM activities.  It has resources for teachers, parents and students and it integrates with Google Classroom.  

Mystery Science - This site currently has 7,400 free registrations available.   Click here for an overview of the site.  It is for elementary teachers.    This site looks like it has some really engaging content. Click her to go to the site where you will better see the  lessons which are shown in the image below.

Get the Math appears to be free.  This site is about algebra in the real world.  It provide video resources that connect math to a variety of activities and careers.  It is for middle and high school students to help them develop their algebraic thinking skills for solving real world problems.  Click here to check out Get The Math.

Free Math Textbooks for Teachers

Many free resources can be found on Open Culture. Free textbooks (aka open textbooks) written by knowledgable scholars are a relatively new phenomenon. Below, find a meta list of Free Math Textbooks, part of our larger collection 200 Free Textbooks: A Meta Collection. Also see our online collection, 1200 Free Online Courses from Top Universities.  Click here to see a list of math textbooks.

Math Planet provides the study of math for free.  I have provided a screen shot of the content that it includes.  Click here to go to Math Planet.

Historic Newspapers - This looks interesting.  What a great way to introduce primary resources into your classroom.  Reading the actual news articles on historic events.  The Library of Congress provides a way to search for historic topics within newspapers.  I think that would be much more interesting than reading a text book.  Click here to check it out. 

Teaching History - This site provides resources for elementary, middle and high school teachers.  It looks like it's free and seems to be easy to maneuver through.  there are a variety of resources to use.  Looks like it would be a really nice supplemental materials resource.  Click here to check it out.

Physics.org is a free site.  Once you register you have the ability to check out a number of tabs that take you to a variety of resources.  One of the tabs I thought was useful was the Explore tab.  A teacher could just put in a keyword and search for resources on whatever topic you choose.

Music Notation Practice - This was fun.  You get 8 random notes and you have to name them. There appears to be free access and also pro access can be purchased. Click here to check out this resource.

Smart Music looks interesting.  I see that teachers can sign up for free, but there is a cost to use it with classes of students.  This tool gives teachers access to a library of music that can be assigned to students.Click here to check it out.

Chromatik provides access to a library of sheet  music.  Users can practice, create and share music. It offers a full catalog of free sheet music. Click here to go to Chromatik.   Sign up is free.