9-11 Day has become Patriot Day here in America, but it doesn’t change its purpose: to show how much we love our country.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvsN0Id4LEg?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwcWVs4Eejg?si=nfBd6Unur6CmgiUH&start=35]

If you aren’t familiar with this terrorist attack, here’s a 2-minute overview:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uOn7xLYPbc?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent]

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Here are the most-read posts last month:

1. Subscriber Special: Discount on Teacher Survival Kits
2. How Technology Reshaped the Way Students Prepare for Language Exams
3. 10 Everyday Fun Moments That Teach Math Concepts Naturally
4. 10 Everyday Fun Moments That Teach Math Concepts Naturally
5. Navajo Code Talkers and US Security in WWII
6. How to Use Excel to Teach Math Arrays
7. What is Constructivism and How Does it Fit Your Class?
8. 5 Ways to Involve Parents in Your Class
9. Tech Ed Resources for your Class–Digital Citizenship
10. How Behaviorism Can Turn Your Classroom Around

Here’s a preview of what’s coming up: (more…)

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is an American holiday (though celebrated world-wide by different names) dedicated to the achievements of workers. Take today to think about it. Me, I’ll take it literally! I enjoy labor, the good feeling of finishing, meeting goals, working hard.

• “Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year… Labor Day is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation.” — Samuel Gompers

• “A truly American sentiment recognizes the dignity of labor and the fact that honor lies in honest toil.” — Grover Cleveland
• “No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
• “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” — Theodore Roosevelt

If you’re devoting Labor Day to writing (rather than teacher prep) but need a kick start, here are suggestions for favorite labor-saving tools for writers:

1. 1. Reedsy’s Best 23 Writing Tools of 2024
   2. 25 Top Tools for Writers to Crush it in 2024
   3. The 30 Best Tools for Writers
   4. Plot Generator

A few Labor Day websites to enjoy for teaching (click here for updates): (more…)

I get a lot of questions from readers about what tech ed resources I use in my classroom so I’m going to take time this summer to review them with you. Some are edited and/or written by members of the Ask a Tech Teacher crew. Others, by tech teachers who work with the same publisher I do. All of them, I’ve found, are well-suited to the task of scaling and differentiating tech skills for age groups, scaffolding learning year-to-year, offering inclusive solutions to the issue of tech tools–taking into account the perspectives of stakeholders, with appropriate metrics to ensure learning is organic and granular.

Today: K-12 Survival Kits

Overview

Collections of resources for specific teacher needs to address technology. Options include:

• K-5 All-in-one Tech Integration Kit
• K-5 New Teacher Survival Kit
• MS All-in-one Tech Integration Kit
• MS New Teacher Survival Kit
• Homeschool Tech Survival Kit

K-5 All-in-one Tech Integration Kit

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We write about back to school often on Ask a Tech Teacher. Here are some articles I think you’ll like:

1. 3 Apps to Help Brainstorm Next Year’s Lessons
2. 5 FREE Web Tools for a New School Year
3. 5 Tech Ed Tools to Use this Fall
4. 5 Top Ways to Integrate Technology into the New School Year
5. 5 Ways Teachers Can Stay on Top of Technology
6. 5 Ways to Involve Parents in Your Class
7. 6 Tech Best Practices for New Teachers
8. 8 Tech Tools to Get to Know Your Students for Back to School
9. 11 Back-to-school Activities for the First Month of School
10. Back to School–Tech Makes it Easy to Stay On Top of Everything
11. Back to School Survival Kits
12. Dear Otto: I need year-long assessments
13. Great Activities for the First Week of School
14. Great Back to School Classroom Activities
15. How to Build Your PLN
16. New School Year? New Tech? I Got You Covered
17. Plan a Memorable Back to School Night
18. Ready To Go Back To School? 7 Fun Lesson Ideas To Start The New Year

–image credit Deposit Photos (https://depositphotos.com/)

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I get a lot of questions from readers about what tech ed resources I use in my classroom so I’m going to take a few days this summer to review them with you. Some are edited and/or written by members of the Ask a Tech Teacher crew. Others, by tech teachers who work with the same publisher I do. All of them, I’ve found well-suited to the task of scaling and differentiating tech skills for age groups, scaffolding learning year-to-year, taking into account the perspectives and norms of all stakeholders, with appropriate metrics to know learning is organic and granular.

Today: K-8 Digital Citizenship Curriculum

Overview

K-8 Digital Citizenship Curriculum––9 grade levels. 17 topics. 46 lessons. 46 projects.

A year-long digital citizenship curriculum that covers everything you need to discuss on internet safety and efficiency, delivered in the time you have in the classroom.

Digital Citizenship–probably one of the most important topics students will learn between kindergarten and 8th and too often, teachers are thrown into it without a roadmap. This book is your guide to what children must know at what age to thrive in the community called the internet. It blends all pieces into a cohesive, effective student-directed cyber-learning experience that accomplishes ISTE’s general goals to:

• Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology
• Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity
• Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning
• Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship

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Grade Level: 5th (or whichever grade you teach arrays)

Background: None. This is an intro to MS Excel or spreadsheets

Time: About 30 minutes

Steps

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Here are the most-read posts last month:

1. How Technology Is Transforming Language Learning for Students and Adults
2. Subscriber Special: Free Hour of Code Bundle
3. Tech Ed Resources–K-8 Keyboard Curriculum
4. ISTE–Here’s how this hugely popular education conference went
5. How to Choose (and Test) Tutoring Software Before You Buy
6. Best Scratch Coding Classes for Kids: A Teacher’s Guide to the Top Programs
7. USA Moon Landing July 20 1969
8. Need a New Job? Update Your Resume
9. How to Start Your Teaching Career: A Clear Guide to Becoming a Teacher
10. How to Teach Middle School Students to Spot Deepfakes

Here’s a preview of what’s coming up: (more…)

I get a lot of questions from readers about what tech ed resources I use in my classroom so I’m taking a few days this summer to review them with you. Some are from members of the Ask a Tech Teacher crew. Others, from tech teachers who work with the same publisher I do. All of them, I’ve found well-suited to the task of scaling and differentiating tech skills for age groups, scaffolding learning year-to-year, taking into account the perspectives and norms of all stakeholders with appropriate metrics to know learning is organic and granular.

Today: Lesson Plans

There are lots of bundles of lesson plans available–by theme, by software, by topic, by standard. Here are a few with links to more detail:

• STEM Lesson Plans
• Coding Lesson Plans
• By Grade Level
• 110 lesson plans–integrate tech into different grades, subjects, by difficulty level, and call out higher-order thinking skills.
• singles–for as low as $.99 each. Genius Hour, Google Apps, Robotics, STEM, Coding, and more.
• Holiday projects–16 lesson plans themed to holidays and keep students in the spirit while learning new tools.

Who needs this

These are for the teacher who knows what they want to teach, but need ideas on how to integrate tech. They are well-suited to classroom teachers as well as tech specialists.

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Here are the most-read posts last month:

1. June is Internet Safety Month
2. A Teacher’s Guide to Managing Creative Projects Without Burnout
3. World Environment Day: Living Responsibly with Nature
4. Best Online Korean Teacher Platforms for Speaking, Grammar, and TOPIK Practice
5. Tech Tips to End the School Year
6. What’s Trending on Ask a Tech Teacher
7. How To Know If Your Laptop Camera Is Spying On You?
8. 5 Essential Resources for IELTS Preparation
9. Books You’ll Want to Read This Summer
10. Tech Ed Resources–K-12 Tech Curriculum

Here’s a preview of what’s coming up: (more…)