I grew up in the suburbs outside of Washington D.C., and I can remember hoping and wishing that my teachers had something fun planned for class each day. That being said, I knew that that “something fun” was highly dependent on how my classmates and I performed in class. If we were focused and finished […]
Educational Apps
Posted inAsk the Educator's Room
Massive PowerSchool Data Breach Exposes Historical Student and Teacher Records Across U.S. Schools
School districts across the United States are grappling with the fallout of a cyberattack on edtech giant PowerSchool, which resulted in the unauthorized access of personal data from millions of current and former students and teachers. The breach, first detected on December 28, 2024, compromised PowerSchool’s customer support portal and provided attackers access to the […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Active Learning: Nothing Can Stop The Flow!
We’ve all been there. That moment when you’re completely absorbed in the experience. You’re in active learning- the zone. You’re somehow calm, focused, and intense all at the same time. You’re like Scrooge at the end of A Christmas Carol, “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I […]
Posted inEducational Apps
Free Resources: Rhetorical Devices
This graphic organizer helps students understand how quotes can personify rhetorical devices. As part of my opening lesson on rhetorical devices, this graphic organizer develops each point by having students pull textual evidence, identify the quote, paraphrase/summarize it, and identify the rhetorical device and its significance in the larger meaning of the work. This graphic […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
How to Use TikTok in the Science Classroom
“Ooh, Ms. Lane, I saw this TikTok Video that…” One of my students excitedly said to me after class one day. My first thought was to listen but not take the topic seriously. I mean, after all, it was TikTok – a social media platform very effective at making students social, but not in an […]
Posted inEducational Apps
The Digital Classroom: This Year Wasn’t A Waste
Dianna Souder, Ed.D has been an educator for 11 years, having taught middle school for 8 years and elementary for 3. During her career, she has worked for several Title I schools, focusing on helping struggling learners obtain success in any way possible. She believes in hands-on learning and finding ways to make education […]
Posted inCOVID-19
A Teacher’s Love-Hate-Love Relationship with Zoom
“Bing Bong.” Thirty years from now when I hear the sound of someone entering a Zoom room, I’ll have vivid memories of just how much I loved, hated, and loved about online learning through this platform. LOVE – Seeing my students Just about every day, I’m checking in with my students and seeing their faces. […]
Posted inInstructional Strategies
Teaching from Home Part 2: Using Google Classroom to Stay Semi Connected
Less control brings a demand for the extra effort. In Chapter 1 of Teaching from Home imaginary book, I start by saying: Being away from the students has made the job more difficult. Teaching from home pushes challenges that normally exist in the spotlight. How do I reach the hardest to reach students? How do […]