GCE Level 2 Blog -Andrea Bander

What I Learned: I found the 20% time to be interesting as we spent sometime this morning as a team discussing project based learning and how we are going to incorporate it into our curriculum. There were a lot of key ideas that I took away to help with planning, preparation, and presenting. I also really like MindMup and added that to my list of tools to share with teachers! What I Want to Incorporate: We've made the decision to move from binder portfolios to digital portfolios this school year. We have decided to utilize Google Sites as the platform for our student portfolios. I also plan to utilize Blogger for both coaching and for PLC's throughout the school year to share information and resources. 

What I Learned: I was really into Unit 8 and all the new information I learned about Google Maps, Google Earth, My Maps, Google Lit Trips and Expeditions. I want to explore these tools more and think about how we as teams can use them in the beginning of our ELA modules to build background knowledge, and then use them throughout the Modules to extend learning.  What I Want to Implement:  I immediately went to Google Lit Trips, signed up, and requested access to the Esperanza Rising lit trip which is our 5th grades first major text. I am excited to explore this resource and share it with other coaches and our 5th grade teachers. I think that this will be an amazing extension to our virtual learning this fall. 

What I Learned: I learned about ways to make YouTube videos interactive. I had no idea about Cards and like the idea of having students use the comments section. I want to explore more with YouTube and create my own videos to share with teachers to show them the possibilities of extending this resource beyond passive viewing. What I Want to Implement: There are two pieces of this unit that I want to try and implement this school year. 1. Using Blogger in our school as a place to share information from Instructional Coaches with teachers. I also would like to create Blogger sites for teachers from the same grade level in the district to share and support each other. 2. The second piece I want to try and bring is the digital portfolios to 5th grade. Our students complete portfolios but I'd like to try and do digital portfolios in ELA to document student work as they move through our modules.

What I Learned: In this unit I learned a lot about different functions and filters that I want to dive deeper into when working with data in Sheets. In my position I work with data often and am familiar with conditional formatting but have not used filters, filter views, pivot or radar charts and want to explore these features with data in the fall.  What to Implement: I want to work with teachers next school year on incorporating Forms into their classrooms (both in person and virtually) for formative assessments.

What I learned: In unit 3 I explored a bunch of different Chrome apps and Extensions that I am excited to share with the teachers in the building. These units also have me thinking about how I can be more efficient as a coach by creating calendars, google groups, and google sites to more effectively and efficiently share information with the teachers. What I Want to Bring Back: I want to share the information about streamlining parent communication with teachers and encourage them to utilize tools such as Forms and Groups to improve parent contact. I also liked the idea of having a shared Google Sheet with parents for tracking and monitoring behavior or academics rather than a paper pencil "behavior chart". As a school we do Student Led Conferences and I liked the idea of students, especially upper elementary creating Google Slides to document and share their work.