PPS Instructional Technology

In Michigan, the week before Labor Day is usually the week when all teachers report back for work.  We attend countless meetings and hours of professional development before heading into our classrooms to make sure everything is just right before the students walk in the doors.  As we approach the end of the week and head to our rooms to knock out the last few items on our to do lists, here are a few tools you may or may not know about that can make your life easier this school year. Classroom Screen Looking for a great web toolbox for your TEC screen?  Classroomscreen.com is a one stop shop for tools like... Random Name Picker Classroom Noise Level Monitor Quick QR Code Generator Drawing Tools for your Screen Type of the Screen Symbols for Voice Level Desired Traffic Light Timer Clock You can set the background image and leave the tab open on your TEC (Technology Enhanced Classroom) computer and leave it as your main "Homepage". Noisli : "White ...

I think, as educators, we can all agree that “the process of composing is, in a nutshell, critical thinking”. That particular quote is from our own Collin Nuismer, ELA teacher at Central Middle School. I definitely could not agree more. That is why I was so excited to hear about the work he is doing with his students, or more accurately, the writing his students are doing. For example, here is an excerpt from one of Collin’s student’s, Elizabeth, and her writing from a prompt about volcanoes. the Earth shakes, the mountain trembles, on the verge of eruption smoke billows from it’s dark maw, blocking the sun, casting a shadow on the world lava spews upward,  raining fire from clouds of grey ashes,  gleaming bright in the gloom. (For Elizabeth’s full piece and access to her other writings, follow this link .) She, in addition to all of Collin’s students, is composing a large percentage of her writing on a web platform called, Write About . In fact, his st...

Even though deer-hunting season is well underway, hunting for web tools to use in your classrooms is not how many of you wish to spend your limited planning time. So, to help you all out and to make finding just the right tool easier, Paul and I, along with the 3rd-5th Grade Chromebook Pilot Teachers, have developed an awesome new resource for you. The 1-1 Web Tools Elementary Resource Page is a filterable list of websites that other teachers have found valuable to use in the classroom. Looking for a tool to use in math instruction? Filter down by subject and grade-level. Check it out today at: https://sites.google.com/portageps.org/elwebtools