Great Day 1 Activity

Becoming Slime

We always start school with students on the day after Labor Day so this year our first day with students was Tuesday, September, 6. I wanted to start with a bang on the first day so I decided to have students experiment with making slime! It was a hit! Day 1 Students started by all …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2022/11/22/great-day-1-activity/

The EPA’s Presidential Award for Environmental Educators

I am honored to have been chosen as the 2022 award recipient for the Northwest, Region 10, of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators or PIAEE! The award winners were mentioned on the EPA’s websites and social media on July 1 and the awards ceremony happened in Washington DC on …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2022/08/05/the-epas-presidential-award-for-environmental-educators/

Best Math Combo EVER!

I wrote about struggles I’ve always had with reading before, but I’ve never really reflected on my struggles with Math. Reading is more prevalent so I face my struggles on a daily basis. My struggles with Math are not as obvious, especially because the types of Math I use daily are Maths I can do …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2022/08/01/best-math-combo-ever/

Chimacum Esports Program Explained

I was very fortunate to have been invited to speak in an esports panel for this year’s Serious Play 2022 Conference by Educational Consultant and Games in Learning Adviser Bron Stuckey (@BronSt). Luckily, I had to pre-recorded my intro and my responses to some questions and send them to Bron because now I have those …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2022/07/24/chimacum-esports-program-explained/

Reflecting on 21-22

As part of our Ocean Guardian School’s Environmental Stewardship Project, I give students a pre and post project survey. In addition to questions about their perceived understanding of the topics we cover before and after the project, I also ask questions about the project and what they liked best and least. It helps inform any …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2022/07/11/reflecting-on-21-22/

Do your students have tech fatigue?

Image of Richard Culatta's Four Shifts for Education.

I thought it was just me. Just my students. Then I read this EdSurge article, Students Got a Crash Course in Tech During the Pandemic. Now Some Want a Break. I had been experiencing a bit of cognitive dissonance because I envisioned more and more teachers and students using tech in school because they experienced …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2022/07/05/do-your-students-have-tech-fatigue/

Gamification in EdTech Conferences #ISTELive #NCCEchat

I have been learning about gamification for years. I’ve helped create a few courses to give teachers ideas on how to gamify their classes to engage their students, motivate their students, and bring some fun and joy into their classrooms. I love playing video games so gamification works for me to the point that I …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2022/07/03/gamification-in-edtech-conferences-istelive-nccechat/

Is Live Better Than Virtual? #ISTELive #NCCEchat

This was my setup for this year’s ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference. Due to circumstances, one of them being available funds from my school district – we get about $275/yr to spend on any PD that we want and we can bank our funds for a few years – I was able …

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Serious Play Conference

My Serious Play Conference 22 Bio

Making Esports our Own: Stories of Academic Esports session at this year’s Serious Play Conference.

Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2022/06/13/serious-play-conference/

Lunar Missions and Robotics

Lunar Rover with Mindstorms EV3

This year, with students sitting closer together and able to work cooperatively in small teams, our robotics unit was able to happen again! Having 5th graders mixed in with our 6th graders allowed me to change up our usual robotics unit with one that focused on space science. Using NASA’s Artemis mission to go back …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2022/05/02/lunar-missions-and-robotics/

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