Teaching from Home

written by: Caitlyn Madzik

 

Within days, we went from being in a classroom full of children, to being in our homes sitting behind a computer screen wondering how we are going to teach all of our students from a distance. I began to explore websites that would engage all my students as well as ensuring it was user friendly for them and their families. I started to look more into a website called SeeSaw.

 

SeeSaw was very simple to navigate and had all the options I wanted. The ability to take pictures, add videos, sound clips all within a few clicks. I decided to use SeeSaw as my new learning platform. SeeSaw has a library of activities that you can browse from that connects to what you are learning with your students. From math pages to videos on how to draw Mo Willems characters. You can easily create your own activities and the interactive drawing and writing features make it easy to respond to those activities and makes it helpful for families who may not have a printer. I have a folder for just our Phys. Ed. teacher as well as my students’ music teacher. Any activities that the specialist have assigned to my students can go straight into their specific folders. SeeSaw has provided an engaging and interactive learning platform for myself, my students and their families. As much as this website/app is great, I cannot wait to be back in my classroom full of students! 

Boom Cards

by: Lisa McAvoy

Like many teachers working from home right now I have been spending hours online researching resources and activities to use with my students. I teach Kindergarten so the challenge is to find activities that students can complete with minimal adult support. I have a classroom of non-readers so instructions need to be visual or auditory. 

 

Also like many teachers I am big user of Teachers Pay Teachers. One resource I had seen on TPT was something called Boom Cards. I had never paid much attention to it before but with the school closure Boom Learning was offering a premium account for FREE! I love anything that is free.

 

What are Boom Cards?

"Boom Cards are self-grading exercises that are gasified for students and provide the data teachers want" -boomlearning.com.

In the simplest terms Boom Cards are slides or task cards that contain questions. Students can answer these questions by selecting multiple choice answers or moving objects. Students submit their answers and receive instant feedback either with an audible ding and a green circle or a “whoops” sound and a red circle. You can access Boom Cards through their website www.boomlearning.com or by downloading the Boom Cards app. First, teachers need to create an account then send usernames and passwords to your students. There is also a “fast play” option. Fast play does not collect individual student data so you can’t track student performance. 

                                            

Boom Card “decks” are teacher created. You can find many free decks as well as paid through the store on Boom Learning or through Teachers Pay Teachers. There are Boom Decks available in all kinds of subject areas including: Math, ELA, Science, French, Speech Therapy etc. and for grade levels K-12. There are hundreds of decks available and you can preview decks before downloading or purchasing them.