Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/859531
Resources for inspiration, ideas MARY BERELSON, recently named Elementary Teacher of the Year in Placer County, is a big proponent of Seesaw (web.seesaw.me), which showcases and stores student work digitally in a class feed or blog format that is easily accessible by students and families. It has a built-in translation component so non-English-speaking families can communicate with the teacher and class, as well as assessment features. "It provides parents a window into the classroom. It helps shy kids and ELD kids express themselves because they have to talk into a machine. Best of all, it's free for teachers!" To find out more, see goo.gl/rjQbkf. Her other tools and tips: "Get Epic (getepic.com/educators). It's free for elementary school teachers and librarians and has unlimited access to thou- sands of high-quality books and videos. You can create unique student profiles and track students' reading progress. "ChatterPix Kids (goo.gl/ljOd4r) gives your photos a voice. It can make anything talk — pets, friends, doodles and more. Stu- dents take a photo in the app, draw a line across the 'mouth' and record their voice speaking for the object. "Streamline your computing life by going Google — Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms, Classroom, Sites, etc. — and access files from any device. Use Google Photos. Set your iPhone to automat- ically upload all photos. You'll be impressed with the little movies, shared photo albums, collages and animations automatically created from photos taken around the same time and in the same general place. Pretty magical." JIM GOBLE: " The absolute best website I have found is Pinterest. I freely admit that I steal ideas and modify them to use in my classroom! There are tons of anchor charts and lots of great ideas for teaching Common Core. " Two of my favorite teacher-authors are Ron Clark and Rafe Esquith. I love their innovative approaches to teaching children. Dave Burgess, author of Teach Like a Pirate, is quite inspira- tional as well. "With Google Classroom, I can set up five-minute quizzes, set up my gradebooks and give students assignments. I communicate with parents through Remind, which is great to just send quick reminders about homework and project due dates." Mary Berelson, right, uses the Seesaw app shown below to showcase student work. " I freely admit that I steal ideas on Pinterest and modify them to use in my classroom." — JIM GOBLE, PITTSBURG EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 43 A U G U S T / S E P T E M B E R 2 017