Project Lead the Way Launch updates 2018-2019

PLTW Launch

The Project Lead the Way Launch curriculum is currently being taught to all of our K-4 students.  Teachers use an APB Instructional Approach  (Activity-Project-Problem) with each unit of study.  Knowledge is scaffolded towards solving a real-world, open-ended problem in each unit.  Critical thinking is embedded throughout the process.  PLTW Launch applies towards much of our science curriculum and aligns with significant math, ELA, and computer science standards.  

Teachers:

Refill Kits

All of the refill kits for the classroom modules for the upcoming school year have arrived, and have been sorted and labeled in a room at Bailey Park.  These are intended to replace the consumable items in your lesson kits.  I will deliver them to your buildings when requested.  (Last year I delivered them to your building libraries for pickup). I was surprised to come upon 5 unopened boxes from last summer and never used during the school year.... This means we ordered some kits unnecessarily.  As this year rolls along, please make a note of the items that genuinely have to be replaced.

Mystery Science
All teachers will have full access to Mystery Science curriculum materials this school year.  It includes lessons that satisfy Next Generation Science Standards which are not met by PLTW Launch.  I shared details about this back in the spring.  Let me know if need any help getting supplies.  Here is a link to the supply list for your grade.   This link, provided by the AEA, should answer most common questions that you may have.

PLTW Launch Classroom Teacher training
Ms. Dodds and I attended the PLTW Launch Classroom Teacher training in July at Iowa State University.  This is a prerequisite for all teachers before they have access to PLTW Launch materials and is also available online. 

We currently have 6 trained 'Lead' teachers in the District, who act as mentors for new Classroom teachers:  3 instructional coaches and 3 classroom teachers. 

Fusion 360
Autodesk stopped supporting its old Inventor Publisher iPad App that give you a 3D model of the Vex kits that our 3rd and 4th grade students use in their units.  However, bring on Fusion 360 !! - the website version.  Rotate, turn, zoom, move, and view step-by-step directions.... use this web application to see how the example machines are made.  This short video shows briefly how it looks.



PLTW Launch Resources

There are many ways to find answers to your questions and support in teaching the PLTW Launch modules.  Take advantage of these resources to improve your understanding of the lessons and student learning in your classroom.
As a PLTW Launch Classroom teacher, in addition to the teacher resources within your Inkling account, you will also always access to the support resources in your my.pltw.org account.  There are many short videos and help resources shown for every unit in the course that you teach. IF you have any questions or are in search of a little clarity, it will likely be found there.

Teacher Feedback
At the end of each unit this year, please consider providing feedback for PLTW.  This feedback has resulted in several changes/updates being made for the upcoming school year.

Google Classroom 2018 Big Changes

Are you a Google Classroom user?

All teachers should have some form of digital learning management system (LMS) for their classroom.  There are many options available that our teachers are frequently using.  It includes SeeSaw, Canvas, Edmodo, Schoology, Google Classroom, and more.  For iPads, Apple just rolled out the new Apple Schoolwork App:  I will share details about its features very soon.

There are some long-awaited changes and updates to Google Classroom coming in August, 2018.

Would you like to check out the big updates before it's rolled out to the general public?
Click on this link to sign up.

The new updates include: Organize lessons with the new Classwork feature by unit or topic This includes expandable rows Create posts and questions from the top-left of this page A new grading workflow will make it easier to provide feedback on student work A new People page to provide a single location to manage students, co-teachers, and guardians Settings page to take more control of the class description, course code, and other features Create Quizzes within Google Classroom Locked mode for Quizzes - this works only on the Chrome web browser. The Stream page  can now be 'collapsed' for easier viewing.

Check out a video preview here:        Length 6:51

In most classes the 'Stream' easily gets out of hand, that is, becoming very long and be very difficult to muddle through.    Classwork will help make that easier.

Classes in Google Classroom may be transferred from one year to the next and also from one teacher to the next, as long as they are still in the same district.   It still does not connect to Infinite Campus like the purchased versions of Canvas or Schoology do, but the improvements do make it more attractive.

Google Classroom works very well to connect students to learning opportunities through web links and it's Google products.  They are working to have better integration with web tools, such as Socrative, Flip Grid, Quizziz, Padlet, Kahoot, and more.

All teachers and students in our district that have gmail accounts have access to Google Classroom.  It is available for MacOS (laptop) and as an app for iOS (iPad).  It pretty much works on any device that has an Internet connection.  With that, we have to keep in mind where Internet connections are not readily available.

Let me know if you have any questions about using Google Classroom with your students.

ALSO

There is a new feature with Google  Forms called Locked Mode.  This feature prevents the student from navigating away from the form until the Submit button is clicked.  However...  this only works with Chrome and it does not prevent a student from using Safari while on that locked screen.  This is really directed towards Chromebooks.


Be Internet Awesome has Google's new classroom resources for safe and responsible use of online resources.  It appears to be directed primarily towards upper elementary and middle school students.  Check it out.  It includes some great material.

Do you want to learn more about what Google has to offer for your classroom?  Their suite of resources has grown enough that it was time for a redesign, especially to make it user-friendly for teachers.  Check it out the new Google Teacher Center here at this link.