Marzano Marathon: Final Leg, Afternoon Session

There is a light at the end of the tunnel!! I am going to survive this training! Now we're taking on Marzano strategy #6: Cooperative Learning. The instructor says we won't be doing many activities with it, and that we will be moving quickly through these last sections, because there are so many to cover in the next 2 hours.

1. Up first, random.org
As a student, I always hated group learning, because I always ended up doing the work for others to copy and turn in as their own. For some reason, this was acceptable because the teacher believed (because we all want to desperately) that all the students contributed to the work that was submitted. This website, in theory, could act as a motivator because students would be called out individually within the groups to answer.

2. Here's something fun www.wallwisher.com
It's an online board where you and your students can put virtual post-its!! Each wall gets its own unique url so students can navigate to it directly, which is super important to me for privacy and organization.

3. Something else for the history buffs (and for me because I teach my class with lots of history involved). Historical Scene Investigation takes students through trying out hypotheses about historic events. The instructor says there are other areas for other subjects, so we'll see what else it has to offer when I have time to browse it in depth.

4. Google docs: We're using this platform to create student information forms. I had a bad experience with google docs the first time, as we were working in a spreadsheet and people kept erasing others' work unintentionally. It was beyond frustrating, so I swore it off. But, this new form feature is pretty cool. You'll need a google account (as if anyone doesn't have one!). http://docs.google.com

5. Glogster online poster maker. I have used this program before and my students LOVE it. They picked it up immediately and started making their own posters about themselves, then we moved on to their researching Gothic writers and presenting those to the class. It was a good experience all around, and many of my students asked to do it again. There's a special page for teachers where you can create student accounts and keep all their work private. http://edu.glogster.com

Looks like that's all for this training. I am EXHAUSTED from sitting here for what feels like the last 2 days with a nap in between. I hope this is helpful to some of you teacher folk; I know I feel like I have lots more tools than I did on Friday at work.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!