Friday, December 29, 2017

The SERC Library staff wishes you all the best for the New Year!

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Winter Begins --- You mean it hasn't already?

Well....for those of us here in New England for the last several weeks of rounds of 'winter weather' and that 'wonderful brisk cold air'....we just might need to adjust to the fact that winter indeed officially starts tomorrow....


Check out the links below:




Winter Solstice - EarthSky


And two more that I am including just as information links....

Winter solstice:  The Feast of Juul, Thor and why pagans celebrate the shortest day of the year, by Cameron Macphail, The Telegraph | Lifestyle | Christmas, 18 December 2017

When is the winter solstice 2017?  Traditions, rituals and definition of the shortest day of the year, by Sophie Curtis Technology and Science Editor, Mirror, 20 December 2017

Image result for winter solstice 2017



Friday, December 8, 2017

Check out our new LIBRARY ACQUISITIONS and new LIBGUIDES platform!

SERC LIBRARY LIBGUIDES
Be sure to check out our NEW ACQUISITION LIST for 2017-2018 on the recently update version of our SERC Library LibGuides!  Click HERE to see the NEW ACQUISITIONS LIST!  Check out the new Tests and Instructional Materials we have added to our collections!



Tuesday, November 14, 2017

FREE Webinar!

FROM ISTE -

Verizon Mobile Learning Academy banner

Bring Coding into your Classroom
Tuesday, November 28, 2017 7:00:00 PM EST - 8:00:00 PM EST
Join us for a practical guide to implementing computer science into your educational environment, starting in kindergarten through 12th grade. Sharing our journey of successes, failures, and advice for the future. Learn about resources for students and teachers to use as guides. Anybody can learn to code and it is a valuable skill for every student. As long as you are a teacher with a growth mindset, willing to learn and encourage students, you are able to bring CS to life in your classroom! Join Josh, Angie, and Velvet as we kick off Computer Science education week. Leave the webinar feeling inspired to kick off the hour of code with your students.

REGISTER HERE

Speaker
Josh, Angie, and Velvet
Josh Caldwell, Angie Kalthoff, and Velvet Holmes
Josh, Angie and Velvet all have experience integrating innovative uses of technology, especially in computer science topics, into teaching and learning. All three have experience with Code.org across the educational spectrum from district-wide initiatives to the K-12 classroom. 

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

CO-TEACHING PD OPPORTUNITIES!

Check out these Co-Teaching PD offerings from SERC (for more information see announcements below) -  Click Here to sign up for Making A Difference Through Co-Teaching and email Virginia Babcock at babcock@ctserc.org  or Clare Wurm at wurm@ctserc.org for additional information on the Calling All Co-Teachers announcement.





































Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Digital Citizenship Week! Resources from ISTE and Common Sense Education

Check out ISTE issues Digital Citizenship Week challenge:

Use new ISTE resources to explore what it means to be a good citizen in a digital world.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) will leverage Digital Citizenship Week (Oct. 16-20) to raise awareness of the importance of teaching digital citizenship to students of all ages. ISTE challenges students, educators and parents to take time each day during Digital Citizenship Week to explore what it means to be good citizens in a digital world.
“The need to teach digital citizenship skills has never been greater. These skills include concepts like how to use tech to organize around good causes, how to respectfully disagree online, and how to distinguish between true and false information. As our interactions with friends, community members and government leaders become increasingly mediated by technology, we must model and teach the behaviors we hope to see in our next generation of digital leaders,” said ISTE CEO Richard Culatta.
ISTE is providing a number of resources to support schools and families in taking the Digital Citizenship Week challenge:
  • Release of Digital Citizenship in Action: Empowering Students to Engage in Online Communities a book by Kristen Mattson, Ed.D., that focuses on the need for educators to think about digital citizenship as more than a conversation about online safety. Included are tips for creating digital spaces where students can experiment and grow, educator stories about successful participatory digital citizenship and classroom-ready activities.
  • DigCit Coffee Break email course that gives educators a tip a day on digital citizenship, along with free resources to use in their schools, including a printable poster illustrating the three critical elements of digital citizenship.
  • Free webinar for educators, “Bring Digital Citizenship to Life in Your School,” on Oct. 16 at 5 p.m. EDT will examine how to help students realize the potential of technology in engaging ways.
  • Two digital citizenship Twitter chats on Oct. 19 that allow for engagement and sharing of best practices and resources. The first will be led by Marialice Curran, a leading voice in the digital citizenship conversation, at 8 p.m. EDT using the hashtag #ISTEChat. The second, hosted by ISTE’s Digital Citizenship professional learning network, will discuss the role of edtech coaches in the development of digital citizenship, at 9 p.m. EDT using the hashtag #digcit.
Digital Citizenship Week is a national effort focused on helping kids use technology to engage with and improve their communities. Follow the conversation on Twitter at #DigCitWeek.
From Common Sense Education:

What You'll Find

  • Scope & Sequence
  •  
  • Student Games & Interactives
  •  
  • Professional Development
  •  
  • Family Education
Being a good digital citizen is more than knowing your way around the web. It's about connecting and collaborating in ways you didn't even know were possible.
When you teach digital citizenship to your students, you help create a positive school culture that supports safe and responsible technology use. Our K–12 digital citizenship program includes comprehensive learning resources for students, teachers, and family members. Our 65 grade-differentiated lesson plans are based on the research of Dr. Howard Gardner and the Good Play Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The program addresses real challenges for teachers and students to help schools navigate cyberbullying, internet safety, and other digital dilemmas.


Monday, October 16, 2017

October is ADHD Awareness Month!

ADDA – Attention Deficit Disorder Association

From ADDA:

ADHD Awareness

October is ADHD Awareness Month!

ADHDAwarenessMonth_Color_MedKnowing is better! That’s why ADHD Awareness Month is celebrated every October, with events and activities happening all across the country and now, around the world, on the ground and on the Internet, capturing the notice of numerous national, regional and local media outlets resulting in articles, interviews and feature stories.
While awareness about adult ADHD has certainly grown, we have a long way to go before we’re able to help ADHDers everywhere. ADDA believes one of the best ways we can extend the benefits of awareness is to equip ADHDers with resources to help themselves.
Every October, as we celebrate ADHD Awareness Month, you can count on ADDA to find new ways to make it easier than ever for you, an adult with ADHD to help yourself.

Thursday, October 5, 2017

World's Largest K-12 Science Competition


Free App Lets Students Create Stories
Want to add a fun, competitive element to your classroom that encourages a life-long love of STEM? Engage your students through the Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision science competition! ExploraVision is open to K-12 students and engages young minds in real-world problem solving with a strong emphasis on science, creative thinking, and Next Generation Science Standards goals. Winning teams receive savings bonds, classroom prizes, an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to present their ideas to scientific leaders, and much more.
Download our FREE downloadable Tips for Teachers guides for more information! All K-12 students and teachers in the U.S. and Canada are eligible to participate in ExploraVision. Register now!

ExploraVision
Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision


Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Free Webinar

FREE Webinar:  Wednesday, October 11, 2017 - 11 am to 12 pm ET
Content provided by:
Access, Engage & Express: How to Personalize Learning Using the UDL Lens
Personalized learning is based around students' own personal interests and their natural ability to learn in order to develop their skills further and increase engagement in class. But the question remains, how can educators create an environment that enables this framework in a practical way for every student in the classroom?

Join Kathleen McClaskey as she presents a way to approach personalized learning to help you determine how your students learn best and to help you to create an environment through the UDL lens of "access, engage, and express." In addition, Martin McKay will outline how to identify the right tools that minimize barriers and maximize learning for all your students. He'll also cover what ed-tech trends and tools are paving the way for the future of personalized learning.

Guests:
Kathleen McClaskey, founder of Make Learning Personal; co-founder of Personalize Learning, LLC; co-author of Make Learning Personal and How to Personalize Learning

Martin McKay, CTO & founder, Texthelp

This webinar will be moderated by Holly Yettick, director, Education Week Research Center

REGISTER HERE

Monday, October 2, 2017

FREE....Free....free...

Image result for teachers college columbia university reading and writing project
SEE below for more information on the day or click HERE for more information.
The day begins at 9:00 a.m. at Riverside Church, one block west of Teachers College, and continues throughout the entire College.
The day is free of charge, without registration. It is a gift offered to the TCRWP community.  
In addition, mark your calendars for March 3, 2018 for the next Saturday Reunion!
93rd Saturday Reunion

Friday, September 29, 2017

October is - National Bullying Prevention Month - Wear Orange on October 25th!



Click on the sentence below to get more information form PACER's website:
Sponsored by PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center

More than 1 out of every 5 students report being bullied

National Bullying Prevention Month is a nationwide campaign founded in 2006 by PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center. The campaign is held during the month of October and unites communities around the world to educate and raise awareness of bullying prevention. This campaign has grown from an initial week-long event to a worldwide effort with thousands of individuals participating in multiple activities throughout October.
Hundreds of schools, major corporations, and many celebrities have joined the movement. Take action and show that you care about kids being safe at school, while online, and in the community.

Unity Day 2017, Oct. 25! Wear and Share Orange!


Together against bullying — united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion.
Make it ORANGE and make it end! What are your true colors when it comes to showing that you care about preventing bullying? Come together in one giant message of hope and support, wear and share orange to color our nation, and even the world, visibly showing that our society believes that no child should be bullied. Learn ways to get involved.

Wear Orange: Make a statement!

ORANGE provides a powerful, visually compelling expression of solidarity,” said Paula Goldberg, Executive Director of PACER Center. “When hundreds of individuals in a school or organization wear orange, the vibrant statement becomes a conversation starter, sending the unified message to kids to know that they are not alone.”

Monday, September 25, 2017

October - Dyslexia Awareness Month

Dyslexia Awareness Month



From NILD:

What is dyslexia?

“Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”


People with dyslexia often have average to superior intelligence. Many are gifted in math, science, fine arts, journalism, and other creative fields. A list of such people would include Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Winston Churchill and many others who have changed the course of our world. However, their tremendous strengths are offset by noticeable weaknesses.
Some of the signs associated with dyslexia include:
• Difficulty learning to speak
• Trouble learning letters and their sounds
• Difficulty organizing written and spoken language
• Trouble memorizing number facts
• Difficulty reading quickly enough to comprehend
• Trouble persisting with and comprehending longer reading assignments
• Difficulty spelling
• Trouble learning a foreign language
• Difficulty correctly doing math operations


These difficulties stem, not from a physical problem with the eyes or ears, but rather from the basic neurological functioning of the brain. Psycho-educational batteries of formal and informal tests are used to determine patterns of strength and weakness as compared to intellectual ability. Testing not only helps identify dyslexia, but NILD uses formal and informal testing data to determine the best kind of instruction for each learner.

Can those with dyslexia be helped?

Yes! Every human brain is created with a unique pattern of strengths and weaknesses. We each have certain areas that make sense to us easily as well as areas of difficulty that require outside explanation and extra effort to understand. NILD Educational Therapy® is a direct, language based intervention with over 40 years of success for students with dyslexia. Our focus is to strengthen the underlying causes of learning difficulties rather than simply treating the symptoms. Our therapy is individualized and aims the intervention just above the student’s level of functioning and raises expectations for performance. Our therapeutic, cognitive-based intervention unlocks learning potential and transforms defeated learners into competent, confident individuals.
Be sure to check out the Dyslexia resources at the SERC Library at https://serc-verso.auto-graphics.com/mvc/  type in dyslexia in the search box in the middle of the top banner.  In addition, check out the SERC Library LibGuide on Specific Learning Disabilities/Dyslexia.