Boxlight Educator UK

Have you hit your rhythm with lesson planning, teaching, meeting with students, and grading assignments? Are your students excited each time they walk in the classroom or turn on their web cameras for a live virtual lesson? Do you wake up each morning so energised that the cup of liquid energy you pour is unnecessary? If your answer is ‘Yes’ to the previous, that is AWESOME! For the rest of you, there may be moments of ‘Yes’, ‘Sometimes’, and ‘I wish’ for each of these questions and that speaks to your hard work and effort to make learning an enjoyable experience for all.

British Science Week is 5-14 March 2021

Engaging students and keeping them interested in what they’re learning is among the list of things teachers are perpetually working at improving. Each school year brings a different group of young minds with abilities, experiences, and levels of confidence. With many schools facilitating instruction within hybrid learning and remote learning environments, teachers are faced with the added challenge of engaging students who are spending an increased chunk of time in front of a screen without in-person interaction. Enquiry-based learning strategies can prove to be just what is needed for students to become excited about what their learning, while also giving teachers a clearer picture of how and what their students are understanding.

We are approaching the mid-year mark and it is time to really look at how students are progressing. With the challenges of school closures, it is important to know how much students have been able to retain and identify the learning goals that still need to be met. This knowledge can lead to personalised instruction that is tailored to each student, meeting their academic needs, strengths, and interests. Not sure where to begin? Here are some quick tips for increasing personalised learning:

Teachers are busy searching for and creating interactive lessons that will motivate and engage their learners. But time is essential and teachers need an easy-to-use software that can help them build dynamic activities and lessons in a matter of minutes. The software should be compatible with any of a variety of education technology hardware such as document cameras, interactive flat panel displays, projectors, and interactive whiteboards. When looking for teacher-friendly software that can be customised for a variety of learning situations, make sure these four features are included:

Teachers everywhere are trying different apps, software, and platforms to complement what they are already doing for in-class, remote, or blended instruction. A new tool that many teachers are implementing is MimioConnect® Blended Learning Platform. The MimioConnect platform’s user-friendly interface helps teachers build and present interactive lessons that engage learners, in any location at any time. If you are deciding on an “all-in-one solution”, MimioConnect is offering a free trial so that you can explore its many features: MimioConnect Free Trial. Because MimioConnect is a web-based platform, no software download is necessary. Simply sign up!

Boxlight recently welcomed Aleasha Stevens to the company where she will serve as Education Consultant and lead the development and delivery of the company’s virtual learning center. In this role, she will use best practises to facilitate demonstrations on Boxlight education technology solutions including interactive displays, MimioStudio lesson creation and presentation software, and the MimioConnect blended learning platform. Stevens is driven by a passion to advocate for the needs of all learners, particularly those who have not been empowered to do so for themselves. This has led her to dedicate her life to advocating for the needs of children as a classroom teacher, literacy program director, VP of Education Services, and an education technology consultant.

The sounds of birds chirping and singing in the mornings can help to create feelings of positive expectation for the day to come. The melodies of these little creatures bring a sense of peace and solitude, helping one to appreciate the nature surrounding us. With that visualisation in mind, annual Birdwatch events help students act as conservation researchers by tracking the types of birds they observe in different environments. Included is the Big Garden Birdwatch that runs from January 29 to 31 (sign up here), wherein participants will spend an hour counting birds observed in their gardens or balconies and document data. Data collected is vital for helping plan solutions for preserving the different bird populations (for Birdwatch 2020 results, click here).

The school year is in full swing and depending on how your area has been affected by the ongoing pandemic, that ‘swing’ may feel more like a roller coaster ride! With possible adjustments in learning environments from in-class to remote instruction, teachers should be prepared. This includes classroom management procedures and routines that should be easy to implement and follow. Managing a classroom virtually has its challenges such as lack of teacher’s physical presence for monitoring engagement, and limited view of facial expressions and body language to communicate thoughts and feelings but it is not impossible. At this point in the year, routines have been established to navigate the learning day. How can these procedures be adapted to remote instruction? Review the chart below.

Heads of schools are responsible for nurturing the entire school community — students, staff, parents, and other stakeholders. A school leader is constantly thinking of ways to improve teaching and learning, how the school functions, while boosting school morale. The ultimate goal is to create a space where everyone feels cared for, is given dignity, and feels protected. The following are books that school leaders should consider adding to their professional reading collection.