Five Free Finds for TAAE Members
1.) Calm App
It is free and was the app of the year in 2017. It was presented to the VP, Lisa Rogers at Region XII's Summer Symposium in 2017. Calm is the #1 app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation. It is recommended by top psychologists, therapists, and mental health experts. Covid-19 has caused most if not all of us some stress. Why not offer members this find to aid in their relaxation, lower stress, and lessen the anxiety some may be facing? While speaking to Mr. Flippen and Manny's agent, Megan Haiston, I was asked "How are educators dealing with the stress?" Everyone is not talking about what they are going through. Some left the profession and didn't return this school year. I’m sure this was due to several factors or reasons. One may have been the uncertainty of the school year and stress. Help yourself destress with this app. Help others by sharing it with other colleagues, family, and friends. Please check out https://www.calm.com/ to sign up for free or visit https://www.calm.com/business/book-a-demo?utm_campaign=calmdotcom_for_business_footer in order to book a demo to bring calm to your K-12 students or school district.
2.) CDC website
https://www.cdc.gov/ should be your source for up to date information and latest developments where COVID-19 is concerned. CDC is aggressively responding to the global outbreak of COVID-19 and community spread in the United States. Learn more about what they are doing to protect and prepare communities. As the nation’s health protection agency, CDC saves lives and protects people from health threats. The major threat of Covid-19 has claimed over 436,000 Americans.
3.) WHO
A site similar to the Centers for Disease Control site is WHO, The World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019.The World Health Organization has created guidance to help individuals, community leaders, governments and the private sector understand some key actions they can take to manage the COVID-19 infodemic. One goal of the website is to act as a mythbuster. Misinformation should be stopped. People and any concerned individuals should seek reliable sources of information. Due to COVID-19, most of us have a new word in our vocabulary: epidemiology. It is the branch of medical science that deals with the ways diseases are transmitted and can be controlled in a population. Information can be shared via news articles and opinion pieces, vloggers, bloggers, podcasters and social media influencers are also spreading messages. You may also see information shared by friends and family on social media or messaging apps. Sifting through those articles, messages, and findings can be burdensome. If you do not want to share misinformation, please take the time out to find a reliable source of information such as WHO. Consuming bleach or Lysol was one example heard by many Americans last year along with the virus is going to go away the day after the election. We all know that didn’t happen. Some still are saying a man in China ate a bat infected by the disease. Others said a scientist hired by the Chinese government created the virus to kill enemies in other countries, but the scientist sold it to another country for a higher price. This list will remain endless if people continue to run with the latest discussion.
4.) Leap4ward Website
This website has a plethora of information for teachers as well as leaders. The website is https://lead4ward.com/. lead4ward virtual learning is designed to provide educators with meaningful, relevant, and engaging virtual learning experiences. According to the site, Leap4Ward serves 800 school districts, and is an essential partner in supporting the success of schools. Leap4ward has four main focus areas:
- learning
- energizing
- acting
- developing
They are explained further in the About Us section of its website as follows:
Focus Areas:
- Learning – about the changes (what is known and what is anticipated)
- Energizing – educators to embrace the challenges of the new requirements
- Acting – in ways that support the systems and structures necessary to achieve success
- Developing – tools, strategies, and plans to coordinate instruction, curriculum, assessment, and accountability
Please take some time to look over the virtual learning model and jam sessions Leap4ward has to offer. Some of the resources are free, while others allow schools and districts a reasonable fee for its services. Professional development is relevant to the changes required with Covid-19. The site offers live, guided learning, independent learning, and follow-on jam sessions. These 6+ hour training sessions for professional development are available for math, science, social studies, special education, literacy, and leadership teams. No age and grade is left out with the programs aligned. You may know a school district or school currently using Leap4Ward. Newbies should network and grow their toolkits with this added resource to make this school year and many years to come even better with the assistance Leap4ward has to offer.
5.) Lead4ward App
The Lead4ward app offers a variety of resources in the palm of your hand. The app has five tabs across the bottom. The first tab is called Check for Understanding. This tab includes a timer and then at the end of the timer it will give you an option to go to either the 2nd tab which are Quickchecks or the third tab which is called Think It Up. Quickchecks are different ideas or ways to check for understanding during a lesson. Think It Up utilizes Bloom's Taxonomy verbs that will give you questions to ask at the different levels. The fourth tab in the app is Resource Content Builders. This resource allows you to search by topic on a variety of topics including thinking stems, academic vocabulary, and scaffolding. The final tab is the Professional Learning tab. This tab offers virtual learning opportunity, as well as, a list of conferences, videos and a store.