Category: Teaching

The Digital Backpack. Your Resource for Online Learning

Reaching the Summit, Scaling the Mountain called Personalized Learning

Sam Sicilia

I’ve been teaching for 14 years, most of which have been at the middle school level in an urban school district. I’m a risk taker, I enjoy trying new things in my classroom, especially when...

Tips and Tools
June 28, 2019

Using Piktochart in the Classroom

Lauren Graham

Some of my students were struggling with specific aspects of taking a course online, as well as certain assignments. They would send me emails that were along the lines of “I need help with the...

Tips and Tools
June 28, 2019

Using Google Slides to showcase student art and create an inviting online classroom

Lauren Nalepa

As an online teacher, Google Slides been the answer to all my hopes and dreams. Using it is like making a collage, but my fingers don’t get sticky! Pretty much everything I post in my...

Tips and Tools
April 15, 2019

Using SeeSaw to help students set, achieve, and reflect on their goals

Erin Mastin

Young students often have a hard time thinking about actions, consequences, and, generally, anything that takes place in the future, so setting goals is not an easy task for them. In this article, Erin walks...

Tips and Tools
April 15, 2019

Using videos to spend more meaningful time with students

Dan Spencer

It’s my dream is to have a classroom that feels like a Starbucks with students spread all over the room, engaging in a variety of activities, working in a group on a lab, or working...

Tips and Tools
April 12, 2019

Podcast: Student Agency and Google Classroom

The Digital Backpack

Welcome to Digital Backpack! In our first Digital Backpack cast, we chat with Traci Smith, a high school English teacher at De La Salle. She shares some gems about connecting with students, creating an atmosphere...

Blended Learning, Instructional Design, Podcasts, Teaching
February 21, 2019

Using Calendly for scheduling student meetings

Kim Garvison & Alanna Prieditis

One of the biggest challenges as online Spanish teachers? Regularly scheduling time to connect with each student in our course to listen to and assess their language development. We needed to find a tool that...

Tips and Tools
February 13, 2019

Using PowToon to explain challenging concepts to students

Jaclyn Tyler

One of my challenges as an online teacher is this: I teach in an asynchronous program, so my students are not necessarily online at the same time as I am. One tech tool that has...

Tips and Tools
February 13, 2019

Using choice boards to promote student agency

Sarah Bedford

Choice boards have helped improve student learning in my class by empowering students to develop confidence based on their individual needs and choices. I also believe when they are engaged in the learning and know...

Tips and Tools
February 12, 2019

An Open Letter to the Teachers Who Changed Our Lives

Nikki Herta

We asked our staff to tell us about a teacher who changed their lives for the better. The patterns that arise in their responses are cause for inspiration. They reveal that one amazing teacher can...

Teaching
December 5, 2018

How Does Online Learning Really Work?: A Conversation with Mitch Albom

Nikki Herta

In celebration of our 20th anniversary, we hosted four panel discussions on Mitch Albom's radio show on WJR 760. In this segment, Mitch Albom explores the day-to-day realities of virtual education in depth with a...

Teaching
June 21, 2018

The Students of Today & Tomorrow: A Conversation with Mitch Albom

Nikki Herta

What does the future of learning look like? In this segment of his radio show on WJR 760, Mitch Albom explores this issue in depth with a panel of the leaders of several current and...

Teaching
June 21, 2018

Why Are Michigan’s Literacy Rates So Low?: A Conversation with Mitch Albom

Nikki Herta

In celebration of our 20th anniversary, we hosted four panel discussions on Mitch Albom's radio show on WJR 760. In this segment, Mitch Albom explores Michigan's literacy crisis in depth with a panel of the...

Teaching
June 21, 2018

What’s Getting in the Way of Progress in Michigan’s Education System?: A Conversation with Mitch Albom

Nikki Herta

In celebration of our 20th anniversary, we hosted four panel discussions on Mitch Albom's radio show on WJR 760. In this segment, Mitch Albom explores barriers to progress in Michigan's educational system with a panel...

Teaching
June 21, 2018

Michigan’s Literacy Crisis is a Public Health Crisis

Michigan Virtual

Who suffers when our literacy rates are low? In this blog post by Tamara Bashore-Berg, we dive into the startling reality of Michigan’s literacy crisis and explore Dr. Nell Duke's argument that this issue is,...

Teaching
March 27, 2018

Turning Digital Natives into Digital Citizens

Nikki Herta

Two educators share their experiences teaching digital literacy Last week, I had the great pleasure of speaking to two educators about their experiences teaching digital literacy. The conversations that emerged were eye-opening. Both teachers have...