Tuesday Tips, March 21, 2023

 TECH TIP:  Free PDP Courses!

Tom Roy and I are again serving as the BHRSD representatives to the county wide tech ed group, Berkshire Resources for Learning Initiative.  There are several free courses for PDP that are available through this group this spring.  

The courses are:

• An Introduction to Culturally Responsive Teaching 
• Berkshire Ed Leader Series
• Introduction to the ISTE Student and Teacher Standards

All details and registration information can be found in this document or see Tom or myself with any questions:

BERK12 Spring 2023 Professional Learning Opportunities

BOOK TIP: Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan

I'm a huge fan of audiobooks and Jula Whelan is hands down my favorite narrator.  She is also an author and Thanks for Listening is her latest novel, and t's a rom-com about an audiobook narrator (she claims it is not autobiographical, though).  But to really appreciate this book, I recommend doing it as an audiobook with her as the narrator. I learned a lot about the audiobook industry as well.  

Tuesday Tips, March 7, 2023

TECH TIP: QR Code with Screenshots of Website

Want to make your students go to the right website when you give them a QR Code?  If you use QRCodeMonkey to make your QR codes, you can upload an image that will go in the middle of the QR Code.  And if you take a screenshot of the website you are sending them to, you can upload that.  It will show students what the site should look like.  You can also customize the color.  Here's what it would look like (this one goes to the MMRHS Library database page):

To create one, go to QRCodeMonkey, add in the link to the website, change the color scheme and then upload your screenshot.  

BOOK TIP: 

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

The premise of this book sounds a bit silly, but this book was SO GOOD.  At 70, after Tova's husband dies, she takes a job as the night cleaner at the aquarium where she befriends an octopus.  It is a remarkable friendship, that might even lead to answers about what happened the night Tova's son drowned. An absolute delight.