Category: Zoom

Using Picture Books to Teach Social and Emotional Skills

5/19/2020

Teachers looking to help students in grades K-12 develop and strengthen social-emotional skills can use a curated collection of picture books chosen specifically for engaging students. High school and middle school students enjoy being read to and picture books will add a twist and bring new meaning to a classic story. For younger students, pictures provide deeper meaning and help identify emotions. In just 15 minutes, you can have students internalizing what it means to be kind, thoughtful, or compassionate to name just a few character traits. This guide will help you ask questions for facilitating enriching discussions for students in all grades. Most titles can be found in your school library but many are available in OverDrive, which is perfect for using with Zoom. Just download the ebook onto your personal device, share your screen (be sure to check the box to share computer sound), and you are ready to read. To avoid copyright infringement, do not record and/or share on a public platform.

If you have further questions about library resources or library related questions, please contact [email protected]

By: Cece Fuoco, CA BOCES Learning Resources

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Encoding vocabulary with Zoom's help

4/3/2020

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"Far too many students come to school with small vocabularies. This is a big deal: the size of a child's vocabulary is an accurate predictor of academic achievement and even upward mobility over the course of a lifetime (Hirsch, 2013)." - 101 Strategies to make Academic Vocabulary Stick.

March left districts tackling unprecedented times as they worked to transition from classroom environments to creating work packets and delivering instruction online. As teachers navigate this unknown territory, this article means to highlight three ways to incorporate vocabulary instruction utilizing the video conferencing tool Zoom. While determining which vocabulary to focus on keep in mind the following information, according to the New York State Education Department principles of effective vocabulary instruction include:

Use of content-based, thematic unites of study that include rich text.
Choosing a small set of academic vocabulary words to teach.
Using multiple modalities, formats and methods.
Unlocking language by developing word-learning strategies.
Organizing thematic units within an instructional cycle.

In 101 Strategies to Make Academic Vocabulary Stick, Sprenger speaks to the three stages of the Memory Process. The stages include Encoding, Storage and Retrieval. Encoding is the first stage of building long term memory and the author notes that vocabulary instruction at this stage is meant to pique the students interest, motivate and engage them. Here are three strategies (adapted from 101 Strategies to make Academic Vocabulary Stick) that focus on the Encoding process and can be incorporated within a Zoom session.

Encoding Strategies:
● Story Impressions
○ This is a pre-reading activity meant to spark curiosity. This will make reading the upcoming content more meaningful and help students with comprehension.
○ Choose keywords from a story or chapter, keeping them in the same order in which they appear.
○ Provide the list visually (word doc, whiteboard, etc.) for students by sharing your screen during a zoom lesson.
○ Go over brief definitions/descriptions and then either whole group, small group (breakout sessions) or individually have students use the words in a made-up story with a beginning, middle and end.

● Word Up
○ This strategy helps students hone in on their listening skills and highlight important vocabulary.
○ Zoom participants would be placed in Gallery View, so everyone could be seen at the same time (think Brady Bunch).
○ Identify 1-2 words you would like students to write separately on a piece of paper or an index card.
○ While you are reading aloud, whenever the students hear the appropriate word they would lift the paper or index card.

● Word Expert Cards
○ Before beginning new content, create a vocabulary list, including the page number where each word appears or online resources for them to access.
○ Divide your class so that there are 3-4 students in a group.
○ Give each group 2-3 vocabulary words. Students in each group are responsible for learning those words and then teaching them to the other groups.
○ Using the breakout group feature, have students with the same words discuss the best student created definition, its part of speech, the sentence from the text where it appears, illustration, and a made-up sentence by the group.
○ Move from group to group to check on accuracy. Then switch breakout groups and have those ‘word experts’ teach their words to other members of the class that had different words.
○ This will take planning ahead to determine the best breakout groups and movement by the teacher throughout the groups to encourage participation and on-task behavior.

Let's work together to help increase our students' vocabulary and ultimately have a positive impact on 'academic achievement and upward mobility over the course of a lifetime.'

For additional vocabulary strategies or questions, please reach out to [email protected] or [email protected].

By: Jessica Rose, CA BOCES Professional Development

Resources:
Hallmark 4 of Advanced Literacies Instruction: Academic Vocabulary and Langauge
http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/nov-8-nys_brief-6-of-8_-summer-2017_-hallmark-4-vocab _final_2.pdf-a.pdf

Sprenger, M. (2017) 101 Strategies to make Academic Vocabulary Stick. ASCD

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Zoom Security

3/30/2020

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It seems so much of our world has gone online and so many of us are using Zoom more than ever before. With that in mind, I thought it would be helpful to share some of Zoom’s security features so that any of your hosted meetings are as secure as you’d like them to be.

Let’s start with YOUR account: I recommend obtaining your Zoom account through CA BOCES because we provide licenses included within our DL COSER…so you might as well get your money’s worth. Anyone can go to Zoom directly and sign up for a “free” account, but those accounts come with limitations and we can’t support them locally. If you obtain your account through CA BOCES, we CAN support you locally AND we know they’re always encrypted (there should be a little green lock icon in the upper left corner of your meeting rooms – this means your meeting is encrypted). There is a wonderful Tech and DL team that is VERY responsive too! Contact anyone on the team at anytime! You can tell if your account is running through BOCES in a couple different way. Ways to tell if your account is through BOCES:
- Email Carrie Oliver ([email protected]). She can see all accounts and she will let you know.
- OR - When YOU schedule meetings, the link will always look something like this: “https://E2CCB-GST.zoom.us/xxxxxxxx”. If it doesn’t have “E2CCB-GST” in the link…your account is directly through Zoom and is NOT a local account. Email Carrie Oliver and she can set you with a local account.
Explore your Zoom security settings in YOUR account: You can explore various Zoom security settings that are possible with Zoom accounts so your hosted meetings are as “open” or as “locked down” as you’d like them to be. To explore how your account is set up and to make changes to your account, follow these quick steps:
- From a computer, on an internet browser go to https://zoom.us (you can check some of these settings on a mobile device but things will look different).
- Click on “SIGN IN” located in the upper right corner of the screen.
- Sign in with your Zoom account credentials.
- You will see several menu options down the left side of the screen. To review security settings, click on “Settings”.
- Once on the “Settings” screen you will see a list of features you can enable or disable to personally design features for meetings YOU initiate or host.
- Settings you may want to consider:
  - Host Video and Participant Video Settings – Enabling either of these features will automatically show video upon meeting entry, rather than manually starting video.
  - Join Before Host – Disabling this feature will not allow participants to gather in a meeting room until you arrive and begin the meeting.
  - Various Password Settings – Consider using required passwords so only those with required passwords can access your meetings. Remember, open meetings use links and anyone can access your meeting if they have or obtain the link.
  - Mute Participants Upon Entry – Enabling this feature will automatically mute incoming participants to your meetings and you can control any participant’s ability to speak.
  - Private Chat – You may want to disable private chat. Doing this may allow participants to focus on the reason for your meeting rather than back-channel chats that you have no ability to see. There is NO way for the host to access private chat messages.
  - Allow Host to Put Attendee On Hold – This feature is always on and allows you, as the host, to remove any participant from your meeting.
  - Allow Removed Participants to Rejoin – Enabling this feature will allow previously removed participants to rejoin your meeting. You may want to disenable this feature so removed participants CANNOT rejoin your meeting if they’ve been removed.
  - Waiting Room – Enabling this feature will create a virtual waiting room for your meetings where you, as the host, must individually admit participants into your meeting.

There are many settings worth exploring. And, there is a great team of people that can help you navigate these features. Feel free to reach out to anyone on our team for assistance:

Amy, Windus, Program Manager [email protected]
Karen Insley, Coordinator [email protected]
Carrie Oliver, Technical and Support Specialist [email protected]
Nate Malick, Technician [email protected]
Mike Meyers, Technician [email protected]

By Tim Cox, CA BOCES ISS

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Take your kids anywhere with fieldtrip Zoom

12/28/2017

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In addition to the virtual field trips we offer, FieldTrip Zoom allows students the opportunities to visit faraway places and interact with experts in a particular field, museum, aquarium, etc. FieldTrip Zoom offers both interactive and recorded opportunities for teachers to bring the world into their classroom. This is in addition to the virtual field trips that we have traditionally offered. Contact Karen Insley or Carrie Oliver to get more insight into this great offering.

To Access Fieldtrip Zoom:
Teachers create an account (using their school email) at fieldtripzoom.com, book a program that fits your schedule from the Zoom Zone calendar, and then you and your class can sit back and enjoy the trip! There is no need to fill out a request form for the Zoom Zone trips since you book them on the FieldTrip Zoom Zone calendar.

You can also connect anywhere with Zoom. Each district in the Distance Learning COSER is given a Zoom Pro Account for use with administrators, faculty, and students. Zoom allows multi-user video conferencing, small group conferencing, content sharing, and so much more! Zoom is very user friendly and versatile. How will you use it with your students?

Contact Karen Insley for training or suggestions for Zoom use within your district.

By: Karen Insley, CA BOCES Learning Resources

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Innovative Teaching

Using Picture Books to Teach Social and Emotional Skills

Encoding vocabulary with Zoom's help

Zoom Security

Take your kids anywhere with fieldtrip Zoom

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Innovative Teaching

Using Picture Books to Teach Social and Emotional Skills

Encoding vocabulary with Zoom's help

Zoom Security

Take your kids anywhere with fieldtrip Zoom

Follow us on ​social media

Categories

Archives

Follow us on
social media