Author

Tanya Avrith

Google Infused Classroom Podcast

Introducing The #InfusedClassroom Podcast

We are proud to announce that The Infused Classroom will become a podcast starting April 30th.

The Infused Classroom – Podcast Schedule

Join our mailing list to get early access to the first three shows before they air

Have a show idea? Let us know HERE

Episode One	A Class Infused with Adobe Spark
Episode Two	A Class Infused with Equity and Inclusion with Ken Shelton
Episode Three	A Class Infused with VR – with Bryne Stothard and David Hotler
Episode Four	A Class Infused with Flipgrid with Jornea Erwin
Episode Five	A Class Infused with Inquiry – Trevor MacKenzie and Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt
Episode Six	A School Infused with Powerful Learning – Michael Crawford of EdSpace
Episode Seven	A Class Infused with Entrepreneurial Thinking – Elyse Burden co-founder of Real World Scholars
Episode Eight	A Class Infused with HyperDocs
Episode Nine	A Class Infused with Student Sketchnoting

Cross Posted From HollyClark.Org

March 14, 2019

Google Infusions

Reflections of an Innovation Teacher – Part One

For the last four years, my professional life has been a roller coaster ride. Filled with ups and downs – scary bumps and exciting turns. I moved to South Florida July 2014 leaving my life and a job that I loved in Montreal, Canada. My family moved for new opportunities. It has not been an easy journey but four years later I finally feel at ease in my decision and feel happy once again.

It has been eight years since I was in my own classroom. I once taught MS/HS Social Studies and Media Studies. I have worked as a traveling teacher, learning coach and consultant. However, this year I had the opportunity to teach again. I took a 50% teaching position at a small independent school in Boca Raton Florida where I worked in the Maker Space with Lower School (Gr. 3-5) students and their teachers. We developed curriculum and the students learned valuable skills aligned with the ISTE standards.

It was important that this program was not stand alone – where students were dropped off in my room while the teacher went along with their day. This type of learning needs to be interdisciplinary, project-based making many curricular links. This is pedagogical work meant to develop digital literacy and digital fluency for both the teachers and students.

I really believe that the only way to truly transform a school stems from well developed and intentional professional development and strong leadership. The professional development cannot be a one-off, once a year session. It needs to include on-going coaching and support encouragement and love and a culture of risk-taking. Over the next few posts, I will be sharing my experiences and reflections this year from my time working in the classroom.

I will begin with some insight into my program. I met with students ten times a month, for forty-five minutes. My program focused on five units that were interdisciplinary. Some turned out better then others and there is definitely a lot I would change if I end up teaching this program again.

The program focused on one over-arching essential question with sub-questioning for each unit:

“How do you use technology to help improve learning and design thinking to solve problems?”

These questions acted as a strong foundation to begin. Each unit hit multiple ISTE standards for students. Keep an eye out as I share my resources and reflections from each unit!

Looking for more ideas for how you can help students make their thinking visible, amplify student voice and help students share their work? Check out our book “The Google Infused Classroom” now available on Amazon.

If you are looking for a hands-on FREE professional learning experience this summer. Check out our companion book study site.

April 30, 2018

Google Infused Classroom

Join “The Google Infused Classroom” FREE Bookstudy

Looking for a fun, hands-on learning experience !? Look no further! We’ve got you covered!

Holly Clark and I have put together a companion book study website to our Book, “The Google Infused Classroom.” This interactive book study was designed to help you amplify your reading experience with hands-on activities and challenges to better experience the different tools and learning discussed in the book.

This companion book study is perfect for teachers, administrators or instructional coaches looking for professional development, that can be experienced together as a school. The challenges allow readers to apply their understanding and make their thinking visible – getting you to experience the learning in a meaningful way!

Check it out – it is 100% FREE bit.ly/GICbookstudy

Grab a copy of Google Infused Classroom HERE

April 14, 2018

Google Infusions

Making Student Thinking Visible with Seesaw and Google (Infographic)

As a technology coach and innovation teacher, I cannot get enough of Seesaw this year with my students. If there was only one tool this year that I had to choose to help students make their thinking visible it would be Seesaw…hand’s down!

Check out this infographic created by Holly Clark and I, with some tips for using Seesaw and Google Apps together to help make students make their thinking visible.

Check out “The Google Infused Classroom” now available on Amazon

November 27, 2017

Global Learning

The Beauty of Haiti – A Personal Reflection

This past week I had the opportunity to visit Haiti and work with a school near Port-au-Prince. I traveled there without any expectation of what my role was and very little understanding of how I might be helpful at all. I am a teacher – it is what I do best- I have not earned an opinion about the economy, politics or any types of solutions for Haiti. I went to Haiti as a teacher – there was a need for what I do – and I was happy to go to do my job.

Last year, I attended TIES in Minnesota where I met Steve Asper. Steve was presenting a poster session on the collaborative projects and interactions he had with his students in White Bear and the students at ANAC (the school that is run by the non-profit organization Kozefo).

This school is unique in the fact that they have access to technology (a class set of Chromebooks, WiFi and GSuite for all the teachers and students). I connected with Steve after his session and told him that I wanted to come to Haiti with him and meet his students and teachers at the school. Ten months later – with two of my incredible high school students and their parents – I got the opportunity to meet them.

We all spent the week exploring the beauty of Haiti while trying to make sense of what we saw. The friends we made were some of the warmest and kindest I have ever met. I am trying to come to terms with my own privilege and process how this experience changed my personal perspective of my place as a fellow human being on borrowed time.

There are many people who go down to different countries and many interpretations of how they should be received – I don’t know what the right answers are – but I do know that I have come back with a lot more empathy and understanding of how many people in Haiti live. I have looked into the eyes of a young mother who was in desperation to obtain water and food. I walked the same path a seven-year-old child boy named Lionel walks every single day – a treacherous path up a mountain for one and a half hours each way, all by himself, for the opportunity to attend school. I have spoken to many young women and men who just want the ability to work. I have also worked with some of the most brilliant and dedicated teachers I have ever met. They taught me so much more then I would ever be able to teach them. I am never going to forget them and my experience in Haiti. I look forward to coming back soon and further exploring the beauty of Haiti.

If you would like to learn more about the organization and how you can sponsor a student (which I highly recommend) at Kozefo go to: www.kozefo.org

October 27, 2017

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