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Wide Open School
Wide Open School helps make learning from home an experience that inspires kids, supports teachers, relieves families, and restores community. Wide Open School is a free collection of the best online learning experiences for kids curated by the editors at Common Sense. There is so much good happening, and we are here to gather great stuff and organize it so teachers and families can easily find it and plan each day.
 
 
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Free Distance Learning Templates for Back-to-School
Pandemic or not, a new school year can be an opportunity for a fresh start. It may be hard to feel fresh if you're overwhelmed by the circumstances, but back-to-school traditions can help keep spirits up. Maybe for you it's buying new school supplies, planning out a brand-new unit, or incorporating some of the tools and strategies you've discovered over the break into your lessons.
 
 
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Parent Tips and Tricks for Distance Learning
At this point, the distance learning scenario isn't entirely new. We have more information about what works for kids and what doesn't. And the hope is that we -- parents, caregivers, teachers, and school leaders -- are now better prepared to support kids in their social, emotional, and academic growth during the pandemic.
 
 
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Distance Learning Short List: Best Free Resources by Grade and Subject
It's tough in a typical school year to serve each student's unique learning needs, but the coronavirus pandemic has transformed the meaning of meeting all students "where they are." For many, this means converting some or all elements of your teaching and curriculum to distance learning.
 
 
 
 
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Quick Digital Citizenship Activities for K–5 Distance Learning
Digital citizenship will be more important than ever this fall as most students will return to school virtually, in one form or another. But with the pressures of distance learning, we know that educators and students may have limited instructional time together.
 
 
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How to Use Technology to Support ELLs in Your Classroom
English-language learners (ELLs) come into our classrooms with a wide variety of specific and unique needs for language acquisition. It's hard to talk about them all as one group -- ELLs represent a diverse range of students in every sense. It's needless to say: Working with ELLs is often challenging and also highly rewarding.
 
 
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Free or Low-Cost Resources for PD in Distance Learning
With so much uncertainty about the 2020–2021 school year due to the coronavirus pandemic, one fact remains: The skills and resources that reflective, dedicated teachers need to navigate remote, hybrid, and face-to-face learning environments are plentiful -- and ever evolving.
 
 
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Common Sense Education Recognition Program
L.A. Unified and ITI recognize schools and educators who achieve Common Sense Certification. For the School Year 2020-21, we continue our partnership with Common Sense Education to offer a complete K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum. See the variety of materials and lessons available along with the application process on how your school and teachers can become part of the Common Sense Education Recognition Program:

Common Sense Digital Citizenship Certified Educator
Common Sense Digital Citizenship Certified School
 
 
 
 
 
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Nine Resources for Teaching Anti-Racism
How do you nurture anti-racism in children? Can educators and parents teach young people to see past their unconscious bias and ingrained beliefs to truly empathize with peers of color? How can white educators teach these topics when they have no personal experience with racism?
 
 
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Four Tips for Teaching with Tech: Online Learning Edition
Two weeks before school started, the iPads arrived. Sixth-grade English teacher Laurie Guyon, who had never touched the device before, suddenly found herself in the midst of an exploratory 1:1 pilot. Her mission: Give it a try and see what happens. 

 
 
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Five Things You Can Do to Bring Computer Science to All Your Students
There’s no doubt that in today’s world, computer science (CS) is foundational knowledge for all students and coding is a foundational skill — just like reading and writing. Yet many schools, especially those in low socioeconomic areas, don’t teach computer science because of a lack of resources and the remediation that is needed at an early age.

 
 
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Three Ways Teachers Can Integrate SEL into Online Learning
The coronavirus crisis has compelled educators everywhere to make new pedagogical shifts to meet the demands of online teaching. Teachers will continue to be challenged to use education technology to make remote learning engaging and design lessons with content that is much more relevant to the students they serve. 

 
 
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The Best Educator PD Comes From Your Professional Learning Network
The ISTE Standards for Educators challenge teachers to become leaders, creators and facilitators of dynamic or transformative student learning. What I love most about this set of ISTE Standards is that they view educators as professionals who drive global change and continually reflect on their practice. Great teachers understand the need to develop a network for support, resources and collaborative planning. They reach beyond their classroom walls to build a global network of educators with shared interests, similar positions and who challenge their beliefs and ideas.

 
 
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Readiness & Integration - In Preparation for Device Distribution
The Instructional Technology Initiative (ITI) offers District-wide instructional resources to support schools’ completion of the readiness resource items in order to distribute digital tools to students. Please visit the ITI website Readiness Resource Center for more information

For more information, please contact Allison Jonas, Readiness and Integration Coordinator at allison.jonas@lausd.net.
 
 
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Ten Tips to Start Teaching with Minecraft
Minecraft is easy to use and implement in a classroom. It promotes student independence and creativity, but it is also an immensely collaborative tool that I have witnessed being integrated across all grade levels and content areas. Students can apply their understanding in truly unique and often unanticipated ways.
 
 
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Equitable Practices Remote Teaching Guide for Computer Science
The Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework can help educators create student-centered learning environments that affirm racial, linguistic and cultural identities and empower students as agents of social change

 
 
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How Important is Adding Robotics as a Subject of Study in Schools? 
Technology is redefining the way humans interact with machines, and digital disruption is evitable. How is academia preparing the young minds for the future?

 
 
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Minecraft: Education Edition Gets a Boost as a Remote Learning Tool with Chrome OS Beta
Minecraft has been used in educational settings for quite a few years now, but the original game wasn't designed expressly with that use in mind. That's why Minecraft: Education Edition was created back in 2016 with a number of unique administrator controls and features to provide teachers with additional tools to facilitate learning through Minecraft.

 
 
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It’s Time to be Game Changers
Project-based, hands-on FIRST® programs introduce students to engineering and coding/programming in an inclusive, creative, and hopeful environment where students work collaboratively to solve a yearly robotics challenge. Boosted by a global support system of mentors, educators, volunteers, sponsors, and alumni, our PreK-12 programs are designed to inspire innovation and help young people build a better future.

 
 
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2020 CS Teaching Excellence Awards
CSTA and Infosys Foundation USA are proud to announce the winners of the 2020 CSTA/Infosys Foundation USA CS Teaching Excellence Awards. These winners demonstrate their excellent work inspiring students to explore the computer science field; effectively engage students in learning rigorous, standards-aligned, computer science content; and a focus on broadening participation of underrepresented students in computing.

 
 
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Digital Citizenship Lessons For Teachers, By Teachers 
The Instructional Technology Initiative proudly unveils our “Digital Citizenship Lessons For Teachers, By Teachers” in collaboration with the Division of Instruction. These resources are created by our Instructional Technology Facilitators with a special focus on practical and ready to implement lessons for the first ten days of school that span the range of building positive and safe online communities, cultivating digital citizens through social-emotional learning, to fostering inclusive online relationships.

 
 
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DigCit#EmpoweredByITI How-To Videos
The #EmpoweredByITI video collection are short, focused videos designed by ITI instructional technology facilitators with the goal of demonstrating instructionally rigorous ways of using digital tools and resources.
 
 
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The Role of Familia in Digital Citizenship and Navigating Remote Learning
In the recent circumstances of navigating COVID-19, families have not only struggled with access to technology, but also having conversations about how to use technology in meaningful, proactive ways. For many families across the nation, schools have made their best attempt at bridging the digital divide by providing digital tools and resources to keep students learning and engaged virtually. However, where are the guides and supports to help families integrate these tools in rigorous, effective ways that support learning?

 
 
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ITI Professional Development Catalog
ITI supports all schools district-wide with robust and rigorous professional learning by offering various models of support along a continuum to meet learners where they are. You can join our individual learning opportunities such as the Teacher Leader Network, ISTE Student Standards Suite; computer science sessions, or learn together as an Instructional Leadership Team though the Instructional Leadership Cohort. Our Professional Development Catalog is currently being updated and will be published soon. We invite you to join us in any of our learning sessions. Please visit MyPLN or the ITI website for more information about our Professional Learning Opportunities.

 
 
 
 
 
 
ITI Teacher Leader Network
The ITI Teacher Leader Network (TLN) is extending its invitation to interested teachers who want to join our cohort for this school year. Teacher Leaders participate in a series of learning sessions to reflect upon and refine their practices in order to accomplish their self-selected goals. Each session provides participants an opportunity to engage as learners exploring instructional practices that will empower them to provide personalized learning experiences as well as share their learnings with others.

If interested please complete the form below: http://bit.ly/tlninterestform

 
 
 
 
ITI Education Leader Network
ITI is encouraging interested principals to apply and become part of the ITI Education Leader Network (ELN). The ELN was created to support principals who share a common interest in cultivating their leadership skills around 21st century learning. Principals will receive the benefit of becoming part of a community of learners with in-depth professional learning sessions provided by ITI. 

If interested please complete this form: http://bit.ly/ELNinterestform

 
 
 
 
Learning Management System (LMS) Announcement
The learning management system (LMS) and online gradebook, Schoology, is available for elementary and secondary schools. The LMS represents an opportunity to transform the learning environment by providing students and teachers with access to 21st Century digital tools within an engaging online learning platform. To learn more about the LMS, please visit the PLS website:http://achieve.lausd.net/pls.
 
 
 
 
 
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ISTE Creative Constructor Lab

Virtual 
October 3–10, 2020

Learn how to create vibrant, media-rich learning environments through the Creative Constructor Lab Virtual, a fully digital experience that brings together creative educators to experiment with digital storytelling, design thinking, coding and more to teach in new and innovative ways.

 
 
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ISTE 2020 Conference

Virtual
November 29–December 5, 2020

Experience online learning at its best! ISTE20 Live isn’t just about teaching online, it will be a real-time demonstration of how to learn in online settings. ISTE20 will feature strategies and functionality that showcase what online learning should be.

 
 
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Reduced-Cost Internet from California Emerging Technology Fund
We know you are keenly aware of the Homework Gap and the Opportunity Gap, cruel results of the digital divide between students who have home internet access and those who do not. These gaps impact low-income and rural area students, making it difficult to complete homework assignments and take advantage of other online opportunities. The California Emerging Technology Fund is partnering with schools and districts serving low-income students to spread the word about reduced-cost internet offers. 

 
 
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Digital Inclusion for Angelenos
The City of Los Angeles, in partnership with the California Emerging Technology Fund and EveryoneOn, is helping Angelenos find options for low-cost internet services, access to computers, and digital literacy services. 
 
 
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Aquarium of the Pacific - Virtual
The Aquarium of the Pacific is now offering an Aquarium Online Academy to bring educational programming as well as fun and entertaining activities to the public during the current closure. The Aquarium Online Academy includes both on-demand videos and activities for all ages and a schedule of interactive live programs with Aquarium educators. 

 
 
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The Los Angeles Public Library At Home - Virtual
While all Los Angeles Public Library locations are physically closed, you can still access their online resources. All LAUSD students are automatically assigned a Student Success Card. That means that they can use their cards to access ALL online resources, so long as you have your library card number and PIN—you don’t need the physical card.

 
 
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Resources from Parent and Community Services
The Parent and Community Services office supports school efforts to implement effective family engagement activities that value partnerships with parents for the benefit of children’s learning and achievement. Resources for parents and families include: 
Guides and videos for parent portal and Schoology
Online learning videos
PCS Covid site contains playcard, guides on logging in to Chromebooks, Clever, Schoology, Zoom, and creating an email account.

To learn more about the Parent and Community Services and resources and support they provide, please visit their website at https://achieve.lausd.net/pcss.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Fostering a Strong Community in a Virtual Classroom
The shift to working online requires teachers to think a little differently about how to build the culture they want with their students. One of my friends, a classroom physics teacher, was asked to teach an online physics course. Many of the students dropped the course midterm, and it was not offered again. When I asked what happened, my friend said the class failed because he began without establishing a strong class culture, diving right into physics. He assumed that the culture he had worked so hard to build in his classroom was already present.

 
 
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