"Tis the Season... for #EpicPals!

Click here to access December EpicPals Google Doc

Our December #EpicPals primary and intermediate collections are ready and waiting for you. This month's primary board again includes a Read To Me Flipgrid selection! Flipgrid, coupled with a Read to Me book, is a great way to give your struggling readers the opportunity to participate in EpicPals independently! Of course, ANYONE can participate on the Flipgrid response and students don't have to use the Read to Me function for the book selection. Personalize the experience for your students how you see fit for their needs!! The Flipgrid videos are fully moderated by me so please give me a 24-48 hour turn around time to approve them. Please also talk to your students about appropriate digital citizenship when creating their videos. I understand that this venue may be new to many but if there is inappropriate language, gestures, etc, videos will be deleted. 

Also new this month is the ability for students to like other students' posts on the Padlet boards. We have turned on the new Reactions feature this month. Encourage your students to read others' posts and if they like their post, have them click on the heart at the bottom of the sticky note. This is a fantastic way to lead students toward commenting- start with being reflective and having an authentic reason to like something so they can then move forward to explaining. 

We also encourage you to have conversations with your students on what constitutes a good post and how to be a good digital citizen when working online. You can find several resources to help you with these conversations on this previous blog post. My hope is to add the comment feature to our Padlets at some point this year as students' reading, writing, and reflective skills improve. More on that in the near future.

Without further ado, here is the link for December's EpicPals Google Doc with this month's books and QR codes/links to the Flipgrid and Padlet boards.

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If you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. You can find both of us on Twitter- @smalchow (primary boards) and @bhopteacher (intermediate boards)

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New to EpicPals and need some additional information? If so, head on over the the #EpicPals page at the top of the blog for additional information.

Hour of Code 2017

Is your class participating in the Hour of Code next week? Not sure what it's all about? Check out the video below and then commit to having your class take part next week.  

Ready to jump in? Try a one hour tutorial designed for ALL ages in over 45 languages!! My first graders loved taking part in the Hour of Code and really enjoyed working through the Minecraft activity. (The one on the Code.org website has been updated and is now listed for grades 2+). 

If you're not familiar with coding, DON'T let it hinder you from giving your students a chance to try it. You'll be surprised at what your students will figure out on their own. You may even be surprised at which of your students grasp the concepts right away. It never ceased to amaze me how some of my struggling students were the ones that excelled at coding. What a wonderful opportunity for ALL students to experience growth mindset, critical thinking, and problem solving... all while opening doors to their futures. 

Check out this week's Tech Bytes newsletter for a variety of resources to get you going. Who knows, you may decide that you'll even want to continue beyond next week! If that's the case, Code.org has a wonderful, FREE curriculum that you can use. Check out the Beyond an Hour of Code website.

Malchow's Tech Bytes~ Hour of Code Edition

Still wondering why you should invest in the time to teach coding? Check out the 10 reasons below by Brian Aspinall.

Thanksgiving Kahoot fun!!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and conferences are now behind us, but we still have a couple of days until we can relax and enjoy some extra time with our families. 

If you are in need of a little something extra for this week, consider using one of these Thanksgiving Kahoots that I put together. 

Read (or watch) Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano and then treat your kids to a coordinating, comprehension-based game of Kahoot!


Here's one more that I put together that you and your students may also like~

Read (or watch) Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey and then play this coordinating Kahoot! 

And in case you want something a little more low key...here are a few YouTube stories your kiddos may enjoy during snack time:

Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving

10 Fat Turkeys

There was an old lady who swallowed a turkey

Talkin' Tech and Turkey!

Lots of resources this week for Thanksgiving as well as a wonderful resource from Ann Brucker, a tech integration specialist from Billings, Montana, that will help you when your students change various settings on the Chromebooks. A definite "Print off and keep handy!"

Click the image to access Malchow's Tech Bytes~ November 13-17

 Here's hoping everyone has a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving break with family and friends. I'll be taking the week off as well to enjoy time with my family so there will not be a Tech Bytes newsletter posted next week.

Malchow's Tech Bytes~ Nov 6-10

This week's newsletter has lots of odds n' ends. Hopefully there will be a tidbit of two that you'll find helpful.

If you're looking for a wonderful, global collaboration opportunity, I would highly suggest checking out the Holiday Card Exchange by Projects by Jen. This year's theme is stars. My 1st graders always enjoyed this project. It was a great way for us to learn about others, practice geography skills, and connect with others through Google HangOuts. 

Malchow's Tech Bytes~ November 6th

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