In this blog post, I’ll be sharing my personal journey through the world of gaming and eSports, as well as exploring how this exciting new development is shaping the future of education. Join me as we dive into the thrilling world of eSports and discover the exciting possibilities it holds!
Join us in this episode as we chat with Matt, a former 9th grade teacher from NYC who now works with us at SPS in Western Mass. Matt shares his journey from being a young teacher with computer skills to running and organizing technology for schools. He talks about his experience using Chromebooks and Google Classroom and how he encouraged his students to create podcasts to showcase their knowledge. Since Matt has joined our department, his work has focused on…
In this podcast, Victoria Ellis shares her journey of 15 years in education, starting as a paraeducator. She is now working as a Middle School math teacher at the Springfield Virtual School for Springfield Public Schools. She talks about how she found her calling as a teacher and the challenges she has faced in her journey. Victoria emphasizes the importance of striking a balance between using physical and virtual tools to teach Middle School Math. She shares her experiences of…
I wrote about this in 2019 but it’s as relevant as ever today. As the seasons change here in New England your favorite music in the classroom will be coming on. You know that song, “Putt, Putt, Putt, Clack, Clack Clack” created by the school heater. Once that song starts, you’ll get that warm burst of air in the classroom and if you were lucky, you would only hear that song once a day. In my case the song was…
Last year I wrote about the greatest educational tool Microsoft has ever created; Reading Progress. The tool was in its early stages, and I approached it as an overview of the program. Today’s post is going to focus on how to use it in your classroom. For those of you who don’t want to go back and read my previous post on Reading Progress, here is a quick refresher Reading Progress is a free tool built into MS Teams and is…
At the SPS Digital Learning Hour, we take great pride in highlighting the diverse experiences of teachers at various stages of their careers. This week, we had the pleasure of interviewing David Steinberg from German Gerena Community School. David, who previously worked as a consultant in the private sector, made the decision to switch to a career in education after substitute teaching in his free time. He shared with us how he leverages the extensive professional development opportunities offered by…
This week I am bringing you an incredibly special episode. Over the summer I met Karen Toro and Courtney Ciras from Alice B. Beal Elementary School. During the summer, as teachers, we can really develop new practices in a low-pressure environment. This also means that we get to try new things. With close to 25 years teaching experience combined and Karen coming up through the Springfield School system, these two were ready to try something new! This is where Courtney…
This week’s podcast we interviewed Denise Cote, a Middle School English Teacher from Springfield’s Conservatory of the Arts. Mike and Denise talked all about the use of technology in the district for the last 17 years! During the interview you will learn how Denise first adopted technology in her classrooms and how that technology continues to enhance her teaching. Denise has also been a proponent of Professional Development and has taken on the 22 Tools Challenge head on. When the…
Welcome to the start of a new school year. For the first episode of the year we spoke with Sarah DeFeo. This interview was recorded near the end of last year and we thought it would be a great way to start this year. Sarah teaches at White Street Elementary School and has been there for the last eight years. Sarah came to teaching 2nd grade as a career change. Throughout the interview we discussed how technology has been used…
Summer was way too short! I still hold out that summer is here until the end of the Big E (The biggest fair in all of New England), even though we are back in school. We’ve had an exciting summer around here at Digital Learning and Assessment (DLA) and we can’t wait for the school year to begin. We hope that all the changes that we have made over the summer help you all use technology more efficiently. Over the…