Monica Burns Ed.d. Edtech

Great Teaching + Good Relationships + Relevant Technology Integration = an Empowered ClassroomWhat do classrooms look like when students are empowered with learning opportunities that stretch them to be their personal best? Purpose—Lessons are intentionally designed to make learning accessible and relevant. Opportunity—Students have opportunities for agency and ownership of learning. Willing—Teachers are willing to evaluate what isn’t working and make changes as needed. Engage—Educators use tools, like Microsoft Teams, to engage all learners. Relationships—Putting students first builds relationships that enable them to thrive. In The Microsoft Teams Playbook, edtech experts and coauthors Jeni Long and Salleé Clark (hosts of The #Jenallee Show) provide a coach’s manual for creating empowered classrooms. Using Microsoft Teams as a multifaceted hub and integrating other powerful edtech tools, the authors guide teachers to foster learning opportunities that are accessible and equitable for all students. With video conferencing, coauthoring capabilities, accessibility tools, file sharing, partner apps, and more, Microsoft Teams equips educators to create an environment rich in communication, collaboration, and learning opportunities. As the authors share their passion and wealth of experience as Microsoft Innovative Educators (MIEs), you will . . . Learn how to leverage the power of technology to create an equal playing field for students.Explore best practices for utilizing Microsoft Teams in a blended learning environment.Discover ideas for integrating Microsoft Teams partner applications in your lesson design.With 70+ lesson ideas using apps you know and your students love, The Microsoft Teams Playbook equips you to create an empowered classroom today! “The Microsoft Teams Playbook is just that: a book that empowers teachers to be their own classroom coaches while also giving them practical Microsoft tools to empower the learning of their students.” —Carl Hooker, educational consultant and strategist “If you are committed to making your classroom accessible for all students, The Microsoft Teams Playbook provides practical, actionable advice to make an impact throughout the school year.” —Monica Burns, EdD, author of EdTech Essentials

When we embark on a journey, every action revolves around the destination. Of course, not all trips are smooth sailing. We inevitably hit distractions, obstacles, and detours. These challenges threaten to blow us off course, but when we stay focused on the destination rather than the barriers, we can move forward. The same is true in education. Barriers to effective teaching are neither permanent states nor character traits. Rather, they are temporary challenges successful coaches help teachers overcome by connecting them with the right methods and keeping them focused on the destination. In Compassionate Coaching, Kathy Perret and Kenny McKee identify the six most vexing challenges teachers face—lack of confidence, failure, overload, disruption, isolation, and school culture challenges—and the six corresponding ways that coaches can help teachers surmount them, dubbed the compassionate coaching focus areas. Coaching with compassion is a process focused on partnership, empowerment, prioritization, routine, connection, and openness. Done well, it can result in transformational improvements to student achievement and teacher work satisfaction. In some cases, it can even shift the trajectory of whole schools. Roadblocks and detours can get in our way when we are coaching just as they can during any journey. Instead of grumbling about the setbacks, we can open our eyes to the possibilities of a new and better route. That's what compassionate coaching offers. Let's go!

"One of the best new Special Education books" - BookAuthority Tamera Musiowsky-Borneman and C. Y. Arnold have developed a way to bring a minimalist mindset to the classroom and shed the burden of too many initiatives, strategies, and "things" in general. Their Triple P process helps teachers declutter in three steps: identify something's purpose, prioritize what is important, and pare down to essentials. Because the Triple P process emphasizes structured and candid self-reflection to determine what is essential, meaningful, and useful—and then discard what is extraneous—The Minimalist Teacher can be adapted to the physical classroom environment, curriculum, instruction, assessment, and more. Each chapter provides sample reflection questions and brainstorming activities to help teachers * Reduce mental and physical waste. * Manage burnout and stress. * Advocate for minimalism in the school. * Prioritize resources that best support student learning. Teachers face countless decisions every day, few of which are easy, but they don't have to be overwhelming. No matter the classroom, you can take control of your daily decisions in a way that reduces educator stress and builds a better learning environment for students.

Discover ways to empower students to build confidence in sharing their learning, becoming more responsible digital citizens and evolving into classroom creators. In researching the top skills students need to succeed in the future, author Rachelle Dene Poth identified the following: ability to communicate, work in teams, think creatively, problem-solve and design. This book shows educators how to help students develop these essential skills through authentic, real-world learning experiences, building a pathway for the future of learning and work. In Chart a New Course, educators will get the tools they need to design more purposeful learning experiences to drive student engagement and motivation, promote creativity in learning, model risk-taking and build classroom culture. Readers will discover how these activities can be woven into instruction rather than layered on existing curriculum, with ideas for getting started; suggestions in response to the statement, “If you’re doing this, try this instead;” and lessons learned along the way. The book will:Foster authentic learning through integration of digital tools and emerging trends.Serve as a resource for emerging educators and those with varying levels of tech experience, helping them explore the use of different digital tools and concepts to prepare students for the future.Offer clear examples and narratives from students and other educators who have implemented some of the tools discussed, focusing on themes of empowered learning, innovative design and student choice.Explore risks taken, failures experienced and fun in working through the challenges, illustrating ways to weave established and emerging topics into curriculum. This accessible resource opens up a variety of learning experiences for students and illustrates how to implement different technologies into multiple content areas and grade levels. Audience: 6-12 educators