Zach Groshell bilingual, Learning, Student, technology

Project Shawarma – Students Translate Arabic Menu for a Local Restaurant

A common problem for me as a non-Arabic speaking Khawaja in #Sudan is that many restaurants do not have English language translations. After having one of the best shawarmas in the city just a few months ago, but only being able to say "shawarma jumbo", I was naturally curious to find out what else was … Continue reading Project Shawarma – Students Translate Arabic Menu for a Local Restaurant

Zach Groshell Education, Learning, Teachers

Happy Mathsgiving!

  There's nothing quite like having perfect timing in teaching: when a fantastic opportunity arises for you to give your students a real-life experience about exactly what you’re teaching at that very moment. That’s what happened to me this week. My favorite holiday, like many Americans, is Thanksgiving. Living in abroad in Sudan, November 24th … Continue reading Happy Mathsgiving!

Zach Groshell BLE, Inquiry, Teachers, technology

Teachers Need Tech Sandbox Time

Have you ever met a teacher that had too much planning and nothing to do? Me neither. We fill our planning times and the cracks in between being extremely busy with a litany of time-consuming tasks. That's why administrators and instructional coaches like myself need to give teachers time to just play around with all … Continue reading Teachers Need Tech Sandbox Time

Zach Groshell Education, Learning, Teachers, technology

Seesaw Trick: The Imaginary Student

I have seen a lot of innovative practices in my school this year, and one of these is the clever use of the "fake" or "imaginary" student to organize and filter student work on Seesaw. The purpose of this post is to showcase this hidden feature that all Seesaw users should familiarize themselves with. Classroom News Imaginary … Continue reading Seesaw Trick: The Imaginary Student

Zach Groshell Inquiry, iPad, Learning, Student

Using Keynote to Teach the Scientific Method

I love teaching science to my students. You get to play, use your hands, and discover new things. For those of you who aren't teachers, I have to emphasis how incredibly fun this actually is. I spent an hour today with my students fashioning scissors, raising flags on pulley systems, clicking together wheel barrels and … Continue reading Using Keynote to Teach the Scientific Method

Zach Groshell Education, Learning, Teachers, technology

Easy-Peasy Way to Give Great Links to Students

Sometimes the most useful tools are also the simplest. This rings true with e-link. I've already talked about e-link in the past, and I am happy to say that I am still using it. It is the easiest way I have found to give students a bunch of great URLs on one, quick embeddable webpage. Here … Continue reading Easy-Peasy Way to Give Great Links to Students

Zach Groshell Inquiry, Portfolio, Student

Teacher Toolkit For Seesaw

Many teachers are using @Seesaw for student portfolios or as an online work journal. Here are some resources that I've cooked up for how to go beyond simply posting student work to creating an environment that facilitates learning. Click on any of the below articles for a thorough write-up on ways to use Seesaw in … Continue reading Teacher Toolkit For Seesaw

Zach Groshell Education, Learning, Teachers, technology

My Week of Professional Learning #AEC2016

Stephanie and I had the pleasure of enjoying five days of amazing #AfricaEd at the AISA 2016 Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. If you ever have the chance to attend the AISA conference, either by your own dime or your school's, I highly recommend it. Here are the links to all five posts that I … Continue reading My Week of Professional Learning #AEC2016

Zach Groshell Education, Learning, Teachers, technology

Day 5 #AEC2016: It’s not about the “stuff”; It’s about the people.

#AEC2016 is about more than the "stuff"; It's about the people! Thanks to @rharwood17 and @karenboyes for great learning opps! #AfricaEd — Zach Groshell, M.Ed (@MrZachG) October 20, 2016 One of the great people in my life, Camp Director @tahoescotty, always says that camp is not about the "stuff"; it's about the people. It's about … Continue reading Day 5 #AEC2016: It’s not about the “stuff”; It’s about the people.

Zach Groshell Education, Learning, Teachers, technology

3 #edtech tools I took away from #AEC2016

#1: Google Story Builder The first tool we used in my Advanced Technology Integration course at AISA Conference 2016 in Johannesburg was Google Story Builder, a simple program that has students create a dialogue on Google Docs that is published as a short film with music. I can imagine using this tool for class debates, as … Continue reading 3 #edtech tools I took away from #AEC2016