EL Teacher Resources: LessonPick and Skype Translator

Greetings!  A couple new resources came to my attention this week that I feel compelled to share.

LessonPick

LessonPick is an online resource for sharing lessons for serving English Learners.  Initial reviews by myself and other EL Consultants across the state indicate that the resources are generally of high quality.

Skype Translator

Skype Translator is a new technology building on neural digital networks.  This allows for individuals speaking different languages to have a real-time translated conversation.  Currently it is only available on PCs, but work is ongoing to bring this tool to Apple computers as well.  This again has been tentatively tested by EL Consultants across the state with initial thumbs up.

Thanks for everyones hard work for English Learners!

Our Kids Summer Institute 2017 Reminder

Iowa's Our Kids Summer Institute is scheduled for June 13th and 14th.  

The 2017 Our Kids Summer Institute will provide participants with the opportunity to network with other educational professionals, to discover new strategies for working with English language learners in Iowa, and to meet national and local experts to enrich practices for increasing EL achievement.

In-depth information regarding presenters as well as the specific registration process for Green Hills area educators will be shared in the coming in 1-2 weeks. Until then, I want to share what is known now in order to help districts to continue determining planned participants in this unique learning opportunity.

Topics Include:

• Strategies for engaging and supporting English learners in Universal Tier Instruction
• Honoring English learner's Home Language/s in the classroom to improve EL student outcomes
• Equitable access to extracurricular activities and college and career readiness pathways
• Cultural proficiency 
• Newcomer programming and instructional best practices
• Using ELPA21 data for instructional decision making and program evaluation
• Diverse ELL Panel of First Person Voices (students) will discuss their challenges and successes from unique perspectives.

As well as a variety of Unconference topics such as: Supplementary resources for ELs, Sheltered Instruction, ELL/MTSS, Dual language program models, and many more.

To enhance your conference experience, prior to June 13, we would like you to join the ELL Community found at the following address: http://moodlesw.aeapdonline.org/course/view.php?id=832

The ELL Community offers teachers and administrators an avenue for networking, professional learning and accessing a multitude of resources to assist with programming, instructional design and meeting student needs.

As a community member, you will have access to the Our Kids Summer Institute:
* Program
* Session Information and resources
* Online discussion related to the Institute

Watch the video at the following address to learn how to join the ELL Community:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIjbRvcyh_E

For a complete overview of the community, view the video at the following address:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdDJFNCUYHo