Tag: distance learning

Back to School with a Boom!

It’s probably safe to say there has never been a wackier back-to-school season. With COVID-19 forcing schools to hop back and forth between different possible scenarios for how school will look this year, so much is still up in the air for everyone.

As it stands, it sounds like I will be teaching in-person, but going into the classrooms instead of having students visit me in the library. But who knows when we’ll turn on a dime and enact either the hybrid or virtual learning backup plan?

I recently started exploring Boom Learning℠, and with all the uncertainty surrounding the new school year, I’m excited about the possibilities it provides. If you’ve never used it before, Boom Learning℠ is a platform on which students can complete interactive digital task cards. I’m excited to get my students started with this platform because it seems like it will be super easy to transition from using Boom Cards™ for in-person learning to using them as a part of virtual learning and back and forth as needed.

The Basics of Boom Cards™

  • Your students must be connected to the internet for Boom Cards™ to work.
  • They’re interactive task cards, so your students will be clicking on correct answers, dragging and dropping, or typing in responses on each card.
  • They cover many disciplines – from speech therapy to algebra to library skills.
  • They are designed by “teacher-authors,” just like the products on TpT.
  • They are self-checking and provide instant feedback (including a cheery little “Ding” sound when you get an answer correct. Click here to try a deck and enjoy the “Ding” for yourself!).
  • You as the teacher can view the data it collects when a student completes a deck of Boom Cards™ to gauge mastery.
  • The membership fees for teachers range from $0 to $35 a year, depending on what features you wish to use and how many students you have.
  • In addition to your membership fees, you can purchase additional “points” that can be used to buy more Boom decks in addition to the free ones.
Here’s an example of what you might see on a Boom Card™! This is a Boom Card™ I created to allow students to practice ABC order. Clipart on this card courtesy of MyClipArtStore | http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Myclipartstore and TQ Colours | https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Tq-Colours

What I Love About Boom Learning℠ So Far

  • You can open an account for free. I love to try before I buy!
  • I purchased the Ultimate plan for $35, which didn’t seem bad at all for a year’s subscription to an educational website. With this plan I have access to the entire library of free decks and am able to create as many decks as I want for up to 200 students.
  • There are a lot of decks available for free, and any that need to be purchased seem like a good investment since they can be used over and over again.
  • If you use free or for-purchase decks, Boom Cards™ are no-prep.
  • But, if you want to create a customized deck for your students, Boom provides you with that option as well. (And making decks is really fun!)
  • In addition to buying decks with points through the Boom Learning℠ website, you can also purchase them on TpT (where I hang out a lot anyway…and where I can use TpT giftcards).
Michaels Art Supplies

Make Room for Boom

Since you can open a basic account for free, why not give it a go? I think we can all agree that the more tools we have in our teacher toolbox as we head into this school year, the better!

Here are a couple of simple FREE decks I have designed…feel free to give Boom a try with one of these freebie decks!

Click above to try out a FREE deck for the elementary school library!
Click above to try out a FREE deck for practicing addition facts!

You can also check out the whole collection of free and paid Boom decks I’ve designed here:

OR take a peek at them in my TpT store right here…where they are all ON SALE until 11:59 PM ET on August 6, 2020. Wahoo!

Reflections on 2020

Well then.

I haven’t written in a long time, because, really, what do you say?

So far 2020 has brought us problems that have never happened before, like COVID-19, and issues that have happened all too often before, like racism. It has been a storm of confusion for everyone, and teachers and students have had to process it all while trying out an uncharted teaching and learning lifestyle called “distance learning.”

It’s a lot for everybody. And it’s even more for some, especially those who have experienced the evils of racism firsthand, or those who are struggling to manage during the widespread economic hardships of 2020, or those who have lost a loved one to COVID-19.

I want to start writing light blog posts again about things like free TpT products and awesome books and super-duper fun school library ideas. And posts like that are on the way, because any type of normalcy provides at least a temporary escape from the perils and pains of right now, both for me and (I hope) for you too. And because, despite the obstacles of 2020, education, and life, must go on, and things like cute children’s books and free printables do add to the sparkle of teacher life.

But.

First, I want to address the bowels of 2020, even if what I put out there might feel inadequate to some.

I don’t have any of the answers, guys. But things need to change, and here’s my take.

Driving Change

This is what I know to be true about making things change.

1. Money can drive change. I’m no millionaire, but thanks be to God, my family has enough, and I have this blessing of this teeny, tiny business that I call So Blessed to Be a Teacher. Knowing that I am a (very, very small) part of the solution is worth a lot to me, especially in these crazy times, so 100% of my TpT profits for June went to charitable organizations (Water for South Sudan and Catholic Relief Services). And, as I mentioned early on in 2020, I’m planning to continue making donating to charity a regular part of what I do here at So Blessed to Be a Teacher. I truly believe that every little bit helps, and I think we have a shot at making this world work better again IF we share with other people.

2. Mindset can drive change. I love that quote attributed to Henry Ford that goes, “Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.” We will get nowhere on any of these issues if we have a negative mindset or a belief that things can’t change. I’m sure every single one of us has had a chance to spin our wheels in plenty of negativity mud puddles in 2020 already. I think we can all agree that we’ll get moving a lot faster if we get out of the mud.

3. Prayer always drives change. Prayer works on so many levels that it always drives some type of change, big or small. Prayer humbles us. It reminds us of our place in the scheme of things, helping us feel both tiny in a big world and significant enough to matter to God. Prayer helps us to realize all that we have to be grateful for and where it all comes from. Prayer softens our hearts, changes our mindsets, and slowly chips away at our fears. It weaves us together as part of something bigger than ourselves. Prayer works to align our will to God’s. Prayer connects people all over the world and allows for conversation and collaboration with our Creator.

I don’t know how to solve 2020, but I wanted to share what has helped me so far. Feeling like I am a (teeny tiny) part of the solution keeps me going. In a nutshell, what I have to offer is: in 2020, there are many things that we can’t do and can’t control, but we CAN trust in the Lord, we CAN encourage each other to keep thinking positively, we CAN pray for each other, we CAN choose to be part of a positive change, we CAN view this broken world through a lens of love, and we CAN keep moving forward, one day at a time.