January 2021
New Resources and Professional Learning Available through eTEACHNY
This past July, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) was awarded funding through the United States Department of Education’s Rethink K-12 Education Models Grant to implement the Teaching in Remote/Hybrid Learning Environments (TRLE) Program. The goal of the program’s first phase is to rapidly infuse professional learning resources to the field through our partners across the state.

eTeachNY is a coalition of education partners who have come together to support the implementation of the Teaching in Remote Learning Environments (TRLE) Initiative. In coordination with the New York State Education Department (NYSED), eTeachNY supports the development of resources and training related to the six core areas outlined below. 

  • Shifting to Teaching Online
  • Engaging Families as Partners in Remote/Hybrid Learning
  • Meeting the needs of SWDs through Remote/Hybrid Learning
  • Meeting the needs of ELLs/MLLs through Remote-Hybrid Learning
  • Integrating Culturally-Responsive Sustaining Education (CRSE) in Remote Learning Environments
  • Integrating Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in Remote Learning Environments.

The resources that are created as part of the eTeachNY consortium will be available on the new website at www.eteachny.org. Additionally, educators can follow @eTeachNY on Twitter for daily tips and resources that will support teaching and learning. Professional learning specialists from BT, DCMO, GST, and ONC BOCES are partnering together to attend statewide trainings for the resources developed and will be providing regional professional learning opportunities for the remainder of the school year. A schedule of opportunities related to the six core areas will be available within the next couple of weeks. 

To continue to align these professional learning efforts with the needs of the field, NYSED has launched a brief reflection/survey that seeks educators' input and expertise on how program activities can best support teaching students in remote and hybrid instructional settings. Please share this reflection/survey with educators in your schools. The reflection/ survey will be available for teachers to respond to until February 15, 2021. For more information regarding the Rethink K-12 Education Models Grant, you can visit the NYSED website at http://www.nysed.gov/rethink. 
Adding Fuel to Your Hybrid Classroom
Teachers this year have come face to face with the unique challenge of hybrid teaching, teaching both in-person and remote students simultaneously. Throughout the winter months, educators across the area have joined Marissa McNamara, Stacy Smith, and Erin Wilday for Adding Fuel to your Hybrid Classroom. 

During this three-part series, participants experienced customized approaches to teaching and learning for this very unique environment. Areas of focus included the importance and strategies for building a positive hybrid class community, techniques that promote student collaboration, and an exploration of various ways in which students can demonstrate their thinking and learning. 

Within each session teachers were reminded of practices used within a typical year, but were shown how to adjust to fit the needs of a hybrid class. For example, having students work in small groups on a collective task. By utilizing key features of Google Slides, teachers can have students work together no matter where they are located! After demonstrating a specific approach Marissa, Stacy, and Erin reveal how that teaching strategy was set up and provide targeted examples of how the various groups (remote or in-person) would engage in the learning. 

Interested in adding fuel to your hybrid classroom? Register now for our next three-part series (Feb. 23rd, March 9th, & March 23rd) here.

As we rely more and more on technology on a daily basis, the monthly Tech Tips for Administrators section of PLIC pride aims to help support your work as a leader.  

Last month, we highlighted Google Drive as an effective and efficient collaborative tool. This month, we’ll focus on a few quick Google Drive tips to help you be more efficient and organized in this platform.  

Did you know that you can quickly create a new document, slide deck, sheet or form without opening your Drive first? Simply type the Google file type you’d like to create, followed by .new. For example, to create a new Doc, type doc.new. If you are not currently signed in to Google, your browser will prompt you to sign in first before creating the new document. 

Alternatively, you can keep your Drive organized by creating new Google documents within the folder you’d like to store them. In your drive, open (or create) a folder. Once in that folder, click “New”, then create the document. Now that document will automatically be saved to that folder! To see a brief video explanation of this process, click here to watch a two minute video by Rick Bray: Create New Google Files 


Have too many files to sort through? You can add your most-used files and folders to the Starred section, found on the left-hand menu of your Drive. You can add files and folders to this spot by right clicking and selecting “Add to Starred”. 


You can also color-code your folders by right clicking on them, then selecting “change color” to create an organizational system that works for you. 
For more Google Drive tips and tricks, visit our Google Drive for Educators tutorial site. 

Continue the conversation and sharing with one another on Twitter using #BTTechTip. We look forward to celebrating what is working for you and sharing ideas with leaders across the region.
 Learn ~ Collaborate ~ Explore ~ Register Today!
Looking for more Professional Learning opportunities?
Check out the PLIC catalog and calendar here!