Tech Matters Blog | Power Up What Works

Tech Matters

Technology tips and teaching strategies aligned with PowerUp WHAT WORKS.

Mar

15

2018

PD on the Go: APPlicable: Improving Accessibility for All Users

Join us every Friday to see one of our favorite short videos to grow and enhance your practice. While you may not be an app developer, this week’s video demonstrates the paradigm shift developers experienced once they started taking accessibility... More...

Mar

12

2018

How to Create Accessible Microsoft Word Documents

You know it is important to create documents accessible to all users, but where do you begin? What tools should you use? Creating accessible documents may seem overwhelming, but fortunately there are small changes you can make, including the use of... More...

Feb

8

2016

Accessible Materials for Students with Print Disabilities

Many struggling and special needs students have a print disability. Unable to gain information from printed materials, their challenges only increase as they progress through school. Teachers can meet these students’ needs by translating... More...

Jan

25

2016

What Can You Do About the Weather?

You can’t do anything about the weather—EXCEPT, that is, if you are a teacher designing weather-related instructional activities. Then you can build reading, writing, math, and science content and skills by integrating varied tech tool... More...

Jan

6

2016

What’s New: Transforming Learning with Technology

Let’s visit innovative educational programs where learning is being transformed by technology. Students around the world are collaborating with researchers, authors, scientists, and public policymakers to expand their learning beyond the classroom... More...

Dec

15

2015

What is Blended Professional Development?

Does your district or school implement blended professional development (PD)? A growing number of districts and schools are enhancing their PD with by offering a mix of face-to-face and virtual learning opportunities, such as: Typical Face-to-... More...

Aug

24

2015

Graphing and Charting Tools to Meet Diverse Student Needs

PowerUp What Works offers eight math teaching strategies to integrate technology into evidence-based teaching practices. . The ability to read, understand, interpret, and create graphs and charts is critical for all students, especially... More...

Jul

28

2015

Finding Value in Spark Notes

At the 2014 Conference for the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English), Kelly Gallagher, admitted using SparkNotes No Fear Shakespeare to teach Hamlet. Here Shakespeare’s original language is presented on the left-hand page and... More...

Jun

26

2015

Gaming Helps Struggling Students Learn

Greg Toppo discussed his new book, The Game Believes in You: How Digital Play Can Make Our Kids Smarter, on the popular Diane Rheme Show (NPR, Washington, D.C.). The book describes the many ways gaming can help children learn—especially... More...

May

27

2015

Learning Comes Alive with Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling is an engaging way to tell a story or present information by mixing computer-based images, text, recorded audio narration, video clips, and/or music. For struggling students, learning, comes alive as they: ... More...