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The Digital Backpack - Your Resource For Online Learning

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The Digital Backpack

Your resource for online learning

Your trusted source for K-12 online learning insights, teaching strategies, and success stories from Michigan’s leading virtual education provider. Join us as we explore innovative approaches to help students thrive in the digital age.

Molly-Davis

3 strategies for coping with & preventing educator burnout

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This therapist from Alaska is exploring the relationship between boundaries and burnout. Check out Molly Davis’s top three strategies for coping with and preventing educator burnout!

Podcasts, Bright
FEB 02, 2022
Father encouraging son on homeschooling or doing a video call/watching a movie

37 Black History Month resources for teachers

Sarah Hill Sarah Hill

Did you know a teacher started Black History Month?It’s only appropriate, then, that we compile a list of unique Black History Month resources for educators.But first, let’s go back to the beginning.

Teaching
FEB 02, 2022
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How to Help Foster Self-Awareness in Students

Navigate360

Self-awareness is a skill that many adults, let alone kids, struggle with. Fortunately, however, this skill can be cultivated in youth with the right social-emotional support—and schools play an essen

Social Emotional Learning
FEB 01, 2022
alarm clock in front of calender with circled deadline

Time for Teachers: Importance of Distinguishing Systemic from Individual Barriers and Solutions

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Educators often cite a lack of time as one of their most significant stressors. How can we help teachers find the balance necessary to feel satisfied in their jobs and meet their social and emotional needs? This first post in the Time for Teachers blog series will distinguish systemic from individual barriers, which is essential to ensure that finding time for themselves is not an undue burden on individual teachers. Some challenges require state-, district-, and school-wide solutions.

Teaching, Research, Social Emotional Learning
JAN 31, 2022
Sam-Sicilia

3 tips for setting & tracking goals with students

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This instructional coach is pushing to make grades more meaningful to students. Check out Sam Sicilia’s top three tips for setting and tracking student goals in the classroom!

Podcasts, Bright
JAN 27, 2022
Children learning writing in preschool

The Importance of Digital Learning: Gen Z and Gen Alpha in the Classroom

Navigate360

As a modern-day educator, you probably have experience working with both Millennials and Generation Z students—where Millennials are defined as those born between 1981 and 1996 and Generation Z are th

Social Emotional Learning
JAN 27, 2022
Teacher takes time to walk and talk with teen

The Impact of Self-Image on Students & Ways Educators Can Help Them Create a Positive One

Navigate360

A student’s self-image is formed by experiences and relationships—watch any stereotypical high school film, and you’ll see the power of comparisons and social rankings in action. These identifying exp

Social Emotional Learning
JAN 25, 2022
Nicole-Green

3 tips for coding with young students

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This technology teacher is showing her K-8 students how to code. Listen to Nicole Green’s powerful story and her top three tips for coding with young students!

Podcasts, Bright
JAN 20, 2022
Graduates in graduation ceremony

How Superintendents Can Foster College & Career Readiness by Incorporating SEL in a K-12 Environment

Navigate360

Social-emotional learning (SEL) can result in significant academic improvements for students. In fact, school districts in Chicago that partnered with the Collaborating Districts Initiative (CDI) from

Social Emotional Learning
JAN 20, 2022
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4 Strategies for Superintendents When Implementing a Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum

Navigate360

Social-emotional learning (SEL) plays a huge role in human development for young people, helping them manage their emotions, show empathy to others, and maintain healthy relationships. In fact, resear

Social Emotional Learning
JAN 18, 2022
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How Stress Affects the Teenage Brain

Navigate360

K-12 students at all levels are experiencing tremendous changes both physically and mentally as they progress toward adulthood. Guiding students through this journey is one of the greatest rewards for

Social Emotional Learning
JAN 13, 2022
Tan-A-Hoffman

3 strategies for providing culturally responsive education to Native American students

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What does it mean to provide a culturally responsive education to Native American students? As a teacher, where should you begin? Meet Tan-A Hoffman, a second-grade teacher at JKL Bahweting Anishnabe School and a 2020-21 regional teacher of the year, representing her geographic area in Michigan’s upper peninsula. Tan-A shares some incredible stories, a brief bit of history, and three strategies for providing culturally responsive education to Native American students.

Podcasts, Bright
JAN 12, 2022
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SEL Strategies Educators Can Use to Improve Decision-Making Skills in K-12 Students

Navigate360

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) found that five core competencies provide the ideal foundation for high-quality social-emotional learning (SEL) curricula. Those

Social Emotional Learning
JAN 11, 2022
Adult student holding laptop

10 New Year’s Resolutions for Teachers in 2022

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From filling your bucket to creating boundaries, we created these resolutions to guide you during this irregular year.

Teaching
JAN 10, 2022
Nervous boy. First day of school.  Holds on to mom.

How Schools Can Address Individual Student Needs: Anxiety and Depression

Navigate360

Everyone experiences anxiety and low points from time to time, including children and teens. But when anxiety becomes excessive, it can disrupt normal function and learning and even require the suppor

Social Emotional Learning
JAN 06, 2022
African American teacher and her student using laptop during computer class at elementary school.

How Schools Can Support Social Awareness and Empathy in Students Through SEL Curriculum

Navigate360

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines social awareness as, “The ability to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diver

Social Emotional Learning
JAN 04, 2022
Responsible elementary student using a elbow bump as a alternative handshake during COVID-19 pandemic

The Case for Districtwide SEL Initiatives

Navigate360

After the events of this past year, administrators are reexamining strategies used to address student behavior and improve educational intervention. With students and staff returning in full to classr

Online Learning
DEC 28, 2021
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Mitigating the Risk of Harm to Self and Others on Both Sides of Bullying

Navigate360

Bullying can take many forms—physical, verbal, emotional, and cyber—and has lasting effects on anyone involved. While much of the focus of bullying lands on the victim, and rightly so, it’s also impor

Social Emotional Learning
DEC 21, 2021
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The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in the Future Workforce

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The world is changing rapidly and how work gets done is evolving. While we have witnessed this evolution over time, the critical nature of emotional intelligence became front and center during the pan

Social Emotional Learning
DEC 16, 2021
Worried teenage girl studying late at home

The Case for SEL: How Academic Stress Affects Student Mental Health

Navigate360

You’re likely already aware that students today are facing heightened mental health issues, including staggering rates of anxiety and depression. A number of factors contribute to adverse mental healt

Social Emotional Learning
DEC 14, 2021

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