Education Policy, Business and Technology

Free Planning Tool Guides Teachers to Optimal Device Usage

THE Journal: An education technology company with literacy products has launched a free online tool to help teachers apply a blended learning model in their classrooms, whether they're running a 1-to-1 program or having students share devices. ThinkCERCA released the "Classroom Planning Tool" specifically to help users figure out how to implement its own software, but the models provided in the tool could really be used with other curricula as well.

ThinkCERCA's online lessons focus on teaching critical thinking skills through close reading and academic writing. The service can be used for English language arts, science, social studies or math. Users can filter "CERCA" lesson sets by subject, type of lesson, grade level (3 through 12) and scope and sequence. The lessons follow 10 levels of scaffolding and include benchmark assessments in reading and writing, along with extra downloadable resources to help teachers working with English language learners. Content includes informational text as well as short stories, poetry and narratives. Educators can create their own lessons based on individually chosen texts and track student progress through dashboards.

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