AfterSchool of Thought
Welcome to the "AfterSchool of Thought," a blog series for those with products and offerings for afterschool programs and the professionals who work in the field.
Children categories
STEM Gems (1)
STEM Gems are short discovery-based experiences. They involve little or no materials and may be easily implemented by educators who are not STEM specialists. Each STEM Gem is designed to engage young people in active experiential learning. The activities begin by setting up connections to prior knowledge, then a hands on activity provides new concepts and the opportunity to design experiments to answer any questions the kids discover. Finally, a connection to a different scenario for the concept is provided to help cement and evaluate the learning.
STEM Gems are experiences designed to be used with kids of all ages. Younger children should be focused on one idea or concept and should perform the activity as a collective group with prompts and directions from the teacher. With older youth, the teacher should act as a facilitator. The older youth should be set up to work independently in small teams and encouraged to ask questions and try out their own experiments to answer them. Each team should report back on their findings, so a consensus around the concept is reached.
Each STEM Gem is presented in an easy to follow lesson plan:
Big Ideas and Science Talk
Central concepts and key words to give the adult the science background for the experience.
Engage
Open ended questions to stimulate discussion and generate connections to prior knowledge.
What You Will Need
A list of the materials.
Before You Begin
The preparation needed for the activity.
Explore and Experiment
The directions for the experience designed using open ended questions that focus the children on discovering answers.
Make the Connection and Extend and Evaluate
Connections to other scenarios that use the same concepts and related question(s) or additional activity to evaluate knowledge.
STEM Gems are available to members only. Login to access STEM Gems.
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Summer to Discover 2019
Afterschool programs often play a critical role in keeping kids learning, safe and healthy during the summer months, too.
Webinar: Maximizing Your Participation at the NAA 2019 Annual Convention
Date: March 7, 2019
Time: 1:00pm
If you’re exhibiting at the 2019 NAA Annual Convention, you won’t want to miss this pre-event webinar!
Please join us for and informal yet informational webinar about how to make the most of your time and investment at the NAA 2019 Annual Convention coming this March in New York City!
Topics we'll cover include:
- Schedule overview, set up and tips for how to make the most of the scheduled time with participants
- Making your exhibit space work for you!
- Lead generation
- Networking tips for outside of the learning expo
- Post-convention follow up & marketing tips
Presented by:
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Gina Warner |
Jayme Washam |
Jill Carroll |
Welcome & Thank You!
Thank you for signing up to receive updates about the Afterschool Tech Toolkit.
What's next?
- Sign up for a webinar or training event here.
- Be sure to add info@naaweb.org to your approved sender list.
- Visit www.naaweb.org/membership for all the details on the National AfterSchool Association and its member benefits.
#AfterschoolTech
Special Invitation for Leaders in Afterschool!
Welcome, Afterschool Leader! The 2019 NAA Annual Convention (NAA19) coming to New York City, March 15-18, includes targeted opportunities designed for leaders to connect, share and learn.
This year, we’re hosting a slate of “invite only” leadership events that include special opportunities - opportunities to network with other key leaders, special guests and to lend your valuable voice in support of afterschool and afterschool professionals.
Please review the leadership session schedule below.
Friday, March 15
2:30-5:00 p.m.
Social Emotional Learning: Foundations and Futures (Invite only)
Interact with authors of the new volume, Social Emotional Learning: Foundations and Futures, while examining the foundations of social emotional learning in child and youth development community programs. The session will illustrate current cutting-edge practices in systems as well as programs, grapple with measurement, and discuss the challenges and opportunities of positioning afterschool and summer opportunities as not only contributors but leaders in this rapidly growing field.
Saturday, March 16
8:00-10:00 a.m.
Creating a System to Fund Afterschool Professional Development (Invite only)
Share your experiences and ideas as we create a call to action to fund and sustain professional development for afterschool staff and leaders.
11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Conversation with New York Times bestselling author and NAA19 keynote speaker, Gretchen Rubin (Invite only)
2:00-4:00 p.m.
Recommended Leadership Intensives
- It's Time to Address Equity in Leadership
Presented by: Jimena Quiroga Hopkins, Development Without Limits; Ruth Obel Jorgensen, California School-Age Consortium· - Hands, Heart, Head: Moving Evidence to Innovation
Presented by: Charles Smith, Q-Turn; Denice Williams, NYC Department of Youth and Community Development; Hillary Salmons, Providence After School Alliance; Jessica Donner, Every Hour Counts
4:15-5:15 p.m.
Recommended Session
- Social-Emotional Learning in OST: Exclusive Briefing and Input Session
Presented by: Heidi Ham, National AfterSchool Association; Joan Cole Duffell and Angela Fountas, Committee for Children
6:00-7:30 p.m.
Celebration of Leadership Reception (Invite only)
Join us for a special evening as we recognize NAA’s Next Generation of Afterschool Leaders 2019 honorees and honor Ellen Gannett of the National Institute on Out-of-School Time for her decades of leadership in the field of afterschool.
Sunday, March 17
10:30-11:30 a.m.
Facilitated Conversation with NAA19 keynote speaker and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Drama teacher, Melody Herzfeld (Invite only)
12:45-2:45 p.m.
Recommended Leadership Intensives
- Virtualizing Your Professional Development
Presented by: Perrin Chick, Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance· - Beat Turnover: Afterschool Leader Must-Knows
Presented by: Dr. Michele Wilkens and Mina Patel from Right At School, LLC. *Sponsored by Eleyo
When registering for NAA19, use the invitation code NAA19InviteOnly. Using this code will secure your space for the “invite only” sessions and ensure that you receive further details. If you've already registered, please contact us at Convention@naaweb.org to have the invitation code added to your registration.
Beat Turnover: Afterschool Insights and Solutions that Stop the Churn
Presented by: Dr. Michele Wilkens
Chief Academic Officer, Right At School
Board of Directors, National AfterSchool Association
Sponsored by:
This 3-part webinar series addresses the challenge of staff turnover that many leaders in afterschool face. Participants will learn important insights and uncover actionable ways to drive improvement; management mindsets and motivation that influence turnover; and key steps that lead to fast and oftentimes dramatic results!
It is reserved for Executive members. Not yet an Executive member? Upgrade today!
Part 1 - Starting on the Surface
January 30, 2019
1:00 - 2:00 PM
Beating afterschool staff turnover begins with solid knowledge but there is often misunderstanding about what retention and turnover are (and what they aren't), how it impacts different stakeholders and who in the organization is THE key to transforming outcomes so great workers stay. In this first of three webinars, learn important insights from Dr. Michele Wilkens’ international study on afterschool turnover that will help you examine your organization and uncover actionable insights to drive improvement!
Part 2 - Uncovering Barriers & Solutions
February 6, 2019
1:00 - 2:00 PM
The key to impacting frontline staff turnover is in the folks who manage them but what if they’re unknowingly keeping themselves from succeeding? In the second part of this webinar series, Dr. Wilkens shares surprising results of her study of afterschool managers’ mindsets and motivation that can either perpetuate or turnaround turnover.
Part 3 - Uncovering Barriers & Solutions Cont.
February 13, 2019
1:00 - 2:00 PM
Afterschool organization leaders unanimously want a reduction in turnover, but do they know which resources frontline managers need to see positive impact? In the final webinar of this series, find out the key steps Dr. Wilkens and her organization took that led to fast, dramatic results to beat turnover, benefiting children, programs, parents and the organization.
- First, you'll need to log in to your member account.
- Then visit this page to access recordings.
Not yet an Executive member? Upgrade here.
Ed Tech Market Summit
MARCH 19, 2019
A Unique Opportunity to:
- Learn current efforts to bring educational technology to the afterschool market
- Meet NAA leadership and more than 2,000 afterschool professionals
- Obtain the research on EdTech products in afterschool programs
Registrants will be invoiced $295 for attendance.
Interested in staying coming in the night before, please feel free to book your hotel room through our conference registration platform here.
THE AFTERSCHOOL TECH TOOLKIT
Developed in close partnership with educators and afterschool professionals and with support from Google, the National AfterSchool Association’s Afterschool Tech Toolkit empowers afterschool professionals with resources and hands-on training to give students access to meaningful digital learning during outside of school hours. We are building an environment that supports the expansion and use of educational technology tools and digital learning in afterschool programs and we invite you to be a part of this work.
PLENARY SESSION SPEAKER
Jaime Casap is the Global Education Evangelist at Google, Inc. Jaime evangelizes the power and potential of the web, technology, and Google tools as enabling and supporting capabilities in pursuit of creating powerful learning models. Jaime works with educational organizations around the world, helping them find ways to continuously improve the quality of education by utilizing and enabling technology capabilities.
ED TECH MARKET SUMMIT SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Contact Carole Berke at carole@caroleberkeassociates.com if you have any questions and to build your contacts in this dynamic and growing market!
2019 Exhibit Listing
Shouldn't your organization be listed here?
Text-Only Versions of Learning Modules
The versions of the learning modules that are linked below are text-only versions of the interactive training modules.
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GET STARTED WITH TECHNOLOGY |
SET A SHARED VISION FOR DIGITAL LEARNING |
ADDRESS EQUITY THROUGH DIGITAL LEARNING |
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EMBED TECHNOLOGY INTO YOUR CURRICULUM |
ACCESS TECHNOLOGY AND DEVICES |
PROMOTE DIGITAL LEARNING IN AFTERSCHOOL |
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TRAIN AND SUPPORT STAFF TO USE TECHNOLOGY |
Every module also has a corresponding training to help you take what you’ve read and put it into practice. Access the recorded trainings here.
Thank you for confirming your Ambassador membership with NAA
We're happy to have you as an Ambassador member of our commuinty and appreciate your commitment to building the knowldege and skills that will ensure a bright future for the afterschool profession and the children, youth, families and communities it benefits.
Just a reminder that many of your exclusive membership benefits (such as archived professional development, program resources and newsletters) are available in your membership account.
If you'd like access to more afterschool resources, upgrade your membership here.
Questions about your membership account? Email megan@naaweb.org
National AfterSchool Association • 2961A Hunter Mill Road, #626 • Oakton, VA 22124 • info@naaweb.org