Digital learning is a broad category that encompasses the use of digital resources and technology to enhance and differentiate instruction. The number of available options, however, can be overwhelming. Gain experience with free high-quality tools for: video and audio production, blended lessons, games in education, online content, augmented reality, digital formative assessment, and LMS (Learning Management Systems). Participants will explore these digital tools as students, determine how to use them effectively as teachers, and leave NCCAT with a virtual toolbox of techniques to take back to the classroom.

Canvas, North Carolina’s Learning Management System (LMS), is your place for one-stop learning and course management. Canvas is a trusted, open source LMS which provides a new way of teaching, learning, and thinking. Create modules, lessons, assessments, discussions, and portfolios. Have your grade book, course information, feedback, and student analytics all in one place. Come be a part of the education revolution—it’s Canvas Time, North Carolina!

Formerly titled “Research and Development Teams” programs.

The NCCAT Solution and Planning Teams program offers educators an opportunity to meet in a residential setting devoid of distraction to create and advance departmental, school, or district-wide projects. These projects might consist of new programming, research, planning, or curricula. Gather a team together to create or refine your own innovative solutions. Early grades literacy or digital learning projects will be given preference, however, all project proposals will be considered. Single rooms, meeting space, Internet access, and meals for the participants will be provided by NCCAT. Travel and the cost of substitute teachers are not covered. Teachers, administrators, central office personnel, and district coordinators are encouraged to apply.

NCCAT schedules Solution and Planning Teams programs throughout the year. If your team is interested in a date that NCCAT has not already scheduled, contact Teacher Services to see if we can accommodate the date you prefer.

In order for students to become globally competitive, it is imperative students receive a good foundation in literacy instruction. With new challenges facing teachers each day, this task can be daunting. Examine key aspects of the Read to Achieve legislation to insure alignment in your classroom and school with research-based strategies and best practices. See how to “fit it all in” by integrating literacy across the curriculum. Learn how to effectively maintain a progress monitoring assessment schedule. Use data to develop engaging lessons that foster a love for reading while still teaching foundational skills. Develop a reading and writing environment that is welcoming and inviting to students of all developmental levels.

“Schoolwork at home and homework at school” is one of the many definitions of a flipped classroom. Explore the history, styles, and benefits of flipping your classroom, including practical, hands-on ways to create, curate, and differentiate video content. With help from experienced teachers and educational technologists, each participant will identify what elements of their curriculum could be flipped and will have the opportunity to create a ready-to-roll video lesson with ideas for assessment and follow-up activities. We’ll look at the possibilities created by flipping, including time for project-based and mastery learning. Come gain the confidence, tools and skills to flip your curriculum and create a more responsive, active, social, and creative classroom.

Join educators from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and the North Carolina Museum of History to explore the rich natural and cultural resources of the Outer Banks. Immerse yourself in coastal ecology and follow the paths of influential historical figures to spark your interest and imagination. Learn to use these connections to expand student learning through reading, writing, and research. Human history and the natural environment are inextricably tied in our ever-changing coastal environment. This program will focus on the use of non-fiction texts, legends and historical fiction, and inquiry-based learning to make cross-curricular connections that enrich classroom instruction.

Preference will be given to teachers in Grades K–3.

Develop your teaching tool kit to support the reading initiatives in North Carolina’s Read to Achieve legislation. Join us as we examine best practices for developing a welcoming and enriching reading and writing environment for the early childhood classroom. Open to teachers in grades K–3, this program will focus on developing strategies that link foundational skills to comprehension in the classroom. Set the stage for comprehension at the listening level for kindergarten students and transition instruction to thinking beyond the text as students move through the early grades.

Formerly titled “Research and Development Teams” programs.

The NCCAT Solution and Planning Teams program offers educators an opportunity to meet in a residential setting devoid of distraction to create and advance departmental, school, or district-wide projects. These projects might consist of new programming, research, planning, or curricula. Gather a team together to create or refine your own innovative solutions. Early grades literacy or digital learning projects will be given preference, however, all project proposals will be considered. Single rooms, meeting space, Internet access, and meals for the participants will be provided by NCCAT. Travel and the cost of substitute teachers are not covered. Teachers, administrators, central office personnel, and district coordinators are encouraged to apply.

NCCAT schedules Solution and Planning Teams programs throughout the year. If your team is interested in a date that NCCAT has not already scheduled, contact Teacher Services to see if we can accommodate the date you prefer.

Educational research and experienced teachers recognize that most school-aged students learn by doing. Teachers who build kinesthetic movement into their instruction report that their students are less disruptive and more engaged. Research supports that physical activity improves memory retention, comprehension, and self-regulation in students of all grade or achievement levels. Learn how you can transform a typical desk-and-chair classroom into an active classroom. Design and create your own movement-enhanced lessons with low-cost materials for use in the pre-K–12, differentiated, and exceptional classrooms.

Generation Z has never known a world without cell phones, texting, and the Internet. Our students are more comfortable with the use of technology than former generations. However, this technology-driven style of learning seems to have resulted in a generation of learners who seek immediate gratification—are prone to boredom and ready to jump to the end of the book. How do we teach the Zs? In a mash-up of professional education—a blend of an EdCamp, an interdisciplinary conference on active learning and assessment, and a gamification boot camp—educators will answer that question.