GAPS Libraries Resource Update

One of the most troubling impacts of Generative AI technology is the environmental demand for water and electricity at the data centers where all the information is stored. A data center houses rows of servers, all storing and distributing data. Oregon has among the largest data center markets in the world, home to Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft and Meta facilities. Read more from the Civics Learning Project. Includes essential questions, lesson plan, vocabulary, videos, recent articles, and other resources.

Take a look at the entire Current Events collection from Civics Learning Project and subscribe to Current Events every week!

Great work! 🎉 Keep reading! 🎉 Use the button below to access more support materials, and encourage students to keep reading and logging over Winter Break!

This document serves as a companion to the Science Oregon Teacher’s Guide and Lesson Sparks. Social and emotional learning is crucial not only for fostering a positive school climate but also for supporting students’ personal relationships and overall well-being, while preparing them to positively impact their communities and contribute meaningfully to the workforce. This document provides strategies for teachers to integrate SEL practices into their instruction, supporting the development of these essential skills and capacities.

Schools are increasingly incorporating AI detection software like Turnitin and GPTZero to monitor student assignments for signs of AI-generated text. Districts such as Broward County Public Schools have invested significant sums, viewing these tools as aids for sparking conversations and saving teacher time, but districts caution against relying solely on software due to documented inaccuracies. Read more from NPR.

FREE upcoming professional development: take a look at these free asynchronous online courses from the Digital Inquiry Group:

• Reading Like a Historian with Digital Literacy
• Using Wikipedia Wisely
• Civic Online Reasoning
• Basics of Evaluating Online Sources
• Civic Online Reasoning in Your Teaching Context

FREE Classroom Materials: take a look at the dozens of new resources included under these subject headings:

• New Reading Like a Historian lessons
• New Beyond the Bubble History Assessments
• New Reading Like a Historian Spanish Translations
• New Beyond the Bubble History Assessments Spanish Translations
• New Civic Online Reasoning Lessons
• New Civic Online Reasoning Assessments
• New Civic Online Reasoning Videos
• 
  

Developed by the Stanford REACH Lab and the Stanford Center for Health Education (SCHE), this course teaches practical, evidence-based skills for communicating with adolescents about substance use. Outdated approaches like “just-say-no” or scare tactics simply don’t work. Instead, it’s important to build a trusting relationship and engage in nonjudgmental, two-way conversations to guide them toward making healthy choices for themselves.

The course is designed for any adults who work with or care for young people around the age of 11-19. This may include school counselors, educators, coaches, school staff, parents, caregivers, and family members who want to have effective conversations with teens about preventing and reducing substance use.

Chrome can now read web pages aloud. Words on the page are highlighted to help you follow along. Read aloud is best for content like news stories, articles, or even PDFs.

• To use read aloud, right-click on a page, and select Open in reading mode. This opens the side panel, which has controls you can use for read aloud.
• Click the Play button.
• You can adjust the voice, speed, and highlight style in the toolbar next to the Play button.

Scientists have captured rare footage of killer whales and Pacific white-sided dolphins hunting together near the coast of British Columbia, Canada. The findings, published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, is the first recorded evidence of the two working together, according to researchers. Read more and watch the video from the BBC.

District Google accounts (including email) are blocked by default from international locations. The Tech Dept is happy to add anyone to an exception group when they are traveling. Here's how to request this access:

• Open the GAPS IT Helpdesk
• Login in the top right corner
• Select Forms
• Select Security > Access | Foreign Travel

GAPS staff and students have access to the following Spanish-language research resources:

• Informe Académico - Una coleccion de revistas hispanicas con textos completos.
• aulaPlaneta Banco de contenidos

Libro.fm offers FREE audiobooks to educators, and this month's selections are here.

ELEMENTARY RESOURCES | SECONDARY RESOURCES