Today's digital natives are primarily "tech comfy." Teens may need to show adults how to use SnapChat, but age and experience help adults know more about how to evaluate the content on this platform and other digital spaces.

In order to create critical thinkers who are able to comprehend, analyze, and evaluate digital content, educators must be intentional in preparing  students for 21st century learning. That includes reading content on the screen from a variety of sources—blogs, social media posts, databases, articles, and forums.

There's no doubt about it: when parents are involved, students do better. According to the Family Engagement Collaborative of the Miami Valley, family engagement in schools leads to higher student achievement and graduation rates, fewer behavioral problems, better self-esteem, and stronger performance by students from diverse backgrounds. 

There will always be barriers to family engagement, but framing it as an "opportunity for all" can help schools move beyond the barriers. The Framework Institute advises that promoting family engagement as an equity issue and policy matter focuses the initiative on inclusivity and opportunities for achievement for all children and will help schools look at how current practices may exclude some students and families. Introduce the high-quality instructional materials available at no cost from INFOhio to families to help remove barriers and provide opportunities for all.

Check out INFOhio's Monday Mini Lessons to support educators in integrating digital content into instruction and remote teaching. INFOhio will be featuring a series of videos that showcase best practices for remote teaching using INFOhio's high-quality digital content. Learn more about this series and how to stay informed. 

Classic childhood books capture the joy and freedom of play and imagination. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats is one of those. This award-winning book tells the story of Peter and the adventures he has on a snowy day. Readers young and old can imagine the red snow-suited figure of a young boy playing in the wintry city. Many will also remember that Peter is an African-American child, and recognize that childhood delights are not determined by race, location, or gender. Everyone has fun in the snow.

Did you know that INFOhio has purchased a Premium Membership on behalf of all Ohio PreK-12 schools to OhioNet? That membership has benefits!

Whether you need printed packets for learning activities or plan to make the learning happen digitally, World Book webquests are a great way to help students build foundational knowledge on a topic.

It's autumn—cooler temperatures, shorter days, crisper air, and yes, runnier noses. It's a great time to teach your little learners about the change of seasons and how they affect the world around them. Check out these resources and tips from INFOhio to help teach your PreK-3 students about autumn.

Using digital text and tools is a way to engage readers in text, as well as empower them with one of the most critical needs for their future—digital literacy. INFOhio is dedicated to providing high-quality digital content, resources, and tools for students and teachers in Ohio that will develop the necessary skills for early literacy, inquiry, and college and career readiness. 

Ohio's Anchor Standards for College and Career Readiness require students to 

• Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
• Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
• Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

Close reading and analysis of text require higher level thinking, patience and focus.