Group items tagged

"We were in the midst of moving the oversized red bird around the maze to capture the evil green pig, using block-style programming codes up on the interactive board, when one of my sixth grade students raised her hand and asked the inevitable question: "Mr. H, why are we learning about computer programming in writing class? Why do we need to know this?""

"Due to Khan Academy's popularity, the idea of the flipped classroom has gained press and credibility within education circles. Briefly, the Flipped Classroom as described by Jonathan Martin is: Flip your instruction so that students watch and listen to your lectures… for homework, and then use your precious class-time for what previously, often, was done in homework: tackling difficult problems, working in groups, researching, collaborating, crafting and creating. Classrooms become laboratories or studios, and yet content delivery is preserved. Flip your instruction so that students watch and listen to your lectures… for homework, and then use your precious class-time for what previously, often, was done in homework: tackling difficult problems, working in groups, researching, collaborating, crafting and creating. Classrooms become laboratories or studios, and yet content delivery is preserved (http://www.connectedprincipals.com/archives/3367)."

"Super readers have Super Powers! First graders in Ms. Guthrie's class honed their Reading Super Powers in class today. Using Reading Street's leveled readers, iFiles, and the Explain Everything app, students practiced pacing, self-correction, using context clues, decoding skills, and reading with expression. "

"As a working parent, sometimes it is difficult to sign up for volunteer dates. So, when I have the chance to see what's happening inside the class or on field trips, I treasure those moments. As a teacher, I've found that the more I share with parents, the less they tend to question. When they feel like they are an active part of their child's learning experience, they are also more able to help with specific needs their child may require since they have an idea of what is going on in the classroom. "

"In today's classroom, educators are constantly required to mold their teaching methods to give students the best opportunity to succeed. It is not only imperative for students to learn the required material, but also critical that students gain a sense of confidence toward their work, and find motivation to expand their learning. However, this can be difficult for some students, who may struggle in traditional, lecture-based class styles. For some students, finding the motivation to complete homework or prepare for class can be a constant struggle, especially when every effort is met with a poor grade or frustration from teachers and parents. Therefore, teachers must become more and more creative when motivating students to learn."

"As I near finished my first year having 1 to 1 iPads with my 5th graders, here are twelve resources my class will be using regularly next year."

"Reiff introduces his students to the language of the play by reading it together as a class, working through several close reading activities that help students start to decode Shakespeare's lines. By beginning with the play's unfamiliar and sometimes difficult language, the class has a shared starting point for the journey they are about to undertake - experiencing, interpreting, and performing Romeo and Juliet, and truly engaging with the play."

"Yesterday was my last class with my 2nd grade GT students. I like them to do some sort of reflection at the end of the year, and we usually spend a lot of time reviewing the events of the past 9 months. (Otherwise, their favorite memory tends to be the very last thing we did.) This year, I decided to try something different. I showed the students how to access the categories of our class blog so they could view all of the posts for 2nd grade for this year. Then they went through the posts, and chose pictures that were meaningful to them. As they were on iPads, I taught them how to hold their finger on an image to save it to the Camera Roll (fair warning - this is a tricky skill for 2nd graders). After about 30 minutes, I showed them the Pic Collage app. They were allowed to add any pictures that they wanted to their collages. Many added text (and stickers, of course!) They loved the activity. When they were finished, each student had a personal poster to remind him or her of the year in GT. If we had more time, we would have made ThingLinks with reflections, similar to last year."

"Last year I taught third-grade math in a whole new way. Combining elements from the wildly popular sandbox game Minecraft, I had students thinking visually and creatively about mathematical models and theories that went way beyond a typical third-grade curriculum, transforming math class into what I like to call Mathcraft. Why Minecraft? I could say I am using Minecraft for a number of reasons, like how I find Minecraft enhances metacognition by increasing students' memory storage capacity. The game itself creates a relatable enjoyable experience that can be internalized and shared in a community of learners. The limitations on the working memory are minimized because the gameplay itself is an extension of our visual sketchpad. Working with students they always say, "I can see it," and when they see it they share it."

Start a Reading Revolution: Flip Your Class With Blogs

"Photos for Class is a very good web tool that you and your students can use to search for and download Creative Common licensed images. The search engine of Photos for Class uses Flickr safe search to return results that are licensed for school use."

"In my classroom over the last few years I've shown many Youtube videos to inspire resiliency, grit, hope, and discussion prior to guiding them in the creation of their inquiry questions about their passions and wonders during our weekly Genius Hour time.  This post is a follow up post to my post 23 Videos that Sparked Genius Hour Thinking, Collaboration, and Actions.  Many of those videos and the ones I am sharing now were shared with me through the wonderful connections I have made with educators learners on Twitter, Facebook, and at workshops.  I am continually inspired by the educators in my personal learning network.  Thank you to all of you who share your learning and inspirations daily.  You have helped me make sense of the ideas that are floating around in my head.  I am proud to say that students in my classes are constantly inspiring each other and their teacher.  Some of their work is shared on the list below."

"Last month I shared some of the great features from News-O-Matic's new update and there is one more you are sure to love.  Teachers using this app can choose between different reading levels for students.  Each article is adapted by News-O-Matic's editorial team to fit three reading levels (400L-600L, 600L-750L and 750-1050L).  These categories are connected to ranges of Lexile levels - a readability measure that helps measure text complexity. Teachers can assign different reading levels to each student in their class so they automatically receive news articles on their tablet that are the right level for them."

"July 16, 2014 While searching for some resources on a paper and writing on  the 21st century learning skills I came across this skills checklist created by the university of Toledo. This checklist is meant to help students build powerful resumes outlining all the skills they master. I spent some time going through the components of this sheet and found it really sharing with you here.  You can use this sheet with your students as an explanatory guide of some of the important skills ( I said some because some other important skills particularly those related to digital citizenship and digital literacy are missing) they need to work. Below is a round-up of the 9 most important skills which I selected from the entire list. You can acccess this list from this link. 1- Research skills Know how to find and collect relevant background information Be able to analyze data, summarize findings and write a report 2- Critical Thinking skills Be able to review different points of view or ideas and make objective judgments Investigate all the possible solutions to a problem, weighing the pros and cons 3- Organizational skills Be able to organize information, people or thins in a systematic way Be able to establish priorities and meet deadlines 4- Problem-solving skills Be able to clarify the nature of a problem Be able to evaluate alternatives, propose viable solutions and determine the outcome of the various options 5- Creative thinking skills Be able to generate new ideas, invent new things, create new images or designs Find new solutions to problems Be able to use wit and humour effectively 6- Analytical/ logical thinking skills Be able to draw specific conclusions from a set of general observations of from a set of specific facts Be able to synthesize information and ideas 7- Public speaking skills Be able to make formal presentations Present ideas, positions and problems in an interesting way 8- Oral communication skills Be able to present information and ideas clearly a

"A few years back (Wow! We can't believe Edudemic has even been around that long!) we wrote about an awesome video that was recorded by a classroom of students and their iPads. The song was such a huge success that it went up for sale on iTunes! Considering that when I was a kid, music class included me banging randomly on a wooden block with a small mallet, I think it is fair to say that technology has brought music class a long, long way. Store Van Music embarked on a tour of schools in the UK and help the students create outstanding music using iPads and their minds."

"Looking for ways to motivate your students? Mia from Anethicalisland has 27 strategies for you to use in class to get your students motivated.These strategies cover both types of motivation: intrinsic motivation (an inner drive to engage in an activity for its own sake because it is interesting and satisfying in itself), and extrinsic ( a drive to engage in an activity because of a reward to engage in the activity or a punishment for not engaging). Check them out below and share with us what you think of them."

"If you are planning to incorporate iPad in your classroom teaching then you definitely need to work on some preliminary stuff before anything else. These are basically formalities and conventions students need to abide by when using iPad in class. Making students explicitly aware of their responsibilities behind using iPad in class will certainly help you tap into the full educational potential of this versatile gadget. I have gone through my archive and picked out these handy visuals for you to use with your students."

"Today was a big day in my grade 4-5 STEM class: It was our first time to start the "Maker Studio" rotation. Maker Studio is a concept I developed this past summer attending Maker Faire Kansas City and the awesome "Create, Make and Learn" week-long #MakerEd #STEM summer institute in Vermont coordinated by Lucie deLaBruere (@techsavvygirl). Last year was my 17th as an educator but my first as an elementary STEM teacher. I enjoyed developing and sharing lessons about a wide variety of topics, but as a "STEM teacher" was uncomfortable with my predominant focus on direct instruction lessons. Some of my favorite units from last year focused on the science and technology of music and sound, kitchen chemistry, and collaborative projects in MinecraftEDU involving permiter/area building challenges, coordinate grid scavenger hunts, and more. Our projects and activities together in these units were engaging, fun, and standards-based, but still relied predominantly on direct instruction. The after-school "Makers Club" I facilitated provided many opportunities for student-directed learning, but didn't change my predominant teacher-directed instruction during STEM class. My summer PD experiences at #MakerFaireKC and #CML14 were transformative. Enter "Maker Studio.""

"As 2014 draws to a close and we look forward to what 2015 will bring, I'd like to share a simple and fun classroom challenge with you: STEM Curiosity Links. For the past two semesters, I've made a point of sharing several STEM "curiosity links" with my students at least once per week. On days I share curiosity links with students, I try to limit myself to just using 10 minutes of class time. I need to set this time limit, because (depending on the class) we can really get into good discussions with lots of questions, and we could take MUCH more time exploring the ideas the week's curiosity links inspire. While I'd love engaging in long discussions like this with students, and I know they have value, I also understand that my students learn the most when they are actually DOING STEM activities rather than just talking about them or STEM ideas. My students who are working and playing in our STEM "Maker's Studio" are always especially eager to "get to work.""