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"It's an age-old saying, "Give a man a fish, and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and feed him for a lifetime." What separates good teachers from the excellent ones? The excellent ones are handing out fishing poles; creating a culture in the classroom of independence and self-reliance. These students don't just recite facts or regurgitate information- they have learned how to learn. They know that if the answer isn't in front of them, they have the tools to do the investigation and research. So how do you cultivate a culture of "I can…" in your classroom?"

Free Anatomically correct 3d Human Anatomy site. Kevin Jarrett reminds us in the comments that if you're going to use Visible Body with younger students be aware that Visible Body is 100% anatomically correct. In that case it's probably best to use Visible Body as a teacher-directed exercise and not a individualized activity.

"One of the most common criticisms leveled at teachers who do attempt to integrate technology into their classroom environment, is that this often results in a lot of 'faffing around' or time wasted while struggling to get the technology to work properly. To some extent I feel that this criticism is fair, but I don't think it's a criticism that should be leveled at teachers, but would be better directed at the people who control the way technology is layered onto the classroom environment, so lets look at that."

ne of the most common criticisms leveled at teachers who do attempt to integrate technology into their classroom environment, is that this often results in a lot of 'faffing around' or time wasted while struggling to get the technology to work properly. To some extent I feel that this criticism is fair, but I don't think it's a criticism that should be leveled at teachers, but would be better directed at the people who control the way technology is layered onto the classroom environment, so lets look at that.

"10 Ways Technology Supports 21st Century Learners in Being Self-Directed"

Lead the ladybug through the maze using direction tools

ThreadedTweets turns every tweet into it's own real-time thread. It brings Friendfeed-like real-time replying to Twitter. ThreadedTweets is exploring Twitter conversation beyond the commonly used methods of direct messaging, and follower broadcasting!

"We started our math station activities today. How these look will vary throughout the year; today they were able to 'move' from activity to activity while staying at their own table. The first two stations provided students with directions on how to finish two different projects that we had started previously."

"This page contains some useful resources and links to help teachers in their art teaching. You will basically be directed to websites where you can find art materials, videos, printables, worksheets, activities, games, and many other teaching ideas that are art informed."

"Children with dyslexia can have trouble with many aspects of literacy, including learning the alphabet, recognizing letters, following a sequence of directions and mastering the rules of spelling. Having a son with dyslexia, we tried many things to help him with his frustrations. We used a lot of compensatory techniques and one web-based program that is now an app. Below are six apps that aim to help kids and adults with dyslexia. "

" sometimes get these secret emails or direct messages from some pretty amazing thinkers in education, talking about how they feel really constrained by the leadership in their schools. Sometimes after speaking, I get teachers in near tears thinking of "what could be" in their schools if only their administrators started reading blogs, looking at twitter; just something to push their learning. It seriously hurts to see the pain in the eyes of these teachers because they just want to do what is best for kids, yet they are feeling extremely constrained. They feel they are not in a situation where they can serve students in the way they feel would help them best in the future. The paradox that they face is that they stay and be frustrated or leave and feel they have abandoned students that need their help. This is an extremely tough situation."

"Many educators are eager and willing to incorporate digital portfolios into their curriculum. Others are more hesitant, but remain curious about this newly evolved portfolio - wondering about how this technology might inspire and engage their students into more self-directed learning and reflection. Whichever side of the fence you are on, here is a list of classroom-approved resources to help get you started!"

"Innovation Day is all about passionate self-directed learning"

"Earlier this month Google announced that a new version of Google Maps is coming. Some of us have been lucky enough to get invitations to use the new version. If you want to get guaranteed access to the new version and learn all about how to use it for more than just virtually stalking your neighborhood getting directions, you should consider taking Google's free course Mapping With Google. "

"This past year, fourth and fifth grade students at Independence Elementary School in Yukon, Oklahoma, have had the opportunity to participate in an after-school Scratch Club led by STEM teacher Chris Simon. Scratch is a free program from the MIT Media Lab, which permits learners of any age to create games, tell stories, make animations, and much more. In its new 2.0 version, Scratch is entirely web-based, so it can even run on a Chromebook! Yesterday was the final day of "Scratch Club" for students at Independence Elementary this year, and several students shared the reasons why they enjoy Scratch and have loved the Scratch Club. In this five minute video compilation of their ideas, pay attention to how several students mention the importance of "agency" and choice. Many report how they love the opportunity to be self-directed in their learning and to have opportunities to use their imaginations to create. Also notice the way one student references the "hard fun" of programming, which is something Gary Stager talks about often in the context of students learning to code. "

"Recently, when I perused my twitter feed, I came upon a blog post titled Teacher as Learning Designer. Andrew Miller, the author, states: "If you are a teacher and you are trying to explain what you do, say, 'I am a learning designer!' Teachers need to be empowered with a variety of instructional designs to meet the needs of all students. They need to be honored for their expertise to create creative and engaging learning environments. We can re-frame the concept of "teaching" to truly encapsulate all that teachers can and should do!" The way teachers teach their students has, I believe, a direct correlation to the way in which they learn themselves. We have all read in the latest teaching journals that teachers of today have to be devoted to lifelong learning. But what does that mean, really? What elements affect teacher learning and then in turn affect how that teacher teaches?"