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Things to do in 2010 - Start blogging, Tweeting, build your PLN and more...

"Kathy Cassidy has been a pioneer  leading the way with student digital portfolios. In this episode, she discusses how she gets her grade one students to create digital portfolios using edublogs. This practical EduSlam will help you get started on using Student Digital Portfolios with your students! "

"Some would argue that the 21st classroom isn't complete without a classroom blog. Students can use it to hand in assignments, explore the more creative side of assignments, and learn how to be a good digital citizen. The best part: there are many blog platforms to choose from-WordPress, Blogger, Edublogs-and most of them are free. Use these five ideas to take full advantage of this simple tool, making homework and in-class assignments more exciting and educational."

Handing Assessment Over to Students I have been giving a lot of thought about how to give my students more of a voice in their learning and in our classroom. Initially, I was focused on increasing their presence on our classroom blog through podcasts, videos, and blog posts. I even gave thought to asking my district IT to unblock Twitter so that we could create a class account (which I am still going to do). But never would assessment have crossed my mind. Fortunately, I took my thoughts to my PLN. Janine Campbell (@campbellartsoup) responded to my tweet about amplifying students' voices with rich insights and a couple articles that got the cerebral wheels turning. If you like what you read here, be sure to follow Janine on Twitter. Assessment for learning is a pedagogical golden nugget. No one ever said that the teacher had to do it alone. Why not give your students a voice in how they are assessed? It might tell you more about where they are at than assessing your class conventionally. Rubrics are my favorite way to assess student projects. I'm even pretty good at creating them. By doing so, I completely understand the assignment and learning outcomes for any given project. But do my students? Is there a way to better utilize rubrics as assessment of learning where students' voices are intensified. Yes! Allowing students to create the criteria for assessment does just that. It doesn't just serve the purpose of better summative assessment. Student-created rubrics also provides a medium for formative assessment as well. If my assignment is for students to analyze the effects of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on post-war America, I will be able to formatively assess the class' understanding of the main points of this event by the criteria that they suggest this assignment should be graded on. I will know that I need to reteach aspects of this event in American history if students believe that including a description of John Wilkes Booth's escape from Ford's The

"Ideas and resources for student products created on the iPad. For more integration ideas, visit mooreti.edublogs.org"

"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."