Group items tagged

"When you are lucky enough to travel and visit with librarians all over the world, you realize the power and the talents of our community. One thing is clear to me: as librarians, we haven't yet leveraged our true power as global connectors.  Lately I've been thinking about our yet-to-be-realized opportunities and how we might realize them. You see, I see convergence. Never before have we had truly effective tools for synchronous conferencing and media-rich asynchronous group discussion. Never before have we been able to leverage our emerging online communities of practice.   Never before has participation been so possible.  Never before has our world been so flat. Never before has it be more obvious that the prefix geo might amplify themes in any curriculum. One of the titles in Heidi Hayes Jacobs' recent Contemporary Perspectives on Literacy series is Global Literacy.  This video introduction describes how the author/editor sees the intersection of three critical literacies: digital literacy, media literacy and global literacy"

""There just isn't enough time to integrate technology and adequately cover the curriculum." "What will happen next year when they go to a new classroom and realize school is work and not all 'fun and games?' You're setting them up for disappointment." "Playing games all day just isn't good teaching." Sentiments like these echo in the hallways and classrooms, offices, and teachers' lounges across the nation. Technology can be an important tool that helps teachers teach and students learn. But are we utilizing it to its fullest potential?"

"Music is creative, enjoyable and an excellent means of expressing oneself. Even better: playing an instrument is one of the best workouts you can give your brain. Even if you don't intend on pursuing a career in music or starting a band, you only need to know the basics of an instrument to enjoy it. YouTube can teach you to do just about anything, and that includes playing an instrument. Today we'll focus on piano, guitar, bass guitar and drums, but if you look hard enough you'll find crash courses in everything from the bassoon to the melodica."

"Science, Technology, Engineering, Math. Teach coding, get girls interested in all of these subjects. However you slice it, there's a lot of focus on the logical and analytical brain functions these days. Many schools are cutting the 'extras' like art and music. While I firmly believe that students need to be well rounded and really need subjects like those to be considered more than 'extra', and while there are many people fighting to keep these programs in schools, you can't deny that the international economy and jobs outlook is demanding more focus on STEM. But does that mean we should drop all focus on the other stuff? The handy infographic below takes a look at why focusing on the skills of half our brain is not enough. It explores the functions of all parts of the brain (however simplified) and gives some insight into how the creative skills can help you a lot."

"iPads are amazing learning instruments that can improve instruction and student engagement dramatically. Those of us privileged enough to work in 1:1 iPad classrooms can attest to that. But lets be realistic: most classrooms around the world do not have access to the funds and resources necessary to equip a full classroom with iPads for each student. There are numerous teachers who have access to only one iPad at school, or they just own an iPad and think it would be a great idea to be able to use in the classroom. Luckily, there are several EdTech tools teachers can use in the One iPad Classroom in order to create lessons that are exciting, and provide unique educational experiences for all students."

"Phrases like "random acts of kindness" and "pay it forward" have become popular terms in modern society. Perhaps this could be best explained by those who have identified a deficiency in their lives that can only be fulfilled by altruism. It seems that we just can't get enough of those addictive, feel-good emotions -- and with good reason. Scientific studies prove that kindness has many physical, emotional, and mental health benefits. And children need a healthy dose of the warm-and-fuzzies to thrive as healthy, happy, well-rounded individuals."

"Up late marking? Up early preparing for the day ahead? Did you know that after an average of four hours of sleep a night for four or five days, you will develop the same level of cognitive impairment as if you had been awake for 24 hours. This is the same level of impairment as having a blood alcohol level high enough to be considered legally drunk. Not only does this greatly lengthen reaction time, impede judgment, and interfere with problem solving, I think you will all agree, that it is no state to be teaching or learning in. So how important is sleep? Well, in his fascinating TED talk circadian neuroscientist Russell Foster discusses exactly why we need to sleep and talks about some of the concerning effects sleep deprivation can have."

"According to an article on Time.com about the best and worst learning techniques, active learning methods (e.g. writing) are far more useful for long-term retention than passive learning methods (e.g. highlighting or underline words). One of the best ways? Surprisingly enough: flashcards, according to research from the Association of Psychological Science."

I think that hobbies are a critical element of surviving as a teacher. My hobby is no exception. I have been a comic book collector and avid reader since I was old enough to enjoy my first Green Lantern issue many years ago

"If you're not familiar with the Ignite format you create 20 slides, and have exactly 15 seconds per slide to share your story. It's a five minute pressure cooker because if you get off on one slide it can mess you up for the rest of your presentation. Or not... :-) Unfortunately I don't think my ignite session was recorded but I will try to share it here. I will include the script I had written, but any one who was there will know that in the end I completely ignored my script. I'm hoping this script was close enough to what I shared on Wednesday night."

"Are you looking for ways to integration technology in your lesson plans and courses that provide for an engaging experience for you and your students? Fans of instructional technology know that it can be fun and inviting, and engaged students are far more likely to be learning. I believe that if you can get students involved and motivated effectively enough, you can improve their learning habits over the long term. With that in mind, here are 10 highly engaging uses of technology in the classroom, along with dozens of tools and resources for implementation. Most of these involve free web based tools, so that's an added bonus!"

"The gift of time: Often underrated and underestimated Educators know there is much to investigate, debate, and expand on in our profession. Inevitably you will hear, "there doesn't seem to be enough time"…but time, we seem to find. Just go on Twitter and peruse for awhile, you will find dedicated educators taking risks, asking questions and issuing provocations to one another. We somehow find the time because we know our professional development (PD) is essential to the contribution we can make as teachers to student growth and innovative practices. Contrary to some current thinking out there, educators (and their practice) are always evolving, as is the curriculum that guides us. So given the gift of time, how do we use it most effectively or more so, in the most sustainable way? "

"If you are going on a field trip, it is important to prepare your students by developing their visual literacy, and by integrating the trip actively into your curriculum. However, important as that is, it is not enough. The museum (and field trip) experience takes place in a very different environment from your classroom. That may seem obvious, but let's take a look at the differences, so that you can help your students maintain their focus to insure they have an engaging educational experience."

"There's no shortage of research around the benefits of sleep and its critical relationship to learning. So how much sleep is enough? Researchers have looked at the differences in cognitive function of people who have slept four or six or eight hours and how their brains function. This AsapSCIENCE video demonstrates what your capabilities are after those various amounts of sleep."

"Technology is critical for innovation, yet schools struggle to get students interested in this area. Could teaching robotics change this? The Queensland government has just announced plans to make teaching robotics compulsory in its new curriculum - aimed at students from prep through to year 10. Robotics matches the new digital technologies curriculum, strongly supported by the university sector and states, including Victoria. But while, worldwide, there are increasing initiatives such as the Robotics Academy in the US to teach robotics in schools, Australia isn't doing enough to get it taught in schools. To explain why we should teach children how to program robots in schools, we first need to understand what a robot is. "

"We understand the worries and headaches that often go along with trying to design and create a makerspace. Just knowing where to begin can be overwhelming. In fact, we hear enough concern over how to create a makerspace that we host an entire workshop on the subject. So, what's the secret to a "correct" makerspace? (I'll answer that below), and how do you get started? Here's how our students did it."

"Model rocket kits are a fun way for kids to exercise their maker skills by assembling cool, colorful rockets that really fly. I can remember building model rockets as a child, and they are still an exciting project for all ages. In addition to maker skills, model rockets are an educational tool that can teach the concepts of propulsion, flight, and aerodynamics. It's important to note that when purchasing model rocket kits, make sure that you have all of the supplies required to build and fly your rockets. Any building tools, glue, paint, batteries for the launcher controller, and rocket specific items like wadding and engine packs should be on your list. You're also going to need an outside area large enough to fly. Go outside and get flying!"

"One of the best gifts you can possibly give your child is an education in computer programming. Not only is it a fun, intellectually-challenging pastime, but it's also a solid guarantee of a future career in an industry that not only offers competitive wages, but also promises to provide stable and steady employment. One of the best tools for teaching coding to kids is the Raspberry Pi. At $30, these are cheap enough for most parents to buy. Using the built-in GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output), they can attach electrical components, and build their own physical computing devices. Because you're unlikely to use a Raspberry Pi as your main computer, your children can experiment and play without the fear of causing damage to your system or your documents. But if you aren't a coder, and don't know your Python from your Prolog, you might not know where to direct your children to. If that sounds like you, don't worry. Here's five simple activities to teach your child how to code with the Raspberry Pi."

"As someone who has been fortunate enough to spend much of her professional career working in elementary schools -- both as an early-childhood (K-3) teacher and university-based teacher educator -- I'm often struck by the difference between how young children and teachers talk about literacy in the earliest years of school. Whether they're drawing pictures and asking you to "read" their latest story or eagerly inviting you to listen to an account of a favorite book, young children enter school enthusiastic about learning to read and write. In a world where they see print all around them -- scrolling on phone screens, in the books that they love, on the billboards they ponder -- learning to read and write makes a young child feel independent and capable. Yet early-childhood teachers point to the pressures associated with the Common Core State Standards and the accompanying standardized testing culture as deeply affecting classrooms, often characterized by a heightened focus on teaching young children to read and write as early as possible."

"I was first inspired to explore stop-motion when I met influential art ed dude Mark Jones. He's the genius behind some of the best stop-motion animation videos designed, written, and created by kids. I was lucky enough to see him at my state art ed conference a few years back. If you haven't seen these videos - watch them before you go any further! The Robot and the Butterfly Stand Up Tall Stand Up Tall: Behind the Scenes (to help visualize the process) See more on Mr. Jones' YouTube channel. After seeing the potential, I asked myself: How do I do this with MY kids?"