Group items tagged

Overview of the Wii Fit as a fitness/workout tool.

"In a new report, 24 researchers from eight different countries gathered to create a consensus on the impact of physical activity on kids' health. They focused primarily on studies that examined the health of children aged 6 to 18, and analyzed the effects of exercise on children's fitness, health, cognitive function, motivation, and mental and social health. The report defines physical activity as "an overarching term that consists of many structured and unstructured forms within school and out-of-school-time contexts, including organized sports, physical education, outdoor recreation, motor skill development programs, recess, and active transportation such as biking and walking." In short, they found that exercise was beneficial for nearly every aspect of a child's wellbeing: physical health, cognitive ability, motivation and psychological wellbeing, as well as social inclusion. First, exercise leads to improved cardiorespiratory fitness, which in turn improves brain development and intellect, they said."

"What are the latest emerging trends in education? As trends to do, these are changing almost yearly. Consider how quiet iPads in the classroom have been recently, whereas three years ago they were going to replace teachers and were (unsarcastically) compared to magic. While mobile devices like the iPad can indeed parallel a kind of magic in the learning process, it obviously has to 'fit' into a progressive supporting ecology of assessment, curriculum, and instruction. With that in mind, we've created a list of 15 (the graphic plus 3 bonus items below) new ideas every teacher should try. Not all will fit or work-again, it depends on the ecology of the classroom, school, and so on. But each of these ideas below-some learning models, some concepts, and some technologies-can be transformational for students, and your teaching."

"The school district neighboring mine recently announced a new health and fitness curriculum that emphasizes "lifetime" fitness. One aspect of the curriculum focuses on helping students make healthy food choices. That news prompted me to put together this list of resources that can help students discover new healthy foods and make healthy food choices."

"I normally don't like to create "click bait" blog post titles, but this one seemed to fit. Twenty-five resources can be overwhelming, but there is a good mix of different types of items. There are links to websites with lesson plans, iOS apps, books, videos, and samples of student work to fit your learning style.  Scratch was developed by MIT a little over eight years ago. It uses a visual programming language that is easy to start for students of all ages. Teachers can start with the Scratch Jr. app for the iPad. That app, linked on the list.ly below, is designed specifically for 5-7 year olds. The only way to learn new skills, is to dig in and give it a try. I love the summer for this reason. It gives me the chance to keep up and learn something new. I am going to try Minecraft with my daughter, Gwen, after I finish up this blog post. "

"This tutorial is meant to show ways of easily figuring out tolerances for simple items with cardboard instead of using 3D printing or other time consuming processes. This process is more responsible, and more efficient. Each model will take no more than 15 minutes start to finish and the materials can be found in your recycling receptacle. As a furniture-maker and designer I am often looking to house specific items. Fitting items can be a tricky task. Measuring the dimensions of your item is a great place to start. However, you can not simply make the housing for the object the same size as the object itself. There is always a period of trial and error where you are adding and subtracting dimensionality in order to find the perfect fit for your object."

"Brain fitness is just as important as physical fitness for staying healthy. There is a growing body of scientific literature on the importance of cognitive workout. For instance, a study featured in CBS News found that 'people who kept their brains active most of their lives by reading, writing, completing crossword puzzles, or playing challenging games were a lot less likely to develop brain plaques that are tied to Alzheimer's disease.' Technology and the mobile one in particular offers various potent ways to train your brain muscles and sharpen your cognitive abilities. In this regard, we have curated a collection of some of the best iPad apps to use with kids as well as adults to help with brain workout."

"As I work with aspiring administrators, I often am asked about potential interview questions that might be asked during the hiring process.   I offer a list of typical-and not so typical-interview questions that might be asked by panels who are considering school leader candidates.  Of course, a hiring decision often boils down to the right fit, so questions can vary wildly depending on the needs of a particular school or the district.  While this is not by any means a complete list, it does encompass a few examples of what kind of questions might be asked.   As they say, there is no "right answer," so I have tried to include a bit of rationale of what the panel might be thinking as well as a possible approach one might take.  "Fit" is also an important consideration for the candidate; remember, you are interviewing them as well (though it may not feel like it!) and need to be sure that you are prepared for-and aware of-the specific leadership role that is involved."

"As a librarian, my goal is to expose students to all forms of literacy. Coding, to me, is just another form.  Teaching coding allows me to integrate multiple disciplines together. Coding is a process just like the research process. That is why it fits so nicely in the library. Additionally, coding teaches problem solving, cooperation, and how to overcome failure. With all that being said, I do not believe in just coding for coding sake. I feel it should fit within a bigger picture. Combining coding skills with other literacy skills is always my ultimate goal. Below are a few examples of how I teach coding with early childhood students. Most of these ideas did not start with me. They are a collection of resources from amazing educators that I have learned from."

"Eating healthy and staying fit can be a challenge. You want to eat right without sacrificing deliciousness or spending a fortune. You want to stay motivated to exercise and stay in shape. Save The good news is that tech can help. Handy apps can help you plan meals that are healthy, delicious and nutritious. Using these apps you can find recipes, check out nutrition information, plan grocery lists, schedule meal plans, track your exercise and more. This infographic shows 11 highly rated apps that can help you eat healthier and stay fit more easily."

"I have written before (HERE) about the importance of not just moving more, but developing physical literacy skills with students.  This was pre-pandemic. And if anything the limited activity many had during the COVID-19 pandemic increased these challenges leading to what many are seeing as a health crisis. In the world of education, we rightly emphasize intellectual growth, but the significance of physical health cannot be overstated. We are intentionally trying to do this differently in West Vancouver Schools. We are looking at the whole school environment to get students moving more often throughout the day.  For us physical health is not just about sports or fitness; it's a comprehensive approach encompassing mental and emotional well-being, community involvement, and personal development."

"You may have noticed the conversation about ed tech vs tech ed and the confusion about what each is or if there is even a difference. This is understandable. The International Society for "Technology Education" calls themselves the largest teacher-based organization in the field of "educational technology." Wait? They're the society for "tech ed" but they are an "ed tech" organization with "ed tech" standards. Confusing! The Innovative Educator is here to help you understand, as well as determine where you fit in this whole picture.  To follow is your handy dandy guide."

"This post is a reflection of some of the major findings we had throughout the project."

"Both project-based learning and STEAM education (science, technology, engineering, art and math) are growing rapidly in our schools. Some schools are doing STEAM, some are doing PBL, and some are leveraging the strengths of both to do STEAM PBL. With a push for deeper learning, teaching and assessment of 21st-century skills, both PBL and STEAM help schools target rigorous learning and problem solving. They are not exactly the same, but teachers can easily connect to them to teach not only STEAM content and design challenges, but also authentic learning and public, high-quality work. In fact, many know that STEAM education isn't just the content, but the process of being scientists, mathematicians, engineers, artists and technological entrepreneurs. Here are some ways that PBL and STEAM can complement each other as you deliver instruction"