Group items tagged

Every country has freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the nation and every individual must know who there freedom fighters were. This essay is on freedom fighters

Freedom to Learn is a blog the theme of which is the promoting children's self-direction in learning from the viewpoint of evolutionary psychology.

"One of the most iconic freedom fighter has just left us a couple of days ago leaving behind him a huge legacy for next generations to learn from. Nelson Mandella's life was a genuine fight for human rights and justice and it was thanks to his civil activism that apartheid was abolished in South Africa. The fight for freedom cost Nelson so dearly, 27 years of his life was spent in prison. The lessons we can draw from Nelson's eventful life experiences are inestimable and here are some of the teaching resources I have curated fro you to help yu teach your students about this legendary man."

"The child in the photo above just received the most amazing toy! It might have been a giant stuffed giraffe, or a truck, or a new game. However, the cardboard box is even more exciting. The child will eventually outgrow the giraffe or the truck because those toys can be only one thing -- but the box is timeless. The box can be a racecar, a submarine, a suit of armor, a castle, or a cave. We can learn a lot from children's infatuation with cardboard boxes. It shows us how much they want to shape and construct new things, how they long for the freedom to create. In fact, as illustrated by the phenomenon of Caine's Arcade, when students gain the freedom to explore, to learn independently, and to share their creations, they will astound us. Consider the fact that one boy's cardboard arcade inspired thousands from around the world to create and share their own inventions."

"Finland's plans to replace the teaching of classic school subjects such as history or English with broader, cross-cutting "topics" as part of a major education reform have been getting global attention, thanks to an article in The Independent, one of the UK's trusted newspapers. Stay calm: despite the reforms, Finnish schools will continue to teach mathematics, history, arts, music and other subjects in the future. But with the new basic school reform all children will also learn via periods looking at broader topics, such as the European Union, community and climate change, or 100 years of Finland's independence, which would bring in multi-disciplinary modules on languages, geography, sciences and economics. It is important to underline two fundamental peculiarities of the Finnish education system in order to see the real picture. First, education governance is highly decentralised, giving Finland's 320 municipalities significant amount of freedom to arrange schooling according to the local circumstances. Central government issues legislation, tops up local funding of schools, and provides a guiding framework for what schools should teach and how. Second, Finland's National Curriculum Framework is a loose common standard that steers curriculum planning at the level of the municipalities and their schools. It leaves educators freedom to find the best ways to offer good teaching and learning to all children. Therefore, practices vary from school to school and are often customised to local needs and situations."

"I was painfully bored during my K-12 education. I looked forward to college anticipating that it would be different - more engaging, more interesting, more innovative. I was wrong. My undergraduate education, except for a few bright spots, was just an extension of my K-12 education including more grill and drill with sages on the stages (literally since I went to such a large university); taking notes and taking lots of multiple choice tests. During my freshman year, I thought that if I had one wish, it would be to change the educational system (which has stayed with me ever since). One of those bright spots was being asked to read Carl Rogers, Freedom to Learn, which was published 1969 in an upper level Educational Psychology course. The big aha for me was that school systems should be focused on helping learners develop the skills for how to learn not what to learn, one that was sorely lacking in most of my K-graduate-level education and a concept and goal that as an educator I've held onto ever since."

"You may have heard of play. It's that thing children do - the diverse range of unstructured, spontaneous activities and behaviours. Children play in many ways, including by exploring movements, constructing with equipment, creating games, using imagination and chasing others around a playground. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises play as every child's basic right. But play is becoming extinct. Global studies, across generations, have confirmed outdoor children's play has been declining, across all age groups, for decades. Play is every child's basic right. from shutterstock.com Unstructured play improves learning and social and physical development. Providing a variety of play options, improved play access and fewer restrictions can encourage children to engage in physical activity with peers in line with their imaginations."

"Most of us use iPad only as a peripheral device to our computers and this is probably understood because of the nature and interface of computers that allow for much more freedom and space in handling our browsing and online navigation. For instance, I personally can not do certain things on iPad and I prefer to perform them on my laptop as is the case with writing this post and all my blog posts.That being said, there are now several apps out there that can improve the workflow of your day using iPad. These apps are designed specifically to work hand in hand with your computer and they will allow you to connect, share, and control your computer using your iPad. Thank you Greg for the list."

"Psychologist Barry Schwartz takes aim at a central tenet of western societies: freedom of choice. In Schwartz's estimation, choice has made us not freer but more paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied."

"Megan Morrone and Leo Laporte have a few apps that will make studying the civil rights movement fun. Now you can utilize your smartphone and take a look back at some of the hardships that African Americans faced during one of the United States greatest freedom movements."

"Empowerment of people through Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is an important prerequisite for fostering equitable access to information and knowledge and promoting free, independent and pluralistic media and information systems. Media and Information Literacy recognizes the primary role of information and media in our everyday lives. It lies at the core of freedom of expression and information - since it empowers citizens to understand the functions of media and other information providers, to critically evaluate their content, and to make informed decisions as users and producer of information and media content. Information Literacy and Media Literacy are traditionally seen as separate and distinct fields. UNESCO's strategy brings together these two fields as a combined set of competencies (knowledge, skills and attitude) necessary for life and work today. MIL considers all forms of media and other information providers such as libraries, archive, museums and Internet irrespective of technologies used"

"There are certain apps that just make your day easier. These are apps that I have been using regularly as part of my daily workflow. There is a nice variety of apps here, some are for use at school exclusively other I like because it gives me the freedom to just come home and continue with my lesson preparation. Have a look and see if any of these might be useful for you."

"Gold mining has been an integral part of world conquest from the time of the explorers. Gold and silver drove the explorers and Conquistadores to decimate world populations and colonize foreign lands, bringing home vast amounts of wealth to nations during what became known as the Age of Imperialism. Europeans colonized all parts of the globe in search of gold, silver, and cash crops. Although the colonization of America started as a result of turbulence in Europe and the search for religious freedom, it wasn't long before people struck out in search of riches here, too. The fever started with the California Gold Rush at the end of the 1840's. Ten years later, gold was discovered in Colorado, and silver at Pike's Peak and Nevada. Now, everyone wants a piece of Alaska."

"Our school is evaluating how assessment works across all faculties. We are doing this to improve pedagogy and help student learning. Of course, there are prescriptions from the state that must be adhered to as part of the rules and regulations that govern student assessment (and reporting). However, there's plenty of freedom to innovate in schools, especially within faculties, if we have a coherent plan for change and professional development with more than just a passing nod to best practice."

"In our last unit most of the inquiry was guided. In our new unit we decided that we would give more freedom to students earlier in the unit. This is an environmental unit. It's new for us this year, although we had a similar one about Climate Change last year. We had a new compelling question, "How long could we live without bees." We asked students what they thought about this question. We used Padlets. This is my class's Padlet. (It's a great way to gather short thoughts and ideas.) "

"National Geographic has tons of fantastic apps and The Underground Railroad: Journey to Freedom is a great choice for upper elementary and middle school students. This interactive app introduces children to the Underground Railroad by placing them in first person experiences. They'll have to make decisions on how to proceed from on step to the next while they learn about this period in history."

"3 Reasons Why Faculty Meetings Are a Waste of Time By Peter DeWitt on April 10, 2015 6:50 AM Faculty Meeting.png Many school leaders walk into a faculty meeting with a single idea of how they want to move forward and walk out with the same idea. That's telling... John Hattie talks a great deal about the Politics of Distraction, which means we focus on adult issues, and not enough time...if ever...on learning. That is happening around the U.S. for sure. Recently the Assembly of NY State only furthered those distractions, which you can read about here, which means that school leaders and teachers have to work harder to maintain a focus on learning. Quite frankly, well before mandates and accountability, school leaders focused on the politics of distraction and not on learning. Compliance is not new in schools. Faculty meetings were seen as a venue to get through and something that teachers were contractually obligated to attend. During these days of endless measures of compliance, principals can do a great deal to make sure they don't model the same harmful messages to staff that politicians are sending to teachers. Jim Knight calls that "Freedom within form." In Talk Like Ted, Carmine Gallo quotes Marissa Mayer (CEO of Yahoo) when he writes, "Creativity is often misunderstood. People often think of it in terms of artistic work - unbridled, unguided effort that leads to beautiful effect. If you look deeper, however, you'll find that some of the most inspiring art forms - haikus, sonatas, religious paintings- are fraught with constraints. (p. 190)" Clearly, constraints have a wide definition. There is a clear difference between the constraints of compliance and the stupidity of the legislation just passed by the assembly in NY. As we move forward, principals still are charged...or at least should be...with the job of making sure they offer part...inspiration, part...teacher voice...and a great deal of focus on learning. There is never a more important tim

"Given the amazing freedom and creativity involved in this virtual playground, the best Minecraft books take on so many different forms. From handbooks to crafts to novels to activities, there there are so many different books to blow the mind of young Minecraft fans. So, to get things in order, we have gone exploring and found thirteen of the best minecraft books for kids!"

"I've always found a sense of peace in the creative process. It's a time when I feel like I don't have to stick with the rules in place for all the different parts of my life. That freedom helps me come up with some of my most creative ideas and exciting projects. This has been true my entire life. When I entered the classroom, I wanted to give my students as many chances as possible to be creative. Over the years, I've seen amazing projects from students who dared to take creative chances. Until very recently, I thought these creative opportunities were the best way to engage kids in this process. It wasn't until I dove into the maker movement that I realized how much more is possible. I always come up with some big projects for my own students, but what about the rest of the building? I'd never been supported in larger school or district ideas, but this past year was different. With the support and challenge to do something for students outside of my classroom, I decided to go for it. After talking with some friends and our amazing media specialist, a makerspace in the library made the most sense. Here are some tips and tricks for putting together a makerspace in your school, and some thoughts on how it can be beneficial to your students."