Group items tagged

"Genius hour is a great way to allow students to drive their own personalized instruction but where to begin such a big project? "

"According to the Flipped Learning Network, Flipped learning is "a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter. ""

"With second quarter in full swing, and a new reading/language arts curriculum, I am excited to update my post from March on Guided Reading in a 1:1 classroom.  My enthusiasm and passion continues to grow knowing the students  I teach have limitless possibilities.  I am able to individualize and differentiate instruction for each child in my classroom. "

"It's so important to include primary sources in your English Language Arts and content area instruction.  Whether you're doing a close reading of a text or drawing conclusions from a photograph there are lots of ways that students can interact with artifacts.  Here are a few great online resources and apps for primary source documents:"

"Hi all, I've created a presentation (with some help from my colleagues) on different examples of formative assessment. You can view it here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/pub?id=1nzhdnyMQmio5lNT75ITB45rHyLI... Note the definition I'm using at the beginning of the presentation: A formative assessment or assignment is a tool teachers use to give feedback to students and/or guide their instruction. It is not included in a student grade, nor should it be used to judge a teacher's performance. Both of these would be considered summative assessments."

"One of the biggest affordances of technology is towards the enhancement of the concept of personalized learning. Internet and more particularly web 2.0 technologies and mobile apps have provided learners with unprecedented opportunities to learn whenever, wherever, and however they want. At its core, personalized learning is all about tailoring the available resources in order to meet personal learning needs. On a macro educational scale, personalized learning addresses different teaching strategies and instructional methods that focus on the adjustment and leverage of the curricula and teaching materials to help meet a diverse set of students learning needs and interests."

"Planning to integrate digital portfolios in your instruction? This list of tools is a good place to start with. It contains some useful web applications that you and your students can use to easily create e-portfolios. Using e-portfolios with your students has several educational pluses that include:"

"Ring of Technologies is a beautiful visual wheel that displays a host of learning goals together with some examples of web tools to achieve them. To me this work  (created and shared by UAF eLearning Faculty Resources) represents the core of digitally-based learning. It also chimes in with what we have said about purposeful use of technology in instruction. Having clear goals about what you want to target in your teaching using technology will definitely help your learners make the best of that technology."

"GeoCon Math is a new iPad app for students, teachers and math enthusiasts to study plane geometry in an interesting and exciting way. GeoCon HD re-invents the study of plane geometry by empowering users to create various geometric constructions with the touch of a finger. The app also offers easy tutorial steps that provide instruction on setting and moving points, constructing lines and circles, and creating intersection points."

"So the time has come. I am about to delete one of my favorite iPad apps of all time. Zite has been an amazing discovery tool for me. It has enhanced my learning and given me lots of great ideas to share in this blog and online via social media. However, as you may already have heard, Zite was acquired by Flipboard recently and will be discontinued."

"Social Media isn't the only area in which New York City is paving the way. As announced today in the NY Daily News, the New York City Department of Education will lift the ban on cell phones and other digital devices in March. Instead of banning devices, schools will have options including: Store mobile devices in backpacks or a designated location during the school day. Allow mobile devices to be used during lunch or in designated areas only. Allow mobile devices for instructional purposes in some or all classrooms. While there have been teachers, schools, and districts who have given students the freedom to bring cell phones and other technology to school, New York City is the largest. This will set the trend and help move others to open the doors for student devices in school."

"Technology is changing not only the instructional methods we use to teach our students, but it is changing the classroom and learning experience. Digital learning communities - virtual spaces where students can collaborate, assist in each other's learning, and build relationships - are integral to 21st century learning. With it being January and a time for New Year's Resolution, we thought these apps might be something to try out in the new year! To support teachers, this month's Roundup is a compilation of App Ed Review's favorite learning communities apps that support students asking and answering questions, collaborating on work in real time, and creating their own lessons."

"So how are we doing on the push to teach "digital literacy" across the K12 school spectrum? From my perspective as a school-based technology coach and history teacher, I'd say not as well as we might wish - in part because our traditional approach to curriculum and instruction wants to sort everything into its place. Digital literacy is defined as "the ability to effectively and critically navigate, evaluate, and create information using a range of digital technologies." Many educational and business professional cite is as a critical 21st century skill. Even so, many schools have struggled to adapt it into their curriculum. This is often because most institutions already have rigorous, established curricula with little wiggle room - and this is especially true in schools subject to state and federal testing. Content becomes king. However, there are ways that schools can adapt these skills into existing structures - integrating them into their current pedagogical framework."

"Classroom technologies such as smartphones, tablets, computers, and wireless internet access offer exciting opportunities to enhance and deepen the learning process. However, using technology in the classroom can also bring multiple distractions to students. Without your proactive supervision, students might access games, web pages, and social networking sites as you deliver instruction. As an educator, how can you confront this dilemma? Read on to learn the various ways on how you can minimize the digital distraction in your classroom. Digital tech rules and regulations"

"Skaffl is a free iPad workflow  app created by Rita (a former instructional technology specialist at a 1:1 iPad district).  Skaffl allows teachers to plan, teach and grade using a collaborative iPad workflow solution. It also allows  teachers to seamlessly distribute and collect assignments from students. "

"Here is a great resource I have recently stumbled upon and never had the chance to share it here till this evening. A Questioning Toolkit is a comprehensive guide to help teachers, educators, and curriculum designers better integrate the power of questions in learning and instruction. This resource contains a plethora of question types with explanations on each of these types together with examples and tips on how to use each of them. I have gone through the materials presented in this guide and I must say that it is really a treasure trove of educational insights for immediate application in classrooms."

"For teachers and educators, the ability to creatively combine web content with interactive images offers an exciting way to share engaging digital platforms for learning. ThingLink is a popular interactive visual image network being used by thousands of teachers around the country. One image can provide students with a unique and comprehensive hands-on lesson with information included via videos, hyperlinks, text and much more. The company recently announced its new editor for annotating video content, which allows teachers to add notes in this media too. Today in The Global Search for Education, I have invited 3 educators - Jamie Forshey, Lisa Johnson, and Sue Fitzgerald - to share their favorite examples of how they have been using the ThingLink digital tool to promote meaningful and fun learning. Jamie Forshey is an Instructional Technology Specialist and Computer Skills Instructor at the Bellwood-Antis School District in Blair County, Pennsylvania. She shares these three examples from her work with ThingLink:"

"Elk River school district is well aware of the benefits of learning coding in today's increasingly tech savvy world. Troy Anderson, Manager of Instructional Technology, spoke with us about their process for selecting and rolling out a curriculum that met their district technology goals."