Group items tagged

"Google Kicks Off 4th-Annual Online Science Fair"

"FacebookTwitter26 If you're about to head off to holiday break, congratulations! You've made it! You deserve to kick back, play with friends and family, and recover from the hectic start of the school year. But after you've had your hot cocoa, opened up all your presents, and realize school is resuming soon … what then? Don't let that wave of panic hit you like it did last year. Get prepared for the new year by enrolling in half a dozen edtech courses from Skills Genius. It's an online learning platform the editors of Daily Genius are developing. We want you to help us kick the tires of some of our early courses and are making all 6 edtech courses totally FREE for the month of December."

"ASCD's annual conference (see #ASCD13 on Twitter) recently came to a close, and one of the main themes that kept surfacing was the need for more "connected educators." At this conference, there were definitely some great "firsts." The general session kicked off with a keynote from Freeman A. Hrabowski III, who tweeted his first tweet; an impromptu #edcampRogue sprouted up from in-attendance edcampers; and author and poet Maya Angelou was even tweeting at age 85! "

"If you're new to the K-12 Online Conference, please read our About page as well as as our Goals and Core Values. Since 2006, K-12 Online has hosted a free, all-volunteer online conference with 40+ free videos each year featuring some of the most creative and innovative teachers sharing their best ideas for engaging students with digital tools and effective learning strategies. All past keynote addresses are now available on our YouTube channel, and we're in the process of migrating all past presentations there too. Shannon Miller will kick off our 2013 conference with a pre-conference keynote on Monday, October 14th. During week 1 of the conference which starts October 21st, Steve Hargadon & Audrey Watters will keynote the "Open Learning" strand, while Kathy Cassidy will keynote "Outside Learning." During week 2, starting October 28th, Larry Ferlazzo will keynote "Leading Learning" while Sylvia Martinez & Gary Stager will keynote "Building Learning." Please forward and share this post on social media to get the word out about our fantastic keynoters for this year's conference!"

"As a fifth grade teacher I loved exploring earth science topics with my students. Finding earth science apps for a classroom with iPads and earth science websites for students on Chromebooks can help you point students find useful information. You can use these online tools for inspiration for research projects, a place for students to find answers to questions on a new topic, or to simply locate and share a video clip or idea with your class. On this list of earth science resources, you'll find options for classrooms with a range of technology tools. The favorites below could be used for small group explorations of a particular topic or to kick off a lesson with your whole class. As you make a plan for your next earth science unit, identify your learning goals and think about the ways technology tools can energize this experience!"

"here are lots of ways to incorporate video into the classroom. From capturing students' attention as you kick off a lesson, to providing context for a new learning experience, teachers use videos in lots of different ways. Whether you are looking for a clip to send home to students via Google Classroom or want to connect a video link for a QR code scavenger hunt, educational 360 videos are worth exploring. 360 video gives students the power to explore a space from every angle. YouTube hosts a range of 360 video content and one of my favorites is from the BBC. On the BBC's YouTube channel you'll find different types of video options for a virtual visit to places around the world. As you search through their content you'll see that they've tagged their videos as 360 to make it especially easy to find."

"This is the kick-off post in a 4 part series where we will cover each stage of implementing computer science in elementary school based on thousands of conversations with educators. While the month of June brings a lull to the toil from the school year, we're working hard to set you up with the resources you'll need this summer as you prepare to do it all over again. Over the next four weeks, we'll be taking the lessons we learned from our teachers this school year and sharing their coding implementation stories from beginning to end. Over the past 3 years, computer science in elementary has come a long way. Trailblazing schools who were just getting started, have now fully integrated Computer Science into their curriculum. While the majority of schools are on their way to that point. At Kodable, we focus on talking to as many people as possible and working hard to meet their needs regardless of the stage of implementation. In these thousands of conversations, the four stages of implementing computer science in elementary school have become very clear."

"While school is out for the summer, part of Lincoln Elementary's campus, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will be transformed into an outdoor makerspace. When students return in the fall, they will get to see how their own design concepts have turned into an engaging environment for learning by making. Lincoln Elementary is just one of seven schools across the Pittsburgh region where new makerspaces are emerging through a collaboration with the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, Kickstarter, and a host of community partners. Their approach offers a sustainable model for funding and professional development that other schools and communities might want to borrow to kick start their own maker efforts. "

"For years, I've been a fan of Alan Levine's (@cogdog) 50 Ways to Tell a Digital Story and his groundbreaking, open kick-butt DS106 (digital storytelling) course. I recently rediscovered the DS106 Assignment Bank and I see it as a truly inspiring resource for inspiring K12 creativity."

"When app-smashing on iPad, students and teachers use multiple apps to create individual pieces of content that are then merged or smashed together into one culminating product. Applying this concept dramatically increases creative potential, and the rate at which apps are developing allows for new, unique, and dynamic creations to consistently challenge what seemed possible only a few months or weeks ago. The final product involved in app-smashing often lends itself to video, so to kick off the school year, here are a few app-smashing video projects."

"As an element of my technology sessions at Lakeland Elementary School's teacher inservice yesterday, I took a different approach. I did this partially to better model what I have preaching (teacher as facilitator rather than all-knowing bestower of knowledge) and also to give my teacher first hand experience in how a student feels in that environment. Additionally, it made the session more interactive (less boring) and by finding answers on their own, the teachers should better remember what they learned to do. In hindsight, I also believe a major benefit is the realization of many of my teachers that they know more, and can do more, than they thought they could. Being under the pressure of a time clock and motivated to beat the other teams, they had very little wiggle room to have their creative problem solving skills hijacked by self-doubt. Instinct kicked in. From the standpoint of the facilitator, it was fascinating (and addictive) to watch that happening. Very, very cool."

"Children, unlike most adults, have imaginations that are unconstrained by either themselves or society. For an 8- or 10-year-old, anything and everything seems possible. Burning with curiosity about the world around them, they can transform mundane objects into toys, invent entire worlds in a heartbeat, and become lost in daydreams one minute, only to fire off a barrage of (often unanswerable) questions the next. Then, they start to grow up. Curiosity seeps away. Self-consciousness kicks in. Until, slowly, the formalized structures within education, and the expectations of society, begin to take over. It doesn't have to be that way."

"As teachers and families kick off summer vacation it's important to think about how students will continue to grow their skills over their break from school.  Splash Math offers an online summer program designed to help students maintain their math gains and prepare for the upcoming school year.  Their award winning eight week review program includes a Common Core aligned diagnostic assessment before and during the program and a personalized practice schedule for each student based on the diagnostic assessment."

"In the 2008 animated film WALL-E, Pixar depicted a light-hearted but dystopian world of obese, immobile people whose needs are met by a bustling horde of robots and computers -- a world that hardly seems like science fiction as we witness the precipitous decline in physical activity over the last generation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that approximately 80 percent of Americans don't get the recommended amount of exercise they need each week for optimal health. So, did Pixar predict the future of humanity or is there a way for us to course correct? Sedentary behavior is an intractable issue. Seemingly benign forces make it easier and easier for many of us to conduct our work, school and social lives from the comfort of a chair and an internet-connected gadget. Unfortunately, sedentary lifestyles are a driving force behind burgeoning health care costs, and they pose an alarming threat to the health and well-being of our children. Fortunately, there is cause for hope in lessons from the tobacco control movement and efforts to change smoking behavior. "

"Looking for some inspirational  ideas to unleash your creativity and kickstart the new year? The TED talks below are definitely a must watch. The start of a new year is traditionally the time that most people set out goals and resolutions and create to-do lists. These talks will help you come up with creative ideas to include  in your resolutions list and most importantly, will "offer the kick-in-the-pants you need to unleash your creative spirit."

"At Branson Junior High, our amazing team of teachers and principals, along with the encouraging support of our school district superintendents to be innovative with a purpose, are on a journey to personalize learning for every child. We are starting small, but dreaming big and have already experienced some momentous transformations in our school culture. At this school year's kick-off orientation event for parents and learners, we built on the familiar analogy of a go-kart track to communicate the vision of personalized learning at BJH (Branson, MO is a big tourist destination in mid-America). Most junior high/middle school aged kids would be excited to hear their parents say they were going to the go-kart track for a night out of family fun. However, if when they arrived at the track the parent asked the attendant for a two-seater go-kart and then directed their son/daughter to climb in the passenger seat, the child's excitement level would immediately deflate. You can easily picture in your mind's eye the typical response a child would have to their parent's action: "I thought we were here to have fun?! Can't we each have our own go-kart to drive?" Likewise, if we desire fully engaged and responsible learners, then we must provide them the opportunities to drive their own go-kart. Just like a go-kart track, we set-up safe boundaries, provide some initial guidance, but then let the learner buckle-up and drive!"

"To celebrate the start of Comic-Con tomorrow in San Diego, Marvel is kicking off a promotion that provides an all-you-can-have pass to its entire digital library for less than a dollar. There are a few caveats, as expected, but not enough to make the offer seem any less attractive. According to Wired, Marvel Unlimited, which is home to more than 13,000 comics, can be accessed over the next week with a simple payment of 99 cents. The deal will only give you an in to the service for one month, but the renowned publisher is hoping that's plenty of time to keep you locked in beyond said period."