Group items tagged

"Last year, I wrote this post on 21 Things Every 21st-Century Teacher should do and it became an instant hit (with the help of Sean Junkin's Infographic).   As tech tools come and go, I felt the need to update and refresh it for this school year.  However, I ran into a problem.  When I got done with my updated list (removing a couple of ideas, adding several more) I was up to 36 different ideas.  As luck would have it there are 36 weeks in a standard school calendar so this actually works out wonderfully.  While these aren't necessarily listed in the order you should do them, they are listed from least difficult (#1 - Selfies) to the most difficult (#36 - Creating an in-class incubator).   The last few challenges are especially geared toward real-world problem solving and will hopefully make a dent in those "Tech Problem-solving" stats in the future"

"Our round-up list today features some interesting new educational web tools we have curated in the last couple of weeks. These tools have been emailed to us for separate reviews but we thought it would be best to feature them all in one list. As is the case with all of our Educational Web Tools series, we only include the ones that we think will be an added value to your EdTech toolkit. If you have other suggestions to add to the list, share them with us for review. Enjoy"

For the last 3 years I have invited learning professionals from around the world - both in education and workplace learning - to share their Top 10 Tools for Learning to help me build an annual Top 100 Tool for Learning list. (Note: The 2009 list will be finalised on 15 November, so if you haven't yet shared your Top 10 Tools there's still time) Once again this year, there are a number of tools appearing for the first time on the list, so in this article I am going to highlight briefly 10 of these new tools that I think are useful, innovative, cost effective and certainly worth considering for 2010.

"Today I am bringing you a great find I learned through TechChef4U. This is a list of useful iPad apps to transform your teaching. The list is created by Rachel Jones ( from  Create Innovate Explore ) and features some really great titles that every teacher should know about. And though most of these apps have already been featured here in this blog in several past instances, the list also contains some new apps I never had the chance to share here ( e.g., Moldiv, Memrise, and Green Screen Movie FX)."

"In this simple but informative TED Talk, Julian Treasure offers up seven things that effective communicators must exclude from speech. This list of seven is a kind of "bad habits to avoid" list. They are not the only elements that can derail effective communication, but it is a good list from which to start. "I call them seven sins somewhat tongue in cheek," Julian says in the comments section on the TED Website. "I am not saying these things are bad or wrong, simply that they tend to make it harder for people to listen, especially when they become habits." Yes, suggesting that one avoid these behaviors always and forever can become a sort of dogma as well. However, he is right that these behaviors are for the most part injurious to our reputations, credibility, and over all effectiveness."

Monthly Holiday lists include popular holidays for each month plus other lists associated with each month. http://bit.ly/b56bh9

"It's been about three years since I posted my original list of iPad apps teachers can actually use. Since then I have compiled a few other app lists: Chess Apps to Improve Your Game and Your Mind Creativity Apps Critical Thinking Apps Earth Science and Geography Apps But I do think it's time I update my original post. Or at least added to it. Most of the apps and tools on the original list are still around, but there are a whole lot more that are useful."

"Higher education leaders and decision makers use the annual Issues, Technologies, and Trends resources to know what's important and where to focus in their IT planning and management activities. When viewed together the resources provide more complete and nuanced guidance on institutional IT priorities. The lists are created by the community for the community, with support from EDUCAUSE staff. The Top 10 IT Issues list is developed by a panel of experts comprised of IT and non-IT leaders, CIOs, and faculty members and then voted on by EDUCAUSE members in an annual survey.  The Trend Watch and Strategic Technologies reports are derived from authoritative sources that annually identify emerging and maturing technologies and trends in higher education. The ELI Key Issues in Teaching and Learning list is crowd-sourced by surveying the higher education teaching and learning community to identify the issues and topics most important to them. The NMC Horizon Report identifies and describes emerging technologies likely to have an impact on learning, teaching, and creative inquiry in education. "

"Here are some great questions for starting a conversation. There are a lot of random conversation starters to get you started and then conversation questions listed by topic. You can start with the random questions or find a topic that interests you. There's no right place to start, just scroll down to wherever you want and get started! There are tons of ways to use these questions. I find that the most rewarding way is for everyone to pull up this list of conversation starters on a phone or tablet, and then take turns letting everyone choose a question to ask the group. Remember don't be afraid to delve deeply into the conversation. Answering the specific question isn't the goal, having an interesting conversation is!"

"I am a big fan of music in the history classroom and I have created a number of Spotify Playlists for this purpose. Often this is merely to help create a calm and purposeful working atmosphere, when a bit of Chopin or Debussy sets the tone perfectly. Occasionally it's even possible to have calming instrumental music directly related to the topic in question: for example, Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor, which was inspired by the composer watching British troop ships heading off to France in 1914. However, some songs are better used to stoke up some energy during lessons, whilst the very best of all are historical sources in themselves, combining musical feeling with powerful lyrical content. What follows is a list of songs I regularly use in class, organised in broadly chronological order in terms of the topics they relate to, with a brief explanation of how you could make use of them with your own students. What follows is a list of 25 principal songs, but with links to others on similar themes or by similar artists, bringing the total up to over 50. If you have any other suggestions, please contact me (@russeltarr / @activehistory on Twitter) and I'd be delighted to add them to the list (as long as it isn't "We didn't start the fire" by Billy Joel. Which I admit is superb, but we all know this one, surely?)."

"Earth Day is right around the corner. Many educators are preparing lessons that introduce environmental science concepts for students. Are you planning on incorporating Earth Day into your classroom? The annual event-which started in 1970-provides students with an opportunity to explore a range of subjects, whether science-based investigations, thematic reading, or creative arts projects. To help teachers brainstorm some ways to incorporate Earth Day into the curriculum, we've compiled a list of resources that offer lessons, ideas, tips, and activities that are perfect for Earth Day. There's a bit of everything, including lesson plans, tools, resources, and student reading lists."

"When a board game is presented as a math game, I am always eager to try it out! Unfortunately, in many cases I find the math in these games are too straightforward with cards of math problems for players to solve, or numbered spaces to count. These games are usually far from fun, only allowing kids to practice math facts or formulas. They lack the opportunity for the player to choose from different actions, strategize or even plan ahead. The math in board games doesn't have to be so straightforward! Math is not just about numbers and formulas, and through games is one way we can experience the beauty of math all around us. There are many fun board games that integrate deeper mathematical thinking into the gameplay. These games help students develop skills such as multi-step problem-solving, spatial reasoning, pattern recognition, resource management and much more. Here's my list of go-to board games for engaging students in math through games!"

"One of the things I like the most about iPad is its ability to support all the major e-reader platforms. Its interactivity and audio capabilities have even added a new dimension to read alouds and bedtime stories, making it an ideal device for digital storytelling. And since Educational Technology and Mobile Learning has already featured a List of The Best Digital Storytelling Tools ( web and desktop version ) then we deem it equally important to provide another list of such tools but this time for the iPad."

"Since I act like I know what I am doing and I carry an Ipad, a number of parents, teachers and friends have asked me which apps I recommend. This list is really just an inventory of what is currently on my Ipad, for each app I will discuss why I have decided to keep it. There have been many apps that have cycled through my iTunes, but only the most useful and least annoying get to have a permanent home."

"December 9-15, 2013 is Computer Science Education Week, and this year their big push is to get coding incorporated into school curriculums everywhere. There are lots of reasons why kids should be coding, but none more than the fact that there are more resources than ever to help students and teachers get started, regardless of their previous experiences with computer programming. So, in honor of the #HourOfCode project, here is my BIG list of iPad coding apps for kids. There is something here for students of all ages."

"In children's books, it can be easier to find talking pandas than characters of color. Only six percent of children's books published in 2012 featured diverse characters. Last Saturday, the first ever BookCon in New York city came under severe scrutiny for featuring all-white speakers (and one Grumpy Cat). NPR's Bilal Qureshi reported on the controversy and the resulting hashtag campaign, #WeNeedDiverseBooks. We asked around the NPR headquarters, checked out our library and compiled a list of books with authors hailing from around the world, including Korea, India and the South Dakota Sioux reservation. These books tackle themes like international adoption, bi-racial families and cultural history, to name a few. Not all of the authors are minorities, but every book features a protagonist of color that children can point to and say, "That's me!""

"t took a little while for the apps to come into their own, but we're at a place now where the iPad has nearly as good of a selection of apps as the iPhone. Now, it's harder than ever to find apps that are worthwhile. Let us save you some time with this collection of the best iPad apps. The Lifehacker Pack is a yearly snapshot of our favorite, must-have applications for each of our favorite platforms. This list focuses specifically on apps that really shine on the iPad, so no half-done, blown up iPhone apps here."

""Sorry, that's a great idea, but we can't build it here." That's my nightmare. A student in the STEAM Room, our student Makerspace, approaching me with a brilliant project concept requiring some reasonable tool we didn't even consider. Of course, there are worse nightmares involving our reciprocating saw or our drill press, but those scenarios are easier to plan around. How do you come up with an all-encompassing list of tools and materials that will facilitate every student's wildest dreams, while staying within budget and within space constraints? How can you avoid stifling creativity when you haven't even polled your students for their interest areas? How do you know when your Makerspace is complete?"

"Apple is aiming to further improve and refine the iPhone and iPad experience with the release of iOS 9, and with many new features and enhancements, it's sure to be a worthwhile system update for most users. Anytime a new version of system software is released though, users inevitably wonder if their devices will be able to run the next version, and that's no different with iOS 9, but to answer answer that question we're providing the full list of compatible devices."