Group items tagged

"Why are we allowing our students to use pencils in the classroom setting?"

"The main point this diagram illustrates for me is not so much the types of teachers in a school but the percentages of those types in existence. The sharp end of the pencil represents the teachers who choose to regularly update their knowledge and practice in teaching approach and use of technology and yes, it's only 10-15%. Educations biggest influencers are the majority of teachers who either expect & wait for professional development to be delivered to them (wood), feel they require no PD at all (Ferrules) or try to reverse any example of progression from that which worked 20 years ago (Erasers). My own school has been BYOD for 4 years and can still claim the same percentages displayed in the pencil above (I've only been there a year). The first question that every teacher/leader at the summit should have been asking themselves is "How do I affect genuine change in the majority of those I work with?" This was the heart of my presentation."

"Can the act of making or designing something help kids feel like they have agency over the objects and systems in their lives? That's the main question a group of researchers at Project Zero, a research group out of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, are tackling alongside classroom-based teachers in Oakland, California. In an evolving process, researchers are testing out activities they've designed to help students to look more closely, explain more deeply and take on opportunities to change things they see around them."

"But in order to see results like those in Singapore, a cultural change must take place in the classroom, points out Norris. It's not enough just to introduce technology into the learning environment and expect results, she says; you must change everything, from devices to curriculum to pedagogy. "You must give them curricula with the technology activities baked in," she asserts, "so students don't have to keep going back and forth from their paper and pencil textbooks to their technology activities." "

"A notepad test: take a pen and a piece of paper or notepad and write a few words or your name. Easy, isn't it? Now what about doing that on your iPad, but add the ability to carry with you many pens and paper types, preprepared perfect shapes, highlighter pens and a virtually unlimited reference book that you could cut and paste from (the Internet). Sound a little bit better than the pad and pencil? You'd like to think so."

"Play is abundant in the lives of those considered to be creative. It facilitates social bonding, boosts productivity and enhances your mood. As positive psychologist Christopher E. Peterson put it, play is "…a robust predictor of how satisfied we are with our lives." "We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once." - Friedrich Nietzsche  I have two left feet, so I'm glad Nietzsche wrote metaphorically. With this quote, I think he was saying something true and profound about the importance of play-that it's an essential part of living a good and balanced life. What I hope to convey are some philosophical, scientific, and personal reasons for why we should all get serious about messing around. I hope that by reading this, you'll feel compelled to actually pencil in some time for more frivolity."

"This week I'd like to talk about a topic that has been a focus in my role as an Instructional Coach this past year - that of mathematical thinking, reasoning and proving. I supported teachers in my schools in these areas and it has been great to see students develop and demonstrate their mathematical thinking, aligned with learning goals and success criteria. When students reason and prove in mathematics, they are explaining their thinking and providing the evidence in a systematic manner using a variety of representations. Many times, it is difficult to understand what a student is showing in his/her work. Before I provide some suggestions, we need to understand what reasoning actually is; what is reasoning?"

"Organized by the New York Academy of Medicine Library, #ColorOurCollections returns next week. From February 6th through February 10th, you and your students/community will be able to discover, download, print and color pages shared by more than 200 libraries, museums and special collections from around the world-among them: Biodiversity Heritage Library, Bodleian Libraries, Cambridge University Digital Library, Europeana, Medical Heritage Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Library of Medicine, and New York Public Library"

"Are kindergarteners too young to start using iPads in schools? The Lower Merion School District in the suburbs of Philadelphia doesn't think so. "

"School supplies are no longer restricted to pens, folders and anything else you can find in a stationary store. In fact, many of the best learning tools around can comfortably fit into your pocket There are mobile applications for smartphones and tablets that can do everything from teaching your young child how to hold a pencil to keeping your older kids on top of deadlines and extracurricular activities. Here are five back to school apps you should download right away."

"Many artists like pallets, holding pencils and brushes in their hands, and working with the textured surface of a canvas or paper. But many of the same artists also like digital portfolio, easy publishing, one-button sharing, working with layers, mashing images, video, and music, and other potential that comes with working with digital tools. And this is especially true for those working in art education-teachers that have to handle the workflow of dozens of students working on dozens more projects as a time. In this way, tablets like the iPad, Nexus 7, and Windows Surface can make a lot of sense-and programs like the collection-by listly user Teaching Pallet-of the following 30 iPad apps for drawing, painting, and art education a great place to start your iPad art collection"

"Business realized that simply putting an existing paper-and-pencil process on a computer would produce modest or incremental gains,"