Group items tagged

"Code Maven and Game Maven are interactive programming tutorials from Crunchzilla. Code Maven and Game Maven use the same style as the popular Code Monster javascript programming tutorial. That style is to present a piece of code with instructions on one side of the screen while providing a visual of the outcome on the other side of the screen."

"Twitter and Remind 101 are two of the most popular free services available to text parents. But how do you know which one is best for you? "

"Last week Hanif Kureishi dismissed creative writing courses as 'a waste of time', yet they have never been more popular. Other leading author-teachers reveal their advice to students"

"Infographics are popular. They're a fun way to present and read data, and many people believe that information that is presented visually is often retained better (at least for some learners). Many teachers today are using infographics, both in their classrooms and for their own professional development. There are so many tools out there to make your own infographics. In the education realm, most people I chat with say that they use Piktochart because it is free and very simple to use. One of the (newer) trends we've been noticing lately has been that more and more infographics are interactive."

"I'm a big fan of mind mapping as a method for organizing thoughts, connecting concepts, and visualizing the big picture of concept. In fact, I think the mind mapping process is so valuable that I created an entire workshop about it. One of the mind mapping iPad apps that I often recommend is Popplet. Recently, I tried BigMind and I think that it could challenge Popplet in popularity."

What makes an effective teacher? It's difficult to tell, but when you've had one, you know. Some states are trying very hard to measure "good" teaching, but how can we do this? It's been argued that it's hard to pinpoint just what good teaching is. Margaret Danielson is an expert on this subject and the creator of a popular rubric which explores excellence in the classroom.

"I wish geometry was taught in this way when I was in school. Curriki's new Project-based Learning (PBL) high school Geometry course is now available. For so many students, it's difficult to make a real-life connection between math and their everyday lives. By adopting a Project-Based Learning (PBL) approach, students learn that geometry is not only theoretical, but practical and necessary. Students will move beyond a basic understanding of concepts to an enjoyment of discovery. This free Geometry course not only leverages the popular PBL "active" approach but is also aligned to Common Core State Standards. Thom Markham, Ph.D., President of PBL International, is the designer of the course. He notes that Project-Based Learning points us toward the future of education. "It's a proven method for integrating the 21st century skills of communication and teamwork into the delivery of core subjects.""

"Curation is a term that is rapidly growing in popularity and is directly impacting the world of workplace learning and performance. In a world where the amount of information available to workers doubles every 18 to 24 months, it is impossible to keep up with the seemingly endless supply of it. "

"The success and popularity of Minecraft in and out of classrooms is no surprise. It's one of the best examples of the potential of learning with games because it embraces exploration, discovery, creation, collaboration, and problem-solving while allowing teachers to shepherd play toward any subject area. But Minecraft is not the only game of this kind. Take a look at some of these."

Over the last ten months since I launched iPadApps4School.com I have reviewed a lot of mathematics apps that are appropriate for elementary school students. These are the ten that have been the most popular over the last ten months (based on total clicks and shares through social media).

"The Elements in Action takes a visual look at the periodic table, bringing the metals and gasses to life with engaging videos. It's an interesting look at the elements from BAFTA award winner Max Whitby and Theodore Gray, author of the popular book and app The Elements. The content is top-notch, taken from footage originally available only at museums."

"More students than ever are learning with a smartphone by their side. While some teachers fear that these devices distract students from their lessons, savvy educators embrace the latest technologies to engage with their students and encourage new learning strategies. Three of the most popular smartphone features - texting, social networking, and playing games - can all be utilized for digital-age learning. Here are some ideas how:"

In response to growing interest and inquiries regarding flipping the iPad equipped classroom, I have begun considering the many ways in which the popular tablet's unique capabilities and myriad applications can play a role in flipped teaching and learning. Last week, in Part 1 of this two part post, we considered the topics of Finding and Creating Digital Learning Content, Delivering & Consuming Learning Content, and Ensuring Content Consumption. This week we continue our exploration by delving into how to use class time, reinforcing learning, assessment, and lastly - tools for organization and productivity (an important consideration in all types of classrooms, not just the 'flipped' ones!).

"Recently, a little bird - well, maybe a Big Bird - told us that the STEM movement is spreading and reaching out to the pre-K crowd! Sesame Street has just launched on an Online STEM toolkit for students, parents and educators. They hope this digital destination will help the term "STEM" become as equally well known to their audience as another popular four letter Sesame term, "ELMO.""

"The interest in inquiry-based learning seems to ebb and flow based on-well, it's not clear why it ever ebbs. In short, it is a student-centered, Constructivist approach to learning that requires critical thinking, and benefits from technology, collaboration, resourcefulness, and other modern learning skills that never seem to fall out of favor themselves. Regardless, St Oliver Plunkett Primary School has put together two very useful images that can help you populate your iPad-or classroom of iPads-with apps that support both inquiry-based learning (the second image below), and a more general approach to pedagogy based on Apple's uber-popular tablet (the top image)."

"Private Browsing is an optional Safari browsing mode that causes no data from the browsing session to be saved, this means no cache files, cookies, or browsing history will be stored or collected in iOS, making for a fairly anonymous session on the client side. It's a popular browsing choice for a wide variety of reasons, and it's now easier to use on every iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, because you can now toggle the setting on directly in Safari, and without losing all existing Safari browser pages. This offers considerable improvements over what existed previously, but like much of iOS post the major 7.0 overhaul, it can be confusing to find until it has been pointed out to you. "

"Digital literacy, as a set of skills that students need to develop and master in order to properly use digital technologies , is an essential component of the 21st century education. Being digitally literate should not be confused with being comfortable using certain types of digital media such as social media. And as Danah Boyd argued in her book "Understanding The Social Lives of Networked Teens" teenagers know how how to use Facebook, but their understanding of the site's privacy settings did not mesh with the ways in which they configured their accounts.They know how to get to Google but had little understanding about how to construct a query to get quality information from the popular search engine. Along with learning how to conduct effective online searches comes the the second most important skill which is that of evaluating and assessing the validity of information found online. One of the versatile tools teachers can use to teach students about web content evaluation is called CRAAP . The acronym CRAAP stands for Currency, Relevance, Authority, and Purpose. CRAAP is a test developed by the University of California at Chico to help students evaluate web content ( and any other content) based on those four dimensions. Below is a public domain document, a checklist, that teachers and students can use to evaluate web content. Click here to download it."