Group items tagged

" found this one the other day and was impressed with the quality of the links. Kathy Casey has obviously spent a good deal of time collecting great resources for using the iPads in the classroom. This is the sort of curation and sharing that Pearltrees was designed for and Kathy has certainly used it well. "

"In an effort to incorporate the iPads into small group intervention stations for middle school math, I spent a few hours collaborating with Cheryl Mutz, an NEISD district Math Instructional Specialist, to create an apptivity to support the study of sequences in 8th Math. The intervention apptivity would be used in a small group setting (two students to an iPad) and the students would have 30-45 minutes to complete the task."

"This past week I spent three days in iPad training, as every student in 6th, 7th, and 8th grader, in the district I work in, will be carrying their own iPad. All instruction will be geared toward this initiative. Huge changes are coming our way and I have to wonder if we, as teachers, are ready for how instruction will be delivered and assignments will be collected."

"I've started a list of educational iPad game apps for parents. I've got a special affinity for these games as I originally started my career in technology as a first generation educational software designer. The list contains casual, fun games to use at home. They don't necessarily help you master long division or prepare for an upcoming geography test. The accent is primarily on having fun. If your child isn't going to enjoy playing then the app won't make the list. The second important criterion is that time spent playing is productive and that something of value is learned while playing the game."

"If you perform a basic Google search using terms such as 'iPad' and 'education' you will find that most of the results come from blogs and news sites. The success of iPads in schools is still highly anecdotal and often unconfirmed, but that is changing as more researchers and educators publish their findings in scholarly journals, which undergo peer review and a raised level of scrutiny. I spent the last few days tracking articles published through Elsevier's various journals as listed on ScienceDirect.com, and it is clear that the iPad is on track to be the focus of more articles in 2014 than any year previously."

"These days, so much of the research students do is of the online variety. There's less time spent in the library, requesting materials, and reading through print journals. Online research enables students (and teachers) to get the information they need quickly and efficiently. But just because there is a lot of information out there, a simple Google search isn't necessarily going to yield you the best results. The handy infographic below takes a look at how to get the most out of Google when you're doing online research. So whether you're helping your students learn how to find the information they need, or if you're doing your own research for professional development or personal interests, you can be an effective, efficient researcher. Keep reading to learn more!"

"Being connected is not easy. I've spent three years on Twitter building relationships and co-moderating and participating in education chats. I am constantly reading (and writing!) blogs; all this in the pursuit of being a better teacher. Although the time it takes to develop a network is substantial, the benefits of connection far outweigh the efforts. Here are seven ways that my students benefit from the online Professional Learning Network I have built over the years:"

"One of the most iconic freedom fighter has just left us a couple of days ago leaving behind him a huge legacy for next generations to learn from. Nelson Mandella's life was a genuine fight for human rights and justice and it was thanks to his civil activism that apartheid was abolished in South Africa. The fight for freedom cost Nelson so dearly, 27 years of his life was spent in prison. The lessons we can draw from Nelson's eventful life experiences are inestimable and here are some of the teaching resources I have curated fro you to help yu teach your students about this legendary man."

"Staff meetings were something that I dreaded in my beginning years as a teacher. We would often spend the majority of our time together discussing rules and policies, and would debate, on end, things that are seemingly significant. Hours have been spent in schools talking about whether kids should wear hats or not in school. Really?"

"In my classroom, my students are collaborating together on projects, proudly sharing their creativity, asking thought provoking questions, celebrating classmates successes, and mending disappointments. I spent some time this week just watching my class. My students were having conversations with each other and as I took the time to listen, those conversations were revolving around students' work. Through these conversations, my students are learning! "

"Welcome to the second installment of 21st Century Educator's teachers-in-the-field interviews! We first interviewed a high school history teacher to discover his favorite digital tools. This time we interviewed a science teacher, Mrs. M, who has spent the last two years making a full 360 degree flip of her physics and chemistry class. She shares what she's learned from the last two years, how to start 'flipping', and our favorite part - a nice huge list of her tried-and-true EdTech tools that help her 'flip' be a success. "

"I spent the whole day today catching up with the piles of emails I have in my inbox and I still did not reach inbox zero. However, while working on my Gmail, it dawned on me to share with you some useful tips I am using on my Gmail and which can make your emailing experience way better.These tips are features provided by Gmail team. All of features can be accessed from the setting button on the top right side :"

"One of the most amazing transformations that has taken place at NMHS is the creation of the Makerspace in what was our traditional library. A space that was once a barren wasteland is now a thriving learning metropolis where students flock to tinker, invent, create, collaborate, work, and most importantly, learn. When I hired Laura, I basically told her the budget, and she had complete control of how she wanted to use the money. I could never have imagined how quickly she could radically transform this outdated space, using money that previously had always been spent on books, magazines, and electronic databases. Some quick highlights include the following:"

"Our school just unrolled the first phase of our 1:1 iPad program tonight.  In preparation of this big event, I spent some time this summer looking into how I could support and guide students through the research process using apps."

" I've spent a lot of time lately reflecting on the way I teach literacy in my classroom and about the ways that the digital text I often use to teach now is inherently different from the text I used to teach reading ten years ago. In an earlier post, I talked about some of the ways that I think using digital text in shared reading, such as when reading projected blog comments or tweets, is actually superior to the traditional text we have long used. Even if you are not convinced that digital text can work better than traditional text, it is difficult to argue that digital text is not here to stay or that it is not becoming increasingly important. It is and will be a significant part of our students' lives both now and in the future. If this will be true, it only makes sense to begin to teach children strategies for reading this new form of text."

"Your school has spent a lot of money on those iPads, and their skilful deployment in music lessons can be a real game-changer for both specialist and non-specialist classroom teachers. Unsure where to start? Transformance Music's Ben Sellers shares five simple ideas to incorporate GarageBand for iPad into your music lessons at KS1, 2 and 3."

"3 Reasons Why Faculty Meetings Are a Waste of Time By Peter DeWitt on April 10, 2015 6:50 AM Faculty Meeting.png Many school leaders walk into a faculty meeting with a single idea of how they want to move forward and walk out with the same idea. That's telling... John Hattie talks a great deal about the Politics of Distraction, which means we focus on adult issues, and not enough time...if ever...on learning. That is happening around the U.S. for sure. Recently the Assembly of NY State only furthered those distractions, which you can read about here, which means that school leaders and teachers have to work harder to maintain a focus on learning. Quite frankly, well before mandates and accountability, school leaders focused on the politics of distraction and not on learning. Compliance is not new in schools. Faculty meetings were seen as a venue to get through and something that teachers were contractually obligated to attend. During these days of endless measures of compliance, principals can do a great deal to make sure they don't model the same harmful messages to staff that politicians are sending to teachers. Jim Knight calls that "Freedom within form." In Talk Like Ted, Carmine Gallo quotes Marissa Mayer (CEO of Yahoo) when he writes, "Creativity is often misunderstood. People often think of it in terms of artistic work - unbridled, unguided effort that leads to beautiful effect. If you look deeper, however, you'll find that some of the most inspiring art forms - haikus, sonatas, religious paintings- are fraught with constraints. (p. 190)" Clearly, constraints have a wide definition. There is a clear difference between the constraints of compliance and the stupidity of the legislation just passed by the assembly in NY. As we move forward, principals still are charged...or at least should be...with the job of making sure they offer part...inspiration, part...teacher voice...and a great deal of focus on learning. There is never a more important tim

"Excited shouts of "left, left, left", "knock down that tree" or "pick up that stone" can only mean one thing: your students have discovered the virtual world of Minecraft. Since its launch in 2011, children and adults worldwide have spent hours creating unique environments. The video game generates a blank landscape of different terrains that players explore. They construct buildings, mine for useful materials and, depending on what mode you're in, may have to defend yourself from attacks or stave off hunger"

"Times have never been better for computer science workers. Jobs in computing are growing at twice the national rate of other types of jobs. By 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be 1 million more computer science-related jobs than graduating students qualified to fill them. If any company has a vested interest in cultivating a strong talent pool of computer scientists, it's Google. So the search giant set out to learn why students in the US aren't being prepared to bridge the talent deficit. In a big survey conducted with Gallup and released today, Google found a range of dysfunctional reasons more K-12 students aren't learning computer science skills. Perhaps the most surprising: schools don't think the demand from parents and students is there. Google and Gallup spent a year and a half surveying thousands of students, parents, teachers, principals, and superintendents across the US. And it's not that parents don't want computer science for their kids. A full nine in ten parents surveyed viewed computer science education as a good use of school resources. It's the gap between actual and perceived demand that appears to be the problem."

"Hearing a child say they spent their school day playing with Lego may not go down well with parents. But these little bricks could become a fixture in maths lessons thanks to a new programme devised by the toy company. Primary schools have long used Lego informally to teach. However, this month Lego Education is launching a new programme, MoreToMaths, a global scheme especially designed to help teachers tackle key stage 1 maths on the national curriculum using the toys. The MoreToMaths kit, including lesson plans and teaching guides, costs £750 for a class of 30. While some may be sceptical about Lego's move into education - and the price that may deter state schools - many teachers have already found cost-effective ways to use Lego in lessons. We gathered these fun ideas from our teaching community."