Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

"Evernote is an easy-to-use, free app that helps you remember everything across all of the devices you use. Stay organized, save your ideas and improve your productivity. Evernote lets you take notes, capture photos, create to-do lists, record voice reminders--and makes these notes searchable, whether are at home, at work, or on the go. Below are three good ways to tap into the full potential of Evernote."

"Sometimes quotations can really sum up what we're thinking or feeling in words that are much more eloquently put than what we can come up with in the moment. You can use them to help remind you that others are feeling, seeing, and doing the same thing as you are. You can use them to share a message you feel strongly about. Or, you can use them to keep yourself inspired and energized (which is as necessary as coffee for most teachers!) Hang them in your classroom, keep them as a background on your phone, iPad, or laptop, or leave them on a sticky note in strategic places. Here are five teaching quotations to keep you inspired."

"It's not easy being a teacher today. National, state and local politicians, philanthropists, researchers, journalists and many other people who have never actually taught a K-12 student are deciding how and what teachers should teach, and how their effectiveness should be assessed. Sadly, I've met many veteran teachers who are seriously considering retirement. Worse, I've encountered many promising young teachers who are wondering if they chose the wrong profession. How do I counsel teachers who share these thoughts with me? I remind them of two simple words: you matter. Indeed, teachers matter more now than ever."

"So when we saw the very useful teachbytes graphic above making some noise on pinterest on several different popular #edtech websites, it reminded us of the constant demands changing technologies place on existing ways we do business. When and in what contexts it makes sense to cite social media content is probably a more relevant post than sharing a graphic that simply shows the format, but they're both nice to have, yes?"

"As the new school year ramps up, teachers and parents need to be reminded of a well-kept secret: Across all grade levels and academic subjects, girls earn higher grades than boys. Not just in the United States, but across the globe, in countries as far afield as Norway and Hong Kong. This finding is reflected in a recent study by psychology professors Daniel and Susan Voyer at the University of New Brunswick. The Voyers based their results on a meta-analysis of 369 studies involving the academic grades of over one million boys and girls from 30 different nations. The findings are unquestionably robust: Girls earn higher grades in every subject, including the science-related fields where boys are thought to surpass them."

"If you are using or planning to use iPad in your instruction the apps below are definitely a must have. These are apps that will help you organize your class and enhance students learning. Some of the things you can do with these applications include: create virtual spaces for your classes, share materials with your students such as files and documents, get students to pass in their assignments, post reminders, share quizzes and homework assignments with students, send reports to parents and school administrators  and many more."

"Last night on the Free Technology for Teacher Facebook page I posted a set of resources for art lesson plans. That post reminded me of a couple of sources of free art history books that together offer nearly 700 books."

"Terrible Twos. Threenagers. Fearsome Fours.  These are years marked by tantrums and meltdowns - palpable reminders that young children haven't yet learned how to regulate their emotions. But rather than wait for them to outgrow this phase, caregivers can use this window to teach emotional literacy skills that will yield immediate and long-term benefits. Increasingly, research confirms the efficacy of explicit training in emotional intelligence starting at a very young age. According to multiple studies, preschoolers who participate in social-emotional skills programs exhibit less aggression and anxiety and become better social problem solvers. While these outcomes may make for a more peaceful classroom environment, the benefits outlive preschool: prosocial behavior in early childhood is strongly linked with future academic performance and mental health.  In other words, when children learn how to calm themselves down, use language to express their feelings and treat others with kindness, they are laying the foundation for future success and wellness."

"Create. Collaborate. Iterate. Dream. Reflect. Design. Take risks. It's the stuff learning is made of. Not the kind you find in a textbook or in testing practice. The kind you find in the world. The kind that grabs a hold of your interests, ignites your passions, and launches you into a space where there are possibilities. The kind that is messy and tangled and amazing. We all need to be reminded of what true, authentic learning really is. Deeper than standards, into a space where connections are made with each other and with the world. Let's make that happen. Or you could just turn to page 26 and continue following the textbook company's idea of what will engage your learners."

"I recently had the opportunity to take part in a two-day professional development session with the Children's Museum Makeshop in collaboration with Kickstarter.  Here there were a variety of different of teachers and administrators who had varying levels of experience with making in education.  The commonality: all teachers and administrators wanted to incorporate making into their instruction in a more meaningful way. Led by Teresa DeFlitch, we were engaged in a take-apart activity.  In this activity, we were to take apart an everyday item.  Our team selected a children's toy.  During this process, I was reminded of what drew me to making in the first place: the awakening of a curiosity for how things work."

"But using technology in the classroom-and using it effectively-might require some slight adjustments on the part of the teacher to sustain the effort, creative problem-solving, and innovation required to actually improve learning through the use of technology. (And great administrators, too.) This occurs at the belief level-what teachers believe about technology, education, and their own abilities to manage technology. Looking at the characteristics of teachers that effectively use technology in the classroom, then, can be useful to create an "edtech" mindset-one that believes in purpose, adaptation, change, and meaningful planning. If you spend your time planning at the upper limits of the SAMR model, this graphic may simply work as a quick reminder of how edtech can work-and work well-at the teacher-human-belief level. For everyone else, it's a a beautiful starting point to frame your thinking about education technology in general."

"I'd like to offer up a video playlist to remind all of us about the power of empathy, kindness, and human connections. It's always a good time to practice gratitude for the relationships that sustain us all -- for the people who have taught us in a school setting and beyond, and for the young ones we are able to nurture and inspire. I was also thinking about how many of us are living out the paradox of being ever more plugged in, and ever more aware of what's happening in our community via social media platforms, while at the same time, face-to-face interactions are less frequent than ever before. We are in constant touch, but barely touching. Watching these videos made me remember the importance of re-connecting, treating people with kindness and respect, and being generous and compassionate to both loved ones and strangers. If each of us pledged to do more of that, we'd make a better world for all of us to learn and grow in."

"Late last winter I started to organize the screencast videos that I've made over the years. I called the list Practical Ed Tech Tips. Since I started that list I've made an effort to add one or two new screencasts to it every week. The playlist now contains 135 videos. In the playlist you will find videos about tools for flipping your classroom, videos on managing workflow, social media tips, search strategies, and media production. The playlist also contains videos about tools like Remind, Duolingo, ClassDojo, Classtools, and many other popular web services for teachers and students"

"The start of the school year brings with it more than a few 'gotta-do's for a classroom teacher. For that matter, if you're also the designated ed tech "go-to person," there are a LOT of tasks for you (and the IT team) to consider. With a technology program, ensuring that the various aspects of technology are ready for you, your colleagues and your students could be a huge task. It's hard to envision all the aspects of tech that you might need to worry about, and if you or the team miss something, it only creates more heartburn and wasted time later. To help your student-centered tech program get off to a fulfilling start, we have put together this checklist. Most of the items on the list will be important for you to consider. Some of these items will not apply depending on your role, your devices, and the latitude your administration and district allows, of course. In any case, reviewing this list will remind you (and your administration, tech support, teachers and others) of the needs of a highly engaging, fully functioning student-centered classroom."

"Instagram will have you believe that anyone can be a photo editing expert by just applying a filter and cropping your image into a square. But my friend Abbie Morrison, a professional photographer, will remind me that being able to use Instagram and being a good photo editor are not the same things. A good photographer and photo editor will take advantage of more than just a few default filters in a photo editing tool. To help people understand photo editing terminology and functions, Polarr has published an interactive guide to photo editing terminology. The guide defines twenty-four terms and provides visual examples of each in practice."

"According to Google Trends (see photo), a new term came into existence and quickly became synonymous with progressive education and a resurgence of STEAM education in America. That term is maker education, or makered for short, and can be seen in the graph as "born" according to google searches, around September of 2004. Although the exact number of makered programs is not currently known, schools that employ a progressive pedagogy (insert the word innovative for those working in the 21st century) or schools that make claims regarding the importance of differentiation, constructivism or experiential learning have built or are building makered programs. At first these programs seemed to be dependent on having state of the art Maker Spaces or FabLabs and high-tech tools, as most were found in well-funded private schools. That picture has changed rapidly in the past ten years since the makered movement has gained popularity, however. More and more public/charter schools and nonprofit programs are building programs for the average American child, that rival many private school programs. In fact, programs with limited budgets and space have reminded us that scarcity or "disability," are invaluable teachers in any good maker culture, as they breed creativity and self-reliance. Many of the makered programs serving lower income communities have access to mentors who never stopped working with their hands, even when it fell out of status in a consumer driven America in the 1980's (Curtis 2002). While lower income mentors may not know Python or what an Arduino is, they are skilled carpenters, mechanics, seamstresses, cooks and know what it means to be resourceful. "

It's about to get really busy if you are at all involved in education. As you gear up in whatever way that you do, I selfishly wanted to jot down a few reminders that I'd be telling myself if I were about to get started.

Text reminders to your computer with your cell phone.