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Six online tutorials in argument mapping, a core requirement for advanced critical thinking. Each tutorial includes a number of exercises for the student to complete.

The Visual Ranking Tool brings focus to the thinking behind making ordered lists. Students identify and refine criteria as they assign order or ranking to a list. They must explain their reasoning and can compare their work with each other in a visual dia

An article written for the Philadephia Inquirer by renowned librarian, Joyce Kasman Valenza about framing questions to promote higher order thinking. Lots of links, too.

"H.E.A.T. stands for Higher-order thinking, Engaged learning, Authentic learning, and Technology use. The H.E.A.T. Framework measures the integration of these four factors in classroom instruction."

"An education-technology scholar discusses the current state and promise of online teacher PD. Chris Dede, a professor of learning technology at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is a leading authority on online teacher professional development."

Offering a great way to get young students thinking about how to manage money effectively and providing them a creative outlet to demonstrate their knowledge.

How has the Internet changed the way we think, these commenters were asked. An interesting collection of comments... one noting: "Today, most people only recognize that they are using the Internet when they are interacting with a computer screen. They are less likely to appreciate when they are using the Internet while talking on the telephone, watching television, or flying on an airplane."

"SAS is NOT a portal. Although we will be using a new and powerful portal to access the six elements of SAS and all the resources that will be launched and will be added to the site, SAS is more about how we think and act differently. The six elements of SAS (clear standards, fair assessments, a curriculum framework, instructional strategies, materials & resources and interventions), when combined, provide educators with a common framework for the continuous improvement of each student by name. Research continues to support that integrating these six elements improves student achievement."

A versatile teaching tool! You can teach lots of different number concepts using it. "I've hidden some numbers. Can you work out what they are by looking at the ones that are left? Do you think the numbers are going up in steps of 1, 2 or 5?" "I've made a number pattern. It goes like this ...0,3,6,9. How high can you get carrying this pattern on? Let's check your answers on the number square!"

Interesting article about "Defining a 21st Century Education" What do you think?

This was saved in another Diigo list recently. VERY cool app for syncing Microsoft Office with Google Docs. Watch the video overview. Sadly, this is Windows only. The Premium version is $12/yr or just $30 lifetime purchase. If you're a windows district I think it would be well worth the $30 fee.

"The Visual Ranking Tool brings focus to the thinking behind making ordered lists. Students identify and refine criteria as they assign order or ranking to a list. They must explain their reasoning and can compare their work with each other in a visual diagram. This tool supports activities where students need to organize ideas, debate differences, and reach consensus. The tool and related resources are available for free, from any computer that is connected to the Internet. Students may work on their lists at home or at school, and can even compare their ideas with students located in distant classrooms. "

This is a link to the site for The Center for Schools and Communities. I am linking this site to our district web site. the video "Protecting Kids Online" has some really good information for parents to be aware of and think about with regard to their child's use of the Internet. In addition, the video has kids sharing real life situations that they found themselves in with regard to the Internet. If you have trouble getting parents to come to you, maybe you would be interested and taking this to the community like we are. We are posting questions that came with the copy of the video. If you would like to see the video user's guide that goes with the video, let me know and I can sent it to you.

I am going to be putting this link with this video onto our district web page. It provides lots of good tips for parents and students and also has kids talking about real internet issues they have encountererd.

"So it's my pleasure to share with you our new education programs that are aimed at innovations in STEM+ learning and empowering socially responsible entrepreneurs through global collaboration and the power of technology. Our goal is to equip educators, students and aspiring entrepreneurs with the skills and tools to drive amazing social change in their communities and around the world. Needless to say, I'm VERY excited - I think you will be, too... We believe there is no better way to address society's most pressing challenges than by equipping students, educators and future entrepreneurs with the skills and technology to turn their ideas and ambition into action. Our long-term vision is a world where unlimited educational opportunities transform lives, strengthen communities and drive social change worldwide. To turn our vision into reality, we are partnering with leading education, non-profit and nongovernmental institutions to offer three new programs described below. So what could be more exciting than announcing these new programs? Perhaps selecting exciting and innovative proposals in a few months! Will yours be one of them?"

The projects profiled here are full-figured creations by teams of teachers at schools whose cultures and schedules support grand ideas. Take a deep breath -- it didn't happen in one big swoop. Article on how to plan the PBL process in a classroom/school/district. I think this article is useful for any educator hesitant about the project-based learning approach. It's a lot of time and work, and then a struggle with how it is assessed. In my personal experience, project-based learning makes for an amazing classroom, but there is a lot of work done on the front-end to get students to buy-in to this model, and then to work within this model.

"Today's math curriculum is teaching students to expect -- and excel at -- paint-by-numbers classwork, robbing kids of a skill more important than solving problems: formulating them. At TEDxNYED, Dan Meyer shows classroom-tested math exercises that prompt students to stop and think." This is one of the most inspirational videos that can be shown to a math teacher.

This is an excellent video to spark conversation about math curriculum writing!

"For Vi Hart, her mind pondered the mathematical implications. "There's a packing puzzle here," she said. "This is the kind of thing where if you're accustomed to thinking about these problems, you see them in everything." Mathematicians over the centuries have thought long and deep about how tightly things, like piles of oranges, can be packed within a given amount of space. "Here we've got even another layer," Ms. Hart said, "where you're allowed to overhang off the edge of your square. So now you have a new puzzle, where maybe you want the big things near the edge because you can fit more of them off the edge before they fall off." Ms. Hart - her given name is Victoria, but she has long since dropped the last six letters - has an audacious career ambition: She wants to make math cool. "

Could these numbers be accurate for Google's electricity use? Kinda makes me feel guilty doing a search. This is a good science lesson and even a math lesson, don't you think?