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What mathematical competencies must a teacher have to teach the subject well? This has proven difficult to investigate (1). A current view is that teachers' knowledge of mathematics "remains inert in the classroom unless accompanied by a rich repertoire of mathematical knowledge and skills relating directly to the curriculum, instruction, and student learning" (2). Unfortunately, there is no consensus on which "knowledge and skills" might activate teachers' inert knowledge. Two perspectives prevail, neither with a research base that enables strong claims about practice. The majority of current studies focus on explicit knowledge of curriculum content and instructional strategies. Such knowledge might be assessed directly through observation, interview, or written test (2), with a parallel research emphasis on the formal contents of teacher education programs [e.g., (3)]. A second school of thought, presented here, is that the most important competencies tend to be tacit, like skills involved in playing concert piano, learned but not necessarily available to consciousness.

This resource is your online partner for teaching the core curriculum: English, history, science, mathematics, Spanish Learner-centered tools, lessons, and resources with measurable outcomes Interactive components that foster higher-order thinking skills Twenty-first century skills integrated into content

Interesting blog from Steve Shann. This post on literacy across the curriculum is worth reading from some post-grad students exploring the topic.

The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) was developed to help guide the complex task of evaluating technology integration in the classroom. Basic technology skills and integration of technology into the curriculum go hand-in-hand to form teacher technology literacy. Encouraging the seamless use of technology in all curriculum areas and promoting technology literacy are both key NCLB:Title II-D/EETT program purposes. The Inventory for Teacher Technology Skills (ITTS) companion tool is designed to help districts evaluate teachers' current levels of proficiency with technology and is also used as a professional development planning and needs assessment resource. The TIM is envisioned as an EETT program resource which can help support the full integration of technology in Florida schools. What is in each cell? Each cell in the matrix will have a video (or several videos) which illustrate the integration of technology in classrooms where only a few computers are available and/or classrooms where every student has access to a laptop computer. Transformation The teacher creates a rich learning environment in which students regularly engage in activities that would have been impossible to achieve without technology. Active Indicator: Given ongoing access to online resources, students actively select and pursue topics beyond the limitations of even the best school library. Collaborative Indicator: Technology enables students to collaborate with peers and experts irrespective of time zone or physical distances. Constructive Indicator: Students use technology to construct, share, and publish knowledge to a worldwide audience. Authentic Indicator: By means of technology tools, students participate in outside-of-school projects and problem-solving activities that have meaning for the students and the community. Goal Directed Indicator: Students engage in ongoing metacognative activities at a level that would be unattainable without the support of technol

Dedicated to creating a model classroom that integrates technology and uses better practices as central components of instruction. 

Writing coach is a pilot program by Pearson, which is also getting a lot of use in Texas classrooms. With writing being a skill that many students need to hone, the timing couldn't be better for an educational tool like this to emerge. The PHWC is an online curriculum that guides teachers and students through a series of activities and projects designed to bolster writing skills in grades six through 12. It's flexible, personalizable, and will likely inspire many similar programs in the coming years.

ast week I blogged about my Bloomin' Peacock, a new Bloom's Taxonomy visual I made to share with teachers in a training.  Over the years, I have created a number of Bloom's Taxonomy pictures to hang in my classroom for students to refer to.  My Bloomin' Peacock was such a hit with you all, I thought I would start sharing the others I've made.   Today I revived one that I created for my classroom and added the digital version (again the digital tools displayed relate directly to the Treasures reading curriculum).  This is my Um-bloom-ra Bloom's Taxonomy:

While some professors seek to exclude the devices from the classroom, others are creating multimedia-rich curricula in which students can draw on online resources and interact with each other. Banning laptops is just plain wrong, according to Don Krug, associate professor at UBC's department of curriculum studies. He says students are adults, and the best a professor can hope for is a "respectful learning environment," where students limit their own behaviour. "If they really want to learn the information, they will. They're paying a lot of money," he says. "We're better off teaching them how to be responsible learners." Shows two polar solutions to laptop problems: total ban & adapting curricula to include multi-media interaction. Also presents respectful learning environment as best course for students who are adults. - comment by Kent Gerber

The idea of a newsGenerator is to gather the most recent headlines relating to a particular curriculum subject based on specific keywords/phrases. The most important news items will be displayed on a webpage like this, and can be subscribed to as an RSS feed or a widget which automatically updates each and every hour.

Videoconferencing Out on a Lim is about one distance learning coordinator's experiences, curriculum thoughts, and technology rants related to k12 videoconferencing. I coordinate videoconferencing for 18 school districts in southwest Michigan. We have 70 Polycom units and we also have Tandberg infrastructure (MPS, Gateway, Gatekeeper and TMS). We've been doing videoconferencing since 1999. You can read about our program online here: SouthwestNet Distance Learning.

If you teach science, you've got to get this into your curriculum! How often does a chance like this come along? 

Using the arts to teach biology. Stanford instructor records 5 raps that describe different aspects of his biology curriculum for his students. I'm not sure they are incredible examples, but they do set a tone that music can/will help students understand/remember the material more effectively. It's not for everyone, but is another example of differentiating instruction for those who need/want/like to receive information in different formats. Why does the format have to be lecture? (My pessimistic response is that the lecturer learns best by that modality therefore dictates that others should learn that way!)

A curriculum designed to incorporate multi-media in student presentations. 

Persuasive writing websites with lots of examples

Edutopia is just confirming what we all know and believe. Why is it such a hard thing to implement well in the classroom?  We need to continue fighting for the chance for every student to have opportunities and expectations for communicating in class everyday as a regular/routine part of their learning. 

Someone has done a nice job of organizing the different tag cloud tools into an online binder of information. Great site for two reasons; the content about tag clouds, and the use of livebinders as the medium. Well organized, and LiveBinders allows you to share easily. 

I'm always looking for an easy to read, easy to implement list of web2.0 applications and Wes Fryer has created another one. I encourage you to find one application/resource and explore it. Don't look at all the possibilities but don't ignore them because it is overwhelming. find one, explore and look for ways to incorporate into your instruction. If you need help, simply ask!