Group items tagged

Young students use Facebook in the classroom What do you think?

Poor idea. First of all, it models disrespect for terms of service: One item on Facebook's terms of service page says "You will not use Facebook if you are under 13." Second, we know from a growing body of psychological and neuroscience research that once people (esp young people) have developed friends networks, that they spend hours and hours of their time at home doing facebook, at the expense of real-time face-to-face socializing, exercise, and homework. The quality of work they do goes down dramatically when they switch back and forth from Facebook to their homework (the Facebooking activity impairs their ability to remember what they were doing before they switched). This can also contribute to sleep deprivation, which itself results in a whole host of poor health/cognitive problems. A better alternative: teaching kids alternative exciting ways of social networking and working collaboratively online that don't have the massive distraction factor of Facebook: teach them how to make flip videos and post them on drop box; teach them how to make wikis; use a Ning social network; teach them how to use Google Docs, forms, etc. Teach them how to use Diigo! Even teaching them how to twitter is a wiser idea. . . just.

From September, I am starting a new role. I am going to be a year group leader for year 5. This has come about relatively quickly since my return from mainstream and so I have spent some time over the summer reflecting on my practice and how I am going to develop and inspire the people I work with. One of those people is an NQT. My sister is also starting her first post as an NQT in another school. After speaking on the phone for half an hour this morning, I realised that some of the stuff that I was saying to her is probably some of the stuff that I will be saying to the NQT I will be working with...

University groups previously decried "a time of limited and sometimes shrinking budgets for higher education," and called on the Labor Department to lower the threshold and adjust for regional and sector differences. Institutions have pushed back against the significant financial burden associated with raising salaries to meet the threshold or paying overtime for additional hours worked. Though faculty members are still exempt, the status of postdocs with light teaching loads is still in question, and many support staffers are eligible for the increase.

Displays can take up vast areas of wall space and many hours of adults' time, therefore teachers and leaders must be sure of the impact that they are having on learning so that what is on display is justified and not simply a waste of time and space.  Put simply, before a display goes up, we must ask: What will this display do to improve outcomes for children?  For this to be answered with any sort of reliability, the question must be framed within a sound knowledge of how children learn and what learning is - a change in long-term memory...

Ever wonder how your co-worker gets so much done in so little time? They know how to put their time to best use. In this episode Josh and Shelby talk with productivity expert Laura Vanderkam about the weekend habits of highly productive people. Learn how being mindful about your 48-hour weekend can make it feel longer and more productive. Vanderkam shares ways to take advantage of your weekends and why tracking your time can be a difference maker. Plus Josh and Shelby discuss the three myths that are killing your productivity, and what you can do to overcome your limited time.

"As teachers, one of the biggest challenges that we face in the classroom is students who give up. 'I can't do it', 'It's too hard', 'I dunno'. We spend hours planning a lesson that could stretch and challenge our students, only to find that they don't want to be stretched and challenged because it's too much like hard work. Where do we go from here? How do we make sure that we are molding our learners to be Hobnobs rather than Rich Teas?"

What if every student (and educator) was a good online researcher?  I know, you don't have the time to teach information fluency skills.  What if you could get a significant advance is skills with just a 2 -3  hour time commitment?  Here's a great Prezi 'fly by" of the new Information Investigator 3.1 online self paced class.  Watch the presentation carefully to find the link to a free code to take the class for evaluation purposes. 

Of course you could always have you school librarian/media specialist teach information skills to your students! That's what they do!

I couldn't agree more. Library Media Specialists, especially when they can collaborate with classroom teachers, are the best resource for teaching these skills. However the problem of access to a Librarian and the issue of scale are real barriers. I've been creating content for Librarians for a decade. They are the best! You'll find years of free resources at: http://21cif.com This resource will help them reach more students. We had 1000 teens take this course at the Center for Talent Development. It really does work. We're hoping to reach teachers and librarians everywhere so we can pass along the skills and the opportunity. If American education was marginally rational there would be professionally staffed library media centers in every school. Since that isn't the case, I hope Internet based resources can keep the lights on for a new generation that really needs information fluency.

For students engaging in creative personalised learning projects such as a 'Genius Hour' or 'Personal Passion project it can often be difficult for them to uncover the right project. Students have become so reliant upon their teachers to pose them problems that when they are given the option to explore one of their own design they don't know where to start. This is indeed a significant challenge as we know that our students will enter a workforce and world of learning beyond school where they must be active problem finders. How then might we provide the support they require without removing the opportunity for truly personalised exploration.  

TimeLeft is a versatile desktop utility - it can be used as a countdown clock, reminder, clock, alarm clock, tray clock, stopwatch, timer, sticker, auction watch, work days/hours countdown clock and time synchronization utility. TimeLeft uses Winamp skins to show digits and text.

1 hour podcast with the authors.

"In the Scholastic-Gates survey of teachers, teachers were asked what they wanted most. The greatest number said they wanted families to be more involved. (What mattered least: longer school days and hours, merit pay). "

Watch news footage and other films dating from 1896-1976 from British Pathé. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Video%2C+animation%2C+film+%26+Webcams

 Witness history unfold around the world. Each video is sorted by subject, or you can search by topic. British Pathé has accumulated more than 3,500 hours of newsreel footage. There are more than 90,000 individual items in this massive historical trove.

A nice simple multiplication game with music that you will be whistling for hours! http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Maths

"Why can some people never seem to be on time? You probably know such people, perhaps only too well.  Indeed, I shouldn't rule out the possibility that if you're reading this that you are one of those people.  As I indicated, everybody is late now and then, but I'm talking about those people who habitually show up after a meeting has started, or after the hour that was designated for the meeting to begin."

A half hour animated documentary that covers the science of oil production, resource deletion and growth. Perfect for discussions and lessons about sustainability.

"Teachers across NSW will refuse to respond to student and parent emails unless all public and private schools put protocols in place to deal with the after-hours use of technology, privacy issues and legal concerns. "

Check the date please... Dec 2002 is what shows when I read article. Were you doing historical piece on changes?