Group items tagged

This site contains a wealth of resources for health teachers, physical education teachers, and other health related professionals.

"Conversation is key . Sawyer succinctly explains this principle: "Conversation leads to flow, and flow leads to creativity." When having students work in groups, consider what will spark rich conversation. The original researcher on flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, found that rich conversation precedes and ignites flow more than any other activity.1 Tasks that require (or force) interaction lead to richer collaborative conceptualization. Set a clear but open-ended goal . Groups produce the richest ideas when they have a goal that will focus their interaction but also has fluid enough boundaries to allow for creativity. This is a challenge we often overlook. As teachers, we often have an idea of what a group's final product should look like (or sound like, or…). If we put students into groups to produce a predetermined outcome, we prevent creative thinking from finding an entry point. Try not announcing time limits. As teachers we often use a time limit as a "motivator" that we hope will keep group work focused. In reality, this may be a major detractor from quality group work. Deadlines, according to Sawyer, tend to impede flow and produce lower quality results. Groups produce their best work in low-pressure situations. Without a need to "keep one eye on the clock," the group's focus can be fully given to the task. Do not appoint a group "leader." In research studies, supervisors, or group leaders, tend to subvert flow unless they participate as an equal, listening and allowing the group's thoughts and decisions to guide the interaction. Keep it small. Groups with the minimum number of members that are needed to accomplish a task are more efficient and effective. Consider weaving together individual and group work. For additive tasks-tasks in whicha group is expectedtoproduce a list, adding one idea to another-research suggests that better results develop

Great summary by Richard Bryne + video of Adobe Spark - which includes Post, Page, and Video creation

iRobot brings interactive robot demonstrations to K-12 schools and hosts tours of our corporate headquarters to give students hands-on experience with robots.

Resources for digital presentations

A wonderful introduction to using animation tools in the classroom and how you can add an extra spark to your lessons.

A wonderful introduction to using animation tools in the classroom and how you can add an extra spark to your lessons.

Article on  using pictures to spark students' minds at the beginning of lessons on search strategies.

"BadgeStack is an innovative system with a game-like approach that assesses skills, recognizes learner achievement, sparks community, and excites learners of all ages."

An interesting and shocking site which shows live statistics for world population, economics, the environment, and many more. Useful resource for sparking debates. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/PSHE%2C+RE%2C+Citizenship%2C+Geography+%26+Environmental

Good ideas for play based learning.

A really useful activities, arts and craft site. A great place to spark ideas, not to mention getting very messy! http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Art%2C+Craft+%26+Design

Preparing today's youth to solve tomorrow's greatest problems is not something any one person, community or corporation can do alone. Non-profit organizations and the hands-on learning opportunities they provide are often the catalyst that sparks a young person's lifelong exploration of science, technology, engineering and math.

The Library of Congress shares an exhibition of "Books that Shaped America." Librarian of Congress James H. Billington says that the list is "intended to spark a national conversation on books written by Americans that have influenced our lives, whether they appear on this initial list or not."

What is your dream for the future? The Microsoft YouthSpark Hub gives you access to a multitude of tools and resources to empower youth to change their world. How can you be the spark of change?

...benefits of using trade books is increasing student engagement. High quality trade books are written as to spark interest and create a desire to read. Many contain colorful, interesting illustrations, photographs, and diagrams, all of which draw students into the text and improve comprehension.

PINBALL is here to help you kick start new ideas, to get your thoughts flowing freely, and to develop your creative talents. Bounce your ideas around by using these fun and simple tools, and who knows what ideas might pop up.

A collection of BBC tools for students to organising thoughts, sparking ideas and planning ahead. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools