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Interactive activities about volcanoes. Tracks volcanic activity worldwide.

WOW! Free tools related to literacy skills. The book builder tool has a section which reads a story (here's a link for "A Tortoise and a Hare") - They offer professional development and multimedia learning tools. ....."A Tortoise and a Hare" - just this one book offers an amazing variety of learning tools including: activating background knowledge, self assessment and reflection, collaboration and communication, action and expression, coping skills and strategies, challenge and support, recruiting interest, goal-centered learning, and designing flexible curriculum. Each of these skills has a specific activity within the story to address it (almost every page has a different one!). Every page also has a question to think about and respond to. At the end it discusses the moral in another activity and the story itself offers extension activities for follow-up. The story is read by a young girl, but there is also a text reader built in, a glossary, and word-by-word English/Spanish translations.

An educational research & development organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals through Universal Design for Learning.

CAST is an educational research & development organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals through Universal Design for Learning.

Many cool science (and particularly biology) activities, including an online version of "dragon genetics" (an activity most high school biology teachers are familiar with)

suggested on #sschat

The iPad (or iPod touch or iPhone) with its apps opens many new opportunities for learning. At the same time, it offers a slightly different wrapper for older learning opportunities. Both can be worthwhile, but it would be a shame if teachers missed the former for the latter. And, if past experience and research is any indication, educators are much more likely to co-opt the new technology to accomplish the status quo. This activity is designed to help teachers think through both opportunities and to categorize those apps that lend themselves to either or both. Teachers will start by exploring a variety of apps, some that lend themselves to learning content such as math facts or spelling words and others that can be used in open ended content creation such as storytelling or photography. Then, teachers will examine a set of lessons that use these apps. Finally, teachers will use a "taxonomy" such as Bloom's Taxonomy, SAMR, LoTi, ETaP, Prensky, etc. and attempt to classify/categorize where the apps fall. Most likely teachers will need to contextualize the app to a particular use/activity. Ideally, teachers will realize that in most cases it is not the app itself, but the use that detrmines where it falls and that the apps belong in multiple places.

Lots of online Science activities here. You have to register to get access to them but it is free.

Tons a active learning ideas.

"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

Designing active and authentic learning experiences The Journal of Learning Designis an educational journal which moves beyond a focus on technological applications in educational settings, to encourage more critical analysis of approaches to the design of learning environments and the extent to which they result in enhanced learning outcomes for learners. Traditional, didactic, delivery-focussed models of teaching in higher education are still common, whether in the lecture theatre or in the online environment. The Journal of Learning Designaims to raise awareness beyond such transmission models of education, to the design of more active, collaborative, authentic and engaging learning experiences. The Journal of Learning Designaims to provide a forum for critical debate and professional exchange about models, theoretical positioning and best practice in learning design.

Great space activities for 6th grade science

"Business and the media are constantly screaming that problem solving skills and creative thinking are the keys to innovation and success (and the beat the robots trying to take your job), yet many teachers feel that the skills and opportunities to develop them are often an add-on, an after thought, or taught in isolation during special activities, like a STEM week. Even these activities have a particular expected method which the pupils must 'discover', rather than completely new and unique solutions. How can we develop the skills to help our pupils think of the unexpected?"

"Children's positive perception of moving is an important supporter for natural physical activity and developing motor skills. A study at the University of Jyväskylä suggests that children had high perceptions of motor skills. Some gender differences were identified, however: girls were better in locomotor skills and boys had higher perception and actual skills in ball skills. "Because ball skills are typically utilized in versatile surroundings and good ball skills are a predictor for more frequent physical activity levels in adolescence, we should encourage girls to play more with balls already in early education," says PhD student Donna Niemistö from Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences. "In boys, there could be more locomotor skills like galloping and hopping involved. Niemistö concludes, "All children regardless of gender have a right to have positive and encouraging experiences of movement.""

"Some of the most dynamic thinkers and doers in education today are pioneers in active learning. Their pedagogy promotes the four Cs that the National Education Association (NEA) deems necessary "for success in college, career, and citizenship in the 21st century": critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration."

Powerful interactive resources designed for whole-class teaching. Online educational games, classroom resources and lesson activities for interactive whiteboards and data projectors. Put some fun into your lessons with our exceptional science, maths, English language, literature, history, music physical education and modern foreign languages software." />/css/resourceList.css

"I am of an age where if, as a child, you said you were bored the answer was likely to be, "Only boring people are bored," and be left to find something to do. There was always something to do, go outside and throw a tennis ball against a wall, go out on your bike, do some colouring, play with the Lego, do a jigsaw OR if you really got bored do your homework or tidy your bedroom! Nowadays it seems that the majority of children do not often seem to say that they are bored. They don't often have to find their own entertainment, use their imagination or even have several hours at a time that are not pre-filled with activities. Parents (normally) want to do their best for their children. Charlie wants to do football - that's 5:30 on Wednesday, Sammie wants to do ballet - that's 4:00 on Thursday, extra maths, Judo, trampolining, swimming, cubs… the list goes on, frequently only limited by the time to fit the activities.for 2/3/4 children into a week."

Active learning increases student performance in STEM by as much as 55%

"Many people believe that teenagers today grow up faster than they used to, while others argue that today's youth are growing up more slowly, perhaps due to overprotection by their parents. A new study explored this issue by examining how often teens in recent years (compared to teens in previous decades) engaged in adult activities such as drinking alcohol, working, driving, or having sex. The study found that today's adolescents are less likely than their predecessors to take part in activities typically undertaken by adults."