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Surprised they didn't include Poll everywhere

More teachers are equipping their classrooms with little keypads - often called clickers - that let students instantly, and anonymously, answer questions. Teachers say the clickers are improving the quality of education by measuring how engaged students are in the material they are learning.

The GLOBE Program (http://www.globe.gov) is taking this opportunity to salute teachers everywhere----for all of the things you do----for inspiring your students and cultivating the love of learning. Teachers are the backbone of our educational system. They encourage, inspire and challenge us to reach new heights and dream without boundaries. The GLOBE Program Office in Boulder, Colorado produced this video for teachers everywhere. We encourage you to watch it, send it to your fellow (or favorite) teachers, school administrators, friends and family members. Encourage them to share it with their network as well so that everyone may pause for a moment and truly appreciate the teachers who made a difference in their lives.

Main Menu Home Articles Submit Article Google Gadgets Site Search Contact Us spacer.png, 0 kB Home arrow Articles arrow Storycaching Storycaching PDF Print E-mail The premise of Storycaching is to combine the use of a GPS with an iPod where a user goes to a specific place using map coordinates, then listens to a podcast (audio on demand), usually a story, that takes into account the nature of the area where the listener is now located. Like geocaching, a cache may be located at the site and can contain some relevant objects that add a physical dimension or symbolism to the cached story. Storycaching is designed to enhance the experience of both the storyteller and the listener. By allowing the storyteller to reference elements in the environment where the listener is located, the listener is provided a third dimension to the story, that of authentic physical feelings and sensory input. Storycaching is a concept created by Dr. Martin Horejsi at The University of Montana-Missoula. For example, a girl walks to a distinctive place in order to listen to a story on her iPod. Using map coordinates and a GPS, she climbs part way up a hill on the edge of town. When arriving at a specific spot according to the GPS, she locates a small box containing some relics. Sitting on a rock, she holds the objects in her hand listens to a sound file on her iPod. Overlooking the valley, the power of the Native American elder's words stir her emotions as landmarks, smells, the wind, and other sounds are referenced in the story, all possible because the person telling the story knows that the listener will be in a specific place while listening to the story. Or maybe, the story was recorded years ago when the elder sat in the very spot where the young girl now sits. A connection with the story is forged in a way never before experienced alone. Another example is where a high school student studying earth science walks through a river drainage with his teacher. But his teache

Can an indoor game of 'Snakes & Ladder' or 'aim the target' be used in teaching students in a class? Surprisingly, yes. Education, despite being a serious business, need to be imparted through fun classroom activities, especially for primary class students. A teacher uses several innovative teaching methods to educate the kids who just want to have fun in their classes. Even a well experienced and highly qualified teacher finds himself/ herself in a jiff where it gets difficult to control a super energetic bunch of kids in a classroom. The teacher may not know how to make a group of primary class students pay attention to the class. Few innovative teaching methods based on the zero-investment concept enhance learning through games in the classroom. Let's take a look at 5 fun classroom activities for primary students that can be implemented in schools across the globe:

Portable lecture capture Record lectures in any classroom cost effectively. Any instructor can set up Swivl quickly without an AV tech, record every move and word.   Flipped classroom content Are you flipping your classroom? Use Swivl to record classroom content for student consumption in a natural setting - your classroom!   Teacher assessments Swivl's features allow student teachers to record their classroom performance and interactions for review by instructors cost-effectively.   Student presentations Record student presentations to share with parents, and as a method for providing students with feedback.

a game and curriculum designed to educate preteen students about the forms and methods of advertising. Admongo's primary feature is a game in which students earn points by collecting advertisements as they move through a fictional city. As they advance through the game, students will see short videos that explain the type of advertisements they see and how those advertisements attempt to get them to take an action. Watch the video below to learn more. Applications for Education Admongo provides a curriculum for teachers to use with 5th and 6th grade students. The curriculum is designed to complement the lessons students learn by playing the game. On the Admongo curriculum page teachers will find posters, handouts, quizzes and other printable materials to use in their classrooms.

Contrary to popular opinion, newer teachers aren't any more likely to use technology in their lessons than veteran teachers, and a lack of access to technology does not appear to be the main reason why teachers do not use it. Which comes first? Do teachers use technology frequently because they are trying deliberately to foster 21st-century skills? Or are 21st-century skills necessary conditions, byproducts, or logical outcomes of frequent technology use?" Another finding that could surprise some people is that a lack of access to technology doesn't appear to be the main reason why teachers don't use technology in their instruction.

Student growth makes up 50 percent of a teacher's evaluation score, but council members say they want it to be from assessments taken throughout the school year, not just one day.

Here is a description of Contextu via Richard Byrne's Free Technology For Teachers posting: Ken Halla, the blogger behind the US History Teachers Blog, has been working on an excellent new site for students of US History. The new site is called ContextU and its purpose is to help students see the greater context for significant events in history. The first iteration of ContextU is focused on the American Civil War. On ContextU students select from a table of contents an event, piece of legislation, or theme to see it in the context of other events, pieces of legislation, and themes leading to the start of the Civil War. Through timelines, Google Maps, diagrams, flow charts, timelines, and text ContextU provides context for each chosen event, piece of legislation, or theme. Students can jump from event to event or from theme to theme by following the hyperlinks within each diagram.

SilverPeak Global helps students to learn the Japanese Language and take up careers in Japan. Graduates and Engineers are preferred. SilverPeak Global is the sole authorised organisation to represent the Japanese Language Test in India, J-cert. Students can join the Japanese Classes taught by Japanese teachers. 12th std pass students can join as Caregivers. SilverPeak Global conducts Japanese Language Certification programs. These programs are conducted by certified native Japanese Language Teachers. Students can later opt to travel to Japan for careers.

Teachers' Domain is an online library of more than 1,000 free media resources from the best in public television. These classroom resources, featuring media from NOVA, Frontline, Design Squad, American Experience, and other public broadcasting and content partners are easy to use and correlate to state and national standards. Teachers' Domain resources include video and audio segments, Flash interactives, images, documents, lesson plans for teachers, and student-oriented activities. Once you register, you can personalize the site using "My Folders" and "My Groups" to save your favorite resources into a folder and share them with your colleagues or students. Teachers' Domain strives to strengthen teacher knowledge by providing innovative teaching methods that incorporate technology in the classroom and inspire students to learn.

Mulitmedia resources for educators at all levels. There are ways to conduct International projects too.

Using GPS and Geocaching in the core curriculum has become a powerful tool in enhancing student understanding of geography, scientific inquiry, math concepts, physical education, problem solving, and language arts. Students in this picture are mapping a local park. It was an easy 5 minute walk to the park. The teacher planned out waypoints for the student to log as part of a larger introduction to how GPS units work.

via Joe Castillo

"A teacher was having her students work on an ongoing project where the students would save multiple documents to a folder in Google Drive. To make this process easier, I wrote a Google Apps Script file to automatically create and share the folders with the students."

The shift away from teaching for the rote memorisation of prescribed methods requires teachers to rethink their approach to the discipline. With this new pedagogy comes a need to understand the processes of mathematical thinking in ways not previously required. When we require our students to be able to reason and problem-solve through unique challenges we also require our teachers to have an understanding of the mathematical moves that their learners are likely to call upon.

Command of the written word is a vital 21st-century skill, even if we are using keys, buttons, and tablets instead of pens and pencils. In fact, in our digital world, communication is now more instantaneous than ever. How do we prepare our students to meet the challenge? Blogging can offer opportunities for students to develop their communications skills through meaningful writing experiences. Such projects not only motivate students to write, but motivate them to write well. Furthermore, student-blogging projects can be designed to address the Common Core State Standards for writing. For example, see anchor standard six, which calls upon students to use technology to "produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others." Score!

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.  

This week I joined with teachers, students, researchers and policy writers at Melbourne University to discuss student voice. This conference was hosted by Social Education Victoria and made possible by the conference partners, The University of Melbourne, Education and Training Victoria, Foundation for Young Australians and Connect. Over three days, participants engaged in rigorous dialogue about the significance of student voice and what is required to ensure its benefits are maximised for all.