Group items tagged

"Most of what we do is for the students. The focus of this and many other blogs and websites is about learning, and rightly so, but there are also apps that will make our jobs easier too. I am talking about that catergory of apps that are designed specifically for the classroom teacher. There are plenty and I am sure as more and more teachers gain the confidence to design their own apps, there will be more suitable one to come. Here is a list of apps that you can use to make your job easier."

"Every teacher is taught that back up plans are a must. Things change constantly in education and there are a variety of factors that can make plans change - computer breaks, internet goes out, file is corrupted, forgot your flash drive at home, you finish a lesson early with a class, your class has very low attendance due to a school activity or event (like AP testing, prom, etc), lesson runs long, students don't understand the material, class is interrupted by a fire drill. To deal with these issues, teachers must have back up plans ready to go and be flexible and organized. Here are some tips and resources for backup plans."

"In 2009, we shared our favorite tools for teachers on Twitter, with 100 resources for managing feeds, finding followers, and tackling classroom groups on the social media site. Since then, many tools have been revamped, replaced, or simply aren't available anymore. Clearly, an update is in order, so we're proud to present a new list for 2012, featuring the very best tools available to Twittering teachers today."

"We have devised an interactive curriculum aimed to support teachers of secondary students (approximately ages 13-17)" Google's resources to help teachers help their students to use YouTube in an appropriate and safe way.

RM Byrne writes: Last month I published a free ebook titled Google Documents for Teachers. Just two weeks later Google released Google Drive and made Google Documents a part of Google Drive. Therefore, I had to update my ebook. I present to you now, Google Drive and Documents for Teachers. The document is hosted on Scribd. You can download it from there as a PDF.

Two teachers sit down to learn about math teaching from a man who is Bill Gates' favorite teacher. Our primary purpose with this video was to get a conversation started. We realized that the satire would put some people off but many teachers have tried to engage Khan Academy in a reasonable discussion and present their case to the media about issues with this approach with little to show for it.

The Buck Institute for Education (BIE) received a generous grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to help promote and provide deeper learning opportunities for teachers and students.  Recognizing that 11,000 teachers will participate in BIE's 3-day PBL 101 workshop in 2012, the Hewlett Foundation helped BIE expand its professional development resources and expertise online.  Now BIE can work with every school and every teacher through PBL University (PBLU).

On June 21 2012, the Government released a discussion paper which states its vision for the improvement of the teaching profession. The 'New Directions for School Leadership and the Teaching Profession,' aims to stimulate and inform discussion on the future of the teaching profession and school leadership.  As a collective of grass roots teachers, who are not currently being asked to participate in educational debates and discussion, we see this as an opportunity to enable teachers' voice.   Teachers: A great, yet untapped, source for policy makers.

Teachers and students can use Gooru to search for rich collections of multimedia resources, digital textbooks, videos, games and quizzes created by educators in the Gooru community. Gooru is free (of cost and ads) and developed by a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to honor the human right to education. Search for the best multimedia resources on the web. Customize your favorite resources, collections and quizzes. Study from collections of resources created by teachers. Interact with the Gooru community of teachers and students. Practice with enhanced quizzes that provide instant feedback. Share your knowledge about topics you are passionate about.

"Quandary is a free, online game that engages your students in ethical decision-making and develops skills that will help them recognize ethical issues and deal with challenging situations in their own lives. This page brings together all the information you need to successfully implement Quandary as part of your teaching, including a handy teacher guide, classroom implementation video, lesson plan and worksheet. We've also mapped the game to the Common Core standards. And don't forget to head over to the teachers' forum to share your own ideas and discuss tips and techniques from other educators."

"An Internet search engine developed specifically for schools is being tested as a way to increase reading abilities in challenged students and help motivate intellectual development in gifted students, while saving schools money on textbooks. Complexity Engine uses a sophisticated algorithm to search websites for content and delivers free, customized and age-appropriate reading materials to a user's computer. It promises to give teachers, parents and students an efficient, affordable way to promote reading. Teachers and administrators can set parameters for the search results, and the reading experience can be either student self-directed or guided by the teacher."

"It seemed obvious in our conversations that we agreed that teachers knowing apps and workflow was not enough to make the integration of iPads successful and effective. Steve liked my previous graphics and suggested I put together a summary of the conversation he'd sparked about habits of an effective iPad teacher. "

"Wikipedia can be a nightmare for a teacher, or it can be their best friend. For those teachers that have papers handed to them by students that are clearly copied from another source, Wikipedia tends to turn up early in the search and show that the students have indeed, been checking out what Wikipedia has to say. It's no wonder that teachers often have questions about what is good about the tool and how it might benefit their students. Today, we're taking a look at some more general facts and figures about one of the world's largest free, collaboratively written encyclopedia. Which is a pretty awesome concept, if you ask us. The handy infographic below will let you in on some interesting facts that you probably weren't privy to - and some of the numbers are pretty staggering! Keep reading to learn more!"

"This site has been put together by a small group of teachers and teacher educators convened by the DfE's Teaching Agency and chaired by Bob Harrison. Our aim has been to curate a collection of resources for use by those training teachers to deliver the new primary computing curriculum, whether for trainees' individual use, for use in lectures and workshops or for trainees to use as resources for their own lessons when working in school."

"A new era of personalized professional development is sweeping into schools. We've created this guide to capture the extraordinary changes in PD tools and in the cycle of learning. We look here at tools that support how teachers engage with colleagues; that help teachers learn or find support for implementing fresh strategies and approaches; and that measure how that learning impacts practice in the classroom."

After consideration by district technology coordinator John Haubner and other administrators, and @MessnerEnglish became our class Twitter account. It's essential that the teacher emphasize responsible use by students. Probably the most important piece is close monitoring of students by the teacher.

Good case for securing permission to access Twitter in the classroom with some notes how it should be used.

"Teachers Without Borders advances human welfare through professional development on a global scale. "

Fascinating group of teachers who do some great work. Reading up what they are now doing in Pakistan.

The Leading Curriculum Change program will enhance teachers' knowledge, skills and confidence to effectively lead curriculum change, particularly local implementation of the Australian Curriculum.It will be a unique opportunity to learn with teachers from across Australia in a national professional learning community.Bringing curriculum to life through innovation and excellence. Teachers will experience a high quality, evidence-based, interactive online professional learning program that is designed by experts for adult learners.

"Last month, 16 teachers from across the country got together at Google's Seattle office for the YouTube Teachers Studio - a sort of bootcamp to learn how to best use YouTube in the classroom. Jon Corippo, a Google Certified Teacher and Apple Distinguished Educator, was among the group, and came back with ideas about what YouTube was great for."