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10 great apps for PBL, FlipClass and EdTech applications

Great article for resources on PBL, links to other articles, project ideas, integration of edtech ideas...

Great tips for using social media in the WL class!

It's summertime! This is when educators, free from the daily schedule of a classroom, can focus on professional development. More specifically, summer is a great time to network and to build your personal learning network (PLN). If you're unfamiliar with a PLN, it's a network of individuals you foster specifically to learn from and cultivate your professional skills. They are especially important in the world of education where classrooms can easily isolate you from your colleagues and peers. Starting a PLN and cultivating it is surprisingly easy and doesn't take a lot of time.

"For some, the technology rich classroom is easy to justify. Once you have made the transition and seen the benefits, it is easy to weigh them against the potential risks and worries about the problems resulting from having a room full of devices."

"PDF documents are now being used almost everywhere. Long ago, when they have just been introduced, it was difficult for us to use these documents as there were no options for any kind of change. All we could do was just read or view the documents. There were no PDF tools for teachers, admins, and students. However, with the introduction of other tools, we were able to do different things with PDFs which made it easy for us to use them for various purposes."

"Here is a list of fifty or so Chrome extensions that I feel are helpful for teachers and students. You can make a copy of this document to add your own extensions or remove ones that you don't feel are as valuable by clicking here and selecting File > Make a Copy. The document is also published as a website here. Just click the photo below to check out the Google Document."

"Google Docs, in addition to being a stellar way to write, store and manage your documents and slideshows, is also a fantastically useful way to collect survey data. Basically, you send out a form, people fill it in, and Google reports the documents back to you in an incredibly simple and easy-to-understand fashion."

"Twitter like all other social media is a virtual Aladdin's cave. It is a gateway to riches. But just like in the story, this Aladdin's cave is also booby-trapped. Use it right and you will come away with the genie of knowledge ready to do your bidding. Use it wrong and you will be a casualty of wasted time. So, 'rub' it just right. Long back, we had taken a look at how to use Twitter for business. Many of the methods hold true for learning as well."

"There is no shortage of online tools aimed at teachers, many of which provide study materials and classroom exercises. Another such example is Quizdini, which sets itself apart from the rest of the crowd by being completely free and highly customisable. The online tool allows teachers to modify the materials and tailor the learning experience to their specific needs, with additional hints, links and even videos thrown in to enhance the learning experience."

"In recognition of World Teachers' Day, Google used its blog site to honor teachers worldwide, and to announce that as of October 1st, more than 200 million students, faculty and staff use Google Apps for Education. If you're not an educator or student, you may not know about Google Apps for Education, a free web-based email, calendar and documents service."

"Are you a teacher or trainer? Someone involved in a hiring process? Do you need to check somehow that other people have the skills or knowledge that you expect them to? Well, you're going to love what you can do using Google Forms. You can create a self-grading test for whatever your purposes are. That's powerful! Google Forms are amazing tools, allowing you to do some really advanced tricks with forms as the front-end and spreadsheets at the heart. Once you get started you'll be amazed at just how much you can achieve with this basic premise. Today we'll look at how to create a self-grading quiz using Google Forms. From there, you'll no doubt find a lot more ways to use forms and spreadsheets."

iOS Apps for World Language education

"Technology resources for the World Language Classroom"

We do not need to teach creativity, but rather inspire its daily practice. Somewhere along the way, we simply forgot to honor this innate gift and how to access its power. Our role as educators is to encourage learning experiences that increase the ability to recognize and listen to our inner voice.

Site dédié à la pédagogie numérique en langue française - au Canada

It's a practical guide to building 21st century-student competency in the "4 C's" - critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity/innovation. The book is designed for middle school and high school teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders. It also shows how the 4 C's in a PBL context align with the Common Core State Standards. Sample projects, CCSS-aligned 4 C's rubrics, tips for technology in projects, notes for school leaders on building support for 21st century learning with PBL. Authors: Suzie Boss, author and BIE National Faculty, and John Larmer, Editor-in-Chief, BIE

A comprehensive look at the promise and potential of online learning In our digital age, students have dramatically new learning needs and must be prepared for the idea economy of the future. In Getting Smart, well-known global education expert Tom Vander Ark examines the facets of educational innovation in the United States and abroad. Vander Ark makes a convincing case for a blend of online and onsite learning, shares inspiring stories of schools and programs that effectively offer "personal digital learning" opportunities, and discusses what we need to do to remake our schools into "smart schools." Examines the innovation-driven world, discusses how to combine online and onsite learning, and reviews "smart tools" for learning Investigates the lives of learning professionals, outlines the new employment bargain, examines online universities and "smart schools" Makes the case for smart capital, advocates for policies that create better learning, studies smart cultures

What year are you preparing your students for? 1973? 1995? Can you honestly say that your school s curriculum and the program you use are preparing your students for 2015 or 2020? Are you even preparing them for today?  With those provocative questions, author and educator Heidi Hayes Jacobs launches a powerful case for overhauling, updating, and injecting life into the K 12 curriculum. Sharing her expertise as a world-renowned curriculum designer and calling upon the collective wisdom of 10 education thought leaders, Jacobs provides insight and inspiration in the following key areas:  * Content and assessment--How to identify what to keep, what to cut, and what to create, and where portfolios and other new kinds of assessment fit into the picture.  * Program structures--How to improve our use of time and space and groupings of students and staff.  * Technology--How it s transforming teaching, and how to take advantage of students natural facility with technology.  * Media literacy--The essential issues to address, and the best resources for helping students become informed users of multiple forms of media.  * Globalization--What steps to take to help students gain a global perspective.  * Sustainability--How to instill enduring values and beliefs that will lead to healthier local, national, and global communities.  * Habits of mind--The thinking habits that students, teachers, and administrators need to develop and practice to succeed in school, work, and life.

This ASCD Study Guide is designed to enhance your understanding and application of the information contained in Curriculum 21: Essential Education for a Changing World, an ASCD book edited by Heidi Hayes Jacobs and published in January 2010. You can use the study guide before or after you have read the book, or as you finish each chapter. The study questions provided are not meant to cover all aspects of the book, but, rather, to address specific ideas that might warrant further reflection. Most of the questions contained in this study guide are ones you can think about on your own, but you might consider pairing with a colleague or forming a study group with others who have read (or are reading)