Group items tagged

"The old-fashioned practice of rating instructors by watching them teach is tricky, labor-intensive, potentially costly and subjective - but perhaps the best way to help them improve, according to a study released Friday by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation... "And the observers, typically the school principal, frequently don't know what to look for anyway. "The best way to evaluate teachers, while also helping them improve, is to use several measures - including data-based methods that rely on students' standardized test scores, along with an updated teacher observation system, the report found.

100 best Android apps (hat tip to Theresa Allen) if you have android, take a look here.

This blog post provides links to some of the best online collections of information Web 2.0 tools to use in education. It is a not to be missed blog posting, with links to websites, etc. to find excellent information and resources.

Have you ever wondered how to create an animated picture ? If you have here is an answer for you. There are several online  tools  that allow users to create GIF animations from pictures stored on their computers. Here are some of the best free web tools that can help you create animated GIFs

I'm officially clueless and haven't even seen one of the nominations for Best Picture. Here's the full list of Oscar Nominations for those of you (like me) who need to get a little pop culture into your life. These are the things many of our kids talk about so they become important to me. Nominees for best Picture: American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity, Her, Nebraska, Philomena, 12 Years a Slave, and the Wolf of Wall Street. Many of these are a bit dark (understatement) and thus may not be something I choose to watch, but we can at least be familiar with the themes and what they are.

This is an awesome sliderocket about how to use Google Docs to facilitate a Writing Workshop created by Susan Oxnevad. Look for links to examples within the presentation so you can use everything she shares. This slide show shares not only best practices in running a writing workshop but also is a best practice itself in creating a stand alone presentation that instructions in a powerful way. Writing teachers everywhere should take 10 minutes to work through this slide show this week.

Students at Burlington High School are reviewing hour of code tutorials and their thoughts. For high school students, this is a great way to learn and share and also helps teachers identify best practices and best tutorials. Great job, Jenn Scheffer.

"10 Best iPhone & Android Apps for Diabetics"

This website aggregates the best online school newspapers from around the web. As you take your school news online consider and review some of the best out there and decide what works for you.

Through the end of the year, Discovery just sent me a note that they are offering these three common core academies at no cost. Here's the info from Steve Dembo. I've done some work with their SIEMENS STEM Academy and am a sTAR Educator and everything they do is top notch. If you can work it out before the end of the year, this is something you'll want to do. From Steve Dembo: "We know that implementing the Common Core can be an uphill climb. That's why Discovery Education is proud to partner with educators to offer Common Core Academies in ELA, Math, and Leadership at no cost. From now until the end of the school year, educators across America are invited to sign up for an Academy and receive: practical strategies to implement CCSS reseach-based instructional practices best practices in using digital content resources and digital tools for immediate classroom integration Discovery Education Common Core Academies offer one day of immersive professional development and two follow-up virtual sessions at no cost to support educators and leaders in effectively implementing the Common Core State Standards. Educators may choose from three Academies offering a unique combination that brings together best practices in digital integration with proven research-based instructional practices: Literacy and the Common Core in a Digital World Teaching and Assessing Common Core Math in a Digital World Leadership Strategies to Support Digital Literacy and the Common Core"

Eliminating math misconceptions is difficult and merely repeating a lesson or extra practice will not help. Telling students were they are mistaken will not work either. Recognizing student misconceptions and immediately focusing on the misconception is important. Providing guiding questions using inductive reasoning is the best approach, along with the use of writing prompts which help reveal further student misconceptions.

Right now, the iPad is being hailed as the best mobile device for the blind because it has voice enabled navigation. This article discusses the iPad, the Kindle and accessibility issues and information on both.

Hi Vicki thanks I've been really thinking about these readers for aged in nurse homes say with cams so they can speak to each other in own rooms and across dining tables etc there's a huge need for easy use large print readers easy browse easy communicate tool for elderly I cannot understand why this isn't discussed more?! Studies show 50% aged in care depressed. I worked in that area and can say huge needs there.....

2008 awards were so suprising to me. Thank you to those who voted for Cool Cat Teacher for best teacher blog and the Flat Classroom project 2008 for best educational wiki. Thank you so much! So many great award winners here AND great people who were finalists also. There are many new gems among the finalists and I hope you'll take time to look there as well.

I don't really give details about the sites I'm listing here because they're all very similar - the music and sounds here are royalty-free and it's just an easy matter of searching and downloading them. Of course, credit should be given to the source when they're used in online projects. I've also tried avoiding sites that have obvious content not appropriate for classroom use, but something might have slipped by me. I also don't believe that any of the sites here require any software download or registration. Here are my choices for The Best Places To Get Royalty-Free Music & Sound Effects:

Larry erlazzo best ways to create slideshows

Great wiki with best practices in all types of areas.

eToolbox wiki is a wonderful resource, on the Edublogs list of Best Educational Wikis of 2010.

This eToolbox wiki is a wonderful resource, on the Edublogs list of Best Educational Wikis of 2010.

Excellent grant for us educations, Best buy awards due each October and announced in March.

the Best Buy Teach Awards are a great grant for technology intensive classrooms in the US. The applications must be submitted by October, 12, 2008.

I make choices that help me learn and do my best work. I am aware of the needs of others and do great things for them. I learn about myself and all that I can do by trying new things. I think of new ideas and share them with others. I think about people's feelings and help take care of others. I learn from my mistakes and build on the things that I do well. I work with others to learn and complete a task.  I push myself to do my personal best and keep improving. I learn about and respect different people and include everyone. I care for and learn from nature. I take time by myself to think about what I have learned