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1. Connects with kids first 2. Teaches kids first and curriculum second 3. Ensures that they draw relevance to curriculum 4. Works with students to develop a love of learning 5. Embodies lifelong learning 6. Focuses on learning goals as opposed to perfomance goals 7. Ensures that "character education" is an essential part of learning 8. Passionate about the content they teach 9. A master teacher is a "school teacher" 10. Strong communication skills

A Brisbane-based, international remixable literature project named Remix My Lit released this summer their first publication, "Through the Clock's Workings": it's defined as the world's first remixed and remixable anthology of literature. (continue....)

A wonderful tour through the first 223 milliseconds of your connection to a secure website, in this case Amazon. It will help you appreciate the magic underneath the Web.

Just because you're online doesn't mean that you can't experience the world first-hand - or as close to first-hand as possible. Here are websites that feature virtual learning experiences, exposing online visitors to everything from history to geography, astronomy to anatomy, literature to government.

What is 21st century literacy and how do we help students become better communicators? Rebecca Alber says: "In today's world, being literate requires much, much more than the traditional literacy of yesterday. According to the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English), twenty-first century readers and writers need to: Gain proficiency with tools of technology Develop relationships with others and confront and solve problems collaboratively and cross-culturally Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes Manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments"

This might be good for introducing programming without needing to touch a computer. I've students who aren't initially engaged by jumping into programming with a computer even with something like Scratch. Maybe this is a way to get them in the correct mindset first. When I first found this, I hoped there might be program cards that required using loops or variables but from looking at the game rule book that does not appear to be the case.  It appears that movement is the only command types, which can result in automatic laser firing or bumping another robot. Still seems like a good game though.

So, I have been asked by a few people to provide a further update to the 'worklife balance' issue.  As many of you will now know, when I started my first headship (the one I'm currently in) just over two years ago, I started my first Inset day by te…

"It's the end of the first week of term and it has been so positive. I have tried to spend most of my day being the leader I want to be, engaging the 'spirit energy' (see Peter Drucker). I spent summer reflecting on my values and vision, and I'm fortunate to have been handed the reins for the Curriculum in my school. To realise the vision, I've employed the help of a team of subject leaders, and today I met with them for the first time. I knew this was probably our most important discussion; my opportunity to engage them in the future (see Steve Radcliffe, Future Engage Deliver), and so I spent the week prior to this discussing and reflecting with SLT to ensure I was ready."

"Colours promote such emotion and are attributed to everything we see every day. Children are taught from a very young age that the sky and the ocean are blue, the grass and leaves are green, that the sun, sand and sunflowers are yellow and the night is black. But I ask you, how often have you looked at the ocean and seen green, not blue or looked up into the branches and seen a selection of oranges, yellows, browns and reds not a blanket of green. I am not suggesting that we shouldn't teach children these colour clichés, at a young age they are their first experiences of colour and form the bases of many of their first art pieces."

iBooks Author is a Mac only app that lets you create interactive textbooks for iBook 2. Here is the first review I have seen by someone who has actually used it.

Virtual instruction has the potential not only to give a large number of students access to top instructors at lower cost but also to provide the incentives to attract and retain top teaching talent in the first place. 

There are some GREAT books on Emotional intelligence, but Debra Sanborn, Program Director at Iowa State University, is using an emotional intelligence assessment as part of the "toolbox of assessments that she relies upon for identifying issues challening students in the first weeks of college." She says that EQ has an 85% predictor rate of success in college. The EQ-i assesses 5 aras: interpersonal, intrapersonal, stress management, adaptability and general mood." Who is using this in high school? I read a book on this to help my two kids with learning disabilities but if there is a test or profile that would help us with these kids - to develop emotional intelligence, then we should do it. Life success is SO MUCH MORE than test scores! Hate that we have to have a "test" to measure this one - although the result is more an indicator of a person's behavior, albeit self-reported.

New posts-my kids are in it, so I wanted everyone to meet them!

How to create living portraits. Great idea for first and last assignment of the school year!

"Filters aren't addressing the bigger issues anyway," he said. "Cyber bullying, educating children on how to protect themselves and their privacy are the first problems I'd fix.

First Year Teacher is an invaluable resource for newbie teachers. It offers hundreds of tips, warnings, and anecdotes from experienced educators--all in one warm and charming package.

Stykz is the first multi-platform stick figure animation program in the world (as far as we know!), and it is COMPLETELY FREE! If you've ever used Pivot StickFigure Animator, you'll feel right at home and will appreciate the extra features that Stykz has to offer!