Group items tagged

"dTech tools themselves are simple to use, the real challenge is knowing where to start. I don't know about you, but I get completely overwhelmed by the number of EdTech tools out there. I'm bombarded constantly by emails and tweets telling me I *have* to sign up to the latest app or website. I'm no technophobe and I know it can save me time, or help me create more engaging lessons, but where do I even begin?"

"Modern education is tough on everyone involved. Teachers spend hours preparing lessons and marking work, whilst students find themselves studying multiple subjects at once and experiencing a high level of pressure throughout their school career."

"When Zoë's book came up for review I put my hand up to read it straight away. I currently work as a Primary Middle Leader (Literacy Lead and EYFSCoordinator) in a larger than average primary school in the North of England. In the last two years, we have undergone a lot of changes, both internal due to staffing and curriculum and changes and external as we have become part of the largest MAT in the city. This has meant an increase in responsibility and accountability, not only for myself but other middle leaders who I have had the chance to meet with."

"Incorporating the arts-rapping, dancing, drawing-into science lessons can help low-achieving students retain more knowledge and possibly help students of all ability levels be more creative in their learning, finds a new study by Johns Hopkins University. The findings were published on Feb. 7 in Trends in Neuroscience and Education and support broader arts integration in the classroom."

"As a PGCE Student going through two school placements in North Wales back in 2005, I found it hard to keep up with daily admin. Just planning lessons and trying to deliver stimulating content and keeping the students engaged throughout, was challenging enough. Marking: I dreaded it, and found it almost impossible to fit it into my weekly regimen of teaching, planning and completing assignments for university."

"A recent study revealed students at an international school in Finland significantly outperformed U.S. students on tasks which measure digital literacy in social media and online news. The researchers suggest this may be due to the Finnish and International Baccalaureate curricula's different way of facilitating students' critical thinking skills compared to the US system and curriculum. The results of this study were published in the Journal of Research in International Education in April. Critical thinking is a 21st century skill considered essential for today's students to navigate the Information Age and for their future work life."

"With so many expectations, requirements and scrutiny of primary school teachers, it is easy to become formulaic in your practice. This is a shame, as the initial enthusiasm for the job gets waned, and giving young students the opportunity to shine becomes less focused on whole-child development. However, to become an outstanding teacher demands consistency, focus and dedication. Outstanding teachers are always on the lookout for new ideas, but sometimes the tried-and-tested classroom activities and techniques can offer a strong system to help your pupils shine, despite curriculum restraints imposed."

"Surveys fill a multitude of purposes within education and give students, teachers, and parents a chance to share their opinions in a familiar way that have been around since the 1920s. The collected information is, among other things, meant to form a framework from which teachers improvement is built upon. Improvements are then implemented and the cycle begins again. In theory, this sounds like a good and reasonable way of working. In reality: Not so much."

UKEdChat Session 1 summary and Twitter archive

The following are roles teacher play in networked learning environments: 1. Amplifying 2. Curating 3. Wayfinding and socially-driven sensemaking 4. Aggregating 5. Filtering 6. Modelling 7. Persistent presence