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Great children's author Michael Morpurgo on what makes a great teacher

Some cool projects here - Source of free science projects and experiments for parents, teachers, and children of all ages.

"Skype in the classroom is a free directory for teachers who want to use Skype to bring education to life in their classrooms. Join today to share resources, chat with teachers and even pair classes."

Meet new people, discover new cultures and connect with classes from around the world, all without leaving the classroom.

Survey results from students who have had access to shared iPads (2:1) in their high school classes for approximately four months.

I think this is an OUTSTANDING video for an economics class. There are so many questions that you could pose for discussion, too. "All electric cars sounds perfect, doesn't it? But, how will we generate the electricity for that demand?" Or, on a deeper social studies level, "DIscuss what you think would happen to those countries like Saudi Arabia and Iraq whose economy is based on oil production? Support your thoughts." Do yourself a favor and watch this video. Then send it to every economics teacher you know.

Another excellent TED video! THis one is perfect for your Economics classes.

Superb resources for anyone interested in teaching website evaluation, critical thinking, media literacy or 21st Century learning skills in general. FactCheck.org and FactCheckEd.org are essential tools for living in this part of the century. 8-)

As well as the school going through a massive rebuilding programme, they have also introduced a set of iPod touches into one year 4 class, for each child, to see what happens. All the touches are networked through an Apple Airport Extreme and out onto the internet through the school's connection. It is not every day you see this sort of thing.

Use music as a timer in class

I've known Leslie Bowman for over a decade. She's a great online teacher. Her book is filled with the wisdom of experience. Check it out! ~ Dennis "Online education programs at the high school, undergraduate, and graduate levels represent one of the fastest growing trends in education today. However, online classes are completely different from any other educational endeavor and require a new set of skills. Bowman, who currently teaches online undergraduate and graduate courses, and her fellow contributors provide an excellent down-to-earth guide for anyone who is thinking about or participating in an online education program. This well-written and understandable book covers some theories of learning styles but focuses on the nuts-and-bolts skills needed to be successful. Each chapter explores a particular aspect of learning online and gives practical advice about how to participate successfully in an online learning environment. Verdict: Bowman and the other contributors have several years' experience helping students learn online, and their perspectives make this a practical and helpful guide to a prevalent and growing practice."- June 2010, Library Journal Starred Review "

YouTube adds questions (in beta) to be able to ask questions about a video. It is in Beta and they are asking for feedback. I am asking flipped class experts to do that.

This is a fab literacy site where you can find interesting and rare English words. Browse for words to make children's work stand out from the crowd and play 'guess the meaning' with your class. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/English

This site offers videos on a range of PSHE, citizenship, RE, the environment and other topics. It's a great set of resources for introducing difficult subjects to your class. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/PSHE%2C+RE%2C+Citizenship%2C+Geography+%26+Environmental

The ICTmagic Advent Calendar is back for 2012! Get a new Christmas resource, activity or game to use in your class every day in December up to the big day.

This is a great YouTube channel with a range of recorded maths lessons aimed at 11-18 year olds. Watch as lessons expertly presented about areas of sectors, probability, simultaneous equations and much more. Check out @mathschallenge for daily maths questions to try out in your class. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Maths

Keep your class motivated with this is behaviour management tool where teachers can award virtual badges for anything. Choose from a large collection of badge designs. The children can see their progress with their own personal login. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Classroom+Management+%26+Rewards

While I don't know anything about this "Kwik" method of learning, I do totally agree with one thing he says. IF we're going to require kids to remember, "there's no class called 'remembering.'" We teach kids what to learn but not how to learn. As I listen to this video and read Timothy Ferris' book "the 4 hour chef" I realize that we've not honed in on the art of learning as much as we need to. I'm not sure that memorizing numbers is hugely important but if we can apply this to learning other things, that would be great -- learning the 100 most used words in a new language, for example, how could we benefit if kids could quickly learn that in the first week to get started.

Take time to read this PEW research about teachers and how they are using technology in their classrooms. It is shocking that 73% say they or their students use cell phones to complete assignments. I wish they had separated out this number to know exactly how many let their STUDENTS use their cell phones. To me, this number shows the tide has turned.  Some of the highlights of the research: "Mobile technology has become central to the learning process, with 73% of AP and NWP teachers saying that they and/or their students use their cell phones in the classroom or to complete assignments More than four in ten teachers report the use of e-readers (45%) and tablet computers (43%) in their classrooms or to complete assignments 62% say their school does a "good job" supporting teachers' efforts to bring digital tools into the learning process, and 68% say their school provides formal training in this area Teachers of low income students, however, are much less likely than teachers of the highest income students to use tablet computers (37% v. 56%) or e-readers (41% v. 55%) in their classrooms and assignments Similarly, just over half (52%) of teachers of upper and upper-middle income students say their students use cell phones to look up information in class, compared with 35% of teachers of the lowest income students"

You might think this is dumb, but I don't for one reason. If you look at the various senses, smell is one of the most powerful. I recall reading a study stating that if students smelled a certain smell in math class and smelled that same smell as they took the math tests, that they scored better. You can literally recall a smell years later. It is one of the most basic senses. So, although some think the smell-o-vision talked about in this Gizmodo article is "dumb" I know that there will be applications in education (and sales, most likely - just travel to the mall and smell the smells they pump out front of a Cinnabon or Starbucks.) Smell is powerful but it will likely be a bit more time until the practical applications come to market.