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Vicki Davis

Common Core Academies | Digital textbooks and standards-aligned educational resources - 7 views

www.discoveryeducation.com/...index.cfm

education common core professional development news tumblr edu_news

shared by Vicki Davis on 21 Oct 13 - No Cached
  • Vicki Davis on 21 Oct 13
     
    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"
Adrienne Michetti

ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate « Educational Technolo... - 7 views

edutechdebate.org/...ents-are-biased-and-inaccurate

shared by Adrienne Michetti on 25 Feb 10 - Cached
  • One of the conclusions was that indeed, large reforms (e.g., “Het nieuwe leren”, or the new learning) were imposed without scientific support. Another that political prejudices, not any kind of data, were the main motivating factor in the reforms.
    • Adrienne Michetti
      Adrienne Michetti on 25 Feb 10
       
      Sadly, I think this is true of most educational reforms - ICT or not.
  • The alternative, assessing educational reforms well before introduction, is a form of social engineering. Social engineering seems to always be more difficult than you think. And I think history has shown that education is no exception in this respect.
    • Adrienne Michetti
      Adrienne Michetti on 25 Feb 10
       
      an interesting argument, though I am not sure I agree.
  • Scientific “facts” are never appreciated unless they completely align with the preconceptions of the “stake-holders” (minus the children).
    • Adrienne Michetti
      Adrienne Michetti on 25 Feb 10
       
      what kind of "scientific facts" would guide ICT reform, though? what about research? studies? user testing?
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • : Does this ICT4E solution improve scores on existing tests
    • Adrienne Michetti
      Adrienne Michetti on 25 Feb 10
       
      whose tests? and what is being tested? and why do tests have to be the only metric of success?
  • The curriculum is obsessed with jargon and nomenclature, seemingly for no other purpose than to provide teachers with something to test the students on.
    • Adrienne Michetti
      Adrienne Michetti on 25 Feb 10
       
      I would probably argue that having tests which match the curriculum is a GOOD thing. However, in this case it seems that the problem is the curriculum. So reform does not always begin with the assessment, or with the ICT.
  • If we want to test whether changes in education really improve learning, we do have other tools. They are called aptitude tests.
Suzie Nestico

MasteryConnect - 26 views

www.masteryconnect.com

common core common core standards assessment education commoncore Standards apps bestpractices all_teachers curriculum edu_newapp

shared by Suzie Nestico on 16 Oct 11 - No Cached
  • MasteryConnect makes it simple to share and discover common formative assessments and track mastery of state and Common Core standards. Built-in grading tools save teachers time.
  • Suzie Nestico on 16 Oct 11
     
    This is a great site for getting your head around the common core. A free account allows you access to a lot of the features and Common Assessments. Premium accounts allow you tools to collect assessment on your iPad or mobile device. Download the MasteryConnect FREE app for your iP*d or phone and have every Common Core standard easily accessible at your finger tips.
Suzie Nestico

Assessment Tools Needed in Every Classroom | edtechdigest.com - 15 views

edtechdigest.wordpress.com/...ools-needed-in-every-classroom

assessment edtech education LMS SMS

shared by Suzie Nestico on 05 Nov 11 - No Cached
  • n ideal classroom to me would be one where teachers were all given tablets in a wi-fi or, ideally, a satellite-based classroom where that tablet was connected to the school intranet and Internet. From there, an app would connect me to the school’s Student Management System (SMS) where I could see vital student info
  • What I talk about is not science fiction. I could mention countless products that do at least one part of what I have described. The technology exists today for all of this to become a reality. We can make it a reality—we only need more educators involved in productive discussions stating what they really need, and helping those in industry to create these products for us. Keeping track of data and sharing it with others should not be such a tedious task. Let us together build the next big learning management system, assessment tool, data dashboard and performance indicator all in one. We’re closer to achieving that reality than you might think.
Maggie Verster

ThinkingGear: an online toolbox for educators who are interested in developing lessons ... - 0 views

www.thinkinggear.com/index.cfm

shared by Maggie Verster on 04 Dec 08 - Cached
  • Maggie Verster on 04 Dec 08
     
    Think of ThinkingGear as an online toolbox for educators who are interested in developing lessons and assessments that put the cultivation of good thinking and deeper understanding up-front as instructional goals. ThinkingGear's general mission is to develop situated tools and technologies to address some of the most intractable problems in education and to improve the depth and quality of learning.
Ben Rimes

The LoTi Connection - 13 views

www.loticonnection.com/research.html

loti integration curriculum technology

shared by Ben Rimes on 04 Feb 11 - Cached
  • Ben Rimes on 04 Feb 11
     
    LoTi, or the Levels of Technology Integration, is a research based framework developed in 1994 that helps assess the level of technology integration within an educational setting. Curriculum alignment tools, articles, and other resources can be found here. Would be really useful for K-12 alignment of tech integration as well as assessing how effectively teachers are integrating technology within their classes.
Maggie Verster

The Innovative Educator: Tools Innovative Educators Can Use to Assess the Infusion of 2... - 0 views

theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/...or-principals-coaches-and.html

assessment assessmenttools rubrics school2.0 21st century learning web2.0tools

shared by Maggie Verster on 13 Feb 09 - Cached
  • Maggie Verster on 13 Feb 09
     
    Good links to assessment tools for principles and teachers to emasure complaince in the 21st century
Vicki Davis

Kahoot! | Game-based blended learning & classroom response system - 3 views

getkahoot.com

education news gamification

shared by Vicki Davis on 31 Oct 13 - No Cached
  • Martin Burrett on 31 Oct 13
     
    This has got to be the funkiest instant poll, quiz, response site around. Create questions, quizzes and polls with optional uploaded images for participants to complete in real time from a computer or mobile device. The users access the quiz by using a pin code. The 'question master' gets the data back instantly and it is stored on the site or can be downloaded. This is superb for checking the knowledge of children in your class or that your audience is still awake. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools
  • Vicki Davis on 15 Apr 14
     
    Got this email from a teacher Hi Vicki- I love your blog, tweets and contributions to flipboard! I am a teacher at a local school district charter high school and appreciate your zeal for teaching and learning. I am not sure if you have heard about Kahoot! but wanted to ask you to check it out by following it on Twitter or watching a few youtube videos of Kahoot in action. I have no financial investment in it or any reason for recommending it other than how much we are enjoying using it at our school and how valuable a tool I believe it to be. Questions can be entered by students or teachers and pictures can be uploaded to each question to add visual appeal. The students can use computers, smart phones, tablets and don't have to have an account- they just log in to kahoot.it and then join the interactive quiz. Everyone gets so involved and passionate and it is great for reviews before tests or for supplemental instruction. The results can be viewed on a spreadsheet and provide formative assessments. It can be used for any ages and any subjects. I am so jazzed about this great new tool and hope you will be too. https://getkahoot.com Kathryn Lewallen Payson, AZ Payson Center for Success High School
Nelly Cardinale

Death by Powerpoint || Resource Kit (by Angela Franklin and Nan Peck) - 0 views

www.nvcc.edu/...design.htm

all_teachers technology Presentations PowerPoint Assessment

shared by Nelly Cardinale on 19 Apr 09 - Cached
  • Nelly Cardinale on 19 Apr 09
     
    Designing better PowerPOint presentations. Has a Power Point presentation with do's and don't which is interactive and also an assessment tool which the authors shares with all educators.
Dave Truss

Teaching in Social and Technological Networks « Connectivism - 17 views

www.connectivism.ca/?p=220

teachers networks networkedteaching newliteracy

shared by Dave Truss on 20 Feb 10 - Cached
    • Dave Truss
      Dave Truss on 20 Feb 10
       
      Note my comment relating to this.
  • This model works well when we can centralize both the content (curriculum) and the teacher. The model falls apart when we distribute content and extend the activities of the teacher to include multiple educator inputs and peer-driven learning. Simply: social and technological networks subvert the classroom-based role of the teacher.
  • the role of the teacher. Given that coherence and lucidity are key to understanding our world, how do educators teach in networks? For educators, control is being replaced with influence. Instead of controlling a classroom, a teacher now influences or shapes a network. 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
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • An interesting side-note, when you said, …The model falls apart when we distribute content and extend the activities of the teacher to include multiple educator inputs and peer-driven learning. Simply: social and technological networks subvert the classroom-based role of the teacher. It came to mind that what’s really being subverted is not so much the classroom-based role as it is the teacher-controlled learning.
  • We’re still early in many of these trends. Many questions remain unanswered about privacy, ethics in networks, and assessment. My view is that change in education needs to be systemic and substantial. Education is concerned with content and conversations. The tools for controlling both content and conversation have shifted from the educator to the learner. We require a system that acknowledges this reality.
  • Dave Truss on 20 Feb 10
     
    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
Vicki Davis

Backchannel Chat - Providing classrooms with backchannel discussions - 13 views

backchannelchat.com

education news tumblr app backchannel wiki_book evernote all_teachers edu_newapp

shared by Vicki Davis on 16 Feb 13 - No Cached
  • Vicki Davis on 16 Feb 13
     
    A new website that many are discussing. I love using BAckchannels in my classroom and thus far have used Chatzy and Ning chat, however, this website is designed for real time chat for classrooms. You can mute and remove comments, it has a profanity filter and also a full transcript so you can go back and assess participation and weaknesses. You can set the chat to discontinue when you leave. When I review for tests, I always like to use a backchannel because I can ask questions and we can document answers and the students can save as notes. This is a great tool. I'll be testing the free chat room this week. I've heard from some of our Flat Classroom(r) certified teachers that this is a create tool.
Vicki Davis

ExamGeneral.com - 16 views

www.examgeneral.com/register

education assessment edu_news all_teachers

shared by Vicki Davis on 15 Jul 11 - Cached
  • Vicki Davis on 15 Jul 11
     
    Another free place to give tests and exams online. Let computers do what they do best. What I do is IF I have a few multiple choice, etc. I may do them online BUT I also do other ways of assessment with my test. I just don't think the bubbles can get it all. That said, if you have to do it, you shouldn't have to grade it unless it is open answer or essay and this is a free tool to help you.
Maggie Verster

4Teachers : Tools for assessment - 0 views

www.4teachers.org/tools

assessment education teaching teachers sas101 school2.0

shared by Maggie Verster on 15 Dec 08 - Cached
  • Maggie Verster on 15 Dec 08
     
    Expand your curriculum with our timesaving educational resources that use technology to improve instruction across all content areas and grade levels. Find current resources that align with standards, promote higher-order thinking, and support the development of writing skills. Monitor student research and writing, evaluate student performance, and create bilingual online lessons, classroom calendars, and quizzes in less time than traditional methods
Megan Black

SoapBox - Transform your lecture in real-time - 18 views

gosoapbox.com

backchannel soapbox twitter education web2.0 tools edtech

shared by Megan Black on 06 Oct 11 - No Cached
  • Megan Black on 06 Oct 11
     
    This Back channel tool has a profanity filter that does not allow most inappropriate messages to be posted. Below is from their website.  Teach more effectively. SoapBox is a controlled digital space, designed to improve student engagement by breaking down the barriers students face when deciding whether or not to participate in class, and gives teachers a concrete assessment of student comprehension, in real time.
Vicki Davis

Blogger: Cool Cat Teacher Blog - Post a Comment - 0 views

www.blogger.com/comment.g

shared by Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08 - No Cached
  • I don't feel that any of the names mentioned act or feel like they are better than me and have even included me on many conversations
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      This blogger is a good example of someone who has jumped in with all 10 fingers and gotten to know a lot of neat people. As a relative newcomer, loonyhiker knows a lot of people. Newcomers just need to "jump in!"
  • I do love when you say, "if one person reads our blog and get something out of it.. it is important." I try to keep that in mind all the time. Numbers don't matter..people do.
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      Remembering each reader as an invidual is a vital thing about blogging.
  • Lisa Parisi
  • ...66 more annotations...
  • As far as the ego thing goes who cares. Your blog's this mine is that. Whoopdy do! If you're learning and growing your PLN that is what counts.
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      I love Charlie's perspective on this.
  • Charlie A. Roy said.
  • I feel similar frustration. If the point is about learning than reading and commenting is a great way to add to our own creative potential.
  • Tennessee
  • Great response to a burning question/statement that most of us (well probably all of us)feel at one time or another.
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      I find tennessee's comment interesting. What is the "burning" question? Do we matter? Is anyone else really out there? Is Internet realilty -- REAL reality. We are grappling with this and just now realizing that there is an emotional thing going on with it all!
  • Many of the people that I have learned the most from are not the ones involved in the "cocktail party" but rather those in the trenches doing what I love to do each and every day, just like you!
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      He has an important point -- if you're only reading the uber-popular bloggers -- you're missing the point of the blogosphere. I make it a point to find some newcomers. To me, it is like a game, I want to find new people doing great things and encourage them like so many greats like David Warlick, Darren Kuropatwa, Ewan McIntosh, and more did for me when I started.
  • agree that developing a readership takes time.
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      Many educators don't know the number of readers they have b/c they don't use the right tools -- I recommend consolidating to ONE feedburner feed. It just makes sense.
  • Carolyn Foote
  • Scott McLeod
  • Re: the depressing aspects of 'comment intensity,' I actually meant it to be an affirming post rather than a depressing one
  • I think that the comment intensity idea is important in this respect: I often see laments from bloggers that they don't get many comments on their posts. What the table above shows is that even those of us who are fortunate enough to have large readerships often don't get many comments. My personal median over the past 20 posts, even WITH the big spike of 89, is still only 2.5. Ewan, your blog and Vicki Davis' are similar. The point is that many, many posts don't get a lot of comments, even those by the more widely read bloggers.
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      It could be encouraging for some -- for me it made me feel like I had another thing to count! Although, I see Scott's point -- his article wasn't written for me!
  • tom said...
  • Thanks for bringing this up. This has been an issue for me personally as well. OK, so nobody's IN, but the (pseudo?) community nature of blogging makes it feel that way.
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      Tom is right -- we all feel this way! I think the feeling of looking in on the blogosphere is one of feeling "out" looking in -- for all of us!
  • But, like other artists, we have to work a little every day whether we feel like it or not, and whether we get validation that day or not.
  • I think many of us are working at blogging because there's an element of self improvement, which implies self evaluation. Without feedback from others it's easy to be hard on ourselves.
  • Christopher D. Sessums
  • For me, the conversation is hardly closed; it is simply a matter of having something to say, something to share.The emotional commitment is another aspect of the conversation that is easily glossed over.
  • MIke Sansone
  • I've found (both with myself and those educators I've worked with in their blogging starts) that the edublogosphere is open and welcoming -- but as we engage in any cultural group (even offline), patience really is a key.Still, we sometimes measure our success by the interaction from those we look up to (esp. teachers - many of whom were probably the best students in their class, yes?)
  • Sometimes we don't see the comments -- because the talk happens offline.
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      This is a very important point and one to remember -- the "quiet" audience online may be a very vocal audience offline.
  • Britt
  • I get very few comments on my blog but see through the clustermaps that I have readers each and every day, so continue to feel that the blog is benefiting me through reflection and may even be benefiting others as well.
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      This is why having a statcounter or clustrmap is SO very important -- it helps you understand traffic and audience!
  • atruger
  • I NEVER get to share tools I discover because someone ALWAYS beats me to the punch...but I am ok with that.
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      But you should share ANYWAY! -- we're not people breaking news -- we're talking about what we USE. So, talk and share!
  • I truly connect with what you write even though I am one of "those" people who reads but rarely comments. YOU do make a difference and so do I!
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      These comments mean so much to me!
  • Bego said...
  • the whole cocktail party analogy is just a grown up version of the kickball line-up in elementary school.
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      I was always picked last there -- whew this analogy hits me close to home. I was always picked last b/c I was the worst. Even the worst kickball player needs to feel encouraged and not destroyed for getting up and kicking the ball. Even the "worst" blogger - if there is such a thing -- needs to feel encouraged sometimes too just for blogging.
  • In the blog world, change is effected by good content, and while good content isn't always noticed at first, it does eventually get a respectable position--sometimes because the cocktail group points them out.
  • How could I think to be in the same boat as John Scalzi who started in 1998 if I've only been blogging since 2007?
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      Remember this -- I've been blogging just over 2 years. Strange things can happen -- consistent creation of meaningful content is important.
  • I found your blog, Vicki, because a project you do for Atomic Learning mentioned you, and your name is on the movies they use.
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      I did the Web 2.0 workshop for atomic learning and many have found my blog -- actually I had to use a source that I had permission to use!!! ;-)
  • jeanette tranberg
  • 2005 - you were the only ones out there to follow
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      lol -- I started blogging in December of 2005 and had about 7 followers until mid 2006 -- but there are many who think I've been around forever!
  • Oh yes, I have felt the cocktail chill at times. I'm a norwegian edublogger, that have been following your brunks (blogdrunks) for a while. To start with - in
  • Wes told me once I twittered, that nobody should twitter alone and I could not agree more - so I don't.
  • So, from the outer side looking in: Anybody stopping by in Second Life tonight (which is today for you) for a virtual edu cocktail?I'm aka Kita Coage at Eduisland II, waiting to cocktail connect with you c",)
  • Paul Hamilton
  • For most of us, blogging is very much a personal venture.
  • I suspect that we all have a deep desire to be heard and to be accepted. The longer I'm involved in the edublogosphere, however, the more impressed and encouraged I am by the level of acceptance that there is here. It is a good thing that we don't always agree with each other. Disagreement is often at the heart of constructive conversation
  • At the same time, we are no different than the kids in our classrooms. We educators need to know that we will be accepted, no matter what we have to say and no matter how well we are able to express it. I think we help to make the edublogosphere a "safe place" for each other as we try to keep it positive and as we take advantage of the numerous opportunities to be affirming.
  • Jim Dornberg said.
  • I don't at all feel excluded from the blog "cocktail party", because just like a real cocktail party, I am drawn to the people who have something important, and engaging to say and I am content to listen and learn from them. I have seen a few of the "big names" at conferences, and even met a few of them in person. I have emailed several of them and others, or left an occasional comment, and I have been very pleasantly surprised at the thoughtful responses I have received.
  • I read many blogs, but comment rarely, and I suspect that those who read my blog do the same. So I don't feel at all excluded. I'm just happy to occasionally be part of the conversation.
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      Many people feel this way -- just happy to be a part of the occasional conversation.
  • Alfred Thompson
  • When I was at EduBloggerCon last spring I felt quite the outsider. There were famous people there and I was unknown. I still feel that way in the broad edublogsphere. But honestly the broad sphere is not who I am blogging for. I blog for a niche - computer science teachers. The event for that niche is SIGCSE and there I (blush) feel a bit like a star. Few of the people there know the edubloggers with much larger readership or Technorati ranks. And really reaching the CS teachers is my goal not reaching everyone who teaches general subjects.
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      Knowing your audience is very important.
  • There is, I believe, room for more at the top if only because the number of teachers reading blogs is still very small but we all hope it is growing. We are still at the ground floor. That makes edublogging different from tech blogging I think.
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      Alfred thompson is right on the money!
  • Jason Bengs
  • I think we need to all remember our focus for blogging. Mine is for reflection. I use my blog as a tool to improve my teaching. If others start to read and can learn from it, great. To my knowledge I am the only one seeing my blog right now. Which is fine with me. I don't think blogging should be a popularity contest and having a large number of readers is great, it must mean that you, and others, have something to offer that others want to emulate.
  • prof v said
  • I think you could have added three additional points. First, a suggestion on how to increase readership. I think new bloggers (myself included) are still trying to figure out how to make the connections that allow for conversations within blogs. I go back to your list of 10 tips for successful blogging, and still find things I never noticed before
  • would love to see an updated list that perhaps would include how to make sure your blog is part of an RSS feed and how to set up subscriptions for potential readers to make it easy for them to subscribe to your blog.
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      If you go to my blog and search for feedburner -- that is what I use -- I've written several posts on that. I'll have to update the original 10 habits. perhaps I'll do that soon!
  • I think even you have realized that it is more difficult to break into the edublogger field as there is now so many new bloggers (just in the last two years).
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      I don't know -- I've seen some newcomers like Darren Draper jump into the blogosphere pretty quickly -- it is about getting involved in the conversation, which is easier now with twitter and webcasts at edtechtalk. Good conversationalists rise to the top.
  • Finally, I am surprised that you did not point out how you have helped new bloggers by both asking for new voices and then publishing them in your own blog. I think this is an indication that you are trying to open up the "party".
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      I always let my readers defend me. I'm not perfect, none of us. We also don't have unlimited time... so I have to do the best I can.
  • Dean Shareski
  • Isn't the whole point of web 2.0 is that it exudes democracy and equality? Those that get all concerned about rankings and ratings are, as you've suggested missing the point.
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      Dean has got it right here.
  • We often quickly want to find ways of ranking. Reminds me of the evils of current assessment practices. We tell kids to do their best and work on improving performance and yet continue to use ranking systems that is clearly a mixed message.
  • Anonymous said.
  • I'm new to this world as of Monday...yes, 4 days of immersing myself in as much ed. tech, web 2.0, online collaboration "stuff" that I can. (thanks to Lisa Thumman at Rutgers U.) Cocktail party or not, your blog and the comments people have left have increased my list of people to follow. Even a discussion about "being on the outside" has led me to the "inside". I'm thrilled to be in the company of such great minds and promise to start contributing once I wrap my brain around it all! Thanks to everyone for sharing! cmtvarok
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      A 4 day old newcomer to the edublogosphere comments.. what an amazing linkage of conversation! Wow! Older, newer, very new. Wow!
  • Mrs. V.
  • thanks for coaxing me out of my blogger drought!
    • Vicki Davis
      Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 08
       
      She wrote a great post!
  • Vicki A. Davis
  • I believe that this "post" has been made stronger by the comments, which have added to the post greater depth of meaning.
  • All over this conversation I see the change in society. We are all going through the emotions of becoming accustomed to something new... kind of like I first experienced when the Internet first came out.
  • And while, when I began blogging, I didn't really set my sights or aim for a large readership... now that it is here, I will seriously consider and appreciate each individual reader and take my job seriously
  • @tennessee -- Those in the trenches are my most important reads... I just wish there were more of us. It seems as if many teachers view blogging as a way out of the classroom when they should see it as a way to improve the classroom!
  • @scottmcleod - I believe the comment intensity is highly correlated to controversiality AND immediacy. If a lot of people SAW someone recently, they want to interact and comment (immediacy.) If someone says something very emotional or controversial, people want to comment and interact (controversiality.) While I guess looking at these stats are fine, I've found in my very short time blogging that looking too much at numbers of any kind removes my focus from what is important. When I focus intently on conversation, my blog traffic and numbers just grow. I always say "whatever is watered, grows." If I water my investigation of stats, I become a good statistician... if I water my blog but also commenting and participating in the blogosphere as a WHOLE, I become a good blogger. I'd rather be the latter. And while the post was meant to be encouraging... I have to admit I'm a competitive perfectionist and always have to reign in that aspect of my nature.
  • @christophersessums - I think the emotional nature of something is like the proverbial elephant in the Net -- it is there. It always stuns me the number of people who discuss their feelings on this when it comes up... it means that many of us are experiencing the same thing.
Clif Mims

ISTE Classroom Observation Tool - 0 views

icot.craftyspace.com

assessment education educational technology iste teacher-education teaching technology-integration

shared by Clif Mims on 12 Jul 08 - Cached
  • Clif Mims on 12 Jul 08
     
    "A FREE online tool that provides a set of questions to guide classroom observations of a number of key components of technology integration. "
Fabian Aguilar

What Do School Tests Measure? - Room for Debate Blog - NYTimes.com - 1 views

roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/...what-do-school-tests-measure

nytimes all_teachers math science

shared by Fabian Aguilar on 12 Aug 09 - Cached
  • According to a New York Times analysis, New York City students have steadily improved their performance on statewide tests since Mayor Michael Bloomberg took control of the public schools seven years ago.
  • Critics say the results are proof only that it is possible to “teach to the test.” What do the results mean? Are tests a good way to prepare students for future success?
  • Tests covering what students were expected to learn (guided by an agreed-upon curriculum) serve a useful purpose — to provide evidence of student effort, of student learning, of what teachers taught, and of what teachers may have failed to teach.
  • ...18 more annotations...
  • More serious questions arise about “teaching to the test.” If the test requires students to do something academically valuable — to demonstrate comprehension of high quality reading passages at an appropriate level of complexity and difficulty for the students’ grade, for example — then, of course, “teaching to the test” is appropriate.
  • Reading is the crucial subject in the curriculum, affecting all the others, as we know.
  • An almost exclusive focus on raising test scores usually leads to teaching to the test, denies rich academic content and fails to promote the pleasure in learning, and to motivate students to take responsibility for their own learning, behavior, discipline and perseverance to succeed in school and in life.
  • Test driven, or force-fed, learning can not enrich and promote the traits necessary for life success. Indeed, it is dangerous to focus on raising test scores without reducing school drop out, crime and dependency rates, or improving the quality of the workforce and community life.
  • Students, families and groups that have been marginalized in the past are hurt most when the true purposes of education are not addressed.
  • lein. Mayor Bloomberg claims that more than two-thirds of the city’s students are now proficient readers. But, according to federal education officials, only 25 percent cleared the proficient-achievement hurdle after taking the National Assessment of Education Progress, a more reliable and secure test in 2007.
  • The major lesson is that officials in all states — from New York to Mississippi — have succumbed to heavy political pressure to somehow show progress. They lower the proficiency bar, dumb down tests and distribute curricular guides to teachers filled with study questions that mirror state exams.
  • This is why the Obama administration has nudged 47 states to come around the table to define what a proficient student truly knows.
  • Test score gains among New York City students are important because research finds that how well one performs on cognitive tests matters more to one’s life chances than ever before. Mastery of reading and math, in particular, are significant because they provide the gateway to higher learning and critical thinking.
  • First, just because students are trained to do well on a particular test doesn’t mean they’ve mastered certain skills.
  • Second, whatever the test score results, children in high poverty schools like the Promise Academy are still cut off from networks of students, and students’ parents, who can ease access to employment.
  • Reliable and valid standardized tests can be one way to measure what some students have learned. Although they may be indicators of future academic success, they don’t “prepare” students for future success.
  • Since standardized testing can accurately assess the “whole” student, low test scores can be a real indicator of student knowledge and deficiencies.
  • Many teachers at high-performing, high-poverty schools have said they use student test scores as diagnostic tools to address student weaknesses and raise achievement.
  • The bigger problem with standardized tests is their emphasis on the achievement of only minimal proficiency.
  • While it is imperative that even the least accomplished students have sufficient reading and calculating skills to become self-supporting, these are nonetheless the students with, overall, the fewest opportunities in the working world.
  • Regardless of how high or low we choose to set the proficiency bar, standardized test scores are the most objective and best way of measuring it.
  • The gap between proficiency and true comprehension would be especially wide in the case of the brightest students. These would be the ones least well-served by high-stakes testing.
Ruth Howard

Technology Integration Matrix - 0 views

fcit.usf.edu/matrix

Technology Integration matrix education tech_integration pedagogy edtech technologyintegration

shared by Ruth Howard on 21 Apr 09 - Cached
  • What is the history behind the tool? The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) was developed to help guide the complex task of evaluating technology integration in the classroom. Basic technology skills and integration of technology into the curriculum go hand-in-hand to form teacher technology literacy. Encouraging the seamless use of technology in all curriculum areas and promoting technology literacy are both key NCLB:Title II-D/EETT program purposes. The Inventory for Teacher Technology Skills (ITTS) companion tool is designed to help districts evaluate teachers’ current levels of proficiency with technology and is also used as a professional development planning and needs assessment resource. The TIM is envisioned as an EETT program resource which can help support the full integration of technology in Florida schools. What is in each cell? Each cell in the matrix will have a video (or several videos) which illustrate the integration of technology in classrooms where only a few computers are available and/or classrooms where every student has access to a laptop computer.
  • Transformation  The teacher creates a rich learning environment in which students regularly engage in activities that would have been impossible to achieve without technology.
  • Active
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  • Indicator: Given ongoing access to online resources, students actively select and pursue topics beyond the limitations of even the best school library.
  • Collaborative
  • Indicator: Technology enables students to collaborate with peers and experts irrespective of time zone or physical distances.
  • Goal Directed
  • Indicator: Students use technology to construct, share, and publish knowledge to a worldwide audience.
  • Authentic
  • Indicator: By means of technology tools, students participate in outside-of-school projects and problem-solving activities that have meaning for the students and the community.
  • Constructive
  • Indicator: Students engage in ongoing metacognative activities at a level that would be unattainable without the support of technology tools.
  • You can download the Technology Integration Matrix for printing as a PDF.
Vicki Davis

Quadbase: Question banking made easy. - 0 views

quadbase.org

education oer teaching edreform oer12hf curriculum all_teachers

shared by Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • Vicki Davis on 12 Apr 12
     
    Another piece from connextions - a website and shared question bank that includes all questions that are open licensed and let you mix and remix around your topic. This is all for creating assessment tools that you can use to make tests, homework, or embed in your online learning. Another great place to share with your teachers (and save money.)
Ashley S.

Yacapaca! - Home - 0 views

yacapaca.com

classroom web2.0 education e-learning resources all_teachers web2

shared by Ashley S. on 25 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Ashley S. on 25 Sep 09
     
    YacaPaca! - Management for Teachers and Students With YacaPaca users can create quizzes, surveys, tests,and more. Discover modify and share assessments.Set work for the whole class with a few mouse clicks, and analyse with tools that improve your teaching.
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