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OECD Figures

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"Put the tools in kids' hands. * Interactive whiteboards: They don't call 'em interactive for nothing. When these large-display screens that connect to a computer and a projector arrived at Forest Lake, Williams gave teachers six months to wean themselves from their interaction-less overhead projectors. Students can touch the interactive boards to solve math problems, play games, or write and edit text. When one student is running the board, Williams suggests keeping others engaged using remote clickers, personal dry-erase slates, or manipulatives. (Download this idea guide for interactive whiteboards.) "

Guidance counselors and principals should read this article - not to share and tout as a defense of bullying for there is no defending meanness ever - not among adults and definitely not among children. However, it is time to de-escalate the frantic misreporting and hysteria that some are causing on the topic of bullying and suicide. Suicide is horrible and often the person who commits suicide is bullied -- here's a quote from the article that I thought was telling. This would be worth discussing with those who can maturely see the balance that is called for here and again, not to use it to excuse atrocious behavior. "Reporters are often reacting to other misinformed authorities.  For example, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd explained to reporters that he arrested two girls (one 12, the other 14) in Sedwick's death, after seeing a callous social media post from one of the girls, "We can't leave her out there, who else is she going to torment? Who else is she going to harass? Who is the next person she verbally and mentally abuses and attacks?" While it's a great quote, it implies that this girl has the ability, through random meanness, to inspire others to commit suicide. "Everything we know about unsafe reporting is being done here - describing the method(s), the simplistic explanation (bullying = suicide), the narrative that bullies are the villains and the girl that died, the victim," Wylie Tene, the public relations manager for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, wrote in an email to me. "She (the victim) is almost portrayed as a hero. Her smiling pictures are now juxtaposed with the two girls' mug shots. Her parents are portrayed as doing everything right, and the other girls parents did everything wrong and are part of the problem. This may be all true, and it also may be more complicated.""

College newspapers are met with the same challenges as mainstream media - decilining advertising and increasing online traffic are forcing attention online. Paper is out, social media is in. Organizations that don't get this shift are going to be in deep problems. Is your school newspaper making the sift.

"we also have a third drive. We do things because they're interesting, because they're engaging, because they're the right things to do, because they contribute to the world. The problem is that, especially in our organizations, we stop at that second drive. We think the only reason people do productive things is to snag a carrot or avoid a stick."

The course is an ideal introduction to the world of computers and IT in an increasingly digital world. The course practically examines a multitude of topics including data, problem solving, biometrics and security and more.

Students video themselves solving math problems; teachers learn how to help them.

Have you ever wanted to create short "how to" video for your students to use for homework, remembering facts, and solving math problems. How often have your students stated, "I could not complete the homework assignment, because I could not remember the steps and no one could help me." Well the answer is to create a screencast or video for posting on your class wiki or blog for students to view at home or anywhere else they have web access.

Very interesting article from Newsweek about how creativity works in the brain, and how it can be trained in an educational setting. It describes a "crisis" trend where creativity scores in America are decreasing.

Students from our two schools were grouped together to study an issue of social justice using web 2.0 tools. These tools help students put the best practice of collaborative learning into play by working with others to problem solve. Tools such as VoiceThread allow teachers to practice differentiated assessment. Being socially connected, students believe their contributions matter and they feel a stronger degree of responsibility to support their new partners. Students want an authentic audience to express themselves too.

Optical character recognition (OCR) software for the Apple iDevices that will scan any text, and then output it to text for e-mail, documents, or spreadsheets. Also includes text reading, which would make it very valuable for both students with visual disabilities and reading/decoding problems.

Assessing 21st century skills - we must first have those skills ourselves - and model them. That is how students will learn.

Stimulating critical thinking using technology has the potential to create more in depth understanding of science and math content by students when engaged in learning activities which integrate in-class and on-line technology resources. Technology tools support stimulation of both inquiry-based and critical thinking skills by engaging students in exploring, thinking, reading, writing, researching, inventing, problem-solving, and experiencing the world outside their classroom. This is accomplished through learning content through the lens of video to multimedia to the internet (Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement, NCREL, 2005).

"(...) not only end-of-year tests similar to those in use now but also formative tests that teachers will administer several times a year to help guide instruction (...)"

Students make connections with many science concepts and communicate their recommendations to officials and organizations regarding the future of artificial reefs.

There are lots of amazing software here for download.  I was looking at Speed Reading 111 (Mac).    The text is small (I'm tutoring people with reading problems) but I set my screen to a different resolution and the print was bigger.  

The Kids' Science Challenge is a nationwide competition for 3rd to 6th graders to submit experiments and problems for REAL scientists and engineers to solve. Play science games, watch videos, and enter to win awesome prizes and trips!