Group items tagged

Whyzz is a website designed for the parents of three to eight year old children that are going through the "why" phase. Whyzz gives clear simple answers to the "why"questions like "why is the sky blue?" that children ask frequently. Parents can access the information on the site in two ways. The most direct way to find something on Whyzz is to type a "why" question in the "tell me" search bar at the top of every page. You can also browse the through topics in ten different categories. Click on a topic and you'll find a list of commonly asked "why" questions and their answers.

Discussion of business research, why it's not so great and how it could be improved

Lots of conversation about why Steve Jobs wasn't named the Time Person of the year. This would be a fascinating discussion for a social studies or current events class. Who would you name as the person of the year and why.

I was recording a session with Sue Waters tonight about the Edublog Awards and she mentioned this post from Joyce Seitzinger about why the edublog awards matter and I wanted to share it. While many pundits and critics arise and say negative things any time an awards program happens, I think that the Edublog Awards matters because it helps find new voices. Voting will open soon but realize that if anyone nominates you -- it is an honor. Take the time to go through the finalists, add them to your RSS reader and your Twitter account. Take a read at this great post to know why the edublog awards do matter... thank you Joyce for a lovely, compelling post (and some great nominations.)

Many people make a decision about jobs and careers after leaving high school or college, some based on clear goals and others on need. However, there are many varied and often uncontrollable reasons why these initial occupations do not last. This leads to five reasons why continuing education must be considered as a positive investment for achieving success in a chosen occupation

Discussion of why Generation X is inundating Second Life and why Gen Y is so underrepresented. I will say that my students LOVE Second Life, but you also have to remember that I teach students who, for the most part, grew up playing outside and have engaged in free play all of their lives. Perhaps this is also a function of the presence of free play in the lives of children. How many Gen Y kids truly had free play as part of their childhood? We've sort of structured and organized everything for them in many cases.

Overview of Linden Stats showing more Gen X than Gen Y in Second Life and the impact of using SL to teach.

Some ideas around why we created @motmedu Looking for a conference with a difference? What story do you have to tell? The #motm13 Unconference is built around stories for the purpose of making strong connections with other passionate educators who are integrating ICT with pedagogy.

I tried to think of a different way of titling this post, I wasn't keen on the word 'surviving' but the more I thought about it, the more I realised that actually, you really do feel like you're surviving… Just about. I've been onto Twitter, Instagram and even scrolled through my personal Facebook a few times to discover that Teacher Training Nerves are setting in. Now, I know you've probably (definitely) heard some complete horror stories but let's begin with an open mind. Having just completed the PGCE, I totally understand why you are so nervy and that is why I've created this post… So, sit back, take a deep breath and repeat "I can do this"...

We all remember science lessons from our school days. Whether the lessons were with the more 'characteristic' teachers in the school, or whether you all released the gas taps when the teacher foolishly left the room, we all seemed to miss the link that science is life! And what an opportunity science teachers have in releasing the magic of life to their pupils, answering BIG questions like "Why am I like my parents?", or "What will my life be like in 2050?", or "Why is Pripyat a deserted town?"

An interactive White Board (IWB) or SMART Board has the potential to deliver content better than traditional methods of teaching. Why? Because it provides multi-media functional interaction across audio, video, and computer media. It is also ideal for visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. These qualities of an IWB also promote the dynamic delivery of content (if used to its full potential) in an engaging manner, which allows students to interact with science or math content their self. Examples include: * data manipulation * responding to data * even creating data So with all these attributes - "How are interactive white boards unsuccessfully used in science and math classrooms?" For the most part - not effectively!

Languages are important. We teach them to children. But we ignore computer programming languages - perhaps some of the most important fluencies anyone can acquire. Instead, we black box them and hope they MIGHT look at doing this in college, when in fact, many of the best jobs and opportunities lie in languages: both "foreign" languages and computer languages. Thought provoking blog post about a conversation: "Many interesting and stimulating things were said, but one I remember was from Peter Pham over dinner. It was a simple line, "why do we teach languages in junior high and high school but not a computer language?" that had profound meaning to me."

John Seely Brown's PDF on the new learning environments for the 21st century based upon a 2005 presentation he did at the Forum of Higher Education's 2005 Aspen symposium. This is an important read. (of course many of you have already read it.) If you wonder why I'm digging into the research, it is as I work on my second book on collaborative writing. It is amazing to me that I can find so many more things online than I ever could in the Georgia Tech library when I was a research assistant for the then president of the national Economics Association, Dr. Danny Boston. I may not be in an institution of higher learning but I can institute higher learning in my daily practice. I want everything I write for publication to be well grounded. I hope that is why those of you who gift me with your presence on this blog will feel free to let me know in the comments if you have concerns or pointers to other work.

Jenny Luca writes a powerful post about why her school has students blogging and creating efolios.

the Atlantic asked me to write about why I became a teacher. I left the business world to move into teaching. Not because I had to (I was a successful business woman) but because I wanted to. Please feel free to share your story. Here's mine.

This was a fun piece that you all helped me write for the Atlantic. I asked you, my friends, on Twitter, Facebook, and Google plus about why you became a teacher. The response was overwhelming as you shared why you got into (and stay in) teaching. Your words are powerful and inspired me to be more. Thank you.

This is a great presentation to view for two reasons: 1) This author shares why she wants ipad 2's in her classroom and the reasons are pretty unique. 2) She uses Author stream which boasts it can "do more with powerpoint" - is this an alternative to slideshare? Interesting tool.

Students share why they go to school as part of the American Graduate project focusing on the high school dropout crisis.

If you have a PC and want to write offline and then upload, Windows Live Writer is your option. It is actually a very powerful (free) tool for blogging. Here's a blog post about why Scott Hanselman uses this app for his blogging. I've used it off and on but am using it even more now that I have a Surface Pro. I used to draft on my ipad in Blogsy but the biggest issue I had was adding links and full compatibility with wordpress - I can do it all on my Surface Pro using Windows Live Writer. This post links to the app and the why-to from this blogger. It works with wordpress, blogger, and more.

Windows 9 is coming in 2015. Many think Windows 8 was a trainwreck. I think one thing all companies should realize is that as the market matures, the older people who have been using Windows (or any other program for a long period of time) not only want to know HOW to do things the new way but WHY they should. I know many who would be happy to pay for and keep a Windows XP interface for a long time. I understand why the surface style was needed for surface devices but many would be happy with an older system using a traditional windows view.

A great video from ASAPScience exploring why we experience butterflies in our stomachs