This is a list of lessons for August. Bookmark it as lessons are added, you'll be able to find them here. I am reviewing the back to school lessons for my classes (I always love ideas to help welcome students and start well.) You can also upload your back to school lessons to enter the competition.
A useful maths flash resource where players arrange numbers into a grid of addition and subtraction questions in the quickest time possible. It's great for practising basic skills. Why not set up a competition in your class? There are four levels of difficulty to choose from.
http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Maths
Alfred Thompson shares information on the 2013 Imagine Cup - Bigger than ever. He's the one blog at Microsoft that I read on a daily basis and worth following. He's also a dear friend and speaks very highly of the great things he's see happen in the Imagine Cup.
There are some great things that are included in this year's contest including making an app that could change someone's life in the Wold Citizenship category. Make a game in the games category and in INnovation to "reinvent" something - social networks, shopping, music, etc. Those are the 3 competitions. If you're inventing and innovating in your classroom, consider joining in.
University of the people, a site offering free degrees in business administration and computer science continues to gain momentum as leading the effort to "democratize education." Things are underfoot that will radically change the expensive landscape known as higher Ed. The bottom line is that universities without solid online platforms won't be ready for the changes they will need to made. Their greatest commodity will be excellent teachers who can now be beamed from one end of the planet to the other. This crazy upheaval in education is only beginning and the competition is no longer limited by geography.
The Society for Storytelling's annual 'National Storytelling Week' is a wonderful way to kickstart sharing stories and reading in your school.
http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Competitions+%26+Events
A yearly event for schools to raise funds for worthly causes in the developing world. The Day for Change 2012 is Friday 3rd February and has a sporty theme.
http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Competitions+%26+Events
This is a superb game which teaches about food webs in a competitive battle game. Who will succumb to selection pressures and who will survive?
http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Science
If you're going to talk about the Tour de France, you'll also want to discuss cycling or bicycling (depending upon whether it is competitive or for pleasure.) Use this opportunity to bring in a bike.
If you're leading a summer camp or daycamps, the tour de France and bikes are a great thing to discuss and integrate into your summer plans.
Ben Rimes teaches you how to Screen Record your iPad. He's also competing for a competition and would appreciate your "liking" his video. It is helpful if you're looking to screenrecord your ipad.
At Xylocopa, we know that the key to a successful education is to begin learning at a young age. Like many of you, we are concerned about the state of science education in the public school system, especially in the lower grades. Specifically, we have noticed that there is absolutely no training in the K-6 grades that prepares students to become mad scientists. In this competitive 21st-century world, the need for mad scientists will only increase, but the lack of basic education in primary school leaves us concerned that there will be no future students capable of leading in this illustrious field.
DOME Foundation Mission: To broaden awareness of and to increase participation in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines by underrepresented populations to meet the needs of a globally competitive workforce.
"ETAN provides a forum for educators and others to engage in the political process and project a unified voice in support of a common cause - improving teaching and learning through the systemic use of technology. ETAN's mission is to influence public policy-makers at the federal, state and local levels and to increase public investment in the competitiveness of America's classrooms and students."
This fascinating project needs judges (oh and horizon still does too!) -- hat tip to David Warlick for this link.
The student web site entries are due in tomorrow (April 2) for the 2008 competition, and ThinkQuest needs people to judge these entries. To be a judge, you must be employed as a teacher or have a minimum of five years experience in the field of education; be proficient in the English language; and be able to, and have the time to evaluate and score websites based on the provided criteria.
I was reading this article about "the commons", and focusing in cooperation instead of competition. That's an interesting approach that is becoming more powerful everyday. Schools, by the ohter hand still live in a "competition" enviroment where grades are the most important.