Sesame Street has taken more than 1000 videos (all for elementary school) and aligned them with Common Core standards on the sharemylesson website. This is a great account for elementary teachers to follow on the site.
Toilets on the Shuttle! Should we be "teaching to the test"? U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says that "no teacher should have to teach to the test." Then why is Obama spending $360 million to developing new assessments to go along with standards adopted by almost all states? Read more: http://www.hertzfurniture.com/school-matters/toilets-shuttle
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"
When ninth-graders at St. Andrew's School, a private boarding school in Middletown, Delaware, sat down last year to take the school's College Work and Readiness Assessment (CWRA), they faced the sort of problems that often stump city officials and administrators, but rarely show up on standardized tests, such as how to manage traffic congestion caused by population growth. "I proposed a new transportation system for the city," said one student describing his answer. "It's expensive, but it will cut pollution."
"Let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age. Let's set high standards for our schools and give them the resources they need to succeed. Let's recruit a new army of teachers, and give them better pay and more support in exchange for more accountability. Let's make college more affordable, and let's invest in scientific research, and let's lay down broadband lines through the heart of inner cities and rural towns all across America."
Better make people "addicted" to learning, to the process, to the autonomy of it. There are intrinsic reasons why this is pleasurable, meaningful and long lasting per se.
7) Mind the use of the word "enhance" when linked to learning. Mind the gap. Old things are just old things.
Note my comment: "This is such a good point! We do not advance from the early airplanes by sticking to using double winged biplanes or 'enhancing' the propeller engine. If a blog is used to 'enhance' the sharing of homework then the point of a blog is missed."
9) Standards are for things that fit a pattern. When educators claim that creativity is a "21st century" essential skill, we need to accept the limitations of striving for Standards. Assessment and Standards are cousins.
Communicating results is becoming more and more frequent.(#4) Doubting out loud doesn't seem to grant you an "expert" degree, which I notice is the aim of many educators who are blogging. Particularly those who write in Spanish.
The poster in the classroom... Interesting. I would change the phrase to "Remember your teacher also expects to learn lots from you".
Few teachers are comfortable doubting in front of their students. Perhaps, with reason ;-)
Discusses the importance of shaping curriculum or the "meat" of instruction. Addresses the notion that we've focused too much on developing the standards and rushing to assessment without paying enough attention to the "middle".
Peter Krantz - January 10th, 2005
"A while ago I read the article "Observing Users Who Listen to Web Sites". In that article the authors report that visually impaired users scan web pages with their ears instead of reading them top to bottom. This may not come as a surprise to you if you read Jakob Nielsen's "How Users Read on the Web" back in 1997. Recently I have had the opportunity to study a number of screen reader users and my observations are similar. (...)
So, here are some suggestions you can use to improve the browsing experience for visually impaired users:
Use headings god dammit!"
This guide is from Dr. Louisa C. Moats and the International Dyslexia Association. It bridges research into practice to create a "research-based tool for practitioners." These are the standards used by the IDI to guide teachers of reading, spelling, and writing.