educators

"This is a fab HTML5 language learning site which tests your language skills through a series of games with 1500 words. The site collects stats on your performance. The current 21 languages include English, Spanish, German, French, Chinese, Japan, Italian, Russian, Polish and many more."

"The NFER Assessment Hub, which has been designed to help school practitioners build their confidence with classroom assessment, offers a host of free support written by NFER's team of assessment researchers with teaching backgrounds. This support includes a collection of short-read articles which introduce various aspects of classroom assessment, as well as an exclusive new practitioner guide series titled 'Brushing up on assessment', due to be released weekly throughout October and November. From guidance on understanding assessment policies to tips on making the most of assessment data, the guides will offer valuable insight and advice to support practitioners in delivering an assessment approach that is right for their pupils and their school."

"This is a superb site from the BBC with interesting questions to inspire awe and wonder. There are videos and other media which attempt to answer questions on history, science and much more."

"During a person's lifetime they will experience a variety of life events, both positive and negative. Negative life events, such as a loved one dying, tend to be researched more extensively than positive life events due to the damaging effects it could have on a person's life. Negative life events can induce a great amount of emotion and a person's reaction to these life events determines how they process the event and overcome it. When this processing is detrimental, emotional deficits can occur such as depression."

"A useful site for creating metro maps. Use it in creating writing to map out a character's travels, make Monopoly-like games or make classroom posters showing connected words, names, ideas or topics."

"Well-being has moved up the political and managerial agenda as well-being concerns have grown. In many schools 'over-doing it' has become a badge of honour and created an unsustainable arms-race of burn-out. But will this renewed focus by educational leaders make any difference? Does it need to, or sure we be responsible for our own well-being and for those around us?"

"This book is remarkable gem.  It is easy to read but offers great challenge and inspiring ideas in a carefully explained and encouraging way. The author draws on his experience, in an honest and true-to-life style.  He is open and honest and shares some of his worst experiences in a modest and humble style.  As I picked up the book I wasn't sure that resilience was the key feature of leadership that I would have highlighted - I think I would have wanted resilience in my top ten characteristics of good leadership, following other books and courses I've been on I'm sold on the benefits - but I was slightly surprised to find a book putting resilience at the heart.  Until I started reading, and quickly I was convinced."

"Superb adventure platform and puzzle game which teaches about electricity and electrical circuits, designed by the engineering department at the University of Cambridge. Play in your browser or download from Steam."

"Hosted by Colin Hill, we attended the launch of the Bloomsbury Young Readers series, speaking to authors Jenny McLachlan and Michaela Morgan. You can see more about the new series by clicking here."

"When you have a specific interest, it can be difficult to learn more about it from people in your immediate circle of influence. Teaching is broad and we all have that one area we love just a little more than the others. This is why I sought out to understand more about Professional Learning Networks (PLN) and their value to teachers. I am often trying to persuade my peers to get online so they can reap the benefits that I am."

"This is a proposal with many good ideas gained from different places (Facebook and Twitter) that could be put to school leaders/governors to try and integrate staff well-being into the school policies. Just add in you school name in the gaps and add your name at the bottom!"

"Google has pioneered virtual reality for the masses and has now developed an app to allow users to capture their own VR photo scenes. Transport your pupils to anywhere!"

"Something that has struck me as vitally important in the realms of education at the moment is the lived experience of the child. Now, you may be sat there thinking, 'Isn't this stating the absolutely obvious?' I hear it said so often that underpinning every decision made in schools is a focus on the children. Please don't misunderstand me at this point; I am not calling into question the motives of educators and leaders. I just thought it pertinent to bring this to the fore in the wake of the myriad of difficulties schools face in relation to increased budget strain and stretched services."

"A leading educational psychologist is urging schools to stop thinking of wellbeing as another subject to be taught. Instead, she is urging them to create healthier schools where students naturally develop wellbeing and a love of learning. Dr. Helen Street, an Honorary Research Fellow with The University of Western Australia's Graduate School of Education, has released a new book, Contextual Wellbeing: creating positive schools from the inside out, which offers a practical framework for building a healthy, equitable social context in schools."

"A great, simple, collaborative mindmapping site. Invite other users to share ideas together in real time. It uses html which means that you can use it with most web enabled devices. Sign in using a Google account."

"Last week, we had a welcome evening for the new staff joining DBIS at the start of this academic year, and as I was sharing a glass of wine and chatting to our newly arrived teachers, I realised that just two short years ago, it was me who was the newbie; just landed in Hong Kong and starting to settle in my new country and starting to get to know my new school."

"In their new 'Teaching on a Shoestring' book, Russell Grigg and Helen Lewis focus upon 4 C's (communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity) for the early years of schooling, but they also acknowledge that some of the resource ideas can also support mathematical development and knowledge and understanding of the world."

"This is a useful Apple and Android app which lets you work out maths calculations using handwritten numbers and symbols."

"For fun, the writer and children's book illustrator has created a series of images that can help young writers broaden their language and writing, encouraging young authors to "Fill your stories with a rainbow of images" - A great resource for the primary/elementary classroom and beyond…"