EBTL2

Interesting read. I know some parents even at the elementary level that would agree with this as they feel any homework is too much. However, I feel that all school aged children should have some homework as to reinforce skills and then the parents can see what they are doing in school. I remember the days of having sooo much homework in high school, that I would feel sick. I also remember having arguments with my mother that I needed to go to school and she would say, but you can't because you are sick. Having to make up all of that work as well as keep up with everything was daunting. I see this in high school students now...many hours of homework. Not sure how to fix this Race to No Where.

I loved this commentary posted on Education Week. It talks about the importance of giving students unstructured time on a regular basis, and expanding recess or time for physical activity. As the author states, "Kids are built to move. Having more time for unstructured outdoor play is like handing them a reset button." This author also spent six weeks in Finland studying their education system. They seem to be achieving greater success with less class time, and more built in natural breaks. This is worth reading.

I wish we had more down time and outside time as well during the day. We barely get it all in as it is with one recess, but maybe going outside or having downtime will help them retain more day to day.

I'm so glad you posted this article, Julie. I think it is so important to continue examining not just what we teach, but how we teach it. My son shifted this January to the Waldorf school in Lexington, in part because he is a very physical learner, who is interested in the arts, music, and practical arts, but also because he was just sitting too much of the day, focusing almost exclusively on reading and math skills. In his new school, they practice counting and multiplication tables while jumping rope on teams, for example. It's not recess, but it is physical activity, it's fun, and it really reinforces and connects the math skill they are working on. I hear many examples like this from him each week, and it has really inspired me to try to incorporate similar approaches, even (or maybe especially?) with my 9th graders.

Written by Mr. Walter Dean Myers for the New York Times, this might be worth sharing with students in preparation for Mitali Perkins' author visit in May. This is a subject that she cares deeply about, and I'm sure it will be a focus for her when she speaks to our students

Truthful, yet tactful we are with our report card comments. Here is a thought provoking article that describes what we are really trying to say in those comments or during conferences.

It seems as if Ohio has come up with a creative solution to snow days, or as they call them, "Calamity Days." It seems like something we could do very easily to preserve the school calendar.

It seems like the Flipped Classroom model could be very beneficial for something like this. Teachers could post lessons and and an assignment for students to complete at home. The obvious challenge would be accessibility, especially when child care arrangements are made.

New Hampshire uses blizzard bags. SNHU is also using a flipped model when their classes are cancelled. They post assignments to Blackboard for students to watch, etc. and complete classwork as well.

Infographic that is a great guide to making sure you have designed your flipped lesson/unit with the right frame of mind and that your students will get the maximum learning experience. I like that it specifically talks about how the flipped model requires a great teacher to work, rather than eliminating the need for a teacher (which I've read as a criticism of the flip in other places). I also like that it specifically requires time to be carved out for student reflecting and thinking.

Changing teaching practices with mobile devices is hard. Here is a story of how one teacher stepped out of his comfort zone. BTW 2eyes is not a mobile app.

Janet, this is a great reminder of some basic teaching practice that goes a long way, no matter what the technology is - pretty funny!

I read a similar article a few weeks ago that cites Carl Hooker as coining the phrase "two eyes, two feet app" (see http://www.edudemic.com/5-tips-classroom-management-mobile-devices/) and it made me giggle a little. Monitoring student use of mobile devices is not an exact science. Will they text? Check Twitter? Check their make up in the camera app? Sure, at one point or another they likely will, but does that mean they are not using the tool academically? I think teaching students how to manage their attention while we are supervising them is much better than zero tolerance rules that deny them the ability to use the power of the mobile device in the classroom at all. It is just another media literacy lesson.

This is a thought-provoking article about the effects that our kids may be experiencing from use of handheld devices when very young. It's a question that I've had for a while about relative benefits of technology for very young kids. What do people think?

This could be an interesting debate topic. While I don't necessarily agree with some of the points made in the article, I do sometimes wonder how much overuse of technology is contribute to higher rates of ADHD or ADD. I don't have any hard and fast evidence, but based on what I see in the classroom, it seems difficult for students to "slow down" and focus on any activity for long periods of time. They so used to jumping from one thing to another, or texting on their phone while talking to a friend, that they're never really present in the moment, or focused solely on what's in front of them. I also notice it with myself. Having an ipad or cell phone or laptop at a meeting, it's hard to always stay focused on what's going on, especially when work emails are coming in that seem to need your immediate attention. It's definitely hard to shut off or disconnect. However, I also remember someone sharing in class thoughts from Tony Wagner's book that screen time in school where kids are working collaboratively on a project, or experiencing things that they can only experience with technology, is vastly different from playing video games, or watching TV/movies in a more isolated setting. Technology can be instrumental in learning, and I don't see how it wouldn't remain part of instruction in elementary schools. Maybe the debate is more in the quality of how it's used? Good food for thought; thanks for sharing!

I agree that this is a great topic to debate. As with with most things there are positives and negatives that both make sense. I agree with Julie that maybe the question should focus on the quality and quantity of how these devices are used with children under 12.

Not too long ago, the NMC Horizon Report: 2014 Higher Education Edition was released, with the aim of examining emerging technologies for their potential impact on and use in teaching and learning within higher education settings. This is the eleventh time the New Media Consortium has put out this report, and it is interesting to look back ...

Interesting discussion on using social media to connect and collaborate with educators around the world. Educators develop their own PLN they then "take ownership of the learning and it is much more meaningful." Isn't this what we are striving for our students to do?

Northstar Elementary in the Northeast Heights was packed today with students and teachers getting ready for a learning lesson, but it's a different kind of learning lesson. 18 fourth and fifth graders taught their teachers how to use apps. The project was spear-headed by April Requard--the school's technology director.

This is fantastic - thanks so much for sharing, Janet. This project seemed to elicit great energy from both kids and adults!

Great article with wonderful ideas for teaching students how to read expository text.

The text feature walk is a great strategy for teaching how photos, graphs, maps, and charts contribute to the understanding of the text. It is also a great way to predict main idea prior to reading. Very helpful. Thanks Kerry.

I heard about this story last weekend when I was in PA. It explains how technology combined with creativity and quick thinking can make the seemingly impossible possible.

What F word am I talking about? Intrigued?

Like this article. Failure is hard to swallow, but we need to teach them failure is ok and helps us learn and persevere. Thanks for sharing.

A great visual on multiple intelligences through the use of iPad apps. The apps are categorized for an easy way to find what matches a particular intelligence.

This is a short lesson developed for Pearson to consolidate some clear, useful structures for activating students in the classroom. Some of it is definitely more geared towards Language Arts, but it's worth a look for approaches to take in any class, and is a good reminder of some of those methods we learned back when we were learning to teach.

This is a persuasive blog on what we should strive for in our classrooms each day. The author, Starr Sackstein - a NYC high school English teacher, suggests that we strive to graduate students "life-ready." My favorite sentence: "Proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and listening as well as technology and media integration illustrates a readiness for adult life."

Janet, thanks for sharing this important reminder about the core of what we're doing. I get nervous sometimes for my LLD 10th graders and MCAS, but that's mostly because the stakes are so high for them. They are engaged with the literature we read, questioning, challenging, connecting to their own experiences, and this is, of course, what I would hope for. I am counting on this depth to take them through MCAS - it is really hard not to worry, though!

Interesting read on how Kindergarten is the new first grade. I know that in my 18 years teaching that I have seen this shift. Things that I used in my first grade classroom are now being used in Kindergarten.

Thanks for sharing Kerry! I was actually just having this conversation with a colleague at lunch today following our curriculum and instruction meeting. We were reviewing the DIBBLES scores and discussing the kids that were in the yellow and discussing how we can get these "struggling" students to green. The piece that was not noted or discussed was that most of these kids were in the red at the beginning of the year. Of course we need to talk about how to continue to support all students, but I feel like we are focusing only on getting them to the green and not taking the time to recognize how successful and how much progress they have made this far. Some of these kids knew 4 letters and no sounds at the beginning of the year and now can name all the letters and their sounds, but are having trouble with newly introduced skills like blending and segmenting words. That is a lot of progress in just one area, never mind their progress in other areas. I don't know that I have personally progressed that much in any are of my life in the last year, never mind the last five months. On the other hand there are definitely kids in my class that are ready to or are reading and need to be pushed and challenged. My concern isn't that the standards are unrealistic, it's that it is unrealistic of us to expect that all kids will meet them at the same time and if they don't meet them in our set time frame we consider them to be a struggling student. As a result we push them harder and make them do more work with a skill that they might just not be ready for.

Thought this was a great lead in to vacation. I have visited the one in Austin, TX when I lived in Dallas, but I have not been to any others.