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Tyler Schaben

A Guidebook for Social Media in the Classroom | Edutopia - 4 views

  • 12 Ways Teachers are Using Social Media in the Classroom Right Now Tweet or post status updates as a class. Teacher Karen Lirenman lets students propose nuggets of learning that are posted for parents to read. Write blog posts about what students are learning. Teacher Kevin Jarrett blogs reflections about his Elementary STEM lab for parents to read each week. Let your students write for the world. Linda Yollis' students reflect about learning and classroom happenings. Connect to other classrooms through social media. Joli Barker is fearlessly connecting her classroom through a variety of media. Use Facebook to get feedback for your students' online science fair projects. Teacher Jamie Ewing is doing this now, as he shared recently. Use YouTube for your students to host a show or a podcast. Don Wettrick's students hosted the Focus Show online and now share their work on a podcast. Create Twitter accounts for a special interest projects. My student Morgan spent two years testing and researching the best apps for kids with autism (with the help of three "recruits"), and her work just won her an NCWIT Award for the State of Georgia.
  • Ask questions to engage your students in authentic learning. Tom Barrett did this when his class studied probability by asking about the weather in various locations. Communicate with other classrooms. The Global Read Aloud, Global Classroom Project and Physics of the Future are three examples of how teachers use social media to connect their students as they collaborate and communicate. Create projects with other teachers. (Full disclosure: I co-created Physics of the Future with Aaron Maurer, a fellow educator I first met on Twitter.) Share your learning with the world. My students are creating an Encyclopedia of Learning Games with Dr. Lee Graham's grad students at the University of Alaska Southeast. The educators are testing the games, and the students are testing them, too. Further a cause that you care about. Mrs. Stadler's classes are working to save the rhinos in South Africa, and Angela Maiers has thousands of kids choosing to matter.
  • 12 Ways Teachers are Using Social Media in the Classroom Right Now
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  • The myth about social media in the classroom is that if you use it, kids will be Tweeting, Facebooking and Snapchat
  • If you're going to ignore social media in the classroom, then throw out the ISTE Standards for Students and stop pretending that you're 21st century.
  • Tweet or post status updates as a class. Teacher Karen Lirenman lets students propose nuggets of learning that are posted for parents to read.
  • Use YouTube for your students to host a show or a podcast. Don Wettrick's students hosted the Focus Show online and now share their work on a podcast.
  • Communicate with other classrooms. The Global Read Aloud, Global Classroom Project and Physics of the Future are three examples of how teachers use social media to connect their students as they collaborate and communicate.
  • Create projects with other teachers. (Full disclosure: I co-created Physics of the Future with Aaron Maurer, a fellow educator I first met on Twitter.)
  • Further a cause that you care about. Mrs. Stadler's classes are working to save the rhinos in South Africa, and Angela Maiers has thousands of kids choosing to matter.
  • Surely students will post thousands of status updates, pictures, and blogs in their lifetime.
  • If you're going to ignore social media in the classroom, then throw out the ISTE Standards for Students and stop pretending that you're 21st century. Stop pretending that you're helping low-income children overcome the digital divide if you aren't going to teach them how to communicate online.
  • Don't mistake social media for socializing. They're different -- just as kids talking as they work in groups or talking while hanging out are different.
  • Fictional twitter accounts! I just wanted to share something that I have really gotten a kick out of recently. I started a Twitter account for Holden Caulfield @_therealholden_ and "Holden" tweets updates that center on our reading of The Catcher in the Rye. Students can interact and the whole thing has been a lot of fun.
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    This is a great article about integrating social media into the classroom. It offers a short quiz at the beginning of the article.
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    A teachers how to incorporate social media in their classroom.
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    A teachers how to incorporate social media in their classroom.
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    This site offers 12 ways teachers are using social media in their classrooms.  It provides links to classroom examples and other teachers.  
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    This article talks about the use of social media in the classroom.  This resource is helpful for wanting to know pointers for using social media in the classroom.
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    Defense of social media in the classroom and ideas for how to use it.
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    This article asserts why it is important for teachers to address social media in the classroom and 12 ways teachers are using it.
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    This is a great article that explains different ways to use social media in the classroom. One idea that I wanted to share, but it was not on there, was this idea about having a Twitter Debate. I heard about it in a webcast that I watched last week. I think this could also be a very effective tool for students who are trying to get their point across. They would have to find an article to support their point, and by using Twitter and limiting them to 140 characters, it would force them to make their point consice. I think this article could be helpful with teachers. Teachers can have a lot of different ideas to help students use social media in their classroom. I think that I could use different ideas for the library, specifically tweeting different things that are going on in the library.
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    I really like the idea of connecting with other classrooms through social media. I think this could work for my writing classes as a very authentic way of getting an audience. Maybe "Share your journal entry on social media and see if you get responses from people other than me and the rest of the kids in this class"? Kids and teachers can take control over this and use it in so many ways: sharing their work, reaching out to other people and classes, connecting with each other outside of class, etc. Plus there are so many different platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest) that allow us to do a variety of things so that you don't have to stick with just one. Thanks for sharing!
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    This was a great article that gave a lot of diverse ideas for using social media in the classroom. One that I found I could use in my class would be a discussion forum for students who are in different periods, but taking the same/similar class, to communicate with each other on a variety of discussion topics. It could also be applied to allow my engineering students to communicate with the physics classroom. I believe this resource would most benefit teachers, administration, and technology integrationalist. It would be a great way to introduce the idea of incorporation social media into the classroom at a PD meeting.
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    This was very informative on how to use social media in the classroom in a fun and appropriate way. There are so many platforms for students to seek or gain information, and I find that some teachers are afraid of allowing their students into the social media world in a classroom setting. Also, I would state that those teachers have not themselves explored social media in an educational format. This could be a great resource for many teachers.
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    This whole website in general is really good. What I decided to focus on specifically was this article about good practices for social media in the classroom. If you have the time I would also check out the comments. There are educators that posted their own uses for social media in the classroom that were not mentioned in the article. This is a good read!
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    I think this is an awesome resource to give teachers ideas of how to integrate social media in the classroom more effectively. Edutopia always has lots of great, reliable information and resources. One of the things that I think is the most effective is how this article has links to other sites where specific real life teachers have used social media in the classroom effectively.
Megan Kannenberg

Websites for Kids - 2 views

  • http://www.funbrain.com/ Funbrain offers games on composers, instruments, reading and vocabulary.
  • www.creatingmusic.com Elementary-age students can enjoy exploring, creating and manipulating music.
  • pbskids.org/chuck/index.html#/jazz Elementary students can enjoy playing with an interactive Improvisation Station.
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  • www.music.indiana.edu/muslib.html An extremely comprehensive resource with great references to composer's pages and information.
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    Compilation of online resources for the elementary general music classroom I can use these as activities in my music classroom.
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    Compilation of online resources for the elementary general music classroom I can use these as activities in my music classroom.
Zoey Salisbury

Introducing Social Media to Elementary Students | Edutopia - 2 views

  • However, I also agree that social media pervades all aspects of modern society, and it has become an imperative for us as educators -- and parents -- to model appropriate digital citizenship to even our youngest learners. Do I really believe that toddlers should have Twitter handles? Not really. But we do need to introduce children to the virtual, social world around them in appropriate and meaningful ways? Definitely.
  • Students already have enough screen time. Students need to be able to communicate in person. Students don't need to know about social media at this point -- it isn't age appropriate.
  • Extend the Classroom
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  • Connected, Empowered Learners
  • Getting Started: Developing Voice
  • Whether you introduce social media to students through a class blog, individual student blogs, Twitter or paper, there is no "right way" to begin. Do I really feel that toddlers should Tweet? Probably not. However, what's important is that we introduce all children to social media in appropriate and meaningful ways, regardless of their age, such that they can connect to a global audience and develop as empowered, networked learners.
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    Understanding and tips for introducing social technology into elementary classrooms
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    I really agree with this resource. I think there are a lot of concerns with starting young students on social media so early, but there are also so many important reasons as to why we should as well! I love the idea of creating physical blog walls for younger students. This introduces students to the concept of posting, tagging, and commenting without being exposed to the internet quite yet. Awesome ideas for teachers to introduce social media in the early elementary classroom!
Zoey Salisbury

Best Elementary School Apps on Pinterest | Apps, Elementary Schools and Technology - 4 views

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    Using Pinterest to teach technology to Elementary students
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    This is a great resource! I saved it to my own bookmarks for future use. I can definitely see how this will be useful for me in the classroom. I teach middle school I believe that many elementary apps can be translated into middle school. This is definitely geared towards teacher use which is what I like about it. Pinterest is a great resource and sometimes I forget to use it when I should!
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    Thank you for sharing this! There are some great apps on this page. I am always looking for new apps for kids to use and this is a great resource. I have it bookmarked!
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    There are a so many of these lists out on pinterest anymore. I think it would be interesting to compare what apps tend to make the lists on more than one? I do love this site though and like that someone has spelled out exactly what can be used for teachers in the future.
Megan Kannenberg

iPads in the Elementary Music Classroom - Teacher Tools - Music & Technology -MusTech.N... - 0 views

  • Class Dojo: When I had a class that came to music after recess, lunch, and PE, I needed something motivating to help them focus. Class Dojo did just that. I set it up at http://www.classdojo.com and then accessed it through the free app to continuously give individual points for good listening. Price: Free
  • Photon EDU: If you like to use musictechteacher.com, quavermusic.com, and/or incredibox.com-all flash-based websites-then it is a challenge to use them on them on the iPads because iPads do not play flash-based websites. With a click of the lightning bolt button, Photon EDU makes flash-based websites work on the iPads. Price: $4.99
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    A resource for apps that are appropriate for the elementary music classroom. I particularly like the idea of PhotonEDU that allows flash sites to run on ipads.
Austin Jacobson

Text message (SMS) polls and voting, audience response system | Poll Everywhere | Diigo - 1 views

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    I just used Poll Everywhere in a presentation on campus with pre-service teachers! It was a hit!! I've never seen a class so quiet and so focused with that many cellphones out!
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    Austin, I love classes that use Poll Everywhere! I think this is a great resource for my future classroom and would love to use it but I think I would need to adapt it depending on the grade level I teach. I believe Poll Everywhere is beneficial for student and teacher use because it promotes a safe classroom environment and student engagement. Teachers can use this resource as a formative assessment and feedback tool. On the flip side students will be able to use Poll Everywhere as a way to speak up in class when they may be too shy to do so in other ways.
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    I also love using Poll Everywhere in classes. I agree 100% with everything Nichol said in her comment. I think that it is a great resource to use in any class setting and is a safe, fun way to boost student engagement. It keeps learners participating and provides the instructor with feedback.
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    Austin - This is a great app for teachers to use in their classroom to get everyone involved. It could also be used by students in upper elementary and above to gather information from classmates or involve them in presentations. This is such an easy tool to utilize in the classroom setting. Thanks for highlighting this resource!
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    I loved using Poll Everywhere! I think this a great interactive tool for teachers to get students involved into the classroom activity! It's very easy and is very fun for students to use in the classroom!
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    I used Poll Everywhere for the first time last semester and it was a great idea. It was a really fun time interacting with the teacher in that way. It was very easy to set up and even if you don't have a smart phone you can still text in your response. We answered questions ranging from single answers all the way to little short sentences. I would definitely use this tool if I ever became a teacher because it allows students to be on their phone and contribute at the same time, instead of just being on their phones.
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    I feel like this would be a great tool if it's used in the right context. I don't necessarily think elementary would be the right place for it. For the students that actually have phones you don't know if the students have texting included in their plans. You might get them in trouble with their parents, hence you get in trouble for telling them to send a text. In older grades I could see this going over very well and I've seen it used in a college class before. It's a nice change of pace in that context.
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    I actually used Poll Everywhere in my Level 1 Teaching Experience and loved it! The students got to see some results of our lessons, I got a quick formative assessment, and the data was nicely organized for graphing or applying to spreadsheets!
Zoey Salisbury

Innovation Starts in the Classroom | Digital Promise - 0 views

  • Encouraging teachers to incorporate technology into the classroom has motivated and empowered them to seek it out.
  • Administrators now view their role as giving guidance on how to manage technological infrastructure, providing professional development, conducting internal research, and scaling teacher practices that make an impact for students.
  • “How to change classrooms has to come from teachers,”
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    Technology Classrooms are developed by the teachers
trina79

Coding in the Classroom - Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything - 2 views

  • Why? 5 reasons to teach students to code (poster)Computer science for all (NSF/CNCS)Four reasong why kids should learn to programResnick: Let's teach kids to code (TED)K-12 Computer science framework (2016)
  • How? 3 steps to becoming a coding teacherCoding by design: a design first approachComputational and design thinkingGoogle CS FirstAdding coding to your elementary curriculumCode.org: TeachersBeginner's guide to bringing coding into the classroomTeaching coding: Where do you start?​Lessons involving coding
  • Apps and online tools Cargo-bot (iOS)Code Avengers (Online) (Chrome)Code Combat (Online)Code Monster (Online)Code Studio (Online)Codea (iOS) $Codeacademy (Online)Coding with Chrome (Chrome)Create Apps Anywhere (Online)Daisy the Dinosaur (iOS)EarSketch (Online)Floors (iOS)Gamestar Mechanic (Online)Goolge: Made with code (Online)Hackety Hack (Mac)Hopscotch (iOS) (School edition $)i-Logo (iOS)Khan Academy: Computer programming (online)Lightbot, Jr. (iOS) (Android) $Lightbot: Programming Puzzles (iOS) (Android) (Win) (Mac)Lipa Train (iOS) (Android)Move the Turtle (iOS)Objective-C Programming Language (iOS)Pencil Code (Online)Pythoni (iOS)Run Marco (Online) (iOS) (Android) (Chrome)Scratch (Online)Scratch Jr. (iOS) (Android) (Chrome)ScriptKit (iOS)Simduino (iOS) $simduino aSketch Nation Create (Online) (iOS) (Android)Stencyl (Download for Mac, Windows, Linux)Swift Playgrounds (iOS iPad) (Teacher's guide)Trinket (Online)Tynker (iOS) (Android) (Chrome)Unity Personal Edition (tutorials for students)​
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  • Hardware and hands-on Bee-BotBloxelsCoji the Coding RobotCubetto: Education pageDash and Dot (Blockly iOS app | Android app)Fisher-Price Think & Learn Code-a-pillarLego Education WeDo 2.0 Core SetlittleBitsMakey MakeyOsmo Starter Kit and Coding KitOzobot 2.0 BitPuzzlets Starter PackRaspberry Pi 3 Starter KitSphero 2.0 and Star Wars BB-8 Droid and Ollie
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    This page on Kathy Schrock's site has links to different resources for coding and programming in the classrom. I plan to add some of these resources to our Google Site for my team's project and additionally will use them to build a coding curriculum in my classroom.
Megan Skiles

Free Online Resources Engage Elementary Kids (Tech2Learn Series) | Edutopia - 0 views

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    Free technology resources to use in the elementary classroom.
Ping Gao

5 Critical Mistakes Schools Make With iPads - 5 views

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    Helpful article. I thought it was interesting because my elementary school just switched to 1:1 with iPads this year.
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    I thought this was a great article! It gives wonderful advice on how to correct the mistakes that are made with iPads in schools. This would definitely be a great resource for teachers to use to gauge how they are using iPads within their own classrooms and to remember how to keep iPad use effective and meaningful. Great find! :)
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    This is an excellent article to forward onto your administrators (as I just did!) so that they can understand the common pitfalls for technology use in the classroom. In my building, we have a classroom set of iPads that can be checked out and they have been used for all kinds of assignments and subject areas. As the kids will report, some teachers know how to use them effectively, and others are just using them for the sake of doing it. I've also read a couple of articles that I'll have to try and come back and link, but a few very large school districts have been in the news for the issues that they've been having with iPads in the classroom. The issue seemed to be that they scaled their programs way too quickly, did not train their educators properly, and did not look at the liability piece that comes along with giving students access to certain apps and features.
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    Nicole, this is an awesome article. I like how it shows the 5 mistakes and ways to correct those. I think this article would be great for teachers as some are unaware of how to use iPads or how to use them for the right reason. I feel like if you have the right apps on the iPad for the correct age group they can be very educational. Personally, young kids are learning to work this and enjoy doing this. I had a boy I nannied he loved playing on the iPad at age 4! He was allowed to play educational games and have books read to him, etc.
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    Nichol, I definitely agree with the things this article is saying! I think the fact the lack of Teacher Preparation in Classroom Management of iPads is a big one. How are we suppose to be incorporating this technology when we don't even know how to use it ourselves? Many people assume it works like a laptop when it does not. I definitely think this is an article teachers should read before trying to bring ipads into the classroom! Great article!
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    With so many articles on 'what you should do' it's a nice change of pace to see 'what your doing wrong' kind of article. I went into it thinking it was going show how students are misusing ipads, so I especially liked how it was aimed towards educators telling them how they are going to misuse them. I see a lot of what we've read for class already in this article, it helps reinforce the lessons.
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    I agree with this article and its must be obvious to anyone who has used an iPad why this information is important. The iPad is a tool and is effective for certain types of task. It's not a replacement for a computer. Due to the low cost and ease of operation the wow factor could cause someone to lose sight of the purpose of application. This article is more important for the designer of curriculum and the teacher who have input. One recently large lawsuit resulted from a one billion dollar purchase of iPad for a California school district.
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    This is a blog post about the 5 critical mistakes schools makes ith IPads.
Heather Davis

20 Great Online Resources for Elementary Teachers - 1 views

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    20 different websites are given to give teachers access to lesson plans that engage students and provides outlines to support a classroom that supports technology, common core, and professional development.
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    20 different websites are given to give teachers access to lesson plans that engage students and provides outlines to support a classroom that supports technology, common core, and professional development.
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    Websites like this that have a list of other places to go make it easy to keep your resources organized and who doesn't love free online resources!
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    This website is a lot like the one Tabatha posted, I like that there are websites out there that can give a teacher multiple resources on just one page, it takes the search out of teaching, which is really appreciated from a busy teacher. This is mainly for teacher use, but students benefit.
tabathaduncan

151 Leading Sites for Elementary Educators \" Elementary Education Degree - 5 views

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    This list has tons and I mean TONS of cool teacher websites and links to teacher blogs to get fun classroom ideas.
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    I liked this website, I agree with the fact that students are learning better via computer/technology. This website gives a good synopsis of helpful websites for teachers to use in their classroom, it basically gives them ideas and different ways to incorporate the technology in the classroom. I have found many teachers help teachers with technology websites throughout, and most of them have been mainly for teacher use.
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    This is a great one shop stop for teachers! I would definitely use it as a starting point for many of my classroom activities to spice things up and expose my students to a variety of learning methods. I think it focuses more on what teachers need to do but its great for students to learn with.
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    Wow, what a collection! All types of links including blogs, educational sites, apps, databases, and activities. This is a great place to visit when looking for ideas. Many subjects are included. A teacher could start here and spend lots of time expanding to other sites!
Megan Kannenberg

25+ Top Apps for Elementary Music (iPhone/iPad) | AppCrawlr - 0 views

  • TeacherKit - Class Organizer, Teacher Planner, Gradebook, Assignment List, Attendance and Student 's Grade ★★★★ 3,040 "I am an elementary music teacher with 565 students in 22 classes."
  • Doceri Interactive Whiteboard
  • Rhythm Cat - Learn To Read Music
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  • Freddie The Frog® - Music Education for Kids.
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    A site with teacher-rated apps for the music classroom. Apps are grouped by function and ranked within functional categories.
Hannah Hacker

Using a classroom webpage to communicate with parents - 0 views

  • The positive response from families was immediate. Working parents tell Kathleen that they check the site each day before going home or picking up their child from school.
  • Other emails come from teachers and students from across the country who find information about Kathleen’s site through the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF), which posted an article and video highlighting the use of technology to create community with parents and students at Scroggs Elementary.
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    This article provides constructive feedback from parents and students about their thoughts on classroom websites.
butchsaa

ISTE | 7 steps to starting a global collaboration project - 3 views

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    This site shows some simple ways of being able to start global collaborating in your classroom. My favorite advice is to pick something you are passionate about.
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    Hi Sara! This is a great article that I think will be helpful for what I've chosen for my final project for Dr. Z's class which I hope to utilize in my own classroom. The last point in the article was really relateable for me, especially with the global collab project we just completed. It is important to realize that in a project like this, not everything can be controlled. I also really enjoyed the point about asking your students if they are comfortable with it. I think that we all experienced some discomfort in our project, so making sure students of a younger age are okay talking to strangers would be incredibly important.
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    Hi! Thank you so much for sharing! I think that global collaboration projects are an amazing opportunity for kids to be able to participate in. It's amazing how much technology can do for us. I can't wait for the future generations to become adults :) What a different world it will be!
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    1. I agree that this could be used in my own future classroom -- but it would be contingent on finding the right topic and group to collaborate with. 2. I think that the resource is mostly for teacher use as it provides an overview and tips/tricks for teachers. 3. Other resources that might want to be considered are the different websites shared by Dr. Z during class.
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    I agree that this could be used in a classroom. This can be a good way to help students better understand a topic that they are learning at that time. I feel though it would be more for the teacher usage for a younger age. I feel that a global collaboration might be difficult for elementary students unless they work with anyone older than them in their district. Otherwise, I feel it would be a good experience for older students as well.
Zoey Salisbury

http://school.elps.k12.mi.us/ad_hoc_mms/committee_recommendation/4.pdf - 0 views

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    Using the STEM project in Elementary Schools
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    This resource will be useful in future classrooms because it gives a very nice perspective of how things are going currently with STEM. I think this article would be most useful to teachers looking for ways to improve things but it might also be useful for students or parents who want to know more about the how's and why's of what is being taught. I have not found any articles of this type in my searching.
butchsaa

What's Hot: 9 Major Ed Tech Trends for 2017 -- THE Journal - 4 views

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    I loved this article! It reminded me a lot of the Horizon report on what is trending. Many of these we are already incorporating at my school and in my library like the coding, augmented reality, robotics and makerspaces. I also liked that they included student privacy as a trend. This is something many people overlook at the elementary level, but it is still extremely important!
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    This was an awesome article. Like Staci said, it reminded me of the Horizon Report. Knowing what the current trends are now will definitely influence my future classrooms. Also, I am working on figuring out how to use virtual reality and augmented reality in my current Earth Science classrooms. I feel like this article was mainly written for teachers, and not students. The Horizon Report is very similar to this, in fact it was even mentioned in this article.
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    This was a very informational article. It did a nice job of discussing the current trends in education and technology. I try to stay current on the hot topics in both education and technology by attending conferences and reading researched based articles like this. It often becomes overwhelming trying to decide which practices will benefit my classroom and students the most at a current time.
Erin Mulder

Smithsonian Ocean Portal | Find Your Blue - 3 views

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    Smithsonian website with resources and information about oceans, science, etc; features an "Educator's Corner" with lesson plans and activities.
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    Erin this looks like a great website. Although I won't be able to use it in my classroom, I can definitely see how it would be beneficial for grade school and middle school teachers. I think this will be a great resource for both students and teachers, and is very interactive. The pictures just "pop" off the page and provides great educational opportunities for students.
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    This looks like an awesome website for students who are researching about marine life. There is a lot to look at and search on this website. I think I would enjoy using this website in my classroom someday.
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    Erin, this looks like a really great website for educators! I noticed they have a section just for educators where you can see lesson plans and activities! That is so awesome! I definitely agree with Megan I can see this being used more in an elementary or middle school setting but I think it would be a great resource!
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    Erin - I really like the layout of this site I think it could be a valuable site for sharing rich photos and videos for science classes I also think this resource could be used as a credible research resource for students. Here is another well done science site that is very similar. http://goo.gl/WULg4n
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    Erin this looks like a great site for students who want to learn about the ocean. When I visited it I noticed just how easy the site was to navigate. Super simple for people who might now be to tech savvy. Everything was laid out in an easy to read manner. The articles looked fun and full of information. If I ever became a teacher and we were learning about the ocean this would be a huge help, because the Smithsonian is one of the most prestigious organizations in the world. The Smithsonian has many different interactive website that deal with all different parts of our planet, and the ocean is just on small sliver of their knowledge.
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    I really liked this website, and I remember liking the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, itself. The site is very user-friendly for both teachers and students.
Sarah Ebener

Why failure is crucial for a student's success - 3 views

  • More than that, they need to experience failure. While I am a big fan of both project-based learning and blended learning, I believe the most critical piece of the pedagogical puzzle is what we ought to call “Problem-based learning.”
  • Give students problems to tackle–and make the problems real! Lord knows we have plenty of problems worth tackling that can be given to students. They cannot be intractable (how can we achieve peace in the Middle East?) or trivial and uninteresting (what color should classrooms be painted?).
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    interesting article about "problem-based learning" and why it is important for kids to struggle when learning
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    I really enjoyed the article. Made me think back to a physics teacher who had us do all kinds of things. Map stars, go to the playground and work on centrifugal force. (Wont forget that one, made me sick) I do not teach at the elementary level but think there is validity in having them do these type of projects.
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    Great article to get you thinking about the importance of having students tackle real problems. Students will retain more when they figure something out instead of being handed a formula to memorize.
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    Sarah I think this article is well written, and a lot of parents need to read this, long with teachers. I am not sure when our society switched over to make everyone a winner. Making everyone a winner is not reality, and as a teacher that is so frustrating. I think about the scientiests who have made dramatic breakthroughs in their careers, and I would love to know how many times they failed? I am sure it was more times than they have found success, but that makes the success that much better! I do agree that this article is going to be benefical for future classrooms. I take it into this: Students might not find the "right book" on the very first try, and that is ok. If they can't read it because it is too challaning, that is ok. They can try again. I think this is an article that both teachers and students need to read because teachers need to let students fail more and students need to know that it is OK to fail! Life is full of failures...but the failure does not define you, how you handle the failure does! As far as the last question, am I aware of any other resources similar, this question does not really apply. The article focuses on the concept of failure and challanging projects and that is ok so that students know how to respond the next time.
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    great point about "When did everyone become winners?" Students need to struggle sometimes in order to fully understand the assignment, the concept, etc. It drives me crazy when a kid doesn't get something so they just want me to spoonfeed it to them.
Sarah Ebener

Kids Will Be Kids: 8 Easy Strategies to Engage Students | - 2 views

  • 2. Tea Party I have no idea where this name came from as there is no tea served, but the idea is a fun one. Give every student a quote on a related topic. For example, during Fahrenheit 451 the quotes relate to conformity and nonconformity. When we read Lord of the Flies, the quotes are all about human nature. The students have to read their quote to as many classmates as they can in 5 minutes. Then we have a follow up conversation as a class about the quotes they found most interesting and powerful. Just the act of standing up and moving around makes this activity fun for students.
  • 5. Crowdsource Instead of Lecturing It’s not fun for students to sit still, listen and take notes for a prolonged period of time. I’ve tried to replace some direct instruction with crowdsourcing. Instead of telling students about Shakespeare’s sonnets or life during the Great Depression, I allow them to work in groups with their devices to research information and share it with the class.
  • Storytime Every week I ask students to sit on the floor for a children’s story. At first they think I am crazy, but they love this routine. Regardless of the subject you teach, there are awesome picture books on a related topic. I’d make time to read to your students.
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    good ideas for high-interest, engaging lesson activities
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    These strategies are great suggestions. I especially like the idea of four corners. I feel like I could use it when I have students do current technology articles. I also like tea party, that would be a great way to introduce a careers research assignment, giving each student a basic definition of a career in the field and having the "tea party" before they choose their topic. I feel that this is geared towards teachers looking to improve their classroom and shift more toward a learner-centered room. As the blog states, it is also a great resource for teachers who have especially active students.
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    I was pleasantly surprised by this article! When I first clicked on it I expected it to be elementary based like so many engagement articles are. But then I realized it was for secondary so good for me! The main thing I pulled out of this article was the idea for crowd sourcing. It seems like a simple concept but I had never thought of it before. I think this is a great resource for teachers and I plan on using the crowd sourcing technique on Tuesday!
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