Issues and Trends

A great free resource for classrooms that use interactive whiteboards.

This looks like a great collection of resources for teachers with an interactive whiteboard. Interactive whiteboards, in my opinion, are an underutilized technology. I know that I definitely do not do enough with the one in my own classroom. As a teacher, it is difficult to create activities for the whiteboard completely from scratch. This seems to be a good place to start. I especially appreciate the breadth of subjects that the activities encompass. Thank you for sharing!

Games and interactives

gaming in social media

Blog for a class taught by MMO

Gaming in the classroom

I thought that this was an interesting article when it came to evaluating teachers and the difference between teacher who use gaming in the classroom and those who don't I think however it would have been more interesting to hear more about the experiences of the "Barrier Busters" and the "Naturals" . I definitely appreciated the point that was made about how for Naturals gaming is not considered as some innovation and instead as a teaching tool. What would be the significance of having the number of years the teacher has been teaching?

EdRedi software that allows teachers to track the students use on name brand devices.

Defines some parts to instructional practices

When using technology in the classroom, it is important to understand how to use it.

This resource shows a couple of different social media resources that teachers are using in the classroom. 

I really enjoyed the fact that this website gave several examples of how teachers have implemented technology and 21st century skills in their classrooms. Then gave a couple of examples of other social media avenues that teachers can implement. One thing that I think would be helpful is connecting teachers with PLNs on twitter or other places that would help them see how people in their field are using social media.

I think that this resource can be used by teachers very easily. It gives very clear examples on how to use a few websites in an actual classroom. This is a good resource for teacher use. It isn't made for students to look at; it's for teachers to get ideas on how they can use resources. There are always going to many of these blog posts and websites that give tutorials, ideas, lesson plans, etc., but some are good and some are bad. This one is one of the good ones!

A quick little website about the some of the pros and cons of using interactive whiteboards in class and how they worked when researched. 

I think that this may be the content of an article, not a website. Also I question how the results they found have changed, considering that this article was published in 2009. Therefore, I am not sure how relevant the content of this article is, because the technology has undoubtedly changed a lot since it was written. This resource is definitely for teacher use; I think the writers are trying to help teachers see how they can utilize interactive whiteboards more effectively in their classrooms. This article left me questioning what the authors were talking about a little bit: under the "What the Research Found" portion of the article, the authors describe three features "inherent in interactive whiteboards" that have increased student achievement. However, the handheld voting devices and projection of graphics and visuals can be done without an interactive whiteboard. It left me unsure about how useful interactive whiteboards are; I think that if I had my choice of technology in the classroom, an interactive whiteboard would not be high on my list.

50 Web 2.0 sites for use in the classroom 

Gives plenty of resources for TESOL teachers including lesson plans, activities, assessments, teaching tips, etc. You can also contribute your own resources for other teachers. Almost like social media for teachers!

ELL instruction is difficult no matter if you are "qualified" to teach these students or not. These are some good guidelines.

Provides resources and talks about each of the 21st century skills to use in the classroom

This blog is centered around educational technology and using it effectively in the classroom. It contains lesson plan ideas, resources, teaching tips, and more.

Good resource about App Smashing in the classroom

Designing a classroom for 21st century learning

This is a great resource to help teachers in the initiative of creating a leaner-centered classroom. The first week back to work, teachers and administrators in the district watched a video about the power of belief - mindset and success. This resource is mostly for teachers but it can positively affect students and their learning success. A similar resource that should be considered is the mindset works website: http://www.mindsetworks.com/. This site explains the science behind the concept of the growth mindset and explains the role of teachers, administrators, students and parents.

great way to keep track of lessons and think of new ones

The main thing that makes this blog post l is the youtube video embedded at the bottom. Sir Ken Robinson, critically evaluates the current school system and shows how it needs to be changed to prepare students for the jobs that do not even exist yet

Sir Ken Robinson is one of my favorite educational speakers. His Ted Talks are all amazing. I like this resource just for its usefulness in making people think. It would make a great tool for teachers to take to administrators who are reluctant to move towards a new teaching style or technology implementation. I am lucky enough to work with an administration that already thinks this way, but I know that there are some districts that do not see a need for a change in our education system. I also think that every parent and student also need to see this video. It is important to understand why your teachers are trying new things and teaching new skills. It helps when everyone is on board. Thanks for sharing this source!

Great find for all teachers. I think many teachers, including college professors are falling behind in this. I think the higher ed people need to replace their training manuals with this.

Here are some major characteristics/ suggestions for a 21st century teacher, which all teachers should strive to be, some of the points could start an interesting conversation

This is one of the best lists I have seen for 21st-century teaching! I think that this article could be used in any classroom as ways for teachers to transform their practice. Some of the ideals I think are a little hard to achieve... for example, going completely paperless would be difficult, particularly in the early years when students need to learn handwriting. But this is a great resource for teachers, regardless, to get ideas on how to challenge themselves and adapt their teaching to the needs of their learners in today's age. I am not aware of any other list that is as comprehensive as the one you shared; I like this list!

This is a great article, I have many articles from Edutopia bookmarked as well. Any teacher could learn from this list of characteristics and suggestions. Although I do not think that as a future teacher I would be able to follow all of these I believe many are possible.

Interesting article weighing the pros and cons of social media in the classroom

I really like how the first person talks about how students "speak the loudest on social media" as well as how teachers need to help students become media literate. Media literate is a necessity for students to become global learners.