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Apps Taskonomy: Digging Deeper into the Application of Apps he iPad (or iPod touch or iPhone) with its apps opens many new opportunities for learning. At the same time, it offers a slightly different wrapper for older learning opportunities. Both can be worthwhile, but it would be a shame if teachers missed the former for the latter. And, if past experience and research is any indication, educators are much more likely to co-opt the new technology to accomplish the status quo. This activity is designed to help teachers think through both opportunities and to categorize those apps that lend themselves to either or both. Teachers will start by exploring a variety of apps, some that lend themselves to learning content such as math facts or spelling words and others that can be used in open ended content creation such as storytelling or photography. Then, teachers will examine a set of lessons that use these apps. Finally, teachers will use a "taxonomy" such as Bloom's Taxonomy, SAMR, LoTi, ETaP, Prensky, etc. and attempt to classify/categorize where the apps fall. Most likely teachers will need to contextualize the app to a particular use/activity. Ideally, teachers will realize that in most cases it is not the app itself, but the use that detrmines where it falls and that the apps belong in multiple places.

"iSchool: a closer look at Manhattan Beach Unified's iPad pilot program email Does Manhattan Beach Unified's iPad pilot program represent the future of education? Kindergarten students at Grand View Elementary School use iPads two times a week. Photo by Alene Tchekmedyian Kindergarten students at Grand View Elementary School use iPads two times a week. Photo by Alene Tchekmedyian Just before 8 a.m. one recent Tuesday, Andy Caine wheeled a waist-high cart into his second-floor history classroom at Mira Costa High School, as the Beach Boys' "I Get Around" played faintly in the background. On the syllabus for the day: the First Amendment. As the first period bell rang, Caine unlocked the cart. "Come and get 'em," Caine said to his class of seniors, and stood behind his podium, on which he's pasted a sticker reading, "Think for yourself. Question Authority." The students put aside their pens and notebooks and lined up at the cart to pick up an unconventional tool that school districts across the nation have been implementing into classrooms. Each student grabbed an iPad and returned to his or her seat. Caine is one of 43 Manhattan Beach Unified School District teachers chosen to try the $500,000 iPad pilot program, which started last fall. At Mira Costa, two English, math, science and social studies teachers use iPads, along with eight science teachers at Manhattan Beach Middle School and 27 teachers of different grade levels at each elementary school. The district purchased 560 student iPads (32 gigabytes and costing around $700 each), in addition to iPads for pilot teachers and administrators. A quarter of the pilot costs are grant funded, while the district supports the rest. Later this year, the School Board will decide whether, and in what capacity, to continue the pilot. Caine and pilot teachers implement iPads into their curricula two to three times a week, a total of 30 to 90 minutes. "I would use them every day if I had the po

Scholastic, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and DonorsChoose.org bring you the Teacher Wall - a virtual teacher town square where America's educators can share their stories, knowledge, and ideas on our nation's schools. The Teacher Wall provides teachers with an opportunity to talk about what's important to them. From challenges to A-ha! moments, from professional development to job satisfaction, from curriculum to parent engagement - the topics tackled on the Wall showcase a wide range of voices and provide teachers with a chance to interact, share, and learn from one another, all while contributing to the conversation on American education.

"Teachers, I Love You (Happy Teacher Appreciation Day) I've been fortunate to be schooled from, worked beside, and befriend by some wonderfully gifting and heart lifting teachers in my life. "

Lisa Nielsen is an educational administrator and permanently certified teacher with more than a decade's worth of experience working in educational innovation at the city, state, and national level. Working as an innovative educator in New York City, Ms. Nielsen was honored as Teacher of the Year and was her district's nominee for Technology Educator of the year. Ms. Nielsen has worked in various capacities in educational innovation at the NYC Department of Education and Teachers College, Columbia University including as manager of instructional technology professional development, literacy coach, instructional technology coach, teacher, librarian, and staff developer. She currently serves as Technology Innovation Manager for the NYC Department of Education. Ms. Nielsen is a Google Certified Teacher, International Edublogger, International EduTwitter, and creator of The Innovative Educator blog, website, learning network, and wiki. In addition to her blog (http://TheInnovativeEducator.blogspot.com), her work is published in "Learning and Leading," and "Tech & Learning," magazine as well as the following online media Tech & Learning, ISTE Connects, Ed Reformer, and The Huffington Post. An outspoken and passionate advocate of innovative education Ms. Nielsen is also covered by local and national media for her views on "Passion (not data) Driven Learning," "Thinking Outside the Ban" and determining ways to harness the power of technology for instruction and providing a voice to educators and students. Her first book "Teaching Generation Text" is set for a fall 2011 release.

"The rest of this week I will be running workshops on Google Docs and Google Sites with Kern Kelley and Alice Barr as a part of Google Apps Bootcamp NH. For the Google Docs section I will be using my guide to Google Drive and Docs for Teachers. For the Google Sites section I will be using a brand new guide to Google Sites for Teachers. Google Sites for Teachers was designed as a guide for new users of Google Sites. I have designs for expanding it to include more advanced features in the future. You can view the 47 page guide as embedded below. "

"Multiple measures of student performance, more school innovation among their suggestions From staff and wire reports Mar 3rd, 2010 Print this article Teachers also said administrative support, not more money, motivate them to succeed. Teachers say administrative support, not more money, will motivate them to succeed. In one of the largest national surveys of public school teachers, thousands of educators agreed that today's students aren't college-ready when they graduate from high school. Teachers' suggestions for solving this problem include clear, common standards; multiple measures of student performance; and greater innovation, including differentiated instruction and more use of digital resources."

"10 Ways for Teachers & Students to Build Websites The lines between blogging platforms, website platforms, and wiki platforms are not always clear. I have a somewhat simplistic explanation that I give to teachers who don't have a web presence yet, but want to create one for their professional work. Here's the explanation: websites are good for providing a static resource of information, blogs are good for frequent updates and communication, and a wiki is great for collaborating on the creation of a reference site. For the teacher who wants to create a website, here are ten good platforms to try."

"We've all heard about Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Some teachers out there may have heard of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers. Below are our 7 habits of highly effective teachers who use technology: "

With over 1.6 million members spread across 196 countries, we are the largest network of teachers in the world. We have over 3 million unique visitors every month and 50 million page views. TES is home to more than 100,000 teaching resources developed by teachers for teachers. 2 resources are downloaded every second from TES and each resource saves teachers an average of 30 minutes preparation time. A staggering half a billion hours of prep time has already been taken out of the system.

The Summer Challenge Tuesday, July 21, 2009 When I was little, I loved school so much that I would ask my mom to give me homework out of the encyclopedias during the summer. Well in the same tradition, I decided to offer summer homework to the teachers in my division. Totally optional, but there would be a reward in the end--four hours of professional development credit awarded upon the submission of a portfolio containing all eight challenges. To my surprise, several teachers have accepted the challenge. I have even had teachers from other divisions ask for my homework after hearing what the Early Childhood teachers were doing. They are having so much fun! They have proudly shown me some of their projects. Some say they probably won't do the portfolio for credit, but just wanted to complete the challenges to learn something new. I am linking to the project documents here if you would like to take the challenge. Summer is a great time to learn something new!

Twitter Resources for Teachers You've heard the buzz on the Twitter phenomenon. Everybody seems to be hooked by this micro blogging service. It's been a catalyst for marketing in multinational companies, personal branding for entrepreneurs, and a simple advertising tool for the small businesses. Professionals from the education sphere seem to be catching up to the trends of technolgoy. Whether you're innovating teaching strategies for the university or looking for education jobs online, Twitter is one versatile venue where both teachers and students converse meaningfully. Don't take our word for it, here are some expert guides and tips on how to use this magnificent social networking site to your learning advantage. Articles on Twitter In Education 1. Teaching Twitter to the Teachers - To use twitter effectively, you need a reason to start with. 2. Twitter Tweets for Higher Education - Doing a little online searching (emphasis on the little), the author of this blog has found the following items related to Twitter and education. 3. 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Education - Blog By Carol - Based on a list by Chris Brogan - 50 ideas for using Twitter in Business. 4. Using Twitter as an Education Tool - Are you using Twitter yet? If not, you may want to read how other educators are using Twitter as an education tool. 5. Twitter Transforms Teaching - Twitter's now tapped as a teaching and learning tool with opportunities to motivate students and advance achievement. 6. Teaching with Twitter - Steve Wheeler's 10 top uses of Twitter for education. 7. Twitter Professors: 18 People to Follow for a Real Time Education - 18 people Lon S. Cohen (writer and social media strategist. He is @obilon on Twitter) following for a real time education. 8. Educational Tool: Twitter - 'Twitter in the Classroom' techniques by Christine Morris. 9. Twenty-Five Interesting Ways to use Twitter in the Classroom - Excellent presentation by Creative Commons 10. N

My goal is to create the ultimate teacher resource that is free for everyone! Have Fun Teaching is updated on a daily basis with new worksheets, songs, videos, flash cards, coloring pages, fun activities and blog articles released every day. Unlike other web sites for teachers, Have Fun Teaching is created by a teacher and it offers high quality songs for learning with content-rich lyrics for kids. HaveFunTeaching.com specializes in fun worksheets, coloring pages, songs for kids, educational videos, fun activities, and teacher tools. ColorMeGood.com is another website that I have created that offers over 6,000 free printable coloring pages for kids! This is the largest selection of coloring pages online with thousands of high quality, full-page coloring pages.

"There are new web 2.0 tools appearing every day. Although some of these tools were not originally meant for use in the classroom, they can be extremely effective learning tools for today's technology geared students and their venturesome teachers. Many of these teachers are searching for the latest products and technologies to help them find easier and efficient ways to create productive learning in their students. More and more teachers are using blogs, podcasts and wikis, as another approach to teaching. We have created a list of 100 tools we think will encourage interactivity and engagement, motivate and empower your students, and create differentiation in their learning process. "

"a place where Teachers help other Teachers. TeacherCast is designed for both the seasoned teacher who is searching for some great resources as well as the teacher who is a unsure how to start incorporating newly developed 21st-Century skills. We are here to help you get to know the latest websites and apps that are driving today's classrooms. We want to help you learn how to use these technologies to enhance your teaching and better engage your students."

"The term "master teacher" seems to get thrown around a lot, but is something that many educators aspire to be. In my ten years in the field of education, I would say that the definition of "master teacher" has definitely changed. When I think of a master teacher, here are the qualities that I would suggest they have: 1. Connects with kids first "

"The Exhaustion of the American Teacher" If you are a TEACHER READ THIS

"Teachers Guide on The Use of Wikis in Education guides, social networking tools, wikis in education Med kharbach Today's guide is about Wikis in education. This is the 14th guide we are publishing here and there are more coming on the way. We . in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning, are very much hoping that by the time we finish posting all the series of guides we have been working on, our readers ( most of whom are teachers and educators ) will have already acquainted themselves with some powerful web tools to integrate technology into their education. As I said in earlier guides, we will also publish a free ebook containing all the guides we have written plus several other surprises for teachers, so stay tuned."

"A Science Teacher Shares Tech Resources For Teachers, Parents & Students"

This is a self-professed, blatant all-out "steal" of a great idea begun by Gina Hartman for Twitter users in education. As a plurker, I thought we plurkers needed one of these for us. I've even "borrowed" her very well done directions: This wiki was created to easily help new teachers (or teachers new to Plurk) connect with other teachers that have the same interests as them (that teach in the same content area). Check out the list of teachers below. To add your Plurk name to the list, click on the "Edit" tab at the top of this page, and then enter yourself in the appropriate category or categories! But first you have to create an account. Just follow the instructions to the right.