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The motivation behind Math Mov!es At 13, Ngoc moved to Australia and experienced a different education system, in which people are afraid of mathematics, in contrast to her class in Vietnam, where people love mathematics! After Ngoc graduated from university as a mathematician, Ngoc decided to demystify mathematics. Why are people so afraid of mathematics? How can we apply mathematics thinking to everyday life? Is mathematics really that important and useful? Those are some questions we seek to answer with this website. How the crew was formed Ngoc dragged her computer science friend, Viet Anh, to join the team as the animation expert. Viet Anh called on Son, a student in New York, to split the work, since movie making sure requires a lot of animations! Through Krithika, a friend and relative of one of our coaches, we found Punit, our HTML designer, and Krishna, our graphics designer. And thanks to facebook, Ngoc and Viet Anh found another graphic producer, Linh. So the team was completed! As for the coaches, we can't remember how Salwa and Nagi were drawn into the team. it feels like they have always been with us since day one. Where the Mov!es idea came from First we intended it to be a conventional website, but our coaches require very high standard, pushing our imagination to the max. How can we be different? A team discussion was conducted. Websites so far have been mimicking the tabloid / newspaper format, emphasizing on texts as the main content, but why plain text? Why not use another media, such as pictures and animations? Moving pictures? Movies... Movies!!! There we go! From then on, we became the official movie crew.

I know that the summer months are a great time for reflection, but I also know that many of us are thinking ahead to the start of our school year.  I wanted to share an activity called, The Marshmallow Challenge, that has been popularized by Tom Wujek's Ted talk called, "Build a Tower, Build a Team."  After watching his presentation last summer, we performed this activity at a faculty meeting early in the year and I though it was a great way to have some fun and launch some great discussions.  We have worked very hard over the past few years to build a collaborative culture and I knew that this challenge would lead to a great discussion about the power of teaming.

"A Pro/Con list can help you make more informed decisions by weighing all the positives and negatives. Create a List for any Topic or Decision Some of the questions a Pro/Con list can help with are: * Should I go to that school? * Is this a good television? * Will it be a good thing if I date her? * Should I buy a house? "

"Can I Go to the Bathroom? by Ginger lewman A comparison of the same question/response from inside a traditional and a democratically-guided Project Based Learning classroom environment. This flowchart is a complete illustration of what most great teachers consider - all in about .5 seconds - when a student of any age asks them if they can have permission go to the bathroom. I read through the chart and agreed, through my own 19-ish years experience as a teacher, that this is exactly the truth. "

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.

In April of 2011, the USD No. 448 Board of Education, based upon a recommendation supported by the administration and staff, voted to approve iPads for all staff and all students in grades 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12 beginning in August 2011. We have been "pioneers" in the iPad one to one arena. The journey has been challenging, interesting, frustrating, enlightening, but most of all rewarding. Our staff has done an incredible job of embracing change and integrating iPads into our curriculum. They are providing an extremely important service to other educators--being a model school. What I have observed is that because this is such a new concept, other educators are much more inclined to get excited about the concept if they are able to see it in action. Thank you USD No. 448 staff members for providing a working model for other educators.

In April of 2011, the USD No. 448 Board of Education, based upon a recommendation supported by the administration and staff, voted to approve iPads for all staff and all students in grades 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12 beginning in August 2011. We have been "pioneers" in the iPad one to one arena. The journey has been challenging, interesting, frustrating, enlightening, but most of all rewarding. Our staff has done an incredible job of embracing change and integrating iPads into our curriculum. They are providing an extremely important service to other educators--being a model school. What I have observed is that because this is such a new concept, other educators are much more inclined to get excited about the concept if they are able to see it in action. Thank you USD No. 448 staff members for providing a working model for other educators.

There are a tremendous amount of websites out there now (usually referred to as web 2.0) which allow users to create content. You're actually on one right now…a blog. With all of these resources, they offer tremendous promise for classroom application. The trick is to pick a few and begin to infuse inside your class. From time to time, you will see our TCI bloggers refer to, or even use, sites. For techies, web 2.0 is like breathing. They can't imagine life without it. For many teachers though, it can be overwhelming. We've worked to create a quick guide to some of the more popular web 2.0 sites out there. This guide will give you basics on how to get started and how they can be used in a great TCI activity. Feel free to download and share this document with colleagues. If there's another site you feel we should really take a look at, please let us know! We're always on the hunt for great new tools for teachers

File-sharing is a complicated beast. Some files are too big to send in emails; some need to be seen by a lot of people; some need to be private; some should be public. There are a ton of different applications that want to be the host for all of your files, but drop.io stands ahead of the pack. At its simplest, drop.io is a place to store files on the Internet. You create "drops" filled with files, photos, audio, video and more that you can share with other people. There's a 100MB limit on a given drop, but you can purchase more space if you want. Typically, though, 100MB is plenty- that's an awful lot of PDFs and Word documents.

Online Identity Calculator What's your online identity? Over 47,108 people have already discovered theirs! Today, if you don't show up in Google, you don't exist. Whether you are applying for a new job, being considered for a board position or trying to get a date, you can count on being Googled. So knowing what Google says about you and proactively managing your personal brand online is critical to success. Our Online ID Calculator‚™ is the first and leading tool that will help you make sense of your Google results and give you advice on how to build a stellar online identity that's aligned with your real-world personal brand. Take the essential first step and assess where your online identity stands right now. Enter your name and email address to get started.

Online Identity Calculator What's your online identity? Over 47,108 people have already discovered theirs! Today, if you don't show up in Google, you don't exist. Whether you are applying for a new job, being considered for a board position or trying to get a date, you can count on being Googled. So knowing what Google says about you and proactively managing your personal brand online is critical to success. Our Online ID Calculator‚™ is the first and leading tool that will help you make sense of your Google results and give you advice on how to build a stellar online identity that's aligned with your real-world personal brand. Take the essential first step and assess where your online identity stands right now. Enter your name and email address to get started.

To piggy back onto my last post about Alan November's call to make students contributors to their own learning, I wanted to share the "Skype Jobs" of my students. There is a sense of excitement in the room, when our students get ready to conduct a Skype call. I almost want to compare it to a "traditional" vision of a newsroom before a deadline. Everyone is buzzing, running here, running there to get ready for their job assignment. Don't ask why, but I have the memory of a scene in the "Watergate"movie with Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman in my mind

LISTEN AND READ CAREFULLY. A palindrome reads the same backwards as forward. This video reads the exact opposite backwards as forward. Not only does it read the opposite, the meaning is the exact opposite.. This is only a 1 minute, 44 second video and it is brilliant. Make sure you read as well as listen...forward and backward. This is a video that was submitted in a contest by a 20-year old. The contest was titled "u @ 50" by AARP. This video won second place. When they showed it, everyone in the room was awe-struck and broke into spontaneous applause. So simple and yet so brilliant. Take a minute and watch it

"We're a non-partisan, location-independent organization aiming to kickstart a debate around the question: What's the purpose of education? With a 3-year plan, a series of campaigns, and a weekly newsletter we aim to empower people to get involved and make a difference in their neighbourhood, area and country. Get involved. "

"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."

A video circulating online shows a Tuesday classroom incident involving a Manhattan High science teacher and his student. Dean Stramel and a female student are seen arguing in the three-minute video, which appears to have been shot by a student using a cellphone camera. At one point the student being lectured by Stramel complains about being spat on in the midst of the exchange. Stramel is heard telling the student, "I'm spitting on you … because I'm pissed." The student gets up and flees the room while other students laugh. That incident is followed by Stramel chastising the rest of the students for their poor academic performance.

a story about her polka dotted world one day when I was walking my pug, Petula Peabody. As Petula chased a spotted red ladybug, I realized it would be loads of fun for children and their parents to have a peek into a wonderfully whimsical polka dot world. Kids and adults alike LOVE polka dots! As I continued to develop the story, I also realized that perhaps Lilly could help kids deal better with their scary visits to the doctor. And so, as you see in the book, when Little Lilly Polka Dot gets polka dots on her tongue, a very kind doctor removes them in a very cool way!

"Flatclassroom09-3 - Sounding Boards Every fall a global project takes place led by Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis. This year over 220 students from 5 countries will research trends in information technology and globalization, write a collaborative research report on a wiki, and produce digital videos about their topics. Sound impressive? Well it is! These students are not graduate level university students. They are in high school. As part of this project, there is a peer reviewing process that takes place later this month. These Sounding Boards are simply a 1 -> 2 -> 3 review done by middle school students. I have my 7th graders do this. My students think they are reviewing college student work. When I show them pictures of the students involved, they are often incredulous. The global project has won ISTE's Online Learning Award (2007) and is included in Thomas Friedman's book, The World is Flat. Each team produces 5 videos to go with the research report. The wikis and the videos need you to peer review. Each Sounding Board classroom only has to review one team wiki. Sign up on the Flatclassroom page (scroll down) or if you prefer contact me and I will sign you up. I have found my kids love watching the videos. I like to make a wikisite for my classroom and have them do the 1 -> 2 -> 3 reviews that Kim Cofino recommends. So come volunteer! Let's overwhelm the project with our middle school enthusiasm! Navigate to the FlatClassroom09-3 Sounding Boards page and read over the description. Sign up or contact me to do it. Thanks in advance!! "

"What is the Value of a Coach? Coaching done well may be the most effective intervention designed for human performance. Atul Gawande A district administrator recently wrote to tell me that her district was facing "tough financial decisions" that are naturally causing lower morale. Everyone in her district feels under attack. And "the coaches are naturally questioning their value."" All of us experience dark times when we wonder if we are making a difference, and coaches are no different. So I thought I would do my best to answer the coaches' question. What is the value of a coach? Coaches Support & Encourage Teachers. A coach is

" What Job Would You Hire a Textbook To Do? " It was a fun and thought-provoking two days at Discovery Education's Beyond the Textbook event. Thanks so much to Steve Dembo, Dean Shareski, Hall Davidson, Laura Wenograd, and all the other folks at Discovery who not only planned this thing, but took very good care of us while we were there (Full Disclosure: I did not get paid to attend, but Discovery covered all expenses). And thanks to my fellow attendees for making this a great learning experience. (Oh, just a reminder Dean, there are still a couple of light bulbs you need to change.)

Dr. Lauire Curtis, KSU faculty... daughter-in-law is a 5th grade teacher. She loves science. This is her blog for her new class pet... a praying mantis, and now it is going to have babies. I think it is pretty clever and a way to integrate reading, writing, science....we have to think about this! I might send it to my students. The video is a bit gruesome...but probably very engaging for 5th graders! I still think it is a pretty neat idea to integrate technology. http://boltsblog.weebly.com/

"How To Find A Teaching Job By: Laura Adams Have you just completed your teaching degree and are looking to start your career? Are you a seasoned teacher who is looking for an exciting new challenge? Or are you a professional outside of the education industry who is looking to make a career switch to a teaching position? "