Kansas Educators

"Does your school or school district provide a moderated, interactive web platform for video sharing among students as well as teachers? While education-specific video sites like Edublogs.tv, SchoolTube, and TeacherTube can and are being used by learners around the world to share video interactively (as well as YouTube and YouTube EDU) there can be a number of benefits when schools provide "homegrown YouTube" video services. Often school district network administrators are loath to unblock / open access to YouTube. A homegrown video sharing site can be moderated and controlled (an extremely important word in the lexicon of IT directors) in ways a public video sharing website outside the school network cannot. Bandwidth limitations are often cited as the reason video sharing sites in schools are blocked. While software and hardware solutions exist to limit the percentage or total amount of bandwidth allocated to services like video streaming websites, many school networks are not presently configured to implement these types of imposed limits. "The fight to unblock YouTube" even for teacher access and use is an uphill struggle in many schools, but the case for a homegrown video sharing site can be less contentious."

"Kindergarten Is the Model for Lifelong Learning Let's keep teaching creativity throughout school and adulthood."

"Within the four ways for differentiating instruction there are embedded several other learning strategies which are used in conjunction with each other."

tutorial for making self grading test using Google docs (using google form)

This page contains tutorials for using Google tools. The tutorials that I've created you are welcome to use in your own blog, website, or professional development session. Before using the tutorials created by others, please contact the creator.

"Welcome to the iPod Touch Classroom Wiki! This wiki has been created as a collaborative space for educators using the iPod Touch in the classroom. There has been a great deal of demand for a space such as this so that schools and teachers who are using the iPod Touch to share what they're doing. This wiki is (and should be) a work in progress as we explore best practices and ideas for implementation of the iPod Touch in the classroom. If you are using the iPod Touch in your classroom, school, or district, please consider joining this wiki and share what you're learning!"

Excellent chart design tool for any classroom or office

"Microblogging: making the case for social networking in education"

"How Teaching Kindergarten is Like an 80s Song"

"Teachers often give assignments to their students and have them imagine what it would be like to have dinner or spend the day with a famous historical figure. Virsona gives students the opportunity to do just that. "

LectureTools provides a range of student response options plus it allows students to Take notes synchronized to lecture slides,Draw on and save the instructor's lecture slides,Pose clarifying questions that can be answered asynchronously during class or after class andSelf-assess their understanding during lecture.

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.

Welcome to The Innovative Educator! I'm glad you've come to visit the space I've created to share my ideas for making the learning environment a more exciting and meaningful place.I created this site as a companion to my blog The Innovative Educator. If you are an educator or someone interested in education I hope you find some of what I share valuable and that you are inspired to put some of my ideas into action or use some resources and recommendations I've shared in meaningful ways. As you navigate through this site you will find I invite you to the conversation on every page. I want to hear your feedback and recommendations, so use the discussion boards on the pages if you have something to share. Come on in. Look around. Share your thoughts and ideas and if you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please email me at lnielsen.professional@gmail.com. Lisa Michelle Nielsen The Innovative Educator "

Storytelling is a vital skill with seemingly unlimited applications. Done well, it can have a magical effect -- moving, enlightening, or entertaining audiences of any size. We tell stories to woo lovers, calm children, or reassure ourselves. Lawyers rely on the power of storytelling to vividly re-create crimes to juries, archaeologists conjure former civilizations, and teachers make abstract concepts real to their students.

The Marshmallow Challenge is a remarkably fun and instructive design exercise that encourages teams to experience simple but profound lessons in collaboration, innovation and creativity.

Guide explaining how to create your own video adventures courtesy of Richard Byrne of Free Technology for Teachers. 

Here is a survival guide for new and veteran teachers compiled by the U.S. Department of Education.