Libmedia201

Facebook for Educators

www.FacebookForEducators.org

The ITEST program through research and model-building activities seeks to build understandings of best practice factors, contexts and processes contributing to K-12 students' motivation and participation in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) core domains along with other STEM cognate domains (e.g., information and communications technology (ICT), computing, computer sciences, data analytics, among others) that inform education programs and workforce domains. The ITEST program funds foundational and applied research projects addressing the development, implementation, and dissemination of innovative strategies, tools, and models for engaging students to be aware of STEM and cognate careers, and to pursue formal school-based and informal out-of-school educational experiences to prepare for such careers.  ITEST supports projects that: (1) increase students' awareness of STEM and cognate careers; (2) motivate students to pursue the appropriate education pathways for STEM and cognate careers; and/or (3) provide students with technology-rich experiences that develop disciplinary-based knowledge and practices, and non-cognitive skills (e.g., critical thinking and communication skills) needed for entering STEM workforce sectors. ITEST projects may adopt an interdisciplinary focus on one or more STEM domains or focus on sub discipline(s) within a domain. ITEST projects must involve students, and may also include teachers. ITEST is especially interested in broadening participation of student groups from traditionally underrepresented in STEM and cognate intensive education and workforce domains. Strongly encouraged are projects that actively engage business and industry to better ensure K-12 experiences are likely to foster the skill-sets of emerging STEM and cognate careers.  ITEST supports two project types: Strategies and SPrEaD (Successful Project Expansion and Dissemination) projects. Strategies projects address the creation and implementation of innovative technology-related interventions that support ITEST's objectives. SPrEaD projects support the wider and broader dissemination and examination of innovative interventions to generate evidence and understanding regarding contextual factors that operate to enhance, moderate, or constrain the desired results. All ITEST projects include activities designed to inform judgments regarding the feasibility of implementing strategies in typical delivery settings such as classrooms and out-of-school settings.

Teachers are also using the Internet as a resource for curriculum ideas and research, taking children on virtual field trips, and as a powerful tool to help children explore ideas and access information. The uses of digital technologies and the Internet in the classroom are as open-ended as the imagination and creativity of the teacher.

grab your student’s attention then by teaching them with the newest gadget

Using laptops, tablets, iPads, etc, allow students to relate to their learning in observable, immediate ways.

echnology is now a necessary skill in the workplace.

ABCya is the leader in free educational computer games and mobile apps for kids. The innovation of a grade school teacher, ABCya is an award-winning destination for elementary students that offers hundreds of fun, engaging learning activities. Millions of kids, parents, and teachers visit ABCya.com each month, playing over 1 billion games last year. Apple, The New York Times, USA Today, Parents Magazine and Scholastic, to name just a few, have featured ABCya’s popular educational games.

PRINTABLES FROM THE TEACHER'S CORNER!

ONLINE COLLABORATION PROJECTS

For Students   

Science & Nature

  Sizing Up the UniverseHow big? How far? Explore the universe by starting in your own backyard.Smithsonian Educatio

As a member of a large online community of educators through Twitter and other social media outlets, I know how much of an impact the Internet has had on educators and their classrooms across the world. I was not surprised to read that 92% of teachers "say the Internet has a 'major impact' on their ability to access content, resources and materials for their teaching." As an urban educator, I was also not surprised to read that only 21% of teachers in high-income schools said that lack of access to digital technologies is an issue for their students, while 56% of teachers in low-income schools reported this an issue for their students. Cash-strapped school districts and districts with a large number of high-needs students do not have the resources to provide schools with digital technologies, such as classroom projectors, that many more affluent schools would consider commonplace.