Northbrook Middle School

Twitter, without a doubt, has become the social network for educators to take their professional development into their own hands. Twitter allows teachers to connect with other educators from around the world, join discussions related to their interests and have a steady stream of resources (to help them teach and learn) available to them whenever, whereever and however. Creating a network on Twitter has catapulted educators to be part of a connected world where learning happens anytime, help is only a tweet away, collaboration partners meet and communicate, conversations that directly or indirectly impact their physical lives take place 24/7.  Twitter is helping educators gain many 21st century skills and literacies which could easily transfer to their classrooms.

Explore key information about the chemical elements through this periodic table.  This digital periodic table links all the elements to their own informational page.

Bloom's digital pyramid with hyperlinks to other sites.

In connected teaching, individual educators also create their own online learning communities consisting of their students and their students' peers; fellow educators in their schools, libraries, and after-school programs; professional experts in various disciplines around the world; members of community organizations that serve students in the hours they are not in school; and parents who desire greater participation in their children's education.

In many cities around the world, kids and adults are returning to the classrooms for a new year at school. So much has changed for students and teachers. First with mobile phones, and now with social media. How can teachers and parents keep up? Along with the development of social media tools, the opportunity for developing new methods of teaching that incorporate these tools are emerging. In the case of microblogging, specifically the use of Twitter, these challenges are global. Thankfully, Glenfield School Technology Coordinator Samantha Morra has taken the time to create the "Introduction to Twitter for Educators."

With so many good teachers out there, it's fortunate they can share their knowledge via video on the Internet. From the funny to the poignant, these glimpses into the lives of teachers and their students will keep you entertained while learning a little something as well. Whether you are a new teacher storing up tips and tricks or an experienced teacher who could just use a fresh perspective, you are sure to find something helpful among these videos.

Orchestra Flash mob at Copenhagen Central Station... 

The six jobs described below outline creative ways that your students can make valuable contributions to their learning community. While these jobs can be successfully implemented individually, it is bringing them together in harmony where we can create a more balanced vision of teaching and learning.

A Visual Representation of Bloom's Taxonomic Hierarchy with a 21st Century Skills Frame.

THE SOURCE FOR SCIENCE YOU CAN DO:  Science projects

Knovio™ is a free tool for turning PowerPoint slides into rich video presentations right from your web browser. No fancy hardware or video software needed - just a webcam and microphone.

We're calling this new feature Projects. Whenever you have a particular assignment or activity, you can create a project for it, then define teams of members, each with its own unique pages, files, and permissions. Team content (that is, pages and files) are grouped together, separate from the main area of the wiki. That way, students in teams can do their group work completely independently from other teams.

QR codes in education - Livebinder

Google Tips for Educators

Following in Kathy Schrock's and Kelly Tenkeley's footsteps of assigning iPad apps to the different levels of the Bloom's Taxonomy, I created the following table with apps that I have tested out and am recommending. (Click to see a larger version of the image)