R4November

examples of minecraft in learning - Egyptian pyramids

"Minecraft is a game about breaking and placing blocks. At first, people built structures to protect against nocturnal monsters, but as the game grew players worked together to create wonderful, imaginative things. It can also be about adventuring with friends or watching the sun rise over a blocky ocean. It's pretty. Brave players battle terrible things in The Nether, which is more scary than pretty. You can also visit a land of mushrooms if it sounds more like your cup of tea. "

"As in Visible Learning, the (updated) rank order of those factors that have the greatest effect size in student achievement will be of interest to every teacher, administrator, and education professor. Here is the rank-ordered list of the top effect sizes, with a half-dozen removed by me because they either refer to programs unknown outside of Australia & New Zealand - Hattie's home base - or they refer to sub-sets of students (e.g. the learning disabled). And I am going to provide a bit of suspense with this list. I want you to guess which two factors come next after what is listed below; you'll see why I wanted to add a bit of intrigue by the end. (I have also starred the factors that have an effect size of .7 or greater since these are significant gains): Student self-assessment/self-grading* Response to intervention* Teacher credibility* Providing formative assessments* Classroom discussion* Teacher clarity* Feedback* Reciprocal teaching* Teacher-student relationships fostered* Spaced vs. mass practice* Meta-cognitive strategies taught and used Acceleration Classroom behavioral techniques Vocabulary programs Repeated reading programs Creativity programs Student prior achievement Self-questioning by students Study skills Problem-solving teaching Not labeling students Concept mapping Cooperative vs individualistic learning Direct instruction Tactile stimulation programs Mastery learning Worked examples Visual-perception programs Peer tutoring Cooperative vs competitive learning Phonics instruction Student-centered teaching Classroom cohesion Pre-term bi

"At Kaizena, we understand that effective feedback is an extremely important part of the learning process. From book reports to math assignments, students rely on their teachers and peers to guide them in the pursuit of improvement. We're building tools that make it incredibly easy for teachers to provide high quality feedback to students. When students have the support they need to improve, learning happens."

"Wolfram|Alpha introduces a fundamentally new way to get knowledge and answers- not by searching the web, but by doing dynamic computations based on a vast collection of built-in data, algorithms, and methods. "

"Poll Everywhere replaces expensive proprietary audience response hardware with standard web technology. And because it works instantly at incredibly affordable rates, you can let your creativity run wild. "

"Everything you need to turn ordinary photos and video clips into rich videos."

"For more than a decade, Achieve3000® has supported the individuality and potential of every student by reaching them where they are to help them reach higher levels of reading and writing proficiency. Our fundamental belief is that literacy unlocks achievement, and that the key to improving literacy is differentiated instruction. Today, Achieve3000 is the leader in differentiated online instruction, serving more than one million students across the United States. In 2011, Inc. magazine included Achieve3000 on its annual 500/5000 list for the fifth consecutive year, the exclusive ranking of the nation's fastest growing private companies. Achieve provides the only web-based, differentiated instruction solutions designed to reach a school's entire student population - mainstream, English Language Learners, special needs, and gifted. In addition to KidBiz3000®, TeenBiz3000®, Empower3000™ and other literacy solutions, Achieve launched its first differentiated core curriculum solution, eScience3000™ in 2011, in partnership with National Geographic School Learning. Discover more about what makes Achieve3000 the leading force in differentiated learning solutions by clicking through the "About Us" items to the left. "

"ClassDojo is a classroom tool that helps teachers improve behavior in their classrooms quickly and easily. It also captures and generates data on behavior that teachers can share with parents and administrators Better learning behaviors, smoother lessons and hassle-free data - and its free!"

PISA. It found that the most successful students are those who feel real "ownership" of their education. In all the best performing school systems, said Schleicher, "students feel they personally can make a difference in their own outcomes and that education will make a difference for their future."

" Turn any book or document into a digital classroom. Subtext is a free iPad app that allows classroom groups to exchange ideas in the pages of digital texts. You can also layer in enrichment materials, assignments and quizzes-opening up almost limitless opportunities to engage students and foster analysis and writing skills. Watch video »"

I have downloaded the app and am looking forward to sharing with my students!

Mission: Club Academia strives to organize existing knowledge in ways that make learning easily accessible while simultaneously inspiring people to discover and innovate. Since its founding, Club Academia has provided supplemental instruction to students who are struggling with a particular concept and are looking for further explanation. We recognize that often fellow students can most easily help peers understand difficult classroom material. Starting with only four high schoolers uploading videos to a YouTube account, Club Academia has expanded nearly exponentially, currently with 17 video makers and over 500 videos on our website. With the help of the $20,000 Westly Prize grant, we are able to provide equipment for our video-makers and thus create a strong video base. As a result, we are able to expand into more schools and recruit more volunteers to make high-quality videos for our learners!

Abraham Lincoln inspired me, like so many others, to lead by relationships. Donald T. Phillips (Lincoln on Leadership) and Doris Kearns Goodwin (Team of Rivals) describe that president as a kind, gentle and genuinely personable man for whom many subordinates deeply cared. He got close to his cabinet, his personal secretaries and his generals, and wasn't afraid to let them into his personal world. But Lincoln never gave up his ideals. He made his vision clear to all and assertively redirected anyone he thought might take the country off his prescribed course. As a school administrator, it took me a while to lead in "the Lincoln way" (I have a very steep learning curve). I've been practicing educational leadership for 16 years in some of the highest performing schools in the country, but only recently recognized the importance of garnering the admiration of my faculty and administration team by developing deep personal and professional relationships with everyone. Like my favorite American president, I have tried hard to be nurturing, personable and caring while being clear and firm in the pursuit of my vision.

Promoting Student Engagement: Top 4 Reasons for Superintendents & Principals to Send Shout Out Tweets http://t.co/JWkDtM9cMS @unklar

Thanks @QuantumSpigot @sewilkie for being top new followers in my community this week (insight via http://t.co/94CMOybEUW)

"The literature on educational leadership and school change recognizes clearly the role and influence of the campus administrator (the principal, and sometimes an assistant principal) on whether or not change will occur in the school. It seems clear that transforming the school organization into a learning community can be done only with the leaders' sanction and active nurturing of the entire staff's development as a community. Thus, a look at the principal of a school whose staff is a professional learning community seems a good starting point for describing what these learning communities look like and how they operate. "

Simon Sinek presents a simple but powerful model for how leaders inspire action, starting with a golden circle and the question "Why?" His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers -- and as a counterpoint Tivo, which (until a recent court victory that tripled its stock price) appeared to be struggling.

To really understand them, take on something new. Something hard. Something meaningful. Something that you aren't sure you can do. Feel the fear. Because that's what your students feel everyday. Genuine learning is hard.