Great article about the role blogs can play in improving students writing ability.
"I believe it's important for students to have their writing read by more people than just their teacher. When they know that their families, their classmates, and people from around the world can read what they write, the impact is measurable. Students pay closer attention to everything from the mechanics of writing to word choice to structure to clarity."
This is an excellent resource for Math teachers in all grade levels and topic areas. Mathalicious helps engage students in the study of math because it uses problems that are related and relevant to students lives. There are some really great ideas in here, along with sample lesson plans, teaching worksheets, and step by step guides. For a great overview of Mathalicious, click the link and watch the short video.
From Education Week:
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/sarameads_policy_notebook/2011/05/karim_kai_ani_founder_mathalicious.html
"Mathalicious builds high-quality, standards-based math lessons designed to transform how students learn math, and how teachers teach it."
"Mathalicious is rewriting middle school math around real-world topics that students care about, from sports to music to technology. By contextualizing math for their students and making math real, teachers can cover more material in less time, and with better results."
""Successful" multitasking has been shown to activate the reward circuit in the brain by increasing dopamine levels-the brain chemical responsible for feelings of happiness.... This is comparable to the rush you might feel while playing the slot machines in a casino.... It's important to be aware of how multitasking can stimulate us into mindlessness, giving the illusion of productivity while stealing our focus and harming performance."
A must read article for all teachers who are interested in making peer assessment and feedback part of their students learning. The author, a high school AP Language teacher, uses Google Drive (especially the forms option) wonderfully to prepare his students for the AP exam. The amount of feedback each student and the teacher receives on each writing assignment is pretty remarkable.
Short, informative, and easy read about how to promote successful online discussions in the classroom. Also has good ideas about how to get students to practice writing/reflecting in an informal way.
"To prove why you shouldn't let your style guide go by the wayside, we're going to take a look at 50 stunning and detailed examples of style guides that are sure to encourage you to begin compiling your own."
From a dyslexic, very tech savvy, high school student:
"Here's a list of my favorite iPad apps and how I use them to help me both in and out of the classroom."
From the site:
"We must first focus on creating the engagement and then look at structures, like the flipped classroom, that can support. So educators, here are some things to think about and consider if you are thinking about or already using the flipped classroom model."
Multitasking feels good because of your brain chemicals, not because you're good at it.
Excerpt:
"Research has shown that when you multitask 'successfully', you activate the reward mechanism in your brain which releases dopamine, the happy hormone. This dopamine rush makes you feel so good that you believe you're being effective and further encourages your multitasking habit."