RCSPTW

Tons of BIo and AP Bio video resources from Paul Andersen.

On the growing trend of public school students (and parents) opting out of standardized tests.

"Primary teachers leave technology to the secondary teachers; Secondary teachers leave technology to the Higher Ed Teachers; and Higher Ed teachers assume that students are "digital natives". Tech skills of Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking, Research, Social Learning, and Media Literacy in general are not being taught by some educators, but rather being assumed to be mastered by our digital natives."

"What is an essential question? An essential question is - well, essential: important, vital, at the heart of the matter - the essence of the issue."

QR code creator add-on for Firefox.

Not sure why he named it that, but it's an extension for Google Chrome that sends web pages to Pocket (nee Read it Later). Works great, and it's donationware so you can try it (or use it forever) for free.

"Our research shows that the argument that there is a generational break between today's generation of young people who are immersed in new technologies and older generations who are less familiar with technology is flawed," says Dr Jones. "The diverse ways that young people use technology today shows the argument is too simplistic and that a new single generation, often called the 'net generation', with high skill levels in technology does not exist." Press release: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/news-and-events/press-releases/20523/not-all-todays-students-are-tech-savvy.aspx

Quick chatroom setup for back-channel conversation.

The pen that also records audio and its location on the page. Way cool.

"Although hundreds of studies have shown that clearly communicating instructional objectives has a positive effect on student achievement, not all techniques for doing so have the same beneficial effects. In a series of studies we conducted at Marzano Research Laboratory, we found that some approaches had no effect on student achievement and that others actually produced negative results-that is, students would have been better off if the teacher had not provided an objective."

"Educators must reevaluate the degree to which compliance has affected every aspect of the learning environment, including the use of established classroom assessments and grading systems to identify success. Many A students have earned high marks primarily because of their meticulousness in following directions, their knack for repeating procedures on cue, and their ability to expertly summarize other people's ideas."

"suggestions for keeping students engaged in a project and accountable for their time with computers"

Three white papers from Innosight Institute. All are about K-12 blended learning. Very useful research.

Articles on the Flipped Classroom.

A fast-paced, 22-minute video in which Aaron Sams discusses the origin of the Flipped Classroom model and its various forms.

Lots of apps and websites to add to your PLN toolbelt.

"When used effectively, technology plays an important role in enhancing the learning process. Teachers can use digital devices to present supplemental material for lessons or to encourage students to take a more hands-on role in their education. Even with all of the benefits of technology in the classroom, however, educators must use caution to ensure that students are focusing on the lesson and not giving in to distractions. Here are seven ways that teachers can use to help students pay more attention when using technology."

"One of the most common questions we get is, "But where do we find the time to use all this new technology?" To answer that question, we developed this infographic - A Day in the Life of a Connected Educator to show that using social media in your classroom and in your life can be integrated, easy, and fun."

"My 11 year old son just took a course at Stanford. That has a nice ring to it but it is actually meaningless because these days anyone can take a course at Stanford. You don't even have to pay. All you need is access to a computer and a reasonable Internet connection. So what we can say is my 11 year old son just watched a bunch of videos on the Internet. That doesn't make for an interesting post except that this 'bunch of videos' is currently being heralded as the future of higher education." Joshua Gans, Forbes, 5/7/12

"Technology has become a core component of almost every facet of our daily lives but modernizing education requires significantly more commitment than simply providing students with access to technology." Sam Gliksman, iPads in Education ning