Group items tagged

Join us for the LEARN NC fall interactive conference POSTED OCTOBER 20, 2011 · BY EMILY · IN BULLETIN BOARDOn Monday, November 7, LEARN NC will host our annual fall conference. This year, for the first time, the conference will take place entirely online. You'll be able to listen to the presenters, pose questions, and interact with other participants from any internet-connected computer. And, as always, the conference is entirely free! We'll be joined by an exciting line-up of presenters, who will discuss topics like how to reach struggling readers, teaching about North Carolina American Indians, modeling-based science instruction, and the state's adoption of new curriculum standards and professional teaching standards. Presenters include classroom teachers, UNC faculty members, and leaders from DPI. The conference will consist of eight sessions, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. All sessions will be archived for future viewing. For more details and to register, please see the conference website. We look forward to seeing you there!

The British Broadcasting Corporation provides unbiased news along with numerous resources for studying all subjects.

Building positive group work ethics in project-based learning Teach_Tec 4 Nov 2011 8:59 AM 0 Can you think of a job or profession that is done alone? No co-workers to consult, no team responsible for contributing different pieces of a project, no meetings (well, maybe that might be okay ; ) It's hard to come up with many. Artist? Author? (at least during the initial writing process). We could probably come up with a few more, but the list is relatively short. Working in teams, collaborating with others in our work and life is fundamental. Not only do we gain social benefits, but the ability to combine the strengths of a team most often leads to a better end result. Though we've all heard that initial reaction from students as a group project is introduced: 'Can we pick our own groups?' or even worse, 'Do I have to be with him/her?' The skills of working effectively in groups need to be coached, practiced and encouraged. So when you see reflective comments such as these (from real students) it is encouraging: "A good team looks like a team that is on task, getting along and sharing." (5th grade) "A good team looks like a friendly team with members working together. I have learned practical skills that will help me get a job." (5th grade) "A good team looks and sounds like they are working together, improvising, compromising, discussing ideas calmly and working out disagreements." (6th grade) "In the real world you may have to work with people you do not like and you need to know how to still be productive." (6th grade) So how did these students get here? Pauline Roberts, a 5th and 6th grade teacher at the Birmingham Covington School in Bloomfield Hills, MI has made developing these skills a priority. The unique program she and her colleagues have collaborated on at this 3rd - 8th grade public school is called ENGAGE. The focus is to embed 21st century skills across multiple grades and all parts of the curriculum with a specific

Instructure Canvas a Free LMS for TeachersInstructure Canvas is a free learning management system that teachers can use to record grades, post assignments, and interact with their students. Students can use Instructure Canvas to communicate with each other and collaborate on assignments. What caught my attention about Instructure Canvas is that it integrates Facebooks, Google Docs, and email systems outside of Instructure. Another neat feature of Instructure Canvas is that students can subscribe to RSS, email, and cell phone alerts to stay abreast of any new content their teachers post.    Richard Byrne

I saw a guest post on a blog about how new teachers can connect to their students. It had some great advice on it-things like "praise in public but reprimand in private," and "admit when you're wrong." Absolutely, and as a teacher I can testify that those ideas are very effective.

We are thrilled that the Riverside School is undertaking this bold new initiative to unite the children of India in giving back to their country. We can't wait to see what the children imagine and do in their communities!" Jim Ratcliffe and Olga Trusova Stanford University Sandy Speicher, IDEO

Steve Wheeler shares a presentation Web 3.0: The way forward?. Steve takes a three-fold view of web development: 1.0=linking, 2.0=participation, 3.0=existing data reconnected for smarter uses. Stephen Downes responds "let me be the first to name the new web: Web eXtended (or just Web X)…idea of Web X is that it combines web 2.0 (social web) and web 3.0 (semantic web) to create what I have called, in the past, the semantic social web. But it's more than just that, because it takes these and moves them off the web and into your hand. And more than just that, because it's the web of data, the geoweb, augmented media, the 3D web, and more. The eXtended web - the web, extended from the internet, into your life."