sbisd early adopters

"I don't think you should ever miss this slide from Tom Barret. It is one of the best ones available online that provides awesome tips on how teachers can use iPad in their classrooms. "

"What would you have asked? Imagined Interviews Subject: Social Studies - American History Grade: 4th-8th Time Frame: Depends on prior tech experiences, but about four class periods, plus homework. [1 class period for research (and homework). 1 class period to draft questions and responses and script their interview. 1 class period to tape interviews. 1 class period to edit interviews.] Summary: Students will imagine they have traveled back in time to the civil war as a reporter. They will have the opportunity of a lifetime to interview an important historical figure of their choice. As their interview will run on a local news broadcast, their edited questions and answers can take no more than 2 minutes to show. (This could obviously be modified to any period in history, American or otherwise.)"

Article that references studies on flipping the classroom

" When you're trying to teach people how to do something new on their computers having screencast videos or annotated screen capture images can be invaluable to you and the people you're trying to help. Here are some free tools that you can use to create screen capture videos and images. "

Here's the answer to my screencasting conundrum! While trying to create screencasts of some of my most "popular" (a.k.a. retaught) lessons, I kept running into various issues with Jing ( one of my favorite "freebies"). This blog has not only one suggestion, but several! Woohoo!

In SBISD we have several hastags! #sbisd #sbleads and now the Early Adopters - #sbisdea

documentation & reflection prompts

"Tutorial Designer" is one of the six roles, Alan November lists in his Digital Learning Farm that empower student learners and describes in his book 'Who owns the Learning?. Take a look at the examples below of students: sharing what they have learned in class sharing beyond their classroom and their parents sharing with a global audience in mind. As you are watching these samples… Where does your imagination take you? What ideas come to your mind? What comes to mind for YOUR STUDENTS TO SHARE? What lesson or unit, could you "upgrade" to include the creation of a video, audio or screencast?"

"Chapter 18. Circle of Knowledge"

A list of brief tutorials (audio & video) on how to use, navigate and manage wikispaces wikis.

Ideas for ways to utilize Edmodo in the classroom.

"Often students are called upon to make presentations for class projects, and many are eager to break out of the mold of the standard PowerPoint and do something really special."

"Your personal footprint-and to some extent your school's-is most likely being written without you, thanks to the billions of us worldwide who now have our own printing presses and can publish what we want when we want to."

Examples and pitfalls of flipping a class.

Khan Academy has a Coaching feature that allows students to practice a new skill and receive immediate feedback. You can also track student progress. Now the classroom can be used for valuable discussions like how specific skills can be applied in their real world (relevanancy). Or to allow peer to peer teaching, small group instruction, and one on one instruction when all else fails.

"Student pairs or groups will research and report on an important historical figure. This could either be done to review people already studied, to seed background knowledge of upcoming people, or just people the students are interested in. Students will use the project to learn about or practice wiki page creation with the basic elements of text, images, and hyperlinks. They will also get an opportunity to explore writing their own questions, which will become the core skill in later inquiry projects."

Response to Andrew Hacker's New York Times Op-Ed essay "Is Algebra Necessary?" Includes examples and links to CCSS

Great problem solving procedures

"Building a relationship means that you've opened a door for them to learn, making them receptive to what you have to say and giving them confidence to contribute as well."

One goal is to help yourself become aware of how you use your time as one resource in organizing, prioritizing, and succeeding in your studies in the context of competing activities of friends, work, family, etc.

"This past year has been one of my biggest learning spikes as a teacher since my first year in the classroom. I have been working with other teachers who are at all stages of their teaching careers and we have been focusing on innovative teaching practices within a school-based inquiry. I have embraced not being the expert, being uncomfortable with not knowing all the answers, and being unsure about how a strategy or a lesson will go. I have found myself increasingly trusting my learners. I am learning like crazy (just like my students) and trying not to burst with excitement! The key has been working with my amazing school staff, along with other dedicated teachers and mentors in our district and throughout the province. I have been collaborating with my colleagues, and I have been implementing new ways of teaching. We are doing wonderful things here in Delta and we need to encourage our colleagues to share their successes with others."

"Exceptions don't contradict what I'm trying to explain here, but rather prove the point that: A tool is just a tool! I can use a hammer to build a house and I can use the same hammer on a human skull. It's not the tool, but how you use it that matters."