A detailed animation explaining the needs and differences between cytokinesis in animals and plant cells. Beyond what we need, but interesting and visual.
Kitah Alef, our first graders, received an introductory lesson on properly handling our iPads in the classroom. We created a short video of our rules and tips. Students were excited to be sharing the video with Kindergarten and Pre-schoolers in the future, so they could learn from them.well
"In the last five years UK schools have spent more than £1 billion on digital technology. From interactive whiteboards to tablets, there is more digital technology in schools than ever before. But so far there has been little evidence of substantial success in improving educational outcomes.
Something is going wrong.
Nesta commissioned the London Knowledge Lab (LKL) and Learning Sciences Research Institute (LSRI), University of Nottingham, to analyse how technology has been used in the UK education systems and lessons from around the world. Uniquely, we wanted this to be set within a clear framework for better understanding the impact on learning experiences.
Decoding Learning finds proof of technology supporting effective learning, emerging technologies that show promise of impact, and exciting teacher practice that displays the potential for effective digital education."
"Whether you're new to technology, just getting started with a social network, or looking for some useful tips then these courses are for you. They're part of a new idea that I've been working on with a few friends. We're calling it Modern Lessons and it's essentially a 'Khan Academy for real-world skills' where a small handful of people build free online courses designed to help you learn some important things."
"Children have infinite potential.
Play is a natural vehicle for learning.
Joy is most often found in simple things.
Give children the space to create and the time to grow.
Curiosity, imagination and creativity are timeless tools.
Asking children questions is more powerful than telling them things.
All children have basic needs, such as love and belongingness.
Never underestimate the power of one caring adult in a child's life.
Persistence, persistence, persistence pays off.
Expect the unexpected.
We need to strive to make learning transformational.
There is a child in all of us."
Summary via The Scout Report (May 2012): "The journal Nature provides a range of peer-reviewed scientific works on a weekly basis, along with science updates and materials aimed at the general public. This particular feature on malaria is available at no charge to the curious public, and as the homepage asks, "What will it take to finally subdue this deadly disease?" Visitors will find a collection of recent articles in the Outlook area, such as "The Numbers Game" and "Vaccines: The Take Home Lesson." Moving on, the Collection area brings together peer-reviewed pieces on the story behind the efforts to eradicate the disease, along with some nice pieces about how the disease is transmitted. It's easy to see how this collection could be used in a public health course, or in another classroom setting. Finally, the site also includes links to popular articles from Nature, along with other open access materials. [KMG]"
YouTube can be a good place to find educational videos to support your lessons. We've all had students who struggle to hold their comments until the video has stopped. One strategy that many teachers have used in those cases is to tell students to "write it down." The web makes it possible to take that strategy a step further and have students not only "write it down" but also enable teachers to instantly respond to students' comments while watching a video. Here are three tools that enable users to watch videos online and discuss them with others at the same time.
There is more to Word Clouds then Wordle!
welcome to a series of posts devoted to the use of Word Clouds. I know you will find new information… whether you are a seasoned user of word clouds, or brand new. I enjoy working with teachers and helping them use word clouds in their lessons because they are a great way to get any teacher started with integrating technology. In the last post you discovered 12 Tips in Using Wordle. In fact you may wish to read it if you have not as of yet. This post will share 108 ways for educators to use word clouds in the classroom.
funny IKEA advertisement about a discarded lamp -- that can be used as an analogy for how people might feel left out technology-wise.... also a lesson in our anthropomorphic tendencies....
GAMING: Game-based learning has been on the cusp of being "the next big thing" for a while now. Perhaps 2012 will be the year. With the flourishing of mobile technologies, with the promise of data and analytics, and with a realization that we can create new and engaging ways to move through lessons, we are likely to see an explosion of educational gaming apps this year. The big question, of course - with this as with every new ed-tech development: does this actually improve learning? When is a educational game fun? What makes it engaging? What makes it actually educational?
"The JiTT strategy is based on the notion of a feedback loop between the out-of-class assignments and the subsequent classroom activities. Based on the student responses, the instructor selects an appropriate set of items that will make up the lesson. The classroom experience then informs the choice of the next set of web assignments. Over the past seven years faculty across the country have developed a rich set of JiTT resources. To look at some examples please visit A JiTT Sampler. "