Group items tagged

Blog post that pulls together a 7-min TED talk on how successful teams work together, design thinking, and motivation.... and thoughts about how we can encourage feedback loops in our classrooms, leading to success and learning..... Fascinating for anyone interested in team psychology or science.....

13 Keys to Successful Blended Learning via @THE_Journal http://t.co/wEOKkK1bkc

Great blogpost from Edna on 10 steps to successful tech integration. I like that she suggests working with the willing & getting admin on board.

"We are deeply and fundamentally attracted, in fact, to games: those places where efforts and excellence are rewarded, where the challenges and demands are severe, and where success often resembles nothing so much as a distilled version of the worldly virtues of dedicated learning and rigorously co-ordinated effort."

"one of the most important skills a parent can foster in children is resilience, which he says can be fostered through creativity. Ginsburg relies on the "Seven C's of Resilience" as a road map for helping students to find their inner grit. "

a website/blog by Lindsey Ferrie & Simon Davidson (author of "Taking the PYP Forward"

"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."

"Singapore Writers Festival 2013 School Programme 25 February - 9 March 2013 The Singapore Writers Festival is back and jumps right into the school year with Words Go Round 2013! One of the few literary festivals in the world that is multi-lingual, focusing on the official languages of Singapore - English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil - the Festival brings literary talents from Singapore and around the world to share with you their ideas, stories and lives. Back from another successful year, the Festival promises the same lively writers, stimulating discussions and exciting interactions."

Over the last few years K-12 schools and districts across the country have been investing heavily in iPads for classroom use. EdTechTeacher has been leading iPad professional development at many of these schools and we've seen firsthand how they approach iPad integration. While we've witnessed many effective approaches to incorporating iPads successfully in the classroom, we're struck by the common mistakes many schools are making with iPads, mistakes that are in some cases crippling the success of these initiatives. We're sharing these common challenges with you, so your school doesn't have to make them.

"two influential foundations, leading academics, two global testing firms and the video game industry could redefine how schools teach basic skills. Tinkering for the past several months at the Silicon Valley offices of one of the world's largest video game developers, the alliance is pushing to develop materials based on off-the-shelf video games that will get kids ready for "college and career success," a key, largely unmet goal of the USA's education system."

With more schools opting for 1:1 student-to-iPad access, there exists a tremendous opportunity for a transformative shift in classrooms where students are empowered to navigate their own learning. While we've witnessed many effective approaches to incorporating iPads successfully in the classroom, we're struck by the common mistakes many schools are making with iPads, mistakes that are in some cases crippling the success of these initiatives. We're sharing these common challenges with you, so your school doesn't have to make them. 1) Focusing on content apps 2) Lack of Teacher Preparation in Classroom Management of iPads 3) Treating the iPad as a computer and expecting it to serve as a laptop. 4) Treating iPads like multi-user devices 5) Failure to communicate a compelling answer to "Why iPads?"

"The authors of this paper use characters from the 1998 film The Big Lebowski to illustrate the intricate, self-defined nature of information seeking behavior and the ways in which personal characteristics contribute to the success or failure of an information search."

Some of our successes include the Future School's 4Di Lab at Canberra primary school, Singapore, The immersive simulation lab at the 'Classroom of the Future' at the National Institute of Education, Singapore and the Mystery Matters online portal at the Centre for Learning Innovation, Department of Education and Training in New South Wales, Australia.

... most schools in the U.S. are not adequately  preparing kids for success in the twenty- first century (e.g., Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2006 ) . Learning in school is still heavily geared toward the acquisition of content within a teacher-centered model, with instruction too often abstract and decontextualized and thus not suitable for this age of complexity and interconnectedness.

"How can we best prepare children and adolescents to thrive in the 21st century? This question is at the heart of what every educator attempts to do on a daily basis. Apart from imparting content of knowledge and facts, however, it's becoming clear that the "noncognitive competencies" known as grit, perseverance, and tenacity are just as important, if not more so, in preparing kids to be self-sufficient and successful."

"At Sammamish High School, our staff has dedicated our professional development to building expertise in the key elements of problem-based learning. Previous blog entries by my colleagues have given an overview of this process, as well as exploring how we include student voice and work with authentic problems. Another crucial element of successful problem-based learning is using authentic assessment throughout all stages of a unit to constantly evaluate and improve student learning. "

The importance of intellectual talent to achievement in all professional domains is well established, but less is known about other individual differences that predict success. The authors tested the importance of 1noncognitive trait: grit. Drive and energy in childhood are more predictive of success, if not creativity, than is IQ or some other more domain-specific ability" (p. 293)

Reading images - lots of good strategies here

Reading photos

Does the thought of making a positive impact on the future generation scare the pants off you? Are you looking to get by your evaluations with just enough credibility and success to avoid any repercussions or tough questions? Here are a few tips for you...