Brilliant or Insane

NOVEMBER 4, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. How to Move Teachers to the Passenger Seat and Give Kids the Wheel by Connie Hamilton Education is about creating lifelong learners. Sure, we understand this goal but how to accomplish it is often easier said than done. Teachers and parents alike describe students who go through the motions of school without really learning. […].

Learning 100

Learning How To Education 100

Brilliant or Insane

OCTOBER 27, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. How One Simple Tool Exposes Teacher Bias An excerpt from Hacking Engagement: 50 Tips & Tools To Engage Teachers and Learners Daily Listen to “69: How to Easily Uncover Your Biases” on Spreaker. The Problem: Teachers accidentally alienate certain students As a rookie teacher, I thought I had it all figured out. For some odd […].

Tools 100

Tools How To 100

Brilliant or Insane

OCTOBER 9, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. Do students hate your class? Do they hate you? Think long and hard before you answer. I often hear my own children say, “I can’t stand that class”. There were plenty of times in my 23 years as a classroom teacher that students were saying, “I hate Mr. Barnes”. They didn’t usually say it to […]. The post 50 Hacks That Make Every Single Student Love You and Your Class appeared first on Brilliant or Insane.

Classroom 100

Classroom 100

Brilliant or Insane

OCTOBER 7, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. You spend lots of time before school even starts making sure that your classroom is in great order—supplies away, surfaces sparkling, shelves and cubbies totally organized. And then the students arrive. It doesn’t take too many days and too many students for that well-planned order to disintegrate—especially when you tend to the daily work of […].

Classroom 211

Classroom 211

Brilliant or Insane

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. Stand, Adjust, Roll By Lani Aquino, B or I Guest Contributor When it comes to designing classroom spaces, teachers put a lot of time and effort into creating the perfect arrangement. When form and function meet to provide engaging and user-friendly learning zones, students and teachers reap the benefits. Companies like Global Educator Institute are testing and vetting […].

Classroom 100

Classroom Company Meeting Learning 100

Brilliant or Insane

SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. As the homework debate rages, one important issue may be overlooked: Traditional homework may actually be hazardous to your child’s health. I take on this issue in Episode 60 of the Hack Learning Podcast, embedded below, along with an excerpt from the show notes page. How to Lighten the 20.2-Pound Backpack and Reimagine Traditional Homework […].

How To 100

How To Learning 100

Brilliant or Insane

SEPTEMBER 7, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. Before the days of electronic gradebooks, every week I posted a printout with student grades. High-achieving students raced over, comparing their grades down to the hundredth, while less academic students shrugged off the opportunity to check their grades. While most schools have shifted to electronic gradebooks, the insane practice of grading continues, and of equal […].

Strategy 100

Strategy 100

Brilliant or Insane

AUGUST 21, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. My good friend Jim Sturtevant is the most engaging teacher I’ve ever known. On his blog and his Hacking Engagement podcast, Sturtevant helps educators learn to engage students in all grades and subjects. In a recent blog post, the author Hacking Engagement: 50 Tips and Tools to Engage Teachers and Learners Daily shares 5 surefire ways […].

Tools 100

Tools Learning Education 100

Brilliant or Insane

AUGUST 13, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. We are just over three weeks from the start of school in Canada. Some districts in the US have already begun their 2016-2017 year, so the start of school is quickly becoming a hot topic. A quick venture onto my Twitter feed shows an abundance of back to school blogs, lists, and articles. With that […]. The post Are You Willing to Be Your True Self This School Year?

Twitter 100

Twitter 100

Brilliant or Insane

JULY 26, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. It’s summertime, and that brings the promise of relaxation, recuperation, and time spent away from the classroom. It’s time to think about your emotional health. Of course, the reality for most of us is quite different. Yes, summer means that we aren’t driving to school every day, but what typically happens is a great deal […].

Course 100

Course Classroom 100

Brilliant or Insane

JULY 14, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. Aside from “Home Economics 101,” most students don’t have a chance to beef up their financial skills. As a result, they’re often unprepared to leave the insular environment of academia and transition into fiscally independent adulthood. “Becoming financially literate early in life is fundamentally important to your financial well-being as an adult.

Tools 100

Tools Learning Technology 100

Brilliant or Insane

JULY 11, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. Some things I’ve heard in 17 years of working in gifted education: “What do I need to do to get my kid into the gifted program in your school?” “You know how important it is in this community to have your child labeled gifted.” “I need my child in the gifted class because I don’t want […]. The post 4 Reasons Gifted Programs are Irrelevant appeared first on Brilliant or Insane.

Education 100

Education 100

Brilliant or Insane

JULY 1, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. Teachers spent $490 on classroom materials, on average, according to a poll of 500 teachers. Unfortunately, that’s likely a low number; most teachers spend upwards of $1,000 when all is said and done. But the education landscape is rapidly shifting. Classroom necessities are getting more expensive, and the average pay of teachers isn’t increasing at the […].

Tools 116

Tools Classroom Mobile Learning Education 116

Brilliant or Insane

JUNE 15, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. Great teachers strive to make learning engaging, interactive, and fun for students. Certain subjects like the visual arts and hands-on sciences may lend themselves well to this. Language learning, on the other hand, has rarely been grouped with “the cool subjects.” As technology advances, more and more tools have become available that when used correctly […].

Learning 100

Learning Groups Tools Technology 100

Brilliant or Insane

JUNE 7, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. We are living in an age when what we can achieve in one day is becoming more and more important. The rise of technology has helped spur productivity to heights never previously seen. In the not-too-distant future, people may even be using 3D printers in their homes to make household goods and clothing. Schools also […]. The post 12 Productivity Tools for Tech-Savvy Teachers appeared first on Brilliant or Insane.

Tools 80

Tools Technology Social Media EdTech 80

Brilliant or Insane

JUNE 2, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. Want to learn something new, right now? Did you know that powerful information, opinions, and resources are a click away? Where is this wealth of knowledge? In a live Twitter chat. If you know Twitter and understand the hashtag, you know how easy it is to search any #hashtag on Twitter. Or, if you see […]. The post 4 EdTech Experts Explain the Power of Twitter Chats appeared first on Brilliant or Insane.

Twitter 100

Twitter EdTech Resources Social Media 100

Brilliant or Insane

MAY 28, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. 7 Grim Reading Stats and 6 Ways to Turn Them Around By Jessica Thiefels Reading is arguably one of the most important skills a student can master—students will need to know how to read in almost every other area of schooling and life. Luckily, educators are in a powerful position to make a change for […]. The post 7 Grim Reading Stats and 6 Ways to Turn Them Around appeared first on Brilliant or Insane.

How To 151

How To Education Strategy 151

Brilliant or Insane

MAY 25, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. Listen to the podcast episode In the new Hack Learning Series book, Hacking Leadership: 10 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Learning That Teachers, Students, and Parents Love (June, 2016), school leaders Joe Sanfelippo and Tony Sinanis discuss how important it is for leaders to be present and engaged with all stakeholders. The Hack Learning Podcast episode embedded […].

Strategy 189

Strategy Learning 189

Brilliant or Insane

MAY 8, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. I’ve ranted about the deleterious effects of traditional homework, in the past. Many education stakeholders, parents and educators alike, agree with me. Yet the crazy assignments continue to invade children’s homes daily. In this brief Hack Learning Podcast episode, I identify six typical reasons teachers assign homework, why they suck, and how to circumvent each one, inspiring […].

How To 100

How To Education Learning Strategy 100

Brilliant or Insane

MAY 2, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. I can already hear groans coming from many educators, especially those, like me, who believe we need to move away from the factory model. But, here it is….we should assign seats. Before I go any further, I am not advocating rows upon rows of seats. Instead, I prefer learning groups that enable flexibility. Often 504s […]. The post 4 Reasons Teachers Should Assign Seats appeared first on Brilliant or Insane.

Groups 100

Groups Learning Education Strategy 100

Brilliant or Insane

APRIL 10, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. One of the most important roles of a classroom teacher is that of classroom manager. Learning cannot take place in a poorly managed classroom. Conversely, the best classrooms provide environments where teaching and learning can flourish. Follow these tips and you’ll improve your classroom management skills immediately. 10 musts for effective classroom management 1 – Maintain […].

Classroom 80

Classroom Learning 80

Brilliant or Insane

APRIL 6, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. Who needs an EdTech guru? You may be shouting, “I do” and that’s okay, because all educators need as much technology help as they can get. So, what if your tech guru were always with you–24/7? It might sound impossible but it isn’t. The Teacher’s Guide to Tech is every educators’ new best friend Longtime educator, bestselling author, popular blogger and podcaster Jennifer Gonzalez […].

EdTech 100

EdTech Technology Education Mobile Learning 100

Brilliant or Insane

MARCH 11, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. This Technology May Eliminate Student Daydreaming By Fergal Bell There are few things more frustrating for a teacher than seeing their students switch off during class. The time and energy spent checking whether children are actively listening or whether they have drifted off could certainly be better used elsewhere. Enter Emotiv, a US based technology […].

Technology 100

Technology 100

Brilliant or Insane

MARCH 3, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. Mike Dunlea asked his 2nd graders how they would know if the paper airplanes they were building functioned according to their design specifications. “We have to design an intelligent test to make sure we’re measuring the right way to find out who made the best plane, to define what the best plane is,” Dunlea told […]. The post Did These 2nd Graders Debunk the Myth That Tests Measure Learning?

Learning 100

Learning 100

Brilliant or Insane

FEBRUARY 25, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. Think of methods you use that might be considered old-school — lecture, worksheets, text activities, and traditional homework, to name a few. Now, consider how you might replace any or all of these, in order to create a vibrant, student-centered learning environment. Here are a few places to begin, outlined in this Hack Learning Podcast […].

Classroom 100

Classroom Learning 100

Brilliant or Insane

FEBRUARY 12, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. I used to refer to myself as a consultant (I probably had it on a business card once). So, am I suggesting firing me? In a way, Yes! When I first left the classroom in 2013, I was always looking for ongoing consulting work with schools. “You don’t need the one-and-done workshop,” I’d say. “You […]. The post Rethink Your PD: Fire the Consultant appeared first on Brilliant or Insane.

Classroom 100

Classroom 100

Brilliant or Insane

FEBRUARY 7, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. You may celebrate Presidents Day, but what do you really know much about it? This infographic, created by Raab Collection, a renowned historical document dealer, takes us on a journey of the lives of two of the greatest men in American History, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Brought to you by: Raab Collection From the […].

100

100

Brilliant or Insane

FEBRUARY 2, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. When a teacher said that the concept of mastery is a problem, I winced a bit. I have often written that we must strive for mastery learning. Have I been wrong all this time? I took the question to my favorite think tank–the global Teachers Throwing Out Grades Facebook group. I decided to ask the members […]. The post Are Teachers Wrong About Mastery Learning?

Facebook 100

Facebook Learning Groups 100

Brilliant or Insane

JANUARY 20, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. Ways to Change Assessment and Go Gradeless By Melissa Pilakowski Starr Sackstein’s Hacking Assessment not only revolutionizes education, but it gives step-by-step instructions on how to do it. That’s what makes this book so powerful. Not only does Starr describe her classroom, but she also gives some strategies that readers can start implementing tomorrow.

Assessment 100

Assessment Strategy Classroom How To 100

Brilliant or Insane

JANUARY 18, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. Today is a holiday. If you are like many people around the country and don’t have the day off from work, you may not have realized it. It’s not Christmas or Thanksgiving or even the 4th of July. Today is, however, indeed a holiday. Students around America recognize it as Martin Luther King Day — […]. The post Are You Talking About Martin Luther King?

Strategy 100

Strategy 100

Brilliant or Insane

JANUARY 10, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. In recent months, I’ve had dozens of conversations with educators and parents about the impact of traditional homework on learning. These discussions included a wide array of opinions, which I’ve distilled here. Popular opinions about homework Homework takes too much time from family activities Most of it is worksheets or workbooks that kids hate Homework doesn’t […].

Learning 100

Learning Education 100

Brilliant or Insane

JANUARY 8, 2016

Brilliant or Insane. 5 Immersive Ways to Make History Come Alive By Anna Warfield No one has clued me in on a working time machine yet, so there must be other ways to make history more enticing than names and dates. Historians of all sorts know that there is plenty of juicy stuff in the annals of history, […]. The post 5 Immersive Ways to Make History Come Alive appeared first on Brilliant or Insane.

EdTech 100

EdTech Technology 100

Brilliant or Insane

DECEMBER 30, 2015

Brilliant or Insane. Rather than listing our Top 10 posts, which you’ve likely already seen, I decided to share some of our biggest moments from 2015, related to education, blogging, writing, publishing and other areas. Please share your own insights and accomplishments from 2015, in our comment section below. From Brilliant or Insane You made us extremely popular this year.

Education 100

Education 100

Brilliant or Insane

DECEMBER 10, 2015

Brilliant or Insane. There’s a lot we can learn about teaching math skills from language arts teachers. For example, think about how we build writing fluency and grammar skills in language arts. Among other things, we certainly do these: Explicitly teach important skills and rules. Provide students with “mentor texts” and many examples of excellent prose to read […].

Examples 100

Examples Learning Strategy 100

Brilliant or Insane

DECEMBER 8, 2015

Brilliant or Insane. School districts love to tout increasing graduation rates. This good news often shields the public from the staggering facts and statistics about school dropouts. This infographic provides shocking details about the impact school dropouts have on the world. We underscore 5 scary things you don’t know, but the infographic sheds more light on a crisis […].

Dropout 100

Dropout 100

Brilliant or Insane

DECEMBER 1, 2015

Brilliant or Insane. The title of an Edutopia blog post — “When Grading Harms Student Learning” — hooked me instantly. Wonderful, I thought, a reputable source is lending credence to an idea that has been gaining traction for some time now: Grading is indeed harmful to learning. I couldn’t start reading fast enough. Sadly, about 10 seconds into the post, I […].

Assessment 100

Assessment Learning 100

Brilliant or Insane

NOVEMBER 15, 2015

Brilliant or Insane. On my drive home from work yesterday, I found myself thinking about Sakena Yacoobi. Like many of my friends, this courageous woman wakes up each day and renews her commitment to teaching and learning. Like many of my friends, Sakena Yacoobi has a very clear vision of the difference she hopes to make despite the many […]. The post Resignation appeared first on Brilliant or Insane.

Learning 100

Learning 100