2010

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A PLN Quick Start Guide

A Principal's Reflections

'Updated 4/17/13 The concept of a PLN has been around for a very long time. PLN''s back in the day consisted of individuals with the same professional interests engaging in mostly face to face communication. Fast forward a good amount of years and enter the internet. No one can argue that the evolution of the real-time web has dramatically altered how we communicate, gather information, and reflect.

Wiki 347
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Why Not Invite TED Into Your Classroom?

The Web20Classroom

'If you haven''t already heard, TED is one of the world''s coolest conferences. TED (Technology, Entertainment, Desgin) brings together some of the most forward thinking, progressive and really fascinating people on the planet to talk about, really anything they want. There are lots of things that TED can teach us in education and tons of ways we can use TED in the classroom.

Classroom 208
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Flip your classroom through reverse instruction

The Electric Educator

'Have you ever experienced the unique and rare moment when, after doing something the same way for year and years, you have an epiphany and wonder, "why am I doing it this way?" Most of the time the answer is tradition, that''s the way we''ve always done it. At one time, there probably was a sound, logical, reasonable explanation for the decision to do it that way.

Camtasia 110
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Teachers' Hierarchy of Needs

EdTechSandyK

'If you’ve been around education for very long or ever taken an educational psychology course, you’ve probably heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. His theory, in a nutshell, contends that human beings have levels of basic needs, and until the needs at the lower levels are met, we don’t even feel the needs at the next level. Teachers in my school district report back to duty for the new school year on Monday morning.

Meeting 87
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Quickly Create Personalized Learning Experiences that Work

How can we actively engage learners 24/7, on their level and according to their interests, while respecting their learning styles? It’s not impossible. In this guide: Explore how to transform traditional, one-way videos into two-way interactive learning experiences Understand different types of artificial intelligence (AI), including - Generative vs.

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My 2010 Edublogs Nominees Post

SpeechTechie

'Wherein I start (and end) my campaign to get us SLPs and other Special Educators a bit more recognized in the edublogosphere. The Edublog Awards is an annual online "event" meant to recognize excellent use of social media in educational circles. Nominations are open to any blogger, and instructions on nominating are available here at the Edublog Awards Homepage (they involve creating a post like this one with your nominations, linking to the Edublogs page, and notifying Edublogs of your post vi

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Elevating the Education Reform Dialog, Live on Monday

The Learning Revolution Has Begun

'Between the NBC "Education Nation" Summit , Waiting for Superman , The Oprah Winfrey Show , and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg''s $100 million gift to Newark city schools , there has been a lot of media attention focused on the topic of education reform. Unfortunately, much of it has excluded actual educators, let alone students. Furthermore, and perhaps as a consequence, the dialog has become divisive, blaming, and ultimately counter-productive.

More Trending

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A new model for Higher Education

Connecting 2 the World

I recently read two good blog posts about higher education: one by Clark Quinn and the other by Andy Cloverdale. In both posts they point out the need for change in the way that education is provided at the University and the way instructors/professors are trained to teach in the University. This and the extreme budget cuts to our university in the face of rising enrollments got me thinking about the call for "reform" in how our universities are run in the US today.

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A Tick List of 21st Century Digital Skills for Teachers

Nik Peachey

I've just been brainstorming digital skills that I believe are required by teachers in the 21st Century. So far I've come up with 45 of them. What's striking for me about this is: few of these skills will have been taught to anyone who trained as a teacher longer than 5 years ago. few of these skills are being taught to teachers training now. the 21st century teacher needs to be a pretty amazingly skilled professional.

Wiki 53
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Vuvox

wwwatanabe

'Fun little editor combined with appreciation for our AJUSD teachers. and voila, my first Vuvox collage: P.S. For those of you wondering, I changed the music to something I made on GarageBand so that I wouldn''t be breaking any copyright laws.

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Reusable cooking objects

Learning with 'e's

Recently a lot of emphasis has been placed on sustainability. Sustainable this, sustainable that. Here at the University of Plymouth we actually have a CETL - a Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning - dedicated to Sustainable Futures. We have also seen a movement toward ' reusable learning objects ' (Erm, I have to confess that this has confused the hell out of me.

Wiki 46
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Can Brain Science Actually Help Make Your Training & Teaching Stick?

Speaker: Andrew Cohen, Founder & CEO of Brainscape

The instructor’s PPT slides are brilliant. You’ve splurged on the expensive interactive courseware. Student engagement is stellar. So… why are half of your students still forgetting everything they learned in just a matter of weeks? It's likely a matter of cognitive science! With so much material to "teach" these days, we often forget to incorporate key proven principles into our curricula — namely active recall, metacognition, spaced repetition, and interleaving practice.

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Top 10 Roadblocks to Change

A Principal's Reflections

'Yesterday I was granted an opportunity to deliver a keynote at the NYSCATE Leadership Summit in Troy, NY. The topic of my talk was, "Leadership in the Digital Age." During my talk I spoke about two paths that a leader could take, telling people what they want to hear, or taking them where they need to be. This theme served as a catalyst for my discussion on leading change in the 21st Century.

Strategy 299
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The Super Book Of Web Tools For Educators

The Web20Classroom

'There is lots of great information on there on Web 2.0 and using technology in the classroom for teachers. Heck, just check out the name of this blog. But often if you have teachers that are just starting out or need some help figuring all this tech stuff out, it can be a daunting task as there is lots of information. My good friend Richard Byrne , writer of the wildly popular Free Technology For Teachers blog approached me a few weeks ago and asked me if I would contribute to a free ebook he w

eBook 207
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10 Google Voice Tricks That Will Rock Your Phone!

The Electric Educator

'Phones are remnants of the analog world. Google Voice adds your phone into the cloud! If you aren''t currently using Google Voice, I would recommend my my previous post for a basic overview of the service. If are a user, here are 10 tips to rock your phone! If you have other creative ways that you have used Google Voice, please leave a comment! Call from Gmail.

Google 99
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Career Risks You Take When You Share Your Life Online

EdTechSandyK

'What you post online can have serious ramifications for your career. I''ve said it before , I''m saying it again, and I''m pretty sure this won''t be the last time I write about it. My hope is that people will listen and consider what they post on their social/professional networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. I read and think a lot about this topic, so the CNN clip below caught my attention.

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Reimagining Chickering & Gamson's Principles Post-Pandemic: Technology's Central Role in Modern Edu

This white paper examines and proposes revisions to the "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education" introduced by Arthur Chickering and Zelda Gamson in 1987 for today's technology-driven world.

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WordWorld

SpeechTechie

'WordWorld is a cool resource from PBS, who have of late done quite a bit of web development to catch up with the BBC''s excellent interactives. WordWorld is a pretty open-ended, exploratory site, so you would want to allow for a child-centered approach, but along the way, you will find some excellent reinforcement of letter identification, rhyming, and sound-letter connections.

System 79
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2010 Global Education Conference #globaled10 - Check It Out, and Looking for Help!

The Learning Revolution Has Begun

'The online 2010 Global Education Conference kicks off on November 15th for 5 days. As co-chair of the conference, I''m both nervous and excited! The conference has garnered incredible support--we currently have over 90 partner organizations , 120 international educator advisors , 36 keynote speakers , and over 300 worldwide presentations --all around helping students and educators to connect globally.

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Twitter: The Art of the Follow

The Daring Librarian

'The Art of the Follow: One of the hardest things on Twitter is to master is the art of the Follow. When I started I was so thrilled when ANYone followed me - I didn''t look too closely and would immediately follow them back. Now.I follow selectively because useless chatter & only FourSquare posts does not move the conversation forward. ( Twitter Comic Tutorial At-A-Glance Part Deux that coordinates to this blog is below- thanks!

Twitter 74
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Prezi, a new way of thinking about presentations

Connecting 2 the World

Yesterday I gave my first presentation using Prezi. I had heard about the software and had even registered for the educational version, but then had promptly forgotten about it. Then one of my students used it in a class assignment. So giving a presentation on Presentations to my daughter's class, I decided to try it out. As this is the first presentation I've given using Prezi, it is still in the basic mode.

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Behind the Bell: The Underlying Impact of Tardiness in K-12 Schools

Managing a K-12 campus with constant pressure to meet performance metrics is challenging. And tardiness can significantly limit a school from reaching these goals. Learn more about why chronic lateness matters, and key strategies to address the following impacts: Data errors caused by manual processes Low attendance and graduation rates that affect a school’s reputation Classroom disruption, which leads to poor academic performance High staff attrition and “The Teacher Exodus” Unmet LCAP goals t

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Ideas to Increase Parent Communication in Schools

A Principal's Reflections

'Last night I participated in #edchat on Twitter and the topic of discussion focused on techniques teachers could use to improve communication with parents. I added my ideas on the topic and attempted to link techniques and strategies I utilize to both teachers and administrators. Educators must be experts in effective communication techniques, especially when it comes to parents.

Strategy 288
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Why a Blog?

A Principal's Reflections

'As I reflect on my continuous evolution as an educational leader I am constantly amazed at how things have changed over the course of a year and a half. It was in March of 2009 that I decided to give this thing Twitter a try. At the time I was skeptical about whether my time was going to be well spent posting updates in 140 characters and whether or not people would actually care or be interested in what I was doing.

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What Constitutes Good Instruction?

A Principal's Reflections

'As a Principal, one of my most important responsibilities is the evaluation of instruction. In general, the observation process is quite arbitrary. The feedback a teacher receives really depends on the training a particular administrator has received, District vision, and what books or research have been read. What I have tried to do is take a little bit of everything I have learned to provide my teachers with the best feedback possible in order to promote professional growth and increase stude

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Good vs Great Teachers: My Ravitch Response

A Principal's Reflections

'Earlier today I read an article published in the Washington Post by Diane Ravitch entitled " Ravitch on Teachers and Her Critics ". For the most part I agree with her views on No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and in many other areas. However, I was very taken aback by this statement that she made referencing 21st Century Skills, " And, to the extent that it is about pushing more technology into the schools, it is pointless, as technology will never take the place of good teachers.

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The Battle of the Authoring Tools: A 10-Point Comparison for Picking the Right One

Speaker: Chris Paxton McMillin, President of D3 Training Solutions

There are plenty of great authoring tools for developing eLearning, but the one you select could directly impact your course's outcomes. Depending upon your learners’ needs and your organization’s performance goals, you could be overlooking considerations that impact the both effectiveness of your courses and how long it takes to finish them. From general capabilities to specific workflow structures, some aspects are critical when it comes to learning objectives and deadlines.

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A New Endeavor (#TSETC)

A Principal's Reflections

'So many exciting things have happened recently as a result of my own learning and growth in educational technology and leadership. As a result, I have seen my own knowledge increase in these areas, participated in exciting professional development opportunities, presented at both my school and at other events on web 2.0, and begun to collaboratively change the culture of my school.

Schoology 259
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My Quick List of iPad Apps

A Principal's Reflections

'Yesterday after receiving my iPad I quickly reached out to my PLN for some suggestions on which apps to download. The key for me is that I will be using this device at work in concert with my administrative team during administrative walk-throughs, observations, and to take notes during meetings (I am sure some other uses will come up as I get more acclimated with the iPad).

iPad 259
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Field of Dreams

A Principal's Reflections

'As I write this post I am sitting in the Des Moines airport waiting for my flight back to the East Coast. I was fortunate to spend the last few days here in Iowa as a guest of Scott McLeod who founded and runs the C.A.S.T.L.E. program at Iowa State University. The purpose of my trip here was to learn about the deployment, facilitation, and observable impact of 1:1 laptop programs in various Iowa school districts.

Laptops 258
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We Have Got to do and Be Better

A Principal's Reflections

'The other day I was reading an article in the New York Times entitled " In Reassessing Schools, a Lot of Bad News to Break ". The following comment in the article stuck out to me and others on Twitter: “There are two reactions those of us in this business can have,” said Geoffrey Canada, the chief executive of the Harlem Children’s Zone, which operates the school.

Twitter 259
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The Roses and Thorns of an LMS Strategy: How to Flourish with the Right LMS

Speaker: Amanda Davis, Chief Experience Officer and Liam O'Malley, VP of Association Solutions

The "new normal" is now a little less new, a little more normal. Does that mean your current LMS strategy is in need of a refresh? Is your organization or association leaning into the always-evolving eLearning environment to ensure you have the tools and content to remain relevant through all this change? There are many complex decision-making processes within your learning & development strategy and LMS lifecycle management, including: Selection.

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Defining Student Engagement

A Principal's Reflections

'In my District I am part of a Professional Learning Community (PLC) with other administrators. The focus of our PLC is the Classroom Walkthrough practice as a tool to improve student achievement. During our professional day in October we decided to collect data on whether or not student-centered learning was taking place and present our finding to our respective staffs in January.

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The Opinion That Matters Most

A Principal's Reflections

'This morning I attended a meeting with students that represent New Milford High School and my superintendent. The purpose of the "Superintendent''s Council" is to allow students to have a voice and empower them to make meaningful changes to the culture of the District. During the meeting the students were asked what changes or initiatives they would like to see.

Edmodo 241
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Opening Minds on Social Networking

A Principal's Reflections

'The following interview took place after Education Week''s Leadership Forum "Unleashing Technology to Personalize Learning" on 10/5/10 in Washington D.C. In order to increase access and use I am now utilizing Facebook with students and parents in my District. There are so many people already using Facebook to interact with their friends and family.

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Failing to Fail

A Principal's Reflections

'After reading a great blog post this morning entitled " The Wisdom to Learn From Failure " I quickly began to reflect on how the majority of educational systems are set up in a way where failure, or even the thought of it, is unacceptable. Early on in both my teaching and administrative careers I often found myself trying to avoid failure at all costs.

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Building the Foundation for a Modern K-12 Classroom

K-12 looks different these days. But one thing remains the same: you need a reliable learning platform that serves as the foundation for teaching and learning––for all students, in a variety of learning experiences. Discover how the Instructure Learning Platform supports today's K-12 classroom through: A central, consistent, connected hub of the digital learning environment.