April, 2018

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The benefits of active learning

Dangerously Irrelevant

In an article lamenting the reduction in kindergarten of teacher autonomy and child-directed activities , Washington Post columnist Valerie Strauss quoted early childhood development expert Nancy Carlsson-Paige: We have decades of research in child development and neuroscience that tell us that young children learn actively – they have to move, use their senses, get their hands on things, interact with other kids and teachers, create, invent.

Learning 261
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InsertLearning: Transform Any Web Page into an Interactive Lesson

Catlin Tucker

I frequently use online articles and resources with my students to supplement our curriculum. I want them reading, thinking about, and discussing hot topics that impact their lives; however, engaging students around online articles hasn’t always been easy. InsertLearning has developed a Chrome Extension that makes it possible to transform any web page into an interactive lesson.

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Preparing Learners for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

A Principal's Reflections

Do you like change? If you do, then living in the present is an exhilarating experience. For those who don’t, buckle up as we are only going to see unprecedented innovations at exponential rates involving technology. You can’t run or hide from it. The revolution, or evolution depending on your respective lens, of our world, will transform everything as we know it.

Industry 412
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What it Takes to Integrate Robotics and Coding into the Classroom

EdTech Magazine

What it Takes to Integrate Robotics and Coding into the Classroom. jena.passut_7651. Thu, 04/12/2018 - 10:58. It starts with a game of Robot Turtles, a board game by Thinkfun that’s being used at Hubbard Woods School in Winnetka, Ill., to teach kindergarteners the basics of coding. “It helps explain the step-by-step nature of coding,” says Todd Burleson, resource center director for this Winnetka Public Schools District 36 elementary school.

Robotics 406
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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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12 Rules of effective Instructional Technology Coaching

Neo LMS

Instructional Technology Coaching (ITC) is a prevalent method of deploying on-going professional development for teachers , with a specific focus on the integration of technology into both the curriculum, as well as the method of instruction. Typically, districts have technology offices or departments that then deploy coaches to individual schools and campuses on a scheduled, or as-needed basis.

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What To Do When Someone Hates You

The CoolCatTeacher

You Can Overcome From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter. “There is one way to avoid criticism: Do nothing. Say nothing. Be nothing.” says Aristotle. Criticism comes with breaking new ground. Criticism comes with putting yourself out there. But how do you respond when that criticism turns to hatred?

Course 298

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Station Rotation Model: Alternative Group Formations

Catlin Tucker

When I lead blended learning workshops or work as a 1:1 blended learning coach, I field a lot of questions about the design of station rotation lessons. Teachers see my examples which show four separate groups and assume that all station rotations must have four groups. That is not the case. The Station Rotation Model is flexible. Below are some of the most common comments I hear and my responses to teachers struggling to conceptualize how to use this model with their students. #1 “I can&#

Groups 419
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Cognitive Flexibility: Paving the Way For Learner Success

A Principal's Reflections

A few years back the World Economic Forum came out with an article titled The 10 skills you need to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The opening two paragraphs sum up the point of the piece nicely: By 2020, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will have brought us advanced robotics and autonomous transport, artificial intelligence and machine learning, advanced materials, biotechnology, and genomics.

Industry 357
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5 Best Practices for STEM Education Spaces

EdTech Magazine

5 Best Practices for STEM Education Spaces. jena.passut_7651. Tue, 04/24/2018 - 08:13. St. Thomas School near Seattle has concentrated on beefing up the school’s science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education for the past several years and plans to strengthen it even more in the future. The independent private school in Medina, Wash., which has 330 students, is not alone.

STEM 403
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Why All Educators Need SAMR And TPACK

The Web20Classroom

Lately, the work I’ve been doing with teachers and leaders has centered around the engaging and effective use of technology. In addition to developing a guide for how teachers can plan better using technology and what leaders can look for when doing walkthroughs, I have had many conversations around the transformational use of technology. Specifically, what does that look like?

Education 277
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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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Educators as Active Listeners

User Generated Education

I have a few sayings I often use in my teacher education courses and PD workshops for teachers related to active listening. They include: If the teacher is doing more talking than the students, then this is a problem. One of the biggest gifts we, as educators, can give to our learners is to be truly present for them; to deeply listen to what they have to say.

Education 250
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10 ways Google tools can make the end of the year ROCK

Ditch That Textbook

When the end of the school year is in sight, it’s a time of excitement coupled with the importance of finishing the year STRONG. The end of the year is a time unlike any other. State tests are behind us. Many students are working on big projects or papers. It can be a great time […].

Tools 279
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Ongoing Self-Assessments: Students Reflect On and Document Their Progress

Catlin Tucker

For the last two years, I have published several blogs detailing my journey away from traditional grading and assessment practices. The purpose of this shift was three-fold. I wanted to shift the conversation from points to the development of skills. I wanted students to take ownership of their progress and skill development. I do not believe grades should happen to students.

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Ownership Through Inquiry

A Principal's Reflections

As a child, I was enamored by nature. My twin brother and I were always observing and collecting any and all types of critters we could get our hands on. Growing up in a rural area of Northwestern New Jersey made it quite easy to seek out and find different plants and animals on a daily basis. We would spend countless hours roaming around the woods, corn fields, ponds, and streams in our quest to study as much local life as possible.

Resources 339
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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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The 2018 Honor Roll: EdTech’s Must-Read K-12 IT Blogs

EdTech Magazine

The 2018 Honor Roll: EdTech’s Must-Read K-12 IT Blogs. juliet.vanwage…. Sun, 04/29/2018 - 20:12. In the digital age, using your voice has taken on a whole new meaning. With powerful publication and distribution tools within reach, blogs remain one of the most potent ways to spread your ideas and thoughts. The results from building a blog, a readership, and subsequently, a following, can lead to incredible opportunities, wider impact and transformation.

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5 Places To Find Free And Affordable ESL Teaching Resources

EdNews Daily

Many teachers, whether working online or in a brick and mortar school usually have a few resources they depend on and use all the time for their teaching. However, there are a variety of activities or resources you can turn to when you need to modify a lesson or change routes. If you are an ESL teacher, no matter how or where you teach, you may be looking for some new resources to add to your teacher’s toolbox.

Resources 240
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Grand challenges of the principalship?

Dangerously Irrelevant

At CU Denver we are having conversations about principal licensure program redesign, including possible orientation toward what we’re calling the ‘grand challenges’ of the principalship. A ‘grand challenge’ for building-level leaders might be a leadership issue such as: turning around a low-achieving school; repairing a dysfunctional school staff culture; preparing future-ready graduates; meeting the needs of students with unique needs (including ELL/ESL, special ed

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10 low-prep, high-return activities for class TOMORROW

Ditch That Textbook

Low-prep doesn’t have to mean less learning. Technology allows us to be more efficient and effective in the classroom in many ways. When we focus on sound teaching and learning, we can do high-quality learning in less time — AND take less time to prepare for it! Here are several ideas that take little to […].

Classroom 274
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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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The EDTECH Survey 2018 – Results Are In!

EdTech4Beginners

Recently, I set up a survey to find out about EDTECH & its use in schools around the globe. Thanks for the hundreds of responses I got from you all! . The questions asked were: How much do you use technology with your class? What is your favourite educational app? What is your favourite educational website? Do you think educational technology accelerates learning?

Survey 211
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Relevance is the Fuel of Learning

A Principal's Reflections

In a previous blog post, I wrote about the importance of focusing on the why as it relates to learning. Here is a piece of my thinking that I shared: The why matters more than ever in the context of schools and education. What all one must do is step into the shoes of a student. If he or she does not truly understand why they are learning what is being taught, the chances of improving outcomes and success diminish significantly.

Learning 332
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Personalized Learning and Digital Tools Weave Strong Fabric for Student Success

EdTech Magazine

Personalized Learning and Digital Tools Weave Strong Fabric for Student Success. meghan.bogardu…. Tue, 04/03/2018 - 14:43. Teachers in the U.S. have an overabundance of responsibilities, not the least of which is educating hundreds of eager minds each year and then sending them out into the world. But, are the students ready for what awaits them? According to Project Tomorrow’s 2017 Speak Up Research Project for Digital Learning , 56 percent of parents of school-aged children are concerned that

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The Data Tells All: Teacher Salaries Have Been Declining For Years

Edsurge

Economists following the teacher protests in Oklahoma, West Virginia, Kentucky and Arizona say they saw this coming. As the costs of living, higher education, healthcare and retirement are rising, researchers studying salary trends note that the average pay for teachers has dipped. That’s a really bad situation to be in, being asked to pay more as your pay is actually declining.

Data 165
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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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12 Excellent YouTube Channels That Provide Educational Video Content for Kids

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

After we have reviewed kids safe search engines and kids friendly educational websites, we are sharing with you this list of interesting YouTube channels that provide educational video content for.read more.

Video 122
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Fighting the battle of copy/paste cheating

Ditch That Textbook

It was a simple activity. One that I thought my students would have no trouble completing. In my Spanish 3 class, I had asked them to find some facts about an artist from the Hispanic world and write a paragraph about that person. One paragraph. In Spanish. No big deal, right? The activity ended up […].

How To 263
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4 Stages Of Edtech Integration From A Student Perspective

TeachThought - Learn better.

4 Stages Of Edtech Integration From A Student Perspective by Terry Heick For professional development around this idea or others you read about on TeachThought, contact us. Technology can be used in the learning process in a variety of ways. Some are supplementary, serving the original design of the classroom and usually automate some previously […].

EdTech 112
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Fair Isn’t Always Equal – 3 Grading Malpractices

MiddleWeb

If we expect students to achieve mastery, teaching consultant Rick Wormeli says, we must provide helpful feedback, document progress, and inform our instructional decisions with pertinent performance data. Yet many conventional grading practices render our data useless.

Data 111
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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.

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School STEM Labs Inspire Students, Power Innovation

EdTech Magazine

School STEM Labs Inspire Students, Power Innovation. meghan.bogardu…. Mon, 04/02/2018 - 10:38. St. Thomas School near Seattle hopes to encourage students to develop a passion for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by starting them young and engaging them with cool, new learning spaces featuring robots and 3D virtual reality computers. The independent private school in Medina, Wash., starts using technology in prekindergarten and weaves technology into every subject from fourth to e

STEM 324
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5 Tips for Planning a Kidcamp, the Student-Driven #Edcamp

Edsurge

By now you’ve probably heard of edcamps —free, organic, participant-driven, “un-conferences” that empower educators to maximize professional learning experiences and peer networks. As a longtime enthusiast, what I love most about the movement is that at its heart it’s all about educators teaching and empowering other educators. So, what if we gave our students the same opportunity their teachers have to learn alongside one another, lift each other up and maximize their learning experiences, all

Edcamps 165
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Some Good iPad Apps for Creating Flashcards

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

Here is a collection of some of our favourite apps for creating flashcards on iPad or iPhone. Students can use them to help with memorizing vocabulary, preparing for a test, learning a new.read more.

iPad 108
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Bitmojis for your students: How to create and share them

Ditch That Textbook

Bitmojis are so much fun! They’re these little cartoon character images of yourself that let you express emotions and communicate. I’ve seen educators use them all over the place: in text messages, in emails, in slide presentations, in documents and on social media. They’re even using them to leave feedback on student work! The sad […].

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Transform Your Classroom with Apple

Speaker: Aaron Webb, Jamf

Apple empowers educators and students by design. Whether using Macs, iPads, or Apple TV, Apple devices encourage creativity and can simplify teaching with apps to make the classroom more flexible, collaborative and personalized for each student. To unleash the full potential of the technology and create the best learning environment, you need to understand the tools and resources available, and develop an education-focused, comprehensive plan, from equipment purchase to deployment, management an