Sat.Oct 01, 2016 - Fri.Oct 07, 2016

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Ditching Traditional Grades & My Online Gradebook

Catlin Tucker

Last year, I began experimenting with standards-based grading and wrote a blog titled “ Grading for Mastery and Redesigning My Gradebook. ” My goal was to shift the conversation away from the accumulation of points and, instead, focus on the development of skills. Although I appreciated the immediate change that took place when I began grading based on my students’ ability to master specific skills, I knew I wanted to go even further this year as I began N.E.W.

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How Do You Mend a Broken Teacher?

The CoolCatTeacher

Life Lessons from Hall of Fame Teacher Kim Bearden From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter. Broken. It happens. It hurts deeply. I have had days when I didn’t know how I would get out of bed and make it to school. Most teachers I respect have had periods of deep brokenness too. So has Hall of Fame Teacher Kim Bearden, co-founder of Ron Clark Academy.

Company 399
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A parent’s perspective on the best learning apps for children

Neo LMS

There are many different apps that all claim to help children with their learning. From reading to math games, apps are taking over the educational landscape. So much so, that some schools are integrating tablets and apps into their curriculum. Apps can be a great tool to use for learning, once you figure out the best ones for your children and how to use them effectively.

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Virtual Reality: Coming Soon to a School Near You

EdTech Magazine

By Frank DiMaria Soon students will sense movement, explore the human body in 3D and mix chemicals virtually thanks to companies like Oculus, Facebook and Nearpod.

Facebook 383
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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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Are We Talking Technology or Are We Talking Learning

More Verbs

More and more, educators are recognizing that the true value of technology isn’t learning how to use the tools and devices, but rather using the tools and devices to learn (see here , here , here , and here ). Even a recent meta analysis of the research on 1to1 learning environments shows that when the studies focused simply on the presence of technology, there was no real improvement in learning.

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3 Reasons to Bring Music into the Classroom

The CoolCatTeacher

(Besides Improving Test Scores) From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter. Why does music seem to rewire the brain for learning? Studies show a definite link between music and academic success. Then, why is music often one of the first things cut when budgets shrink ? Let’s dive into why music is so important to a child’s education.

Classroom 351

More Trending

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Computer Science (Not Just Coding) Needs a Bigger Role in STEM Education

EdTech Magazine

By Vince Bertram Schools should introduce technology courses earlier and demystify CompSci.

STEM 419
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8 Websites that Explain Elections

Ask a Tech Teacher

In about half the world’s nations–such as those ruled by socialism, communism, dictators, and autocracies–law and order are decided by government agencies, often people placed in power by those already in power. When America wrote its Democracy-based Constitution and Bill of Rights in the late 1700’s, we chose a different route.

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Improve retention, re-teach less with this learning technique

Ditch That Textbook

What if you didn’t have to spend so much time re-teaching material to your students? What if that material was securely saved in their minds, ready for recall whenever necessary? And they could apply that knowledge to whatever they were learning at the moment? Even though there’s no magic bullet to make students remember everything [.].

Learning 279
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Designing Technology for Adult Learners: Support and Scaffolding

Digital Promise

We inaugurated our design brief series last spring with Designing for Adult Learners: 5 Key Principles Drawn from Adult Learning Theory. This series is for education technology developers and entrepreneurs who wish to enter the adult learning market, a market with enormous growth potential. We have now published our second brief, Designing for Technology Adult Learners: Support and Scaffolding.

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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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Q&A: CoSN’s Keith Krueger on the Future of K–12 Networks

EdTech Magazine

By Jena Passut Consortium’s CEO outlines how to achieve digital equity and lays out a strategy for bringing broadband to K–12 education.

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How To Document A Science Investigation Using Google Keep.

EdTech4Beginners

Recently, my class did a science experiment, where we explored how rain falls. In short, you put shaving foam (the cloud) on top of a cup of water and drop food colouring onto it. When the cloud gets full, it begins to ‘rain’ the food colouring. Have a look at a video we took: How did the class document the experiment? We used a brilliant app called Google Keep.

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8 Essential Books Every Tech-Minded Teacher Should Read

Ask a Tech Teacher

I love reading, but there are so many books out there, it’s challenging to pick the right one for my education needs. Ask a Tech Teacher contributor, Karen Dikson, came to the rescue. She curated a great list of essential tech-minded books for today’s teachers. Here are her suggestions: We live in an extremely stimulating and dynamic era, and it’s hard to predict what is going to happen tomorrow, let alone in the next few years.

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K–12’s Curricular Transition from Atoms to Bits is a Work in Progress

The Journal

While the book publishing, music publishing and video publishing industries have transitioned successfully from atoms to bits, not so for K-12. Indeed, in K-12 it is early – and confusing – days in transitioning from atom-based textbooks to bit-based digital curricula.

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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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Cybersecurity Is a Shared Responsibility

EdTech Magazine

By Ryan Petersen National Cyber Security Awareness Month demonstrates the power of user education in combating threats.

Education 318
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Reluctant writers in your class? Engage them with Pokemon character reports.

EdTech4Beginners

I recently came across this amazing art on BoredPanda. It is an artist’s vision of the anatomy of different Pokemon characters. Here is an example: This inspired me to set a homework challenge for my students to create their own Pokemon character non-chronological reports. I hoped it would engage them! Here is the template I shared with them: *You can download the PDF by clicking here.

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Mindsnacks–Learning in Bite-sized Pieces

Ask a Tech Teacher

Mindsnacks is a series of education apps on topics like geography, vocabulary, languages, and SAT. With colorful graphics and cute characters, it’s a cross between flashcards and multiple choice with lots of visual thrown in. Though these are game-based learning, there’s no plot as you might find simulated games. Think Number Munchers rather than Minecraft.

Learning 228
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Ideas For Providing Internet Access At Home

The Web20Classroom

This post is sponsored by Samsung. All thoughts and opinions are my own. When I was an Instructional Technology Director one of the challenges I faced was working to ensure that students, no matter where they lived in my district, had access to the same tools and opportunities. I could provide technology that could be used in the schools, and provided high speed network access while they were in schools.

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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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Revamped E-Rate Program Is ‘Custom Built’ for Connectivity

EdTech Magazine

By Heather B. Hayes Experts offer tips on how to maximize funds for robust broadband and wireless networks.

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10 engaging ways to use mobile devices in the classroom

Ditch That Textbook

Mobile devices are everywhere. Adults and children are using smartphones, tablets, e-readers and more to interact with each other and the web every day. More people interact with digital media through mobile now than through desktop computers, and that number continues to grow. Seventy five percent of kids under eight have their own mobile device. [.].

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A Plain English Instructional Model

More Verbs

We’ve been working hard to help Maine’s schools adopt a “More Verbs, Fewer Nouns” stance when thinking about the technology in our schools. We want schools to be sure they are focused more on what they want to do with the devices than with the devices themselves. There is no doubt that there is a lot of “noun” work that needs to happen to make the learning (the “verb” work) happen, but we want to make sure that when we talk about tools and devices

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College Bound? Made of Compassion and Creativity: Meet Ethan Sawyer, College Essay Guy

EdNews Daily

Sometimes, if we are lucky enough, our paths cross with genuine people who truly want to make a difference in the world, especially for youth. When I come across someone of this nature, I make extra effort to ensure I nurture and care for the relationship. I have not recommended specific names or people on this site in the past. In the four years I’ve been running this outlet, I am proud to introduce you to my new friend and colleague, Ethan Sawyer, the College Essay Guy.

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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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Review: Acer Chromebook 14 for Work Is Built to Last

EdTech Magazine

By Dr. Jeffrey Sheen Stamina, strength and stability make this Acer an attractive option for IT professionals and educators.

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One Simple Way to Eliminate All Classroom Discipline Problems

Brilliant or Insane

Brilliant or Insane. I once told a principal that our in-school detention room was an inefficient method of school discipline. When he asked me what I would do to improve it, I told him to remove all of the chairs and force the offending students to stand and stare at the wall. That was one of the saddest […]. The post One Simple Way to Eliminate All Classroom Discipline Problems appeared first on Brilliant or Insane.

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Subscriber Special: October

Ask a Tech Teacher

Every month, subscribers to Ask a Tech Teacher get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching. October 9th-10th (two days only): K-8 Technology Curriculum UPDATED 6th Edition. Student Workbooks. 10% Discount on Room License–use coupon code STUDENTWKBKSPECIALROOM. 20% Discount on School License–use coupon code STUDENTWKBKSPECIALSCHOOL. 25% Discount on District License–use coupon code STUDENTWKBKSPECIALDISTRICT.

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Goal: Introduce Pop Culture into the Curriculum

Teacher Reboot Camp

Welcome to Cycle 7 of The 30 Goals Challenge: Make it Meaningful ! “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” – Albert Einstein. Goal: Engage your students with pop culture appropriate for their ages. Teach a lesson with a song or share an example or anecdote from a famous celebrity your students respect.

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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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Network Upgrades Keep K–12 Traffic Humming as Usage Soars

EdTech Magazine

By Melissa Tamberg-Heffron BYOD and 1-to-1 programs yield classroom benefits and spur infrastructure investments.

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What's Hidden in You?

A Principal's Reflections

I really had quite the fixed mindset early on as a young school leader. Success was defined by how well I performed my daily routine. In my opinion I worked hard, but really didn’t push myself outside my comfort zone. The reason being that in my mind there were just certain things I couldn’t do…nor had to. I didn’t have the “talent”, pre-disposition, personality, or character to do certain things.

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‘Really Tricky’ Online Maths Resources

EdTech4Beginners

I recently organised and ran the Federation of British Schools In Asia (FOBISIA) maths tournament. It was successful and I got positive feedback from both teachers and students. Well done to the winners: Now that it is finished, I thought I would share some of the resources I created/used. They were described by my students as ‘really tricky’!

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The Advantages of a Plain English Instructional Model

More Verbs

Recently we have started to promote a Plain English Instructional Model to help promote pedagogical conversations in school and to help contextualize our conversations about education technology around learning. The primary advantage of having a plain English instructional model is that it is often more easily adapted by our staff who are strong “Joe” and “Jane Average” instructors.

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Enhancing HyFlex Education through the PowerTeaching Framework

This whitepaper explores integrating the PowerTeaching pedagogical approach within a HyFlex (Hybrid Flexible) educational model, focusing on employing cooperative learning strategies and efficient classroom management techniques.