Sat.Feb 27, 2016 - Fri.Mar 04, 2016

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Letting Students Lead the Learning

Catlin Tucker

According to a Gallup Student Poll (2015) of public school children, 47% report being “disengaged” at school. Unfortunately, this statistic doesn’t shock me. Too many classrooms are not set up with the intention of engaging students. Student engagement is “ the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught.” As a teacher, it’s my job to engage student curiosity, interest and passion in

Learning 330
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10 tips to use Google Classroom effectively and efficiently

Ditch That Textbook

Google Classroom streamlines the management of student work — announcing, assigning, collecting, grading, giving feedback and returning. It has certainly saved many teachers hours of work. Without a solid workflow and some strategy, grading digital work can be cumbersome. Google Classroom does make working with student work more efficient — but only if you understand how [.].

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Doing Things at School That Can’t Be Done At Home

User Generated Education

Many kids and teens are spending a lot of their time doing solitary screen-related activities. This most often occurs at home with their own devices. We are also living in an age where practically any and all content can be found via the Internet. The educator is no longer the gatekeeper to information. Internet resources can present and teach content better than a lecturing educator.

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Discovering the Unexpected Elements of Classroom Mobility

EdTech Magazine

By Amy Brown Tablets, notebooks and, yes, even smartphones can improve learning outcomes, but only if schools plan deployment carefully.

Mobility 221
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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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How to Safely Connect Six-Year-Olds to the World

The CoolCatTeacher

Kathy Cassidy shares her secrets for blogging, sharing and keeping kids safe online From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter. Six-year-olds can blog. Canadian first-grade teacher Kathy Cassidy has long shown us the way as she has been blogging with six and seven-year-olds successfully for many years. She shares her secrets of keeping kids safe , helping them build a portfolio and the workflow for helping kids become independent bloggers. [ Listen on the web

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Gamification in the classroom: small changes and big results

Neo LMS

Games are fun; learning is not. Kids could play games for hours on end, without asking for food and holding their bladder for as much as they can. When it comes to doing homework or studying, on the other hand, things cannot be more different: their attention span gets smaller than a goldfish' and all physiological needs become the most important things ever.

More Trending

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Education Dept. Developing Tool to Help Teachers Choose the Right Ed Tech

EdTech Magazine

By D. Frank Smith An online tool under development will help education leaders make the right decisions on their next major tech purchases.

Tools 215
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The Meaning of Words

A Principal's Reflections

Jargon in education is nothing new. Luckily there are so many resources available to make sense of it as it applies to our professional practice. Just check the Dictionary of Educational Jargon to get some clarity, then have some fun with the Educational Jargon Generator. Words are always flying around in education circles. Whether it is in person at events and workshops or in social media spaces, I routinely see conversations play out where educators take a certain stance on the meaning of spec

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Did These 2nd Graders Debunk the Myth That Tests Measure Learning?

Brilliant or Insane

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 160
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Inspiring the Next Generation of Makers

Digital Promise

Right now, in your city or town — in your state and region — people are making things. They’re part of the Maker Movement, a revolution that’s unleashing digital design tools (like 3D modeling software) and production devices (like 3D printers), and letting citizens design and make almost anything they can dream. Around the country, hundreds of schools and communities have harnessed the power of making to offer more compelling and effective 21st century learning opportunities for students.

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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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Virtual Classrooms: A Vision of the Future of Teacher Training

EdTech Magazine

By D. Frank Smith A classroom simulator platform operating out of UCF is breaking new ground for how teachers hone their craft.

Training 206
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3 Keys to Designing Learner-Centered Spaces

Tom Murray

This post is sponsored by Samsung. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own. The average high school classroom, if drawn on a map, resembles a cemetery. Last summer, I co-authored a piece on “ avoiding the cemetery effect ” for this exact reason. Spaces are often set with desks in rows, students facing forward, with most of the action taking place in the first one-fifth of the room…by the teacher.

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The Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Top Blog Posts of February 2016

The CoolCatTeacher

What has teachers talking? From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter. When looking at the top posts of the over 3,500 blog posts here, a theme jumps forward for February 2016. Hope, stress, encouragement, growth, and trying to improve education. I see struggle and persistence all over the pieces that you are sharing this month.

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52 Resources for Read Across America Day

Ask a Tech Teacher

Many people in the United States, particularly students, parents and teachers, join forces on Read Across America Day, annually held on March 2. This nationwide observance coincides with the birthday of Dr Seuss. Here are some great reading websites for students K-5: Aesop Fables—no ads. Aesop’s Fables. Audio stories. Childhood Stories. Classic Fairy Tales.

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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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Shared Visioning in Action

More Verbs

I recently started a new job: Policy Director of the Learning Through Technology Team (LTTT) at the Maine Department of Education. It’s essentially the state tech director position, and its largest responsibility is managing the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI – 1to1 in 7th & 8th statewide – since 2002! – and making it easy for districts to buy in at other grades), and supporting schools as they think about how technology can support learning.

Policies 150
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Gamification in the classroom: small changes and big results

Neo LMS

Games are fun; learning is not. Kids could play games for hours on end, without asking for food and holding their bladder for as much as they can. When it comes to doing homework or studying, on the other hand, things cannot be more different: their attention span gets smaller than a goldfish' and all physiological needs become the most important things ever.

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In the News: On Sony Pursuing Blockchain Applications for Education

Doug Levin

As quoted in: Cavanagh, Sean. “ Sony Vows to Bring ‘Blockchain’ Tech to Education. Will It Take Hold in K-12? ” EdWeek Market Brief. 25 February 2016. Conceivably, if blockchain were to help students keep track of and share records of their academic experiences – in brick-and-mortar schools, virtual classes, from other sources – it could add detail and sophistication to efforts to “personalize” education, said Doug Levin, the president of EdTech Strategies LLC, a consulting organization, in an i

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Parent Questions About Edtech

Ask a Tech Teacher

I love hearing a parent’s perspective on technology in their classrooms so I reached out to efriend, Joe Peters for his thoughts. Joe’s not only a parent, but a freelance journalist and tech enthusiast, so he knew exactly how to get his ideas across on the printed page. You won’t want to miss this article: Parents are aware that classrooms nowadays are much different than when they went to school a generation ago.

EdTech 154
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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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Building a Shared Vision Part 3: How Will We Get There?

More Verbs

If you are reading this, I suspect you want to help move your school or district forward, and recognize that a critical first step is developing a shared vision with stakeholders, including your staff and community. This is the third post describing a process to quickly build an effective vision. The first post set up the activity. The second post described how to collaboratively envision a preferred future for students you care about.

Groups 150
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The Maker Educator Workshop

User Generated Education

I am doing full day workshops on The Maker Educator both at ISTE 2016 and EduTECH in Australia. What follows is both the description-goals and an overview of the workshop’s learning activities. Workshop Description, Goals, and Outline. Description. Being a maker educator requires developing a new mindset; a new set of skills and roles. Discover, through this workshop, first, a process for reflecting on making through creating circuits and hacked toys, and second, through a self-assessment,

Education 147
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A Whale Of A PBL

Battelle for Kids

Volume 3, Issue 3, Number 2. Driving Question: What if 2nd graders learned significant reading content through meaningful project work and shared their learning with others? 2nd graders at Katherine Smith School, a Project Based Learning School, in San Jose, California recently finished a PBL about We read about whales. We thought about whales. We asked questions about whales.

Groups 147
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How to Interest the Next Generation of Great Minds to Work in STEM Fields

Ask a Tech Teacher

I’ve had a lot of questions in the last few months about STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Math) in the classroom. Ask a Tech Teacher contributor, Sara Stringer, has a great article that will help demystify this topic: . STEM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, and covers an immense range of subject areas. Across the nation, STEM is of the greatest significance due to the function these particular topic areas perform along with the extraordinary influen

STEM 150
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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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Building a Shared Vision Part 2: Where Will They Be?

More Verbs

Creating a shared vision is a critical step in school improvement efforts. This post is the continuation of an effective process for creating such a shared vision. In the previous post, we discussed the background of the process, who to invite, and some of the set up. This portion focuses on how to arrive at the preferred future we have for students we care about.

Groups 150
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Inspiring the Next Generation of Makers

Digital Promise

Karen Cator is President & CEO of Digital Promise. You can follow her on Twitter at @kcator. Right now, in your city or town — in your state and region — people are making things. They’re part of the Maker Movement, a revolution that’s unleashing digital design tools (like 3D modeling software) and production devices (like 3D printers), and letting citizens design and make almost anything they can dream.

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STEM: A DEEP DEFINITION

Battelle for Kids

Volume 3, Issue 3, Number 1. Driving Question: What makes a STEM School? What makes a STEM school? That is the question that is most often asked. I have literally sat on so many panels (K12,Higher Ed, political, policy, and industry), participated in meetings from the White House to the schoolhouse, been active in research think tanks and included in numerous case studies to define what STEM is and what makes a STEM school and we are still asking this question.

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Subscriber Special: March

Ask a Tech Teacher

Every month, subscribers to Ask a Tech Teacher get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching. This month: Freebies! Posters. Lesson plan for teaching Khan Academy. Articles on Common Core. Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-8 technology for 15 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-8 technology curriculum , K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum.

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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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Building a Shared Vision Part 1: Where To Begin?

More Verbs

Destination Matters. This is true with schools, too. Our destination should be more than just the work we do: taking attendance, direct instruction, providing practice, reviewing and assessing work, providing feedback, etc. Why are we bothering to do this work? For that matter, how do we know this is the right work to do? We can answer those questions if we work with our staff, students, families, and community to create a shared vision.

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Growth Mindset in Education: More Than an Attitude

Voyager Sopris Learning

Among the recent trends in education, few are as notable (for the right reasons) as the growth mindset. This belief is, fortunately, very simple to understand. Mental abilities and other talents can be developed through dedication and hard work. The opposite of the growth mindset is kind of a downer. It’s called the fixed mindset, and it suggests that intelligence, talent, and other abilities are more or less fixed at birth.

Education 140
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Don’t Forget to Breathe: Why communication skills are more crucial than ever

Battelle for Kids

Volume 3, Issue 2, Number 12. Communication is complex, and tricky these days. And as important to our lives as the air we breathe. Let's look at air for a moment --it is all around us, 24/7, no matter where we are or what we are doing. It is essential for our survival and for our success. In addition air must be of the highest quality - have the right combination of oxygen and hydrogen and little or no pollutants - in order to be most beneficial to us.

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Let’s Leap into Math to Learn Leap Year Calculations!

FuelEd

Contributor: Cindy Bryant Thursday, March 3, 2016 - 11:45am This past Monday, February 29, was Leap Day. You may think that Leap Day is added to the calendar every four years, creating a Leap Year, but it’s more complex than that and requires a bit of math to calculate. How Do I Calculate Leap Year? As it turns out, February 29 is not added to the calendar every four years.

Learning 126
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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.