Sat.Feb 08, 2020 - Fri.Feb 14, 2020

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Why Talking About 'Screen Time' is the Wrong Conversation

Edsurge

Just about every week new articles warn about the dangers of excessive screen time for childhood development. That can leave parents and educators feeling a sense of anxiety about technology and kids, even as more schools use iPads and Chromebooks and other tech in classrooms. Today on the podcast we're diving into the issue of screen time with a guest who for years has tracked research about the impact of screen media on children and young people.

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The Digital Transformation of Literacy Education

EdNews Daily

By Tyson Smith. Companies that have been in the game for a while have been courtside in watching EdTech explode over the past 35 years. Even as schools and districts rushed to buy the new, hottest thing, to me the question has always been whether a given piece of tech actually held enough substance to improve student learning. When it comes to teaching literacy, a huge shift happened in 1999 when the National Reading Panel put out a report saying that if you don’t teach phonics, you’re basically

Education 147
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You Can Coach for Equity Anywhere, with Anyone

Education Elements

To create the schools children deserve, we must coach educators and leaders for equity. It isn’t an option for coaches to be neutral on issues of justice — and there are injustices occurring in almost every school, every day. It’s our moral and professional obligation to lead and coach in a way that surfaces and interrupts these inequities.

Education 242
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Investing in Women-Led Edtech Startups Is More Than a Matter of Equity. It’s Also Good Business.

Edsurge

When no female directors were nominated for the “Best Directors” Oscars category this year, Bette Midler called for a new awards ceremony, the Osc-hers. The entertainment industry is hardly alone in overlooking some of its top talent. Each and every year, top-notch education technology found- hers are passed over by investors—to the detriment of an industry in need of disruption and new ideas.

EdTech 160
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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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Free Resource: Personalization, Agency, Authenticity, Connectivity, and Creativity (PAACC) Playbook

Catlin Tucker

In the book, Blended Learning in Action , my co-authors (Tiffany Wycoff and Jason Green) and I created the PAACC Hallmarks of Effective Practice as a guide to ensure that blended learning puts students at the center of learning and helps them to develop future-ready skills. We think of the PAACC framework as a compass so that as we implement blended practices, we are not focused on the models or tools but rather the “why” behind blended learning.

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Personalized Learning in Action

A Principal's Reflections

Over the past year, I have been blessed to support the Davis School District in Utah with their personalized learning initiative across the district. It has been exciting and challenging work as I have been mentoring principals, facilitating workshops, and providing teachers feedback where schools are all at different places as they work to create more personal experiences for learners.

More Trending

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Engagement & Edtech in Social Studies

The CoolCatTeacher

Dustin Harnish inspires social studies teachers From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter You can blend old fashioned relationships with modern edtech if you know how. Teacher Dustin Harnish proves it. Dustin Harnish teaches seventh-grade social studies with Spheros, 3d printing, and engaging activities. But he uses far more than technology to engage students.

Study 388
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Interdisciplinary Project Planning Framework

Catlin Tucker

When I was at TCEA last week, a teacher approached me after one of my sessions to ask if I had ever written about my experience planning interdisciplinary projects. I realized that I had not written specifically about the process of planning a project with teachers who taught other subject areas. So, I wanted to share the framework that my teaching team (English, history, and science) used when planning large scale interdisciplinary projects.

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What is Constructivism and How Does it Fit Your Class?

Ask a Tech Teacher

Constructivism is a student-centered philosophy that emphasizes hands-on learning and active participation in lessons. Constructivists believe that learning is an active process so the most effective way to learn is through discovery. With hands-on activities, learners actively create their own subjective representation of objective reality. Because new information is blended into prior knowledge, the result is – of course – subjective, heavily dependent upon the personal lens of each learner.

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Guest Post: Helping Students Navigate Online Sources with Critical Literacy

Digital Promise

When I taught United States history at a high school in New York City, I had a discussion with my students about finding sources for their upcoming research projects. The responses mainly echoed, “just Google” and “stay away from Wikipedia.” These were not promising guidelines, but did make me think: Should we stay away from Wikipedia? Is it all right as a jumping off point?

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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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4 Emerging Edtech Trends in 2020

The CoolCatTeacher

Nikolaos Chatzopoulos shares his thoughts From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Nikolaos Chatzopoulos shares four trends that are shaping how his schools teach with technology. From coding to robotics and augmented reality and his favorite (which he saved for last), learn how a leading-edge K-8 program is using technology to teach all students the skills and thinking capacities they need to be successful in the modern era.

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My New Journey With a Mission-Driven Organization

Education Elements

Erica Williams Simon, founder of Snapchat’s Creator’s Lab and one of my favorite millennials on a mission, wrote in this tweet that the best career advice she can give is to never attach yourself to a person, place, company, or project, but rather a mission, a calling, or a purpose. I’ve been a teacher, a policy researcher, and an EdTech leader, and my purpose guiding me through each of those roles was to create equitable experiences and opportunities for all learners.

EdTech 227
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169 Tech Tip #79 My Internet Stopped Working

Ask a Tech Teacher

In these 169 tech-centric situations, you get an overview of pedagogy—the tech topics most important to your teaching—as well as practical strategies to address most classroom tech situations, how to scaffold these to learning, and where they provide the subtext to daily tech-infused education. Today’s tip: My Internet Won’t Work. Category: Internet.

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Introducing the Challenge Based Science Learning Toolkit

Digital Promise

Designed to address the need for open educational resources that support student-driven learning in science, our new Challenge Based Science Learning Toolkit guides educators in developing science units that build on student interest, lead to deeper learning, and engage students in using science to solve problems in their community. The Challenge Based Science Learning Toolkit was developed through the Challenge Based Science Learning Challenge Collaborative , which brought educators, researcher

Learning 216
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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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#LoveTeaching Week Starts Today!

The CoolCatTeacher

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Love Teaching Week Begins Today! February 14 is the beginning of #LoveTeaching week. Each day there are challenges and prompts so check Twitter and We Love Teaching.org ( [link] ) for how you can participate. Today we start as Stacey McAdoo, Arkansas State Teacher of the Year 2019, tells her story of why she loves teaching!

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20 digital bell ringer activities to kickstart class

Ditch That Textbook

Quality bell ringers are crucial — quick activities to get students going at the beginning of class, when the bell has just rung. For these first five or ten minutes of class (OK, probably more the five than the ten), we have our students’ most attention. It’s the most focused they’ll likely be for us all […]. The post 20 digital bell ringer activities to kickstart class appeared first on Ditch That Textbook.

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Free toolkit "How to Identify Effective STEM Activities for Children”

Educational Technology Guy

Baylor University recently published the toolkit "How to Identify Effective STEM Activities for Children” that helps parents and teachers know what to look for in a STEM lesson and offers 9 examples of quality online resources. You can access the full resource here: [link] In it, they discuss the best ways to engage students in STEM, how to get them interested, how to introduce STEM to students, and have resources for finding STEM activities and lessons.

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Why Aren’t We Paying Early Childhood Educators What They’re Worth?

Edsurge

In 2015, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) had just embarked on its first research project to understand the attitudes, perceptions and beliefs of likely voters about early childhood education, and specifically the role of early childhood educators. As part of the project, we conducted a series of focus groups with current educators and individuals interested in entering the field.

Education 209
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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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Trust and Grace in the Classroom

The CoolCatTeacher

Alana Stanton talks about what matters in the classroom From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Each year, many educators select a word or two for the year. Kindergarten teacher Alana Stanton, shares her words, “Grace” and “trust” and how she applies them to her classroom, student and parent relationships, and her teaching practice every day.

Classroom 358
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The Power of Rubrics—Students Take Control of Their Own Learning and Achievement

EdNews Daily

By Lynda Van Kuren. Summary: Patti West-Smith, an expert in pedagogy from Turnitin, explains that with a bit of up-front guidance, rubrics help students become self-directed learners who see exactly how to improve before turning in their paper or assignment. Rachel was devastated when she received a so-so grade on the paper she’d worked so hard on for her freshman writing class.

Learning 182
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10 tips for lesson planning writer’s block

Ditch That Textbook

Lesson planning is hard -- especially when the ideas aren't flowing freely. Here are some tips for overcoming lesson planning writer's block. It's the end of the school day. Or the beginning of your prep hour. You have a little lesson planning time for the next week. (Or maybe the next day!) You sit down to […]. The post 10 tips for lesson planning writer’s block appeared first on Ditch That Textbook.

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Bringing Personalized Learning to Scale in a Large Urban School District

Education Elements

Personalized learning has captured the attention of many education reformers. Much of the conversation is around utilizing a personalized learning approach to enhance student engagement, and thereby, increase student achievement. I believe that many school districts are confusing personalized learning with offering programs that constitute personalized pathways.

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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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7 Tips for Making Great Student “Pitch” Videos

The CoolCatTeacher

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter As I’ve recently blogged about several contests where students create “pitch” videos for learning, some teachers probably want some advice on creating such a “pitch” video. This blog post will give you several tips for making great student pitch videos. This blog post is sponsored by Discovery Education.

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How School Boards See and Assess Input on Classroom Technology

EdTech Magazine

When Prince William County Public Schools in Virginia needed to replace its 20-year-old core network three years ago, IT Services Director AJ Phillips had to convince school board members to support purchasing a new network infrastructure. The school board didn’t understand why the district’s network performed poorly, so Phillips had to get creative in her explanation.

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10 ways to build your tech agility

Ditch That Textbook

This post is written by Georgina Dean, an Educational Technology Consultant from Amman, Jordan. You can connect with Georgina on Twitter at @TechyLeaderEDU Have you ever chatted to a colleague who seemed to have superhero-like powers with a certain app? Or maybe you felt in awe about how much they knew about your school’s learning […]. The post 10 ways to build your tech agility appeared first on Ditch That Textbook.

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What are the Most Popular Classroom Technologies in 2020?

EdNews Daily

By Monica Gill. The way of teaching and learning is changing every day. In today’s classrooms, keeping children focused on the content they are studying is a big challenge. Innovative and creative technologies and strategies make it easier for teachers to keep their students interested in the topic, distribute pre-class, in-class, and post-class study material, and gauge how much each student really understood the concept discussed in class. .

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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.

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4 Ready to Go tips for Project Based Learning and Maker Spaces

The CoolCatTeacher

Nicholas Provenzano gets us started From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter How do you get started with project-based learning (PBL) and Maker spaces? Nicholas Provenzano, the author of the book, Beyond the Poster Board , gives us four tips to get started with effective PBL and Maker space use in your school and classroom.

Adobe 308
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CoSN's CETL® Certification Program

EdTech Magazine

The CETL® certification program demonstrates K-12 education technology leaders have mastered the knowledge and skills needed to build 21st century learning environments. Get started today.

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Are Algorithmically-Generated Term Papers the Next Big Challenge to Academic Integrity?

Edsurge

This is the third of a three-part series on the “cheating economy.” For more, read part one , and part two. And listen to a live discussion we hosted on the topic as well. There’s a new application of AI in education, and educators aren’t going to like it. A growing number of companies now let students outsource their homework to a bot—or, more specifically, an algorithm that writes term papers for them based on chosen keywords.

Robotics 175
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3 Steps to Become a More Responsive Leader

Education Elements

There are many avenues you can take when making change in your organization. Change can be made at the structural level by redesigning the way teams are organized. Change can be made at the team level by refining the way collaboration happens. Change can be made at the individual level by evolving personal habits and practices.

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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.