August, 2018

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Power Up Blended Learning: A Professional Learning Infrastructure to Support Sustainable Change

Catlin Tucker

The days and weeks leading up to a new school year are exciting. Teachers return energized, refreshed and ready to tackle another year. To capitalize on this energy, most school districts organize mandatory professional development opportunities for teachers designed to teach them a new teaching strategy or introduce them to a new piece of technology.

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Video Games Score Points with Teachers on Academic Benefits

EdTech Magazine

Video Games Score Points with Teachers on Academic Benefits. eli.zimmerman_9856. Tue, 08/14/2018 - 11:49. Playing video games used to be the antithesis of studious behavior. Now, the very same virtual worlds that once might have distracted kids from academics are used to supplement them. As schools continue to legitimize video games, K–12 teachers are realizing it is better to ride this wave rather than fight it , and reframe games as educational tools.

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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

A Principal's Reflections

In the past, I have written about my journey from digital nomad and detractor to leader. The catalyst for this transformation came in part from Twitter. My experiences in this social space forced me to take a critical lens to my professional practice as well as that of my staff in my school. Over time my primary use of social media shifted from communicator to learner.

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Fostering Powerful Use of Technology Through Instructional Coaching

Digital Promise

Last summer, we began an exciting pilot project to understand whether instructional technology coaching ultimately leads to closing the digital use divide in the classroom. While in some cases, technology is used in powerful ways to support students in developing critical thinking and collaboration skills, and to develop a sense of agency, in other situations it is used in things like drill and practice exercises, test prep, and reading online content.

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Enhancing Higher Education with Generative AI: A Responsible Guide

Generative AI holds tremendous promise for all stakeholders in higher education. But guardrails are needed. Strong governance that empower instructors are at the core of a responsible approach to using generative AI in academia.

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What is the role of the teacher in the online classroom? Connectivism might provide an answer

Neo LMS

Enabling interaction, collaboration and social learning online is perhaps the most difficult, and yet most important, part of teaching online. “Beyond learner satisfaction, however, is the more important belief that collaboration enhances learning outcomes and reduces the potential for learner isolation that can occur in the online environment. By learning together in a learning community, students have the opportunity to extend and deepen their learning experience, test out new ideas by sharing

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20 Tech Tips to Shake Up Learning

The CoolCatTeacher

Episode 337 with Kasey Bell From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter. Kasey Bell shares her tech tips for helping teachers make progress with technology. She also shares the biggest mistake she’s made as a teacher relating to edtech. Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher. Stream by clicking here. Kasey Bell’s Bio.

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More Trending

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Makerspace Educators Need Professional Development, Too

EdTech Magazine

Makerspace Educators Need Professional Development, Too. eli.zimmerman_9856. Thu, 08/30/2018 - 13:22. During my tenure as technology director at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Day School in Miami, the idea of makerspaces — collaborative workspaces that are growing more and more popular across the country — intrigued me, from both a pedagogical and a technological perspective.

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The Case for Coaching Leaders

A Principal's Reflections

Growing up as a child I played numerous sports recreationally and in high school. Upon entering high school I was not the best athlete by any means, but football was one sport where I excelled more than others, and this led to some time playing in college. Even though I had some fantastic coaches throughout my days playing competitive sports, I never gave much thought to becoming one myself.

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Why do we group students by manufacture date?

User Generated Education

Ken Robinson once famously said, “Students are educated in batches, according to age, as if the most important thing they have in common is their date of manufacture.” (Ken Robinson, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything ). I have the privilege of working with 2nd through 6th graders in my gifted education classes and Kindergarten through 6th grade in my summer STEM and robotics camps.

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How to Recognize, Avoid, and Stop Stereotype Threat in Your Class this School Year

Digital Promise

What can I do in my position to change outcomes for kids? As teachers, we don’t always have a say in decisions that are made in our buildings, the pacing for curriculum, or the content of a professional development day. But, we do have a lot of say about what happens within the walls of our classroom and whether or not ALL of our students feel welcome, safe, and successful.

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Enhancing School Device Management for Improved Learning

Schools face increasing challenges as technology becomes integral to education. Efficient device management is essential for maximizing technology use and safeguarding investments. Our article discusses the importance of tracking devices, outlines current challenges, and suggests modern solutions that go beyond traditional methods like Excel. Learn how advanced tracking systems can streamline operations, improve maintenance, and offer real-time updates for better resource allocation.

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In the Presence of a Hero…and How it Challenged Me as an Educator

Tom Murray

This post is dedicated to my new friend, Scott. Thank you, Scott, for challenging me to be a better educator, and more importantly, a better person. Recently, I had an experience that I can’t stop thinking about. The more I reflect on that afternoon, the more I realize it’s likely an experience that I’ll never forget. Like many other days, I was on the go… running, running, running.

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Blended Learning: Designing a Whole Group Rotation with StudySync

Catlin Tucker

The term “blended learning” is an umbrella that encompasses many different models that combine active, engaged learning online with active, engage learning offline. In my book, Blended Learning in Action , I included a chapter on the Whole Group Rotation, which is a modern spin on the Lab Rotation. Given that an increasing number of students have access to devices in their classrooms, thanks to 1:1 initiatives and mobile device carts, it is not necessary to send students to a lab, or

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K–12 Schools Should Teach Soft Skills to Prepare Students for the Future Workforce

EdTech Magazine

K–12 Schools Should Teach Soft Skills to Prepare Students for the Future Workforce. eli.zimmerman_9856. Thu, 08/30/2018 - 17:18. While digital tools are woven into educational pedagogy nationwide, another component of learning may help educators give students advantages in a world not yet known to them. A 2017 Report by Dell Technologies estimates that 85 percent of the jobs that will exist in 2030 — fewer than 12 years from now — haven’t been invented yet.

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12 curation ideas for students AND teachers with Wakelet

Ditch That Textbook

How do you get the most out of social media without letting things get lost in the shuffle? Being an educator on social media can be both inspiring and overwhelming. There are so many great ideas and resources out there to use that it can be hard to keep up with it all. It can […].

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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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Beginning the School Year With Connections: 2018

User Generated Education

I have written before about the beginning of the school year, Beginning the School Year: It’s About Connections Not Content. I begin all classes focusing on having the students make connections between each other and with me. I want students to learn about one another in a personal way. I want to learn about my students so my instructional strategies can be more personalized and tailored to their needs and interests.

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How Instructional Technology Coaching Can Help Teachers Create Powerful Learning Experiences

Digital Promise

“Technology use must, first and foremost, be designed to support learning goals, not the other way around.”. This insight, penned by Peggy A. Ertmer and Anne T. Ottenbreit-Leftwich in their 2013 study of authentic technology-enabled learning, highlights the main challenge coaches face when trying to support teachers using technology. It’s easy to let technology take center stage.

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Are your equity efforts aimed at test scores or life readiness?

Dangerously Irrelevant

Jason Glass said: I have an assignment for you. Tonight, I want you to go on the internet and download some worksheets on quadratic equations – try for at least 20 of them … on each side of the page, spend some time memorizing the periodic table, and while you’re at it memorize the major dates, battles, and generals associated with the American Civil War.

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Middle School Writing Rubrics

Catlin Tucker

In my book Blended Learning in Grades 4-12 , I shared the following middle school writing rubrics with my readers. Unfortunately, the short links I provided in my book have timed out, so I wanted to share these on my blog so any middle school teachers interested in using them have access! Feel free to make a copy and adjust as needed. bit.ly/6-8ArgumentativeWritingRubric. bit.ly/6-8InformativeWritingRubric. bit.ly/6-8NarrativeWritingRubric.

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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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Technology Helps Teachers Prevent and Mitigate Bad Behavior in the Classroom

EdTech Magazine

Technology Helps Teachers Prevent and Mitigate Bad Behavior in the Classroom. eli.zimmerman_9856. Mon, 08/13/2018 - 10:17. While most teachers want to believe the best about their students, the reality is that skipping class, plagiarism and a host of other issues are behavioral challenges teachers grapple with daily. It can be difficult for teachers to react in ways that will guide students back to proper classroom behavior without alienating them — which is a major concern according to a recent

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Using Google Slides to create Instagram Stories in class

Ditch That Textbook

Instagram is social media behemoth, and it keeps growing. It has eclipsed 1 billion users, and it’s the second most popular social media platform with teenagers behind Snapchat, according to a report. (Although one statistic says it has more daily teenage users than Snapchat. It’s just one of a variety of social media and other […].

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5 Ways Teachers Can Create Solid Relationships With Their Students

EdNews Daily

For students, establishing strong, trustful relationships with their teachers is fundamental to the learning process. Also, creating positive relationships within the classroom can provide students with higher self-esteem, a feeling of connection, and can create a welcoming “family-type,” of an environment. As Dr. Rita Pierson stated in her famous TedTalk, “Every child deserves a champion; an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insi

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Timeless Learning: Progressive Education Based in How Humans Have Always Learned

Digital Promise

What does learning look like? What does it sound like? What does it feel like? How does a five-year-old learn? A 13-year-old? A 17-year-old? And… if a child had never seen or heard of a school, what would his or her learning experiences be as they move from age four to age 18? What would those 18-year-olds be like? What might they know? What skills might they have?

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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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Vote Early and Often for Our SxSWedu Sessions

Battelle for Kids

Once again, the P21 network of Exemplar schools and member organizations is eager to represent at SxSWedu in Austin next March.

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Tips, Tricks and Tools to Build Your Inclusive Classroom Through UDL

Edsurge

Would you want to be a learner in your classroom? That’s not a trick question—think about it. Perhaps some of the activities and lessons wouldn’t resonate if you were sitting behind a desk listening to them yourself. This may be especially true in classrooms where material is presented in a one-size-fits-all format. After all, the more options students are given to complete assignments, the more likely it is they’ll find one that interests them.

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How Edge Computing Could Benefit K–12 Classrooms

EdTech Magazine

How Edge Computing Could Benefit K–12 Classrooms. eli.zimmerman_9856. Wed, 08/22/2018 - 09:22. If cloud computing is about processing data out there, edge computing is the opposite. By leveraging the tremendous computational power of classroom devices, edge enables computing right here — and it may have profound classroom implications. “For time-sensitive applications, edge brings high-performance computing horsepower as close to the action as possible,” says Marcus Moffett, Cisco ’s senior syst

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10 ways to make good Google Classroom assignments better

Ditch That Textbook

If you’ve used Google Classroom for long (or even if you’re just beginning to use it), you’re likely to see that there’s not a lot to it. Google Classroom was created to help teachers teach and learners learn so that tech stays out of their way to do it. Less tech, more teach. And Google […].

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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 Skilled Services Career Might Be The Best Economic Option For Many Students

EdNews Daily

Students not bound for college used to be put into vocational-technical classes as a way to build their skills for a vocational career. They had the opportunity to learn carpentry, food prep, hospitality, or automotive repair, among other trades. But that’s all changed. Back in 1984, the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act aimed to not only improve the quality of vo-tech education, but also shed its negative image.

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Cut the Bull

Pair-a-dimes for Your Thoughts

Have a look at this study of a bull by Pablo Picasso: It starts off with intricate drawings and step by step Picasso moves from detail to just the essence of what a bull is, using just a handful of lines. Sometimes we have to ‘cut the bull’ … We have to look at the essence of what good teaching and learning looks like. Unit planning: What do you really want students to know, to understand, and be able to do ?

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8 Great iPad Audio Recording Apps for Teachers and Students

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

For those of you asking about audio recording apps to use on iPad, here is a list of some of the best options out there. Whether you want to record a lecture, an audio note, a memo, or simply.read more.

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Everything You Need to Know to Get Started With AR/VR in the Classroom

Edsurge

Getting started with augmented and virtual reality may seem overwhelming, but with the right approach, successful implementation is achievable—and can actually be a lot of fun to learn. As we head back to school, a solid plan will help turn frustrating experiences into mind-blowing creative lessons. But first, an introduction to the world of AR/VR, which can sometimes get confusing.

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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.