March, 2013

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Grade Change: Moving a School Culture Forward

A Principal's Reflections

'Recently Jeff Fiscina , one of my math teachers, submitted a guest post on my blog that emphasized some of his grading practices that best support and promote student learning. That post got me thinking about the process we went through to assist Jeff in developing and embracing his current grading practices as well as that of other teachers. It was about a year ago that I decided to tackle the grading culture here at New Milford High School, which wasn''t much different than the majority of sc

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Using Technology In The Classroom? Keep Parents In Mind

The Web20Classroom

'I was having a conversation with a colleague the other day. We got to talking about parents and the struggle he was having getting them to realize that all these social media tools and Web 2.0 tools were worth the time and effort the teachers were spending to enhance learning in the classroom. So I asked, what had he done to get the parents involved in the conversation?

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Google Keep note taking service launched

Educational Technology Guy

'Google has just launched Keep , a note taking service, that is free. It is a cool note taking system, that allows you to quickly jot down notes, checklists, transcribe a voice memo, search your notes, and more. Your notes are saved in Google Drive and synced to all of your devices. There is an Android app for Android 4.0+ and you can access, edit and create new notes on the web at [link] and Google will be adding these functions directly in Google Drive shortly.

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9 Characteristics of 21st Century Mindful School Leadership

The 21st Century Principal

'“Mindfulness is simply noticing the way things are. By being mindful you can transform your life, your organization, and even your community. The first step is to transform yourself.” Maria Gonzalez, Mindful Leadership: The 9 Ways to Self-Awareness, Transforming Yourself, and Inspiring Others “During difficult times,” writes Maria Gonzales, “anyone in a leadership position is scrutinized more closely.

Company 109
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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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Skip high school. Go straight to college. Here’s how!

The Innovative Educator

'By Rylie VanOrsdol In my fourteen years of life, I have been public schooled, online schooled, charter schooled, private schooled, Montessori schooled, and homeschooled. I’ve skipped a grade and completed a grade in three months online. After all the learning options I have experienced, what I have found is that the traditional path was unable to meet my needs.

Meeting 108
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Jesus is Risen, and I Believe.

EdTechSandyK

'God works in mysterious ways. This week, He brought a couple of things across my virtual radar and convicted me to share on my blog some truths I believe to the core of my being. These are not truths that have to do with education or technology, but eternity. So here it is: I believe Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth and lived a sinless life, died on the cross as a perfect sacrifice to pay for humanity''s sin for all time, and was resurrected from death as proof that God the Father ac

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The Administrators Toolkit Updated and Refreshed

The Web20Classroom

'I originally wrote this post way back in 2009. Lots has changed since then. So let''s dust it off and do some updating. Most schools and districts spend lot of time and effort trying to get their teachers up to speed on technology and its use/place in the classroom. And honestly that is where a majority of effort should be spent; working with those on the frontlines of instruction.

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Mix Images and Animation on Your Mobile

Nik Peachey

A couple of years back I wrote about a really nice web based tool called Xtranormal and since then I've heard from so many teachers saying how useful their students have found it, so I was delighted yesterday to find that the same makes had now produced a free mobile / tablet app called Tellagami. The app runs on a mobile device and allows users to add animated speaking characters to a selection of backgrounds or to the users' own images.

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5 Ways School Leaders Can Immediately Capture the Power of Social Media

The 21st Century Principal

'“Customer engagement means trusting, listening, and learning from your stakeholder communities, and responding to their comments with quality content in an honest, authentic manner.” Andy Beal and Judy Strauss, Radically Transparent: Monitoring and Managing Reputations Online The conventional way many administrators use social media is as a “21st century announcement system.

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John Stossel hated school. Investigates unschooling.

The Innovative Educator

'In case you missed it, last week, John Stossel did a segment on unschooling as part of his “ Education Blob ” special. In the segment he pointed out that the number of homeschoolers is on the rise nationally, a whopping 75% since 1999. This puts the number of homeschoolers in the nation about equal to those attending charter schools. He shares that the number of families that homeschool today for religious purposes is on the decline as the choice today is more likely to be the result of dissat

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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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Can BYOD Narrow the Digital Divide? #SXSWedu

EdTechSandyK

'Notes from SXSWedu presentation by Dr. Michael Mills [link] Bit.ly/BYODResources Bit.ly/byoddocs Bit.ly/rubrics Follow #BYODchat on Twitter Nothing is the magic tool for getting our kids where they need to be. But we can use mobile devices to help. We can no longer depend on textbooks for accurate information. A new state of matter was just discovered in December.

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The Device Conundrum - 1:1 vs BYOD

A Principal's Reflections

'Cross-posted at the Huffington Post. As we continue to advance in the digital age schools and districts are beginning to re-think pedagogy and learning environments by instituting either 1:1 device programs or Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiatives. In my opinion, schools that wish to create the most relevant and meaningful learning culture will go in one of these directions.

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Why Every Conference Should Be A Connected Conference-#ASCD13

The Web20Classroom

'I''ve spent the last several days attending the 2013 ASCD Annual Conference in Chicago. Educators from across the country and across the globe gathered to discuss pressing educational issues and talk about how we can all make teaching and learning better for kids, no matter where they are. I have always been impressed with the caliber of speakers here and the level of educational discussion.

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#macul13 miGoogle Give-Away!

The Electric Educator

'On the 21-22 of March over 4,000 Michigan Educators will descend on Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan for the annual MACUL conference. This conference is the premier EdTech gathering in the state, and one of the largest in the midwest. This annual gathering isn''t the only event sponsored by MACUL. On November 4-5 the second annual miGoogle conference will be held at Brighton High School in Brighton, Michigan.

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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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5 Guidelines for Rational School Leader Response to Social Media Issues

The 21st Century Principal

'What should be a school leader’s response when a student uses social media in an inappropriate manner? This Winston-Salem Journal Editorial “More Education, Guidelines Needed for Officials, Students on Social Media and School Security,” makes the usual call for more rules and education about improper use of social media. But was this event a “social media problem” or was it “a behavioral or crime problem?

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7 free ways to capture student responses without costly clickers

The Innovative Educator

'Most educators are familiar with student response systems (SRS) a.k.a. clickers. Common brands are eInstruction, Sentio, TurningPoint, Activote. Those who use the systems know they run about $2,500 - $4,000 (depending on various options selected) for a class set and allow educators to track student learning, engage an entire class as they collect real-time responses from students, and enable them to quickly assess understanding and achievement.

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Participating in #EduBrawl at #SXSWEdu 2013

EdTechSandyK

'SXSWedu takes place in Austin March 4th - 7th, 2013. WeAreTeachers invited me to be part of a panel called EduBrawl!, where four practicing educators will share opinions on hot topics in education such as mobile devices, game-based learning, and flipped classrooms. Here''s some inside scoop: It''s called a "brawl" because it''s likely we won''t all agree on the topics discussed!

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Initiating and Sustaining Change

A Principal's Reflections

'This past weekend I was fortunate enough to present at the 2013 Annual ASCD Conference in Chicago. This conference is one of my must attend events of the year and I use it as an opportunity to develop new presentations based on my leadership experiences at New Milford High School. Since we have initiated and sustained quite a few changes that have transformed the teaching and learning culture at my school I felt that sharing the "why" and "how" would benefit others that have experienced difficu

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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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The ASCD 2012 Annual Report

The Web20Classroom

'Here in Chicago at the 2013 Annual Conference, ASCD posted their Annual Report for 2012. Entitled “Creating Solutions: The ASCD Revolution in Motion.” This report showcases the association’s achievements and serves as a resource discovery tool for educators who seek programs, products, and services that empower them to support the success of each learner.

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Technology won't replace teachers, but.

Learning with 'e's

"Technology won't replace teachers, but teachers who use technology will probably replace teachers who don't" This was just one of the contentious and thought provoking statements made at Learning Through Technology this week in Glasgow. #LTT2013 was one of two conferences I was invited to speak at this week. I made my way up to Glasgow after speaking at #LILAC13 in Manchester.

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Tips for Google Reader Users Moving to Feedly

The 21st Century Principal

'For those users who, like myself, who are migrating to using Feedly due to Google Reader''s demise, here''s an excellent blog post from Feedly to help you with that migration process. "Tips for Google Readers Migrating to Feedly" The tips provided even help you customize your RSS reading experience to be more like you are accustom to in Google Reader.

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10 Do’s and don’ts to using PowerPoint to deliver lectures that don’t suck

The Innovative Educator

'Picture a half-full classroom with nearly-comatose students descending into the slow death that takes place while listening to a lecture that is as interesting as the buzzing of a mosquito that one cannot find in order to squash. It’s no secret that some teachers, even doctorates who work as college professors, suck when it comes to lecturing. Don’t let that be you!

Facebook 101
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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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It's ALL ABOUT TIME! Mobile Projects in Minutes

MSEDTechie

'As educators we want to create awesome lessons and projects for our students, but we all struggle with just one problem. TIME! Our days, weeks, and hours are structured as such that we always have very little time to cover very complex content. Prime example: You have this great idea for your students to create a video project to show their learning of a science lesson they just completed, but you don''t have a week to spend doing it with iMovie, so you just X the whole project.

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Unwrapping the Common Core Standards

A Principal's Reflections

'Love them or hate them, the Common Core is a reality for the majority of educators and schools across the country. As a principal I am always on the look out for resources that can aid my teachers with the successful implementation of these standards. While attending the 2013 ASCD Conference in Chicago I attended a session entitled Unwrapping Standards to Drive the Adoption of the Common Core State Standards.

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mARch- What is Augmented Reality (AR)?

SpeechTechie

'I have been wanting for some time to dedicate some posts to augmented reality (AR) and its potential in speech-langauge and other interventions. As you can tell, I also wanted to wait until a month that had "AR" in it, and March is my last opportunity until next JanuARy, so here I go. First of all, the phrase "augmented reality" is probably quite complicated-sounding and scary, so I will assure you that I will try to make it simple and relevant to your work.

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Who's afraid of the big bad MOOC?

Learning with 'e's

After seemingly stalling for a short time, MOOCs ( Massive Open Online Courses ) seem to be graining ground again. First there were the cMOOCs, free and open online courses that focused more on learning than they did on accreditation. Learning was fun and informal, and learning was often self or peer assessed. With the potential for thousands of students to enrol together on MOOCs, learning through connection to this large network of learners became the foundation and the cornerstone.

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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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Using Google Forms to Create a Walkthrough-Observation App for the iPad

The 21st Century Principal

'In response to my "Top iPad Apps for Administrators," a few readers have emailed me asking for “observation” or “walk-through” apps for their iPad. There are some options out there, but I chose not to use them for three reasons. First of all, most of the apps I researched, while free, have what I consider expensive subscription costs (You can''t beat free).

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When your child says, "Go to hell!"

The Innovative Educator

'The following post is excerpted with permission from Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life , by Peter Gray. Available from Basic Books, a member of The Perseus Books Group. Copyright © 2013. Purchase your copy at this link. "GO TO HELL.” The words hit me hard.

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10 Tips for Digital Photo Editing & Fun

The Daring Librarian

'It''s been about 3 years since I''ve blogged about FREE digital image editing & fun sites. So I thought I would update it! Thanks to my dear friend @ Linda Dougherty ? who Tweeted & Scooped to me about Ribbet which made me give it close look comparing it to my beloved PicMonkey. I thought I owed you, my dear readers, an unbiased review of these fab photo editing sites.

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Our Doors Are Always Open

A Principal's Reflections

'The following is a guest post by Steve D’Ascoli. Steve visited New Milford High School on Thursday February 28, 2013. NMHS routinely hosts visits from outside educators, schools, and organizations in an effort to provide insights on our initiatives. Below is a reflection by Steve on his recent visit. Today I had the opportunity to meet with Eric Sheninger before he headed off to the 2013 NASSP Conference.

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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.