December, 2017

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Thinking Routines in the Classroom

The CoolCatTeacher

Karen Voglesang on episode 209 [A special encore episode] of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter. Today Karen Voglesang @NBCTchr teaches children to use thinking routines in her classroom. After participating in Harvard’s Project Zero , she is applying and using the methods in classrooms and with teachers.

Classroom 609
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Rethink Your Grading Practices

Catlin Tucker

This year I have posted several blogs about grading and assessment. I encouraged teachers to stop taking grading home for two simple reasons: Grading in isolation robs us of the opportunity to have conversations with students as we assess their work and, ultimately, makes feedback one-sided and less effective. Grading at home robs us of precious time with our families, time to relax, and time to create dynamic learning experiences for students.

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18 things that leaders of innovative schools do differently

Dangerously Irrelevant

I had a wonderful time this past week at the TIES conference in Minneapolis. Having worked at the University of Minnesota for six years, it was super fun to connect with old educator friends and new (including a lot of goofiness with Shelly Terrell while at Flipgrid headquarters). I served as the lunch keynote for TIES on Sunday and then facilitated a lesson redesign workshop that afternoon using our trudacot discussion protocol (thanks, Julie Graber , for joining us!).

Groups 419
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Blended Instruction vs Blended Learning

A Principal's Reflections

Schools continue to make investments in technology to engage students better, improve outcomes, and prepare all learners for the new world of work. We are beginning to see more and more innovative uses of technology not just to personalize, but also to make the learning process more personal. When a solid pedagogical foundation is in place, the stage is set to challenge students to demonstrate thinking and learning in ways that we could never have imagined a few short years ago.

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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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8 Ways to Annotate Readings, Websites and Online Articles with Examples

Teacher Reboot Camp

“Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.” – John Locke. One of the most important skills for our digital learners is inspecting the information they consume with a critical eye. The challenge is to turn this into a habit students do outside the classroom. One idea is to get students to annotate their readings regularly.

Examples 399
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The Top 3 K–12 Trends of 2017

EdTech Magazine

By Meghan Bogardus Cortez From a strong network infrastructure to better teacher support, districts made sure to have everything in place to use technology to boost learning outcomes this year.

Trends 395

More Trending

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Focusing on the Process: Letting Go of Product Expectations

User Generated Education

I am a process-oriented educator. I focus on how to learn rather than what to learn. I’ve addressed this in Freedom to Learn : In order to facilitate these desired elements of learning, I believe it is important to focus on the process of learning rather than the products of learning. When learning is viewed as a product, and the same performance measure applies to all students, learning facilitation can be reduced to cookie-cutter teaching: same pieces of information and instruction are s

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7 Ways to Build Trust with Your School Community #LT8keys

Tom Murray

If serving is below you, leadership is beyond you. – Unknown. In many schools, the community,—particularly parents—feels left in the dark. Within their own walls, schools often work diligently to communicate the latest initiatives, results, and grading practices, or they discuss things such as the Common Core State Standards. However, the community is often unaware of such important topics until they hit a friend’s Facebook wall, an online gossip forum, or become part of the conversation

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To Move Forward We Need to Let Go

A Principal's Reflections

“ We can't be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don't have something better.” ― C. JoyBell C. There is nothing easy about change. The process is fraught with many obstacles and challenges.

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17 Web Tools and Apps to Create Interactive Video Lessons and Quizzes

Teacher Reboot Camp

“Videos provide greater engagement than text or images for the simple reason that it combines audio, video and text.” – Amit Garg. YouTube is one of the most popular social networks, because students love learning by video. DIY ( Do It Yourself ) videos, How-To videos, Tutorials, game walkthroughs and TED Talks are some of the most viewed videos.

Video 378
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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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Cross-Curricular Critical Thinking Is Integral to STEM Success

EdTech Magazine

By Amy Brown No matter the acronym, allow students to hone critical thinking and literacy skills.

STEM 408
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7 Things to Know About Coding in the Early Childhood Classroom

The CoolCatTeacher

Dr. Marina Umaschi Bers on episode 202 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter. Children as young as four can start coding, but not in ways you might think. Today, Dr. Marina Umashchi Bers from Tufts University discusses her research findings about what works (and doesn’t) with young children in the classroom.

Robotics 368
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Advancing Computational Thinking Across K-12 Education

Digital Promise

Thanks to the successes of campaigns like the Hour of Code and this week’s Computer Science Education Week, educators, policymakers, and families around the country are realizing the value of coding and computer science in K-12 education. But how do “code,” “computer science,” and, “computational thinking,” fit together? What is motivating their introduction into schools, and how might they change education?

Education 259
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20 great podcasts for educators (and how to get them)

Ditch That Textbook

Podcasts are learning on the go: in the car, while working out or as you garden. Here are some great ones for educators. (Icons via TheNounProject.com) Podcasts are my lifeblood for generating new ideas, processing the ideas I already have and entertainment. They’re like radio shows on virtually any topic under the sun. Actually, they’re […].

How To 242
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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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A great lesson to teach children about #FAKENEWS

EdTech4Beginners

Fake news has recently been a popular topic, and teachers need to deal with this important issue in schools. How could you teach it? Start by asking children to visit this fantastic (completely made-up) website about a ‘tree octopus’! Give the children about 10 minutes to explore the website. You could ask them to find specific information if you wish.

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9 Ways to Find the Right Edtech Tool

Teacher Reboot Camp

“Teachers need to integrate technology seamlessly into the curriculum instead of viewing it as an add-on, an afterthought, or an event.” – Heidi-Hayes Jacobs. The message of my education technology keynotes is to get students to show students the possibilities of technology, test their potential , give them a meaningful purpose for using technology, and have them take on the responsibility of bettering their world with their technology use.

EdTech 348
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Q&A: Vince Bertram Leads the Way Toward STEM in Schools

EdTech Magazine

By Jena Passut Project Lead The Way's president and CEO says students should be engaged and excited about their futures and careers.

STEM 352
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Unleashing the Potential of Every Child

The CoolCatTeacher

Tom Loud on episode 212 [A special encore episode] of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter. Tom Loud dropped out of high school because he didn’t connect with his teachers. Somehow, he connected with books though and became a high school and college graduate. Now, Tom is a 10-year classroom veteran who is working to make his classroom (and help others) connect with kids in new ways.

Twitter 308
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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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Ten Skills Teachers Need to Support English Learners

Digital Promise

As more schools and districts explore curriculum focused on college and career readiness, expectations on what learners should be able to do across content areas are rapidly changing. While older curriculum standards were typically concerned with curricular breadth, current standards prioritize depth, focusing on deep understanding of underlying disciplinary concepts and the multiple ways they lend themselves to problem-solving.

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Crash! Bang! Boom! How to add Google Drawings comic strips to your class

Ditch That Textbook

We (Cori and Matt) are betting that comics are a memorable part of your childhood, whether they were the color comic strips in the Sunday newspaper or comic books. If not, then it was probably animated comics — cartoons! They’re visual. They’re colorful. Adults and children alike flock to animated movies at theaters when they’re […].

How To 239
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Before you start bashing the Millennials…

Dangerously Irrelevant

Older generations love to bash the Millennials. But in many ways we are the problem. Here are a few quotes from Huffington Post’s recent article, Generation Screwed : Mention “millennial” to anyone over 40 and the word “entitlement” will come back at you within seconds, our own intergenerational game of Marco Polo. This is what it feels like to be young now.

Policies 230
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10 Web Tools and Apps for Creating Screencast Videos

Teacher Reboot Camp

“We need technology in every classroom and in every student and teacher’s hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world.” – David Warlick. Creating a video of one’s screen (screencasting) is a powerful way to demonstrate knowledge. Our students can create how-to videos to teach others how to use favorite web tools or to demonstrate a process.

Video 342
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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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Turning High School Students into Hackers Can Benefit Cybersecurity Field

EdTech Magazine

By Meghan Bogardus Cortez Ethical hacking in high schools introduces valuable cybersecurity skills in fun and interesting ways.

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5 Ways to Be a Change Leader in Your School

The CoolCatTeacher

Rebecca Wattleworth on episode 200 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter. We can be change leaders and help our school improve and grow. Rebecca Wattleworth, an award-winning teacher from Illinois, talks about lessons she’s learned about being a change leader. Today’s Sponsor: Bloomz is the tool I chose for parent/teacher communication.

STEM 288
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How to use Padlet as a collaborative edtech tool

EdTech4Beginners

I love using Padlet with my class – completely free and easy to set up / use. It is basically an online ‘wall’ which all of the class can simultaneously contribute to. Have a look at my video walk-through: Have a go! Let me know what you think Tagged: collaborative technology , edtech , education , padlet , teaching ideas , teaching with technology , tutorial.

EdTech 227
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Using Kahoot! and others the way your brain craves

Ditch That Textbook

We use tech tools like Kahoot! in the classroom all the time. When we pair them with brain science strategies, they can be even more powerful. (Sketch by Matt Miller)Sure, you might think. I use Kahoot! and G Suite and others in the classroom all the time. They're great.But are you using them the way […].

Strategy 238
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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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How Learning And Teaching Will Change In The Digital Age

EdNews Daily

Op-ed. Personalized learning needs to go away. I could sit here and argue that it needs to go away because companies are trying to replace our most valued resource – teachers – with computers and algorithms that will sterilize learning. I could also easily argue it’s because privatizing education and giving learning data to closed corporations are the biggest mistakes we’ll ever make.

Learning 221
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12 Incredible Ideas for Using Technology to Teach English Language Learners

Teacher Reboot Camp

For over two decades I’ve taught English language learners from the ages of 2 to 90 in over 20 countries. I’ve seen how technology motivates learners of all ages to find their voice, connect with language learners around the world, and have access to knowledge and resources in multiple languages. I’ve taught in really poor areas where sometimes the electricity didn’t work.

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K-12 Schools, Universities Boost Cybersecurity Education to Close the Skills Gap

EdTech Magazine

By Meghan Bogardus Cortez With the global number of cybersecurity professionals down, schools need to prepare students for future jobs.

Education 304
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Does your work net-work?

Battelle for Kids

Sharing our most promising ideas or strategies is great, but often we leave so much of the thinking behind our work invisible thereby severely limiting collaboration. As NTN has explored formal improvement science with our schools, some practical tools have surfaced. These tools provide promising ways of organizing local school improvement work while also making ideas more visible and accessible to others.

Strategy 205
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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.