Catlin Tucker

APRIL 12, 2016

This week I had the pleasure of training a group of elementary teachers on blended learning strategies. As a group, they wanted to focus on: Differentiation. Student choice. Assessment. One of the strategies we discussed with the potential to weave these three areas of focus together is a choice board. There are several different approaches to designing a choice board, but the goal is to allow students an opportunity to select the activities they will complete to practice a skill or demonstrate

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Blended Learning Assessment Secondary Elementary 330

A Principal's Reflections

APRIL 24, 2016

There has been a great deal of knocks on professional development as of late and rightfully so. More often than not, professional development is something that is done to educators as opposed to an experience that they truly value for growth. For many, district professional development is a one-size-fits-all isolated event with no follow-up or support.

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Professional Learning Case Study Strategy Study 318

EdTech Magazine

APRIL 25, 2016

By Eric Sheninger As districts across the country purchase technology at a feverish pace, they must ensure they have a solid implementation plan.

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Technology Training Classroom 330

The CoolCatTeacher

APRIL 26, 2016

A hard question we all must consider From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter. Each year I seek clarity for my teaching career. There are no easy answers here. Know this. The question is serious, “Should I teach another year?”. As I ponder my own path, let me take you on a journey of thoughts. Dancing with Snakes.

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Conference Twitter Examples Education 239

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.

Education

Doug Levin

APRIL 30, 2016

Newly published, peer-reviewed research out of Michigan State University and the University of California, Irvine suggests that one-to-one laptop programs improve student academic achievement in K-12 classrooms. The primary author of the study ( Binbin Zheng, Ph.D. , Assistant Professor at the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education at Michigan State University) was kind enough to provide me a review copy and permission to blog about the findings.

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Laptops Study Analysis Learning 279

The Journal

APRIL 5, 2016

OER – Open Education Resources – are being touted by the Department of Education as the key to future of K-12 curriculum. While there is no question that OER are a component of the new digital curriculum, in this blog, we answer the question raised in the blog post’s title.

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OER Resources Education 276

A Principal's Reflections

APRIL 3, 2016

There is always a great deal of talk about what schools need to do now. The problem though is that most of the talk is not followed with action. Then there are those who want to act, but do not have the adequate support to do so. Herein lies the issue with all the change talk, rhetoric, and opinions. Very few people reading this post will deny that the education system has to change now or we run the risk of preparing students for a world that no longer exists.

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Future Ready Digital Divide Conference Strategy 233

EdTech Magazine

APRIL 26, 2016

By Mike Patterson Teachers say they lack proper technology support, but schools can turn the tables on inadequate training programs using these best practices.

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Training Technology Technology Support Education 234

The CoolCatTeacher

APRIL 6, 2016

Make Your School A Better Place From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter. Perhaps meanness in school happens because we don’t teach students what to do. The #tbk ( to be kind) movement is spreading like wildfire among many schools. The Schmucker Middle School National Junior Honor Society is encouraging the entire school to be kind.

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How To Twitter Video Classroom 237

Ditch That Textbook

APRIL 21, 2016

As a child, I remember one specific thing I always looked forward to on days when I stayed home sick from school. The Price Is Right. I may have been aching, sick to my stomach or feverish, but as I laid on the couch, I made sure the TV was tuned to that game show [.].

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Classroom Assessment EdTech Technology 214

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Learning

User Generated Education

APRIL 14, 2016

I believe it is every educator’s responsibility to help insure that learners are addressing the following questions during each school day: What questions am I asking today? What answers am I seeking today? What am I exploring today? What am I making today? What am I finding exciting today? How am I playing and having fun today? How am I using failure to inform my learning today?

Learning 196

Learning Education 196

Catlin Tucker

APRIL 19, 2016

In a previous blog post titled “ Create Small Learning Communities with the Station Rotation Model ,” I described many of the reasons I use the Station Rotation Model in my secondary classroom. I highlighted the benefits of working directly with small groups of students, using technology and station design to differentiate instruction, and maximizing the limited technology available in our low-tech classroom.

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Video Differentiated Instruction Common Core Secondary 326

Digital Promise

APRIL 12, 2016

San Diego County offers more than enviable weather and beaches. Inside its borders are two of the nation’s best school districts — Cajon Valley Union School District and Vista Unified School District — that are working to provide students with the highest caliber of education possible. Vista Unified School District. Vista Unified School District’s (VUSD) mission is “to inspire each and every student to persevere as critical-thinking individuals who collaborate to solve real-world problems.

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Elementary Meeting Facebook Video 188

EdTech Magazine

APRIL 21, 2016

By Meg Conlan, D. Frank Smith When Phillip the duck lost his feet to frostbite, a middle school teacher used his 3D printer to save the day.

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STEM Classroom 227

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Personalized Learning

The CoolCatTeacher

APRIL 23, 2016

Practical Tips for Rigor, Fun, and Retention From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter. Sometimes small changes can take a lesson plan from “OK” to “Yeah!” By improving the rigor and fun in each lesson, you can improve student learning and make your classroom more exciting. Learn practical tips from super-teacher Laura Candler that will help you make your lessons more engaging and memorable.

BYOD 234

BYOD Elementary Twitter Classroom 234

Ditch That Textbook

APRIL 4, 2016

Students and teachers toe a very fuzzy ethical line every day — many without even realizing it. Some end up on the safe side of the line, but others cross the line and cross ethical boundaries — and sometimes costly legal ones. That line is the copyright line, deciding how teachers and students can respect [.].

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Video EdTech Technology Education 206

EdTech4Beginners

APRIL 24, 2016

Erase All Kittens is an absolutely fantastic website in which code and HTML are taught through gaming. My students absolutely LOVED it. *I must note that the full version is coming soon – for now, just use the demo. How do I use the website in a computing lesson? First go to https://eraseallkittens.com/ . Click on ‘Play The Demo’ Next you’ll see a funny introductory video – we watched it as a class and laughed a lot!

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How To Video Resources Technology 190

Catlin Tucker

APRIL 25, 2016

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Kids are repeatedly asked this question by adults. In kindergarten, my son’s class was asked to draw a picture of what they wanted to be when they grew up. They created the self-portraits pictured below. As my son worked on his self-portrait, I reflected on how little exposure most students have to the work world.

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iPhone Video Android Google 325

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.

Training

Dangerously Irrelevant

APRIL 10, 2016

Three killers of student creativity and ownership: The teacher and textbook are always right. There is a right answer and it’s your job to find, regurgitate, and/or comply with it. If you question either #1 or #2, you get in trouble. (these apply to behavior too, not just learning). Related Posts. Why would students feel valued at school? When all students bring home is a piece of paper.

Learning 159

Learning 159

EdTech Magazine

APRIL 20, 2016

By D. Frank Smith Gurus, communities, leaders and all-stars highlight this year’s latest batch of the top K-12 blogs. .

Classroom 239

Classroom 239

Tom Murray

APRIL 12, 2016

This post is sponsored by Samsung. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own. The notion of “effective professional learning” is something that has been discussed for decades. A comparison in the philosophies of today’s school districts yields results that falls across a continuum of who controls the learning. Although recent studies indicate that the top-down, one-size-fits-all, hours-based, sit and get approach to professional learning shows little-to-no impact on student achievement, many

Professional Learning 159

Professional Learning Learning Social Media Edcamps 159

Ditch That Textbook

APRIL 11, 2016

Companies are starting to flock to Snapchat. McDonald’s and Taco Bell are using it to get Snapchatters interested in their products. The NBA and MLS are giving behind-the-scenes footage from their sports worlds. CNN is reporting news content, and The Food Network is providing an extension to its programming. They’re providing content that’s interesting.

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Company Report Digital Citizenship Student Engagement 196

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Classroom

EdTech4Beginners

APRIL 24, 2016

Erase All Kittens is an absolutely fantastic website in which code and HTML are taught through gaming. My students absolutely LOVED it. *I must note that the full version is coming soon – for now, just use the demo. How do I use the website in a computing lesson? First go to https://eraseallkittens.com/ . Click on ‘Play The Demo’ Next you’ll see a funny introductory video – we watched it as a class and laughed a lot!

How To 190

How To Video Resources Technology 190

Waterford

APRIL 15, 2016

New research shows Waterford curriculum at the preschool level has positive longitudinal effects for children through 4 th grade. A recent independent study published by the Utah State Office of Education shows children who used Waterford UPSTART the year before kindergarten saw immediate positive gains and were still outperforming state averages on standardized tests in grades first through fourth across language arts, math and science.

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Study Report Software Personalized Learning 159

Battelle for Kids

APRIL 11, 2016

Volume 3, Issue 3, Number 19. Driving question: How can the Engineering Design Process Create STEAM classrooms? STEAM is not a simple list of subjects to be taught. It is an educational approach to teaching and learning that is iterative and creative. One model I see working well is based off of the Engineering Design Process (EDP) typically used in professional settings.

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Course Strategy Classroom Learning 155

EdTech Magazine

APRIL 14, 2016

By D. Frank Smith Classroom is the Windows giant’s cloud-based hub for the class experience, integrated into Office 365.

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Microsoft Classroom Online Learning Software 234

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.

Comparison

Tom Murray

APRIL 22, 2016

** This blog was originally posted at futureready.org/netp. In December of 2015, on the same day that President Obama signed the “Every Student Succeeds Act” (ESSA), the U.S. Department of Education released the 2016 National Education Technology Plan (NETP). First released in 1996 and updated every five years since, the NETP is the flagship educational technology policy document for the United States.

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Future Ready Technology Equity of Access Education 155

Ditch That Textbook

APRIL 1, 2016

Our brains like words. But they really love images. The brain works in images. When we talk, our brains change the information we’re receiving into images to encode it and make it available for recall later. A powerful way to take advantage of that is visual notetaking — recording ideas using both images and text. [.].

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Google EdTech Technology Education 191

EdTech4Beginners

APRIL 19, 2016

I’m always looking for new music to play while my students are independently working. I find that if music is quietly played in the background, it creates a calm and ambient ‘working’ atmosphere. Below are 10 albums that I think are great: 1) Keith Kenniff – Branches. 2) Zero 7 – Simple Things. 3) Air – Moon Safari (Remove ‘Sexy Boy’). 4) Agnes Obel – Philharmonics. 5) The Theory of Everything Soundtrack – Johann Johannsson. 6) Eluvium

Classroom 190

Classroom Learning Education 190

The Web20Classroom

APRIL 18, 2016

This post is sponsored by Samsung. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Imagine you need to run to the store to get the ingredients to make a cake. You get the mix, eggs, oil, everything you need to make this most awesome cake. When you get home you decide that cake isn't really what you want afterall. No, you want another dessert. And since you have these cake ingredients you might as well use them.

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OER Resources Education Examples 152

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.

Technology