July, 2014

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The End is Only the Beginning

A Principal's Reflections

'This is one of those difficult posts where I honestly am having trouble articulating my thoughts. It is bittersweet, as the time has come for me to make a decision on my future. Today is the day that I formally announce my decision to step down as New Milford High School Principal, a decision that has been most difficult to make. My last day will be September 3.

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Let's Build Something Together-Maker Spaces and 20% Time

The Web20Classroom

'Maker Movement 20% Time Genius Hour The idea of students looking away from ridged content focus all throughout the school day and giving them back some time to explore and make is gaining a foothold in many classrooms. Educators are turning towards ideas like the Maker Movement and 20% Time to foster creativity and innovation in their classrooms and to get their kids thinking and doing more.

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Infographic with Google Search Tips

Educational Technology Guy

'Google is a very powerful search engine, but the way you search makes a huge difference in your results. The infographic below has some great tips on becoming a Google Search Power User. Check it out and share with your students. Google for Education Resources: [link]. This post originally appeared on Educational Technology Guy. Feel free to share summaries and links to these articles, but do not copy and repost entire article.

Google 239
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More GoPro: Surfing & Stalking Hummingbirds

Baker's B.Y.O.D.

'I''m not stating anything new here when I say that the more I use my GoPro Hero 3 camera, the more I love it. From taking it to the beach to capturing images in my own backyard, I''m impressed with the quality and versatility. So far, there are only two accessories that I have invested in for the GoPro: the floaty backdoor and the handlebar mount. Being new to the GoPro, I did not want to spend money frivously on accessories and instead researched accessories that would be the most versatile.

Video 131
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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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1112 Great GOOGLE CLASSROOM Tutorials by Early Access Testers

mauilibrarian2 in Olinda

'FINALLY got my invitation to Google Classroom today. Thank you, Google! I''ll be checking out these tutorials for guidance and inspiration: 1. Google Classroom - Teacher and Student View video by +Roger Nixon , June 15 2. The Electric Educator - Setting Up your Google Classroom , June 25 including a Google slide show 3. Preview of Classroom for Google Apps for Education from +Google Gooru , June 27 4.

Google 111
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15-Year-Old explains the key to developing a #PLN

The Innovative Educator

'Alex Laubscher and mentor Mike King at MoCCA Fest Alex Laubscher is a cartoonist who I met this year when his mother brought him to New York City for MoCCA Fest which is an art festival for illustrators. By the age of 15 Alex developed an extensive network of others who share his love for the zine culture and illustrating. Alex connected and developed relationships with some of the leaders in his field via Instagram.

More Trending

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Making Curation Easier With @IFTTT

The Web20Classroom

'There is simply no end to the flow of information available on the Internet. When it comes to trying to organize it and do something with it you may run into some challenges. I know I regularly am looking for ways to make that process better. Thank goodness for IFTTT. I''ve written about If This, Than That (IFTTT) in the past. Of the many tools I rely on each day, IFTTT that is one that I can''t live without.

Twitter 243
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Google+ Cheat Sheet - shortcuts and tips

Educational Technology Guy

'Google+ is Google''s social network. I use it to connect to other educators, IT directors, EdTech personnel, tech companies and edtech groups. It''s easy to use and has more features than other social networks. Here is a great cheat sheet with shortcuts and tips for using Google+. Take a look and try some out. Related: Google Plus - tips for using in education, facts and data infographic Google+ - More Reasons its great for Education Google+ and Google+ Pages - great for educators and schools 1

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#ISTE2014 Use Twitter & Voxer when Travel Plans Go Awry

Baker's B.Y.O.D.

'My #ISTE2014 trip with Liz and Kyle Calderwood and Michelle Wendt was supposed to begin in Atlantic City with a flight on Spirit Airlines to Atlanta, Georgia, but after a cancelled flight and an unexpected roadtrip , we eventually reached our destination , 12 hours after our expected arrival time. There are two tech tools that were essential for transforming this ordeal into an adventure: Twitter and Voxer.

Twitter 121
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10 Activities to do on an iPad instead of a Worksheet

Comfortably 2.0

'I always have teachers wanting to know how they can better utilize the iPad in their classrooms. I know that it''s very easy when first receiving an iPad to take a worksheet that you have done for several years, and convert it to glass.

iPad 109
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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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Some TED Talks of interest to SLPs and Language Folks

SpeechTechie

'Summer is a great time to slow down and think. TED Talks have long been one of my favorite ways to take in some new info- these short (varying from 5-20 min) presentation recordings are created at Technology-Entertainment (the E should be Education for as much as these talks address that area)-Design conferences around the world and feature leading researchers and creative people speaking on important topics.

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Schools That Work For Kids

A Principal's Reflections

'My son, Nicholas, is your typical child growing up in the 21st Century. He loves to play outside, swim in the pool, golf in the NYC Junior Golf League, have friends over, and feast on McDonald’s. Then there is the technology aspect of his life, which is a very big part. Who am I to deprive him access to an array of engaging tools that his generation is growing up with?

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Making The Best App Choices With @Graphite

The Web20Classroom

'When I was beginning to roll out a Bring Your Own Device initiative in my previous district we spent a great deal of time sitting and talking with teachers. There are many misconceptions and questions that arise when we allow students to use their own technology in the classroom, so I wanted to make sure we addressed those right away so we could focus on the learning and not the classroom management. 10 times out of 10 the question came up, how could they find new and exciting tools, apps and s

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Core Tech for Learning with ELA Common Core #ISTE2014

wwwatanabe

'One of the #ISTE2014 sessions I attended was "Core technologies for the Common Core" by Kyle Brumbaugh and Elizabeth Calhoon. They had a great introduction to the Common Core and a plethora of helpful tools. In this post, I will share some of what I learned from them , and add in a few more resources, ideas, and tools. ELA Text Complexity Readability levels are an important ingredient for figuring out text complexity.

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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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#ISTE2014 A Special Post for a Few **Spaeztle** Friends

Baker's B.Y.O.D.

'While at #ISTE2014 , I attended the TechSmith party at De Biergarten in Atlanta, GA. It was thoroughly enjoyable chatting with Twitter & FlipCon folks face to face over some GOOD German food. There was Foosball and even pictures with our heads atop German attired folks ( Here are some pictures from Kristin D.) We chatted about FlipCon vs ISTE , general ed tech issues, the value of open-source internet, and at one point with Brian Bennett , a very important topic: how to make homemade Spaetz

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Flipping Your Class with Just in Time Recording

My Paperless Classroom

'source: Wikimedia commons This week I am honored to be presenting at November Learning''s Building Learning Communities Conference. I have posted the slide deck I am using and links from the presentation here. Please join the conversation in the comments or tweet your ideas and questions to me @SamPatue and use #BLC14. Thank you for learning with me.

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What Happens When Test Scores Are Used in High Stakes Decisions? Stupid Decision-Making

The 21st Century Principal

'What happens when schools and school districts let test scores rule the day? Check out letter of resignation by a 14 year veteran teacher from Tennessee who was found "ineffective" due to her TVAAS ratings. "What Defines an ''Ineffective'' Teacher?" What immediately becomes clear to me is the following: The problem with the accountability in education movement, like in this case, is that too many educators, politicians and state level testing bureaucrats think "any old test will do" when it com

Data 96
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Roadmap to a Job-Embedded Growth Model

A Principal's Reflections

'I remember a few years back during a meeting with teacher leaders, a tipping point that would ultimately change the direction of professional growth at my school. During this conversation I was passionately sharing my experiences as a connected learner. As social media embracement was not even a blip on the radar at this time, these teacher leaders were quite skeptical about the alleged benefits I described.

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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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Fresh Resources For The Taking 07/09/2014

The Web20Classroom

'A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods tags: visualization literacy favorite Digital Research Tools tags: tools digital favorite Blogging: Teaching Commenting Skills tags: blogging favorite Educational Leadership:Literacy 2.0:Anywhere Learning tags: ascd literacy favorite Teacher Talent Toolbox | TNTP tags: toolbox leadership favorite Life of an Educator: 10 Steps for Educators New to Twitter. tags: twitter favorite Infographics - Kathy Schrock''s Guide to Everything tags: infographics asses

Resources 194
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Why do so many Moodle courses suck?

Nik Peachey

Moodle is a magnificent free product and has the potential to enable schools and teachers to build wonderfully unique interactive online learning courses in which learner interaction can be tracked, measured and responded to. Despite this the vast majority of Moodle courses I see are a long list of Word and PDF documents with at best a few forums that enable a minimum of human social interaction.

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Class Dojo: New Features for School-Wide Use

Baker's B.Y.O.D.

'ClassDojo teachers can now collaborate to improve student skills and behaviors, and with ClassDojo’s newest features, students build important skills across all of their classes and grade levels. ClassDojo — the popular behavior and skills development app used by millions of teachers around the world — today released a new set of features aimed at teachers eager to work together on the application.

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Walter White and Teachers as Makers

My Paperless Classroom

'There are ideas that sit in the back of my brain for what seems like a long time. Slowly they bond with other ideas, growing imperceptibly. Bobbing to the surface, glinting just enough to be noticed. One of these is a moment towards the end of the series Breaking Bad. Without spoiling anything major, the main character, Walter White, a chemistry teacher turned drug producing kingpin, says (and forgive me as I paraphrase) "I didn''t do it for my family, although I said that was the reason, I did

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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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The Five-Paragraph Essay & PowerPoint Presentations: Fossils from the Past

The 21st Century Principal

'In may, I became an official Mac User. This occurred after being a PC user whose experience with computers began all the way back to MS DOS and Windows 3.1. My first personal computer was a Windows 3.1 Dell computer whose processor was less powerful than those found in phones, and you can purchase flash drives that have more storage space than my first hard drive.

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Raising the Bar on Learning

A Principal's Reflections

'In my opinion inquiry-based learning is one of the best pedagogical techniques available to teachers. When activities are developed appropriately students are afforded the opportunity to construct new knowledge through exploration, problem solving, developing then answering their own questions, application, and trial & error. This technique typically makes students uncomfortable at first as they have become so conditioned by our traditional culture of education where they would rather be sp

Learning 276
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The Mobile Learning Imperative in Higher Education

Kevin Corbett

'The Mobile Learning in Higher Education [ INFOGRAPHIC ]. 72% of best selling apps in 2012 were aimed at PREschoolers and children in elementary school. 52% of children now have access to a smartphone or tablet. On average, each millenial owns 2.4 devices. Kids 11-14 spend on average 73 minutes a day texting. 94% of students text every day. 57% of college students use a smartphone (2013 data seems low to me). 75% of students have their phones near them 24 hours a day. 58% can’t go more tha

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Don't blame social media if your students are distracted

The Innovative Educator

'Editor’s note: This guest post from Chris Casal started as a comment on “ Filtering social media in schools because it’s a ‘distraction’ ” which appeared on Scott McCleod’s Dangerously Irrelevant blog. Social media is no different than pencil and paper. I doodled a lot in the margins of my physics book. It wasn’t Twitter and Facebook that made me doodle but I doodled nonetheless.

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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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New Summer Toy: GoPro Hero 3

Baker's B.Y.O.D.

'My husband surprised me for my birthday with a very COOL present: the GoPro Hero 3 Black edition camera. I''m very excited to play with it this summer and later throughout the school year and swim season. Keep checking back for new posts on using the GoPro Camera as I learn more tips/tricks. Since I did not get the GoPro remote, I downloaded the GoPro app for my Samsung Galaxy SIII phone which serves as a remote, connecting to the camera''s wifi network.

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Activators and Summarizers with Mobile Devices

Kathy Schrock

'This post first appeared in my "Kathy''s Katch" blog for the Discovery Education Network and is re-posted here with permission. Activators and summarizers have been used in classrooms for a long time. We all have our favorites and students know what to expect when we begin to use them. Since many classrooms now have at least part time access to 1:1 mobile devices, whether on a cart, a BYOD environment, or a true 1:1 program, I thought I would showcase how some of these can easily be used with m

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Is Your School or District in the Business of Suppressing Creativity and Genius?

The 21st Century Principal

'"Why would anyone want to suppress genius? Well, it is not intentional. It is not a plot. Genius is an innocent casualty in society''s efforts to train children away from natural born foolishness." Gordan MacKenzie, Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool''s Guide to Surviving with Grace Is your school or district engaged in what Gordan MacKenzie calls "suppression of creative genius?

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#SaveEdShelf

A Principal's Reflections

'I was recently notified by William Jenkins that EdShelf announced it will be ceasing trading at the end of this month. However, as this has been a popular resource with users a teacher called Alicia Leonard has launched a #SaveEdShelf campaign. This is a model that I have been trying to establish in the UK and progress has also been slow. Therefore, I wanted to show my support for Alicia’s campaign and published this post “ Don’t Leave EdTech Startups Sitting on the EdShelf ”.

EdTech 256
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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.