Sat.Oct 31, 2015 - Fri.Nov 06, 2015

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Teaching and Parenting…a Delicate Dance

Catlin Tucker

Confessions of a Teaching Parent. I remember when I first began teaching at the age of 22, my mentor teacher told me, “Teaching will make you a better parent and being a parent will make you a better teacher.” The wisdom of these words has stayed with me. When I had my first child, I realized my time in the classroom had armed me with many of the tools I would need as a mother.

Strategy 323
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Top 10 Education Tweets of October

The CoolCatTeacher

Trends and Topics on Twitter October is a busy month for teachers. It is also a hard month. We’re all looking for inspiration. These resources are being shared by teachers on Twitter. But you don’t have to join Twitter to click the links and read the hot topics. The top sketchnote of the month is from Sylvia Duckworth. ( Sylvia is a repeat leader on this list.

Education 314
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Revamping the Student-Teacher Portfolio for Real-Time Results

Ed Tech from the Ground Up

Despite evidence that preservice teachers often view electronic teaching portfolios in a negative light, they are staples of most teacher education programs. It turns out they're fantastic ways to reflect on practice and learn from your own mistakes. Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org.

Learning 279
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Free Resources to Support Your Makerspace

A Principal's Reflections

The embracement of the maker movement is being seen in K-12 schools and districts across the world. As a result, makerspaces are being instituted to allow students to tinker, invent, create, and make to learn. A makerspace can best be defined as a physical place where students can create real-world products/projects using real-world tools in a shared work space.

Resources 273
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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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8 Steps for Designing and Deploying a Mobile App Strategy

EdTech Magazine

By EdTech Staff When planning the rollout of a new mobile application, school districts should focus on use cases, relevant metrics and other important considerations.

Mobility 247
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My Lesson Plan is Not Working, Kids Are Not Learning, I Am Freaking Out!

The CoolCatTeacher

Every Classroom Matters Episode 186 Here’s to you overloaded, exhausted, overworked teachers. Everyone is heaping guilt trips and criticism on you. But then, it happens. You look up and your classroom is in chaos. The lesson completely falls apart. Nothing works. Confusion builds. You realize that the kids are not learning because something messed it all up.

Learning 281

More Trending

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Hour of Code–the Series

Ask a Tech Teacher

Coding–that mystical geeky subject that confounds students and teachers alike. Confess, when you think of coding, you see: …when you should see. December 7-13, Computer Science Education will host the Hour Of Code–a one hour introduction to coding, programming, and why students should love it. It’s designed to demystify “code” and show that anyone can learn the basics to be a maker, a creator, and an innovator.

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The Road to K–12 Connectivity Begins with State Partnerships

EdTech Magazine

By D. Frank Smith E-Rate reforms have made it a lot easier to provide broadband to rural schools, but there are still hurdles to overcome.

E-rate 246
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Moving Students Beyond Making Connections to Making an Impact

The CoolCatTeacher

Every Classroom Matters episode 185. Students making toys for kids in Africa who have none? Kids taking a live virtual tour of the Great Barrier reef with scientists? Designing with a purpose? Australian Teacher Brian Host is all in with his seven and eight-year-old students. Students don’t want to just make connections. Students of all ages want to be making an impact.

Facebook 278
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10 engaging Google Drawings activities for classes

Ditch That Textbook

Using a document in Google Apps or Microsoft Word is perfect for many activities, but sometimes they can be so limiting. They’re restricting. They force you to enter information in a fairly linear fashion, and linear just doesn’t cut it sometimes. Sometimes, you want your work to be all over the place. Think of sticky [.].

Google 219
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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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30 Prompts that Help Writers Practice a Month of Gratitude

Brilliant or Insane

Brilliant or Insane. Calendar journaling is a perennial favorite among the writers that I support, and November is the perfect time to introduce it. There are a number of ways to begin: writers may print and attach a calendar template for the month inside of their notebooks, they might keep track of their daily writing in Google Calendar, […].

Google 217
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For First Time Ever, Majority of U.S. Grade 3-8 Students to Test Online in Spring 2016

Doug Levin

Today, I’m pleased to release a new research brief entitled Pencils Down: The Shift to Online & Computer-Based Testing – U.S. K-8 Market (2015-16 School Year). The top line finding is eye-opening: The 2015-16 school year will mark the first time that the majority of state mandated summative testing in U.S. elementary and middle schools will be administered via technology and not in a paper and pencil format.

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Top 10 Blog Posts of October 2015

The CoolCatTeacher

What's Hot with Teachers? Teachers want to help students improve. But many teachers struggle this time of year. We want to stay positive, but sometimes we wonder if we make a difference. We want simple tools that are easy to use. This month’s top blog posts here on the Cool Cat Teacher blog are a reflection of all of you beautiful, wonderful teachers out there.

Google 277
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Tips and Considerations for an 802.11ac Upgrade

EdTech Magazine

By EdTech Staff Schools that wish to deploy the new 802.11ac standard can make their upgrade go further with a little planning.

EdTech 242
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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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When Your Colleague is a Curmudgeon

Brilliant or Insane

Brilliant or Insane. Most of my friends are educators: teachers, administrators, and service providers like me. I spend most week days facilitating professional learning throughout my region. Groups change, the work is complex and varied, and every day is much like a job interview. Last week alone, I taught five different lessons in elementary and middle school classrooms […].

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5 Best Typing Tutors for Everyone

Ask a Tech Teacher

Keyboarding is always a concern with educators, and one of the most questions is–how do you teach it? Adam Fort, an education strategist at Ratatype , has five ideas: Typing tutors are aids that enable users to increase their own typing speed, skills and touch typing techniques. There are different types of typing tutors including online typing tutors, typing tutor programs and typing tutor software.

Software 207
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Throwing Students Across the Room Doesn’t Work, This Does…

The CoolCatTeacher

Every Classroom Matters episode 187 There aren’t enough scented candles and bubble bath in the world to soothe the stress of a teacher who has completely lost control in her classroom and can’t get it back. But you can get it back. While considering the horrible incident at Spring Valley, I’ve thought about it a thousand ways. There is no reason I could ever find or see to hurl a child across a room.

Facebook 274
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Learners or memorizers

Dangerously Irrelevant

Richard Elmore said: The real argument is whether we want to develop a generation of people who have mastery of their own abilities to learn, or whether we want to perpetuate our obsession with training people to reproduce from memory what the current generation of adults thinks they should know. via [link]. Related Posts. Schooling for compliance and conformity v. preparing students for a life of learning.

Training 201
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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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7 Homework Assignments That Guarantee Learning and the Secret Sauce That Makes Them Work

Brilliant or Insane

Brilliant or Insane. Want your students to learn more immediately? Want higher test scores? Want the secret sauce for making your students like you and love your class? Well. ? Are you interested? Not only is this possible, it’s ridiculously easy. Think this is some sort of strange hocus-pocus? It’s not. It’s simple, classroom tested, kid approved best […].

Learning 204
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Hour of Code–Why Not

Ask a Tech Teacher

I took a Classroom 2.0 Live webinar last year on rolling out the Hour of Code in the classroom. There were so many great things about that webinar, but one I’ll share today is why teachers DON’T participate in Hour of Code. Here are what the webinar participants said: How about you? Why are you NOT doing Hour of Code? Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-8 technology for 15 years.

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Global Education Conference 2015 #globaled15

The CoolCatTeacher

Free, Online PD for Teachers The sixth annual Global Education Conference 2015 is a free week-long online event bringing together educators and innovators from around the world. This year’s conference will take place Monday, November 16 through Thursday, November 19, 2015. The entire conference is virtual and will take place online in webinar format.

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My keynote for the 2015 K12 Online Conference

Dangerously Irrelevant

My keynote for the 2015 K12 Online Conference is now available. It’s long because within it I profile numerous examples of innovative schools. Here is the description for my session: Whenever any sort of change or innovation is discussed, the ‘Yes, but…’ objections are inevitable. However, instead of allowing those resistance points to dominate and defeat promising ideas, teachers and administrators can reframe opposition into possibility by asking the questions ‘Why not?

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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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What Obstacles Prevent Teachers from Using Technology?

The Journal

In this week’s blog we ask YOU a question: What are the obstacles – the barriers – that prevent K-12 teachers from using technology in their classroom?

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Tech Tip #120: Why Use Airplane Mode?

Ask a Tech Teacher

As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy! Q: Why would I use airplane mode when I’m not flying? Airplane mode stops your phone from searching for an internet connection.

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How I Motivated My Autistic Students to Publish 63 Books

The CoolCatTeacher

Every Classroom Matters #184. Can self-publishing change everything? For some autistic kids, it did. Parents started showing up at IEP meetings. Everyone started talking. And it wasn’t all that hard! Essential Questions in “How I Motivated My Autistic Students to Publish 63 Books” How do you edit and publish books with kids of all ability levels?

eBook 266
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New Roles For A New Generation

Battelle for Kids

Volume 2, Issue 12, Number 1. Driving Question: What new roles will effective teachers play for new generations of learners in a digital world? Working under the assumption, and it's a large assumption that the role of the teacher must change when faced with a modern world filled with vastly new and different opportunities to learn, what will those change roles look like?

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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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Are You in a Tribe or a Clique?

Brilliant or Insane

Brilliant or Insane. Seth Godin was the first writer to push my thinking about tribes. Perhaps someone came before him, I don’t know. Doesn’t matter. What matters is how he often describes them. In essence, a tribe is a group of people who are connected by common passions, projects, and goals. They’re driven by some sort of hunger, […]. The post Are You in a Tribe or a Clique?

Groups 178
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Subscriber Special: November

Ask a Tech Teacher

Watch for our Veteran’s Day special in your mailbox. Click to view slideshow. Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-8 technology for 15 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-8 technology curriculum , K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, CSG Master Teacher, webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers , CAEP

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Financial Literacy: Make the Money “Real” [Link]

The CoolCatTeacher

Financial Literacy: Make the Money “Real” Vicki Davis on Edutopia. November 3, 2015. Financial literacy can be hard to teach. That’s because numbers on a page don’t feel real. With our society’s increasing dependence on credit cards, it’s more important than ever to help students “feel” the realness of their own money.

Study 227
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Who Is The Effective Educator In The 21st Century?

Battelle for Kids

Volume 2, Issue 12, Number 1. Driving Question: What attributes most define today's effective teacher? There are many attributes that could be used to describe an effective educator for today's modern student. Research indicates that one of the most important characteristics of a 21st Century educator is the ability to engage students. Schlechty (2011) asserted that teachers need to be prepared to engage students.

Education 180
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Enhancing HyFlex Education through the PowerTeaching Framework

This whitepaper explores integrating the PowerTeaching pedagogical approach within a HyFlex (Hybrid Flexible) educational model, focusing on employing cooperative learning strategies and efficient classroom management techniques.