A Principal's Reflections

DECEMBER 27, 2015

The Rigor and Relevance Framework —an action ­oriented continuum that describes putting knowledge to use—gives teachers and administrators a way to develop both instruction and assessment while providing students with a way a way to project learning goals. This framework, based on traditional elements of education yet encouraging movement from acquisition of knowledge to application of knowledge, charts learning along the two dimensions of higher standards and student achievement.

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Ask a Tech Teacher

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

Here are ideas of apps and websites that teachers in my PLN used successfully in the past during Hour of Code: Kindergarten. Start kindergartners with problem solving. If they love Legos, they’ll love coding. BotLogic –great for Kindergarten and youngers. Code –learn to code, for students. Daisy the Dinosaur —intro to programming via iPad. How to train your robot –a lesson plan from Dr.

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The CoolCatTeacher

OCTOBER 13, 2015

Useful Tools for Teachers Padlet is a versatile, easy to use tool for every teacher’s toolkit. Let’s dive into Padlet and Learn the Basics. At the bottom of this post, I have a Padlet that is temporarily open for you to post and share your favorite edtech tools. Richard Byrne, author of Free Technology for Teachers , spent some time teaching the teachers at my school about Padlet.

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Catlin Tucker

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

Back-to-School Night is the one evening each year when I have the opportunity to connect face-to-face with my students’ parents. Unfortunately, not all parents can attend Back-to-School Night. Some of my parents work at night or they are at home with their other children. So, three years ago I began flipping my Back-to-School Night presentation in the hopes of reaching more of my parents.

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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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Ed Tech from the Ground Up

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

Many teachers find themselves in a bittersweet situation at the start of the new school year. Often, their school has used the summer break to launch new technology initiatives. What can teachers do to make this transition go smoothly? Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org.

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Ditch That Textbook

NOVEMBER 2, 2015

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 [.].

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Edutopia

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Andrew Miller Assessment Instead of issuing zeros, penalizing late work, and grading formative assessments, teachers should make the classroom a place of hope instead of fear.

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Iterating Toward Openness

NOVEMBER 16, 2015

There is much that’s wrong with the educational technology (“edtech”) market. However, the title of an essay I read last week sums up the biggest problem as succinctly as possible: Caring Doesn’t Scale. This three-word sentence captures so much. First, it clearly communicates that “scale” has become a virtue. More importantly, it implies that old-fashioned virtues – things like caring about people – simply can’t compare in importance to moder

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The Jose Vilson

OCTOBER 27, 2015

One more thing about the teachers of color panel went awry from a couple of weeks ago: we too embody white supremacy as agents of the state. Yesterday, a cop assaulted a black girl in the middle of class for refusing to leave the class when a teacher, an administrator, then the school resource officer told her to step out. The easy part for my colleagues is to say that, if the student just complied, then none of this would have happened.

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

September 30, 2015 Looking for some good web tools to use to create educational video collages? The collection below has you covered. It features a number of popular tools and mobile apps to utilize.read more.

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Personalized Learning

TeachThought - Learn better.

NOVEMBER 13, 2015

20 Tips To Promote A Self-Directed Classroom Culture It’s an age-old saying, “Give a man a fish, and feed him for a day. Teach. The post 20 Tips To Promote A Self-Directed Classroom Culture appeared first on TeachThought.

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My Island View

NOVEMBER 13, 2015

We often hear that the most influential element in a student’s life is the teacher. As an educator this can be both an honor and a daunting responsibility. It elevates the status of a position, often viewed by some as public service, to that of a valued mentor. This would all be well and good if education could truly be defined as it was for centuries in the past.

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The CoolCatTeacher

OCTOBER 12, 2015

The Cellist of the Schoolyard In 1992, thirty-seven-year-old Vedran Smailovic was principal cellist of the Sarajevo Opera. Because of the fighting, Sarajevo was being called “the capital of hell.” On May 27, a long line waited in front of one of the last bakeries in town. Parents wanted to buy bread to feed their families. A mortar landed among them, exploding and killing twenty-two people in line.

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Catlin Tucker

SEPTEMBER 8, 2015

As many teachers shift to the Common Core Standards, they are attempting to incorporate more complex texts and more informational/nonfiction texts into their curriculum. If you are asking yourself, “What is a complex text for my students?” check out this blog post I wrote explaining text complexity. Many teachers are discovering that there are a range of websites that offer informational texts available at various Lexile levels.

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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

eSchool News

NOVEMBER 12, 2015

No matter the subject, making and collaborating engages students in inspiring ways. You know the maker movement has hit the big leagues when even the President is talking about it. Earlier this year, for the National Week of Making, President Obama issued a call to action to educators, designers, and makers of all stripes. “During National Week of Making, we celebrate the tinkerers and dreamers whose talent and drive have brought new ideas to life, and we recommit to cultivating the next generat

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Teacher Tech

NOVEMBER 13, 2015

When students turn in work to Google Classroom the ownership of the document is switched from the student to the teacher. This means the student can no longer edit the document. Google Classroom allows the teacher to return the work to the students. Students Turn In The document is now view only for the student. […].

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Google Classroom 91

Brilliant or Insane

SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

Brilliant or Insane. Photo Credit: https://flic.kr/p/95iJuo It happens every fall. Many first year teachers become newlyweds and begin having children. Veteran teachers in the prime of their careers–those who worked hard to find a balance between work and family–are suddenly responsible for their elderly parents’ care. Someone gets sick. Someone takes a different job.

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ProfHacker

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

When we use technology extensively in our teaching (or work in general, really), how do we handle unexpected changes to that technology? Here are some thoughts and workarounds. (note: this was inspired by the recent change on Twitter from stars to hearts). A Website Disappears. Someone recently tweeted about how a website suddenly disappeared a few hours before she was planning to use it in her class.

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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

Fractus Learning

NOVEMBER 16, 2015

But you are gifted, you should be at the top of your class! I’ve been writing about gifted children for a few years now, and the more I write, and the more I connect with parents of gifted children, the more I realize just how misunderstood giftedness is, even among professionals who should have sufficient knowledge of giftedness in children. We need to shed light on what giftedness really is, and try to dispel the myths and misconceptions many believe about gifted children.

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MiddleWeb

NOVEMBER 10, 2015

Because of the powerful way school culture shapes the activity of students, teachers, and administrators, it’s worth investing the effort to assure it sends a positive message. Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn suggest leadership actions to build values.

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

September , 2015 As a learning strategy, inquiry-based learning is all about learners constructing their own understanding and knowledge through asking questions. Unlike traditional learning methods.read more.

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TeachThought - Learn better.

DECEMBER 12, 2015

Using The SAMR Model To Frame How To Teach With Apps by TeachThought Staff Not all apps are created equal. Not all teacher planning and instructional design are created equal. The post Using The SAMR Model To Frame How To Teach With Apps appeared first on TeachThought.

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Classroom

The Cornerstone for Teachers

NOVEMBER 1, 2015

At this point in the school year, many of us have lost of the patience and enthusiasm for refocusing kids in a playful way and fallen into the trap of just barking at the kids (“No talking!”) or pleading with them (“I need quiet! Waiting for quiet!”) all day long. But ironically, it’s more tiring to keep repeating your request for silence, since nagging kids puts us in a bad mood and after the hundredth time, the kids just tune us out, anyway.

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The CoolCatTeacher

OCTOBER 6, 2015

Make Writing Essays Easier My student cried when I showed her how to voice type in Google. Then, instead of 90 words in one class period, she typed 500. She edited it. She turned it in early. Tears of joy happen when the right tool is taught to the right student. Technology isn’t flashy The right technology makes lives better. Make writing well easier with these four writing tips.

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Catlin Tucker

AUGUST 24, 2015

For the last two years, I’ve been increasingly frustrated with the traditional approach to assessing students and reporting grades. I want my students to value learning, not the accumulation of points. Unfortunately, I feel like school is akin to a Pacman game where students are myopically focused on gobbling up points and, as a result, miss the point of learning entirely.

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eSchool News

NOVEMBER 8, 2015

It’s more than a rebrand of “principal.” It’s a philosophical overhaul. Ed. note : In partnership with Lesson Planet , we asked their professional development resource arm, PD Learning Network , for the most popular videos on their site. We’ll be featuring a limited number of these, one a week, each Monday. When Todd Nesloney was tapped to become lead learner at Webb Elementary, in Navasota, Texas, it could legitimately be called a true learning experience.

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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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Teacher Tech

NOVEMBER 18, 2015

Google Calendar is amazing, I won’t try to sell it because you’re probably already using it! One thing I have been recently using and loving is the ability to attach things from Google Drive in Google Calendar. While I do a fairly good job of organizing my files in folders in Google Drive, it is […].

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Google 88

Brilliant or Insane

AUGUST 21, 2015

Brilliant or Insane. One of our most popular posts, “14 Things Teachers Should Never Do on the First Day of School,” sparked plenty of discussion here on Brilliant or Insane and on our social networks. Even though most agreed with our “Not to-do list,” many longed for the positive spin? “Okay, this makes sense,” one reader allowed, “but I’m a […].

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ProfHacker

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

[ Anne McClanan is a Professor of Art History at Portland State University. Her work in the digital space engages with both online pedagogy and several digital humanities projects, overviewed here. --JBJ]. I recently posted a query on the CAAH listserv (Consortium of Art and Architectural Historians) to research online game-based and gamified learning in art history and museums.

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Gaggle Speaks

OCTOBER 16, 2015

Online social networks follow you everywhere. However, for some reason, it isn’t easy to get this notion across to students who often don’t consider much beyond the present moment. Here are a few ways you can help young students understand the lasting impact a post to a social network can have on their lives. Stranger Danger. Social networks consist of a much smaller number of friends, family and people you know than people you don’t know.

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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.

LMS