June 2012
1 post
May 2012
39 posts
High Stakes Testing Protests →
While I agree that high stakes testing is not a valid measure of a child or their learning or the education they are offered, what is the option? We can’t simply say we don’t wanna without offering some sort of solution to how we can show that students have learned and are learning and will continue to learn. As a school that ranked top in the state on state mandated testing, it is...
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Academic Entitlement →
I think this is a very interesting study mostly because it is something we deal with at the place where I work. We have students like this all the time and often they are reinforced by the parents that raise them. It is a hard thing to face, but the best choice we have in dealing with it is to stick to our guns as teachers. It means we ask students why they answered as they did, teach them to...
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Tech or No Tech, That is the Question →
This is a fairly interesting article about the decision to go to Tech or not. My school remains somewhere inbetween with some tech (smart boards) but a focus on interaction with the physical world (science experiments and social studies projects). I can’t decide which way I would go. I don’t think that tech is a fad and that it is just going to go away, but to do everything based on...
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Avoiding Burnout →
Now I can’t remember if I posted this or not, but the article is worth a read.
I think the most important of these is actually pushing out the information in different ways. As a very introverted person, it is even more exhausting to be the ‘teacher’ at the front of the room all day long. It is far better for me to have the students direct the learning and make education...
100 Ways You Should Be Using Facebook in Your... →
world-shaker:
Here are the first four:
Ask for information: Instead of trusting Wikipedia, ask the crowd on Facebook. One kindergarten teacher asked parents to research seeds and got great information about the largest seed in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Attend remote lectures: Using Facebook, you can tune into remote lectures and presentations from around the...
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Ten Paperless Math Assessment Strategies →
revolutionizeed:
With my school going 1:1, I know that the math department has been talking a lot about how they could use the computers in their classrooms. Here are some assessment ideas that don’t require the old pencil and paper!
Oh…and here are some more!
I love this. Love. Can I hug it?! Gah. This is what we can do with assessment. Don’t talk to me about how to turn...
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Building Positive Relationships →
On a personal level, I think that the more time we spend on this the better. I found that in the classroom, every minute I spent on this kind of activity was worth it in the end. WHy? It just made it all smoother and easier and provided a heck of a lot of chance to foster a community. If community is important to you or your school, be willing to take TIME and make it a priority. Because then...
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A New Dance Craze →
As we move to having middle school students in our building, I wonder about something like this being a possibility for them. Get them up and get them moving. It’s a cool idea and definitely something I’d love to participate in (though more than that, I’d love an hour for lunch….)
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Minecraft and Education →
I just love this use of a game and the things you can do with it. I think it also has the chance to do some great community building and learning about how to live and act within the virtual world - something students will need to know how to do as virtual education becomes more and more likely for every student. And what better way to teach than a game!
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Internet Censorship in Schools →
An interesting point of view on internet censorship and the school’s responsibility in dealing with this kind of information. Do we have the right to censor? We can’t censor our libraries without a strict policy in place (originally called a Selection Manual and it discussed how and why books were selected and had a form for parents to deal with challenging a book). Do we need the...
20 Free and Fun Ways To Curate Web Content →
world-shaker:
Here are three:
Pocket (Formerly Read It Later)
First, let’s start off with my newfound favorite curation tool. Formerly ‘Read It Later,’ the newly designed Pocket tool is a simple way to create a truly gorgeous page filled with your favorite bookmarks. The style of the site is simple, easy on the eyes, and the service is pretty easy to use. I use the term ‘pretty’ because the...
Printables →
Struggling with making things in the classroom? Check out these super cute printables! Lots of things for kids to color as well as things like flashcards. I love not having to make cute things and instead find ones to use for free.
Take a look!
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Watchworld-shaker:
How to Create Social Media Guidelines for Your School
A free doc from Edutopia.
This is a trend in education and one of the big pieces that is coming for schools. I don’t see how we can escape this social media and certainly we need to be training our students to use it appropriately so that not only can they use it as part of their online education (which I believe every...
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Technology Education in Schools →
Though they do tend to reference a good portion of their own work, they also have referenced large studies and projects that relate back to education and technology and point out many of the current trends that are affecting our students. We need to keep those trends and ideas in mind as we work towards a new technology plan at our school. I think it is important to keep the student focus as we...
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Teaching with Games: Video Case Studies →
world-shaker:
Three short YouTube videos of games-based learning case studies. They’d collectively take less than ten minutes to watch, and I’d recommend taking a peak.
This is how we can teach with things kids are interested in. Who wants student engagement? All of us. This is a way to make some of those outside interests into personal educational connections.
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Paper Zip →
Beautiful classroom art work. An amazingly beautiful alphabet and numbers. All organized. You have to print them on your own, but the posts are free and really cool to look at. Lots of ink and need some interesting art, check it out!
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Connecting Parents and Teachers →
As much as I worry that so much of this connection and giving parents makes the burden of teachers harder (ie needing to keep up with Ms. Jones who grades at lightning speed) and removes the student from the loop (don’t talk to me about missing 4th grade math, talk to my kid and let me know you did and I will back you 100%), I still think that this is the way to move education forward. ...
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Gym and Technology →
How can you make gym and technology mesh? This article is a great way to show that they can and that kids get excited about technology. It takes the time and effort and certainly finances, but it can be integrated. Do kids still need to just get out and PLAY? Absolutely. But within confined space, we can still make fitness a priority.
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“One of the myths of creativity is that very few people are really creative,”...”
– Education System Stifles Creativity, Survey Finds
As much as I love and respect the work of Ken Robinson, I’m hitting a breaking point. If America is tired of it’s underfunded education system failing, then they need to recognize the following:
You either value education, or you don’t.
It’s that...
Blog with Kids! →
As technology becomes more about learning and providing education online, we need to get our kids online and writing with and sharing with one another. But to me, one of the main issues ends up being keep identities private and making sure that kids are safe. I love it when places come up with solutions to student privacy and making use of great educational tools. So go out, link up and blog...
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Assessment Rubrics →
Some times we just need an idea of where to start with grading and rubrics and creating them. Help your students see what your expectations are prior to starting the activity and know that they can provide just what you want. It gives them information and nothing comes as a surprise.
Human-Centered Schools: Know your Enemy! What are... →
humanscaleschools:
Transmission Pedagogy
Transmission teaching views children as passive learners, empty vessels to be fill by the teacher, school or community. It is the belief that knowledge in fixed and can be divided into subjects. Its primary function is to transmit knowledge from the knowledgeable teacher…
Say it ain’t over the rainbow « Cooperative... →
adventuresinlearning:
In appreciation of what my students – and children – have taught me, I’d like to close with a few suggestions for making all of our classrooms gifting ones.
Fill your classroom – regardless of your grade and subject-area – with as many learning objects as possible. Stuff your room to the gills with sensory tables, toys, art supplies, and whatever tech and accessories...
‘Flip This Lesson’ From TED-Ed Wants You To Mashup... →
I really want to get in to this. I think this is a great way to make technology both interactive and more useful for classrooms instead of just that ‘one more thing’ that teachers have to learn and use. If you can make it useful so students can preview lessons or ideas and be prepared for a discussion, then technology helps and doesn’t hinder the classroom.
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Math Practice →
This is a great place to assign and follow students’ progress in math. It is worth it when it is free, but definitely our school is considering the purchased option so we can coordinate it with the national standardized tests we take each spring. A great practice set for parents to see what kids are learning about.
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Strategies for Meeting all Students' Needs →
We all have diverse classrooms with so much going on in them. It’s worth taking time to remember a few ‘hints’ that can make the classroom function for you and the student. Keeping that focus on making them feel like they belong and can do it is an important idea.
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Getting To the End →
End of the year is always the toughest time of the year. What do we do with kids? How can we sum up ALL the wonderful learning and exploring and thinking we have done? See what you can do with some of these ideas. Remember - it’s all about celebrating what we learned.
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April 2012
9 posts
The Problem Is Bigger Than a Pineapple - Bridging... →
A very interesting discussion of standardized testing with some links to items that are occurring in the state of New York because of testing. I think it is important to note that all tests have a place but how we USE a test is the key. And the minute we start using tests to ‘autopsy’ our students and not move them forward in their learning is the true key. We can learn from tests...
5 Things You're Grateful for - Share your Daily 5!... →
My Five Things:
1. Getting out of bed this morning
2. Knowing it is Thursday
3. Being able to successful deal with something I didn’t want to
4. Knowing that state mandated testing is nearly over
5. Having a morning I don’t proctor tests
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Minnesota Stem Center - Math and Science →
One of the best places to get information about our math standards and science standards. I look here constantly for new assessment ideas and ways to teach concepts for the math students I do see. What I have found has allowed me to be more knowledgeable and create even better Interim Assessments.
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Facebook for Education →
A fun place to play around and meet other educators. With middle school students on our door step, here might be a way to get them up and interacting with us and their homework and other needed skills. Build a class and try it out!
10 Recommended YouTube Edu-tainment Channels →
These YouTube channels provide a wealth of entertaining educational content for use in or out of the classroom. They are organized in to categories for easy reference but still can be a bit to sort through. Make sure to check out the additional mentions in the comments.
Launching Summer Reading - The Book Whisperer -... →
A great way for teachers to connect with kids this summer and build in some reading skills as well!
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Question about Google docs
I love all thhe new products that google is putting out and with their Drive being added I think there is a great case for using it more and more in the classroom. But how do you use it with elementary kids without needing every kid to have a log in? Same thing with twitter and a lot of other cool web based things using social media. We have the tools to make use of them but I worry about the...
