Need some different ways to get to know the kids in your new class? Tom Barrett has shared 14 ways to do just that. (Creative commons license)
Learning Styles and Teaching?
August 19th, 2010 · No Comments · integration
And just when you thought you knew it. You get it, you are differentiating instruction, yadda yadda yadda… Daniel T. Willingham (UVA- Psychology Dept.) says learning styles don’t exist. OK. There goes everything we (educators) have been yapping about for years. Years of inservices, school improvement plans, modifying daily practices…good bye. Did we foolishly hop on board the wrong train? Interesting. Very intersting. Hmmm…. I think I have to think about this one for a while.
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Plurk…Powerful Stuff
August 12th, 2010 · 1 Comment · integration
Are you looking for ways to connect with other educators? Maybe you want to share interests, ideas or experiences in education. Perhaps you need some advise from folks in the field. Where do you go to get that? You’ve heard of Twitter, but how about Plurk? Plurk is a microblogging community similar to Twitter that lets you get socially networked with folks (in the educational industry). You send and receive plurks…brief messages similar to tweets. What I like most about Plurk is that I can friend/follow various people and see them in a single timeline chronologically. Conversations sometimes are immediate, or develop over time. Last October, I joined Plurk, and I can truly say that I have reaped some benefits! I communicate with teachers, administrators, Librarians, and techy type folks from all over. Interesting links, information and stories are shared. I have found this online community to be welcoming, warm, knowledgable and powerful. I plan to continue to use Plurk as a part of my PLN. It’s definitely worth a shot. So…waddya think? Plurk…Powerful Stuff?
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Internet Safety 4 Parents
July 26th, 2010 · No Comments · Internet Safety
Internet Safety is an ongoing effort that is addressed by all to help keep students safe. Need some help and not sure where to start? These days, everybody and his brother is getting in on the game. I’m sure you will recognize some of the names …Thinkfinity, Virginia Department of Education, Infinite Learning Labs, Verizon, NetSmartz…. With all the resources and tools available, it’s a snap to get informed and be apprised of changes. Here is a little resource to get you started: http://ppsinternetsafety4parents.pbworks.com/
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Capzles, Seasons on the James
July 21st, 2010 · No Comments · integration
Digital Story telling is one of my fovorite things to share with folks. Through the years I have conducted numerous sessions on PhotoStoryand Movie Maker. I’m looking at various web apps that accomplish the same task and have found a few. The first one I am sharing is Capzles. This is a cool little app that lets you create a digital story to share with everyon online. Upload media, choose a theme, add tags, Title and Privacy settings. Pretty cool. I think this would be something that might get some mileage. Check out my first creation with Capzles: Seasons on the James
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What piece of technology gets the best result in the classroom? Informal Poll in AnswerGarden
July 15th, 2010 · No Comments · integration
If technology is a tool to help teachers teach and students learn, then what peice of technology gets the best result in the classroom? Don’t overthink this one! And I don’t want to hear “well the research says” and the vendor says….. Go with your gut. What have you seen out there? What’s working? Here is my highly informal one-question, poll being conducted in the Answergarden at: http://answergarden.ch/view/863 Answer with 1-3 words….OK? Don’t need a dissertation.
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Magnet Scholars…Dead Men Tell No Tales, or Do They?
July 13th, 2010 · No Comments · integration
This summer, one of the activities for the summer Magnet Scholars Program is for students to create short digital stories using PhotoStory 3. This activity is a component designed to compliment their activities with the Written in Bone program offered by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, which is a dynamic program that introduces students to forensic cases of the 17th Century. Students develop photostories with images, text and sound to convey their message. It’s exciting to see how each student uses Photostory to share their perspective. PhotoStory 3 can be used to tell all kinds of stories, academic or personal. Quick and easy to use, versatile, linear…. It’s so much fun! What kind of story could you tell with PhotoStory 3?
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Share the gold from the ISTE 2010 conference in Colorado
July 1st, 2010 · No Comments · integration
With ISTE 2010 now a memory and the long trip from Denver back home ahead of me, I sit before this computer screen trying to make sense of everything experienced over the past few days. How can I convey everything that has occurred? This comprehensive, educational technology conference is attended by around 20,000 industry leaders, pioneers, policy makers, educators, students, and the curious. With something for everyone, you can’t help but walk away with something to make a difference in your little corner of the world. Hosted in the Colorado Convention Center, a giant Blue Bear greets you at front of the building, and the Rockies rise in the background to form the perfect setting. So…what made it so great? Technology, people, and the exchange of ideas seem to stitch this whole thing together. If you wanted to see 21st Century technology in action, this was for you. Surrounded by some of the best technology in the world, people were using all their techie gadgets to communicate and share. People used social networking, blogs, wikis, NINGS, ipads, iphones, laptops, and phones to take notes, share opinions, stay informed, and much more. Interested in knowing how the keynote went? Check out Twitter using the ISTE hashtags. Want to see that session with the mile long line that you couldn’t get in, check out the live feeds. Want handouts from the session you just attended? Hit the URLs to the wikis provided by session presenters. This year, Ruth, Karen and I were accepted to present 21 Things about 21 Things. This session was intended to share what we learned about our 21/23 Things programs that we implemented this past year. Acceptance is always a thrill, because it is not a given. We were surprised to learn that ISTE wanted to make us one of 4 groups that were going to have a live feed on the Internet with a back-channel set up. The back- channel was new to all of us. Was I scared? Maybe ignorance is bliss. It didn’t really hit me how big the audience could be until I walked into a room full of people with a line that snaked out the door. People were up on Twitter chatting about us as we presented, cameras were rolling and eyes were on us, virtually and F2F. Sounds pretty intimidating, but we had something to share with folks that walk the same walk, so it wasn’t too bad. It was very humbling to see our session featured beside some of the best of the best. http://www.istevision.org/landing_page.php It amazing to come to a conference like this and see pioneers like Bernie Dodge, hear the movers and shakers from Harvard and Stanford, listen to Will Richardson, and rub elbows with some of the most talented and creative teachers and leaders in the world. As I leave Denver, my head is spinning with ideas. How will I use these to affect teaching and learning? Whose life will be impacted? How will my contribution make a change in my little corner of the world? I think I need to exhale. Then, I will sift through the nuggets and share the gold from the ISTE 2010 conference in Colorado.
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Which technology tools will you use to implement Marzano’s Six Steps?
June 17th, 2010 · 7 Comments · integration
By applying Marzano strategies, the classroom teacher is using a well respected approach that is backed by research and gets results. At TEACH Academy, participants explore how to infuse Marzano strategies into instruction by using specific technology resources, tools and templates to implement the six steps for building vocabulary. A plethora of ideas are shared at this session. Which technology tools will implement in your classroom and why?
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What kind of digital camera activities or projects interest you?
June 17th, 2010 · 9 Comments · integration
Digital cameras are fun, versatile teaching tools that can be used to improve instruction in all kinds of learning situations. They can be used with very young children all the way through to adult education. After all, who doesn’t like to see their mug in print? The possibilities for use are endless, only limited by the imagination. When armed with resources and tools, lesson ideas, activities and plans for use in the classroom, who knows what mountains the classroom teacher will move. At TEACH Academy, educators explore all kinds of ways to integrate the use of digital cameras into instruction. I love to see unique ways to implement digital cameras into the classoom. What kind of digital camera activities or projects interest you?
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