Home - gcschats. InnovationofourGeneration TeachersGuide. ClassHook is a great site to find K-12 video clips to hook and engage students quickly in your lesson, check it out. Amazing #WatchMeRead video of students connecting classroom content to their music! Proud of these #gcsk12 students!
Congratulations to our 3rd place Pinnacle Smackdown winner @CoachBmhms with GeoGuessr! #gcsk12 #gcspinnacle. Tracks student progress @RimmerAngela #HourOfCode #gcspinnacle. Congratulations to our 1st place Pinnacle Smackdown winner @mhmshistory and the Anatomy4D app! #gcsk12 #gcspinnacle. @hourofcode @MountHollyMS @GastonSchools #gcsk12 Ss and Ts alike are rocking it! @mhmshistory. THIS WEEK AT SHERWOOD: Beginning Wednesday, students will be able to purchase candy cane messages for their... Kindergarten: increased use of textbooks, worksheets, and esp assessments + no time for play = #edreform needed! “The changes to kindergarten make me sick,” a veteran teacher in Arkansas recently admitted to me.
“Think about what you did in first grade—that’s what my 5-year-old babies are expected to do.” The difference between first grade and kindergarten may not seem like much, but what I remember about my first-grade experience in the mid-90s doesn’t match the kindergarten she described in her email: three and a half hours of daily literacy instruction, an hour and a half of daily math instruction, 20 minutes of daily “physical activity time” (officially banned from being called “recess”) and two 56-question standardized tests in literacy and math—on the fourth week of school.
That American friend—who teaches 20 students without an aide—has fought to integrate 30 minutes of “station time” into the literacy block, which includes “blocks, science, magnetic letters, play dough with letter stamps to practice words, books, and storytelling.” A working paper, “Is Kindergarten the New First Grade? "There will be more Chromebooks in classrooms by the end of the year than all other devices combined!" #edtech.
"Always remember the child that challenges you the most, might be the child that needs you the most." #gcsk12. Posted 09/03/2015 5:39PM | Last Commented 09/03/2015 5:39PM On Edutopia's Facebook page, we recently asked teachers what advice & encouragement they would give to newbies. The response was overwhelming (in the most amazing way possible). In an attempt to preserve the awesome discussion there, I've rounded up some of my favorite words of wisdom. Thanks to all the inspiring educators who contributed! Submitted by Jadyn Harris Submitted by Kristen Anderson Graham Submitted by Laura Atwood Jimenez Submitted by Erin Gibbons Submitted by Julie Gibson-Stenberg Submitted by Michelle Peacock Submitted by Maureen Salzman Submitted by Vicky Robles Submitted by Lisa Schmidt Schroeder 10.
Submitted by Jean Sances We want to hear from you! We need 6teachers/school to sign up; bring them to our awesome county! Contact your ITF organizer for help! #gcsk12. The 20 Digital Skills Every 21st Century Teacher Should Have #edtech. By EdTech Team Updated on march 2, 2015 : The original list that was created in 2011 comprised 33 skills , after reviewing it we decided to do some merging and finally ended up with the 20 skills below. The 21st century teacher should be able to : 1- Create and edit digital audio Here are some tools for teachers to develop this skill :Free Audio Tools for Teachers 2- Use Social bookmarking to share resources with and between learners Here are some tools for teachers to develop this skill : A List of Best Bookmarking Websites for Teachers 3- Use blogs and wikis to create online platforms for students Here are some tools for teachers to develop this skill : Great Tools to Create Protected Blogs and Webpages for your Class 4- Exploit digital images for classroom use Here are some tools for teachers to develop this skill :Web Tools to Edit Pictures without Installing any softwareTools to Convert Photos into Cartoons.
8 Ways to Rescue Public School Libraries From Becoming Obsolete - Education Futures: Emerging Trends in K-12. Public school libraries have always served an admirable purpose in education. In an indirect way, K-12 libraries have given students support in learning endeavors and been a go-to spot for information. With that being said, as the first Internet-generation rises through the public school ranks, libraries need big changes to remain relevant. It is not enough to simply "be there;" school libraries need to reach out to students and pull them in with helpful resources that combine traditional and contemporary theories in literacy.
Many school libraries are already making strides to capture and maintain the interest of students, while others seem to always be trailing just a few steps behind. Programs like the YOUmedia initiative housed at Chicago's Harold Washington Library incorporate student-led publishing, music as a form of literacy and encouragement in academic pursuits to keep K-12 kids interested in what the library can do for them. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Libraries of the Future: #stuvoice. "Every child needs at least one adult who is irrationally crazy about him or her. " - Urie Bronfenbrenner A year and a half ago, I decided that I needed to return to the K-12 classrooms and really experience ground-level teaching, testing, core standards, differentiating, and emotionally connecting with children and adolescents in ways I had not for many years. I have been and still am an assistant professor in the school of education at Marian University, but the environments, experiences, and my own learning have grown and changed immensely from returning to the classroom 18 months ago.
I asked the university for a course release, taking the lectures, research, and strategies into the early adolescent grades. And three and a half semesters later, I am discovering, sometimes failing, sometimes celebrating, but always walking the walk of my graduate students and sharing these experiences with my pre-service teachers. I have surveyed the students and teachers with these questions in mind: Our 2015 graduation rate of 86.3% is higher than the state overall rate of 85.4%. Read more http… We had 75% of our schools meet or exceed academic growth according to state test results. Read more. A great real-life connection for the classroom September 23 - October 1! #gcsk12. Plickers Adds New Features to Help You Organize Your Classes and Questions via Free Technology for ... The Book Bus is back! Hugo's House of Reading;Gardner Park Elem. You want Hugo's new show to come to your school?... ht… Six tips on managing a 1-to-1 Chromebook classroom #gafesummit #googleedu.
Image courtesy Adam Schoenbart When you walk into my classroom, you’ll see the typical groupings of desks, bookshelves, and of course, the Schoencart. My Chromebook cart—which was cleverly named by students years ago—is too wide, too bulky, and has a bad wheel. It’s a pain to move and the lock sticks. But, it’s mine, and has been since I started teaching in a 1:1 classroom. Three summers ago, I participated in a Chromebook pilot program and eagerly took the plunge into the world of Google Apps. I was breaking a sweat wheeling the behemoth of a cart across the building, up the elevator, and into my classroom before I had any idea what I was doing. As more schools and classes move towards 1:1, there are choices to make about how devices and access will help transform learning, and about how they will be managed. More devices mean more power and potential for meaningful learning, collaboration, and growth. The biggest lesson I learned in my 1:1 journey was to let go.
Finally, the big one. The Slow Gamification of K-12 Classrooms #oped. Children are becoming acutely acquainted with mobile technology long before their K-12 classroom years. When they arrive at their first organized school experiences, they are often already savvy on basic computers and mobile devices. If their parents used this technology correctly, these kids have had at least some exposure to phonics and math through learning websites, downloads and other applications. Research suggests that once these young learners enter a classroom, however, learning through tech “games” disappears. Families may still choose to buy the apps and use them at home but schools are slow to bring gamification of education into their classrooms. A report by the market research group Ambient Insight found that edtech in the forms of learning games is not making its way into classrooms. Instead of educators making learning game purchases, marketers target parents because they are the ones who buy them.
The reasons are simple enough. Does all of this really matter, though? How to encourage more questioning in the classroom (& beyond!) The humble question is an indispensable tool: the spade that helps us dig for truth, or the flashlight that illuminates surrounding darkness. Questioning helps us learn, explore the unknown, and adapt to change. That makes it a most precious “app” today, in a world where everything is changing and so much is unknown. And yet, we don’t seem to value questioning as much as we should. For the most part, in our workplaces as well as our classrooms, it is the answers we reward -- while the questions are barely tolerated. To change that is easier said than done. Working within an answers-based education system, and in a culture where questioning may be seen as a sign of weakness, teachers must go out of their way to create conditions conducive to inquiry.
Here are some suggestions (based on input from question-friendly teachers, schools, programs, and organizations) on how to encourage more questioning in the classroom and hopefully, beyond it. How to Encourage Questioning 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 9 ways to plan the BEST curriculum unit ever. When instructors engage learners, develop ability and understanding, and amplify students' identities, we call them "transformational teachers" -- professionals who provide learners with disciplinary View-Masters so that kids can see the world in stereoscope. But how do they prepare? Do they just show up for class and spontaneously uncork the awesome? Obviously not.
Behind the scenes, transformational teachers labor over curriculum plans that look simple and even elegant to classroom observers. This post explains how they do that, specifically looking at nine transformational practices in planning. How to Plan Transformational Lessons 1. For decades, many educators let a textbook's table of contents determine the scope and sequence of a course. Teaching strategies are approaches that teachers use to improve student learning. Balancing teaching strategies with learning strategies keeps instructors and students actively engaged and focused on the same purpose. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Teaching Strategies: What Students Might Learn from Playing Board Games. Desmos | Beautiful, Free Math. Equal opportunities to learn. Exit tickets can be a valuable tool to measure student achievement; here are 5 Free Digital Tools for Exit Tickets. #iPads in the classroom. **The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding a P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.** By Kristi Meeuwse, ADE Where’s the Beef? Show me the money! In today’s results-oriented, data-driven mentality in education, we all fall under the large accountability umbrella of test scores. Let me say that I teach children, not tests. All of that being said, I do understand that the purchase of the iPads was intended to close the achievement gap and raise scores.
While I don’t solely focus on test scores, I can’t deny the results I am seeing. Finland schools: Subjects scrapped and replaced with 'topics' #edreform. For years, Finland has been the by-word for a successful education system, perched at the top of international league tables for literacy and numeracy. Only far eastern countries such as Singapore and China outperform the Nordic nation in the influential Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) rankings. Politicians and education experts from around the world – including the UK – have made pilgrimages to Helsinki in the hope of identifying and replicating the secret of its success. Which makes it all the more remarkable that Finland is about to embark on one of the most radical education reform programmes ever undertaken by a nation state – scrapping traditional “teaching by subject” in favour of “teaching by topic”.
“This is going to be a big change in education in Finland that we’re just beginning,” said Liisa Pohjolainen, who is in charge of youth and adult education in Helsinki – the capital city at the forefront of the reform programme. School lunches around the world. 50 Ideas For Using Skype In Your Classroom Challenge: Implement at least ONE before Halloween! #BacktoSchool. It's that time of the year, #BacktoSchool, time to set up classrooms again! Great ideas for #ElementaryEd.
Great K-12 range given! By Samantha Cleaver We all know PBS—home of news, history videos and PBS Kids shows—but you probably haven’t really explored PBS LearningMedia until you’ve seen all of our favorite things from their back-to-school collection. We’re talking games, and ways to connect with preK–12 students, all through one site. 1. What Season Is It? (Grades PreK–1 Game) This interactive game helps young students practice identifying the seasons by associating them with photos of seasonal clothing, and landscapes. 2. Peg and Cat are quirky and fun, and games like 3-2-1 Snack reinforce core math skills like shapes, numbers and identifying quantities. 3. Among all the Electric Company games, we especially love Word Transformer. 4.
Another Electric Company fave, the Comic Cam video teaches students about character voice as Jennifer Barber reads the voices of characters she’s created. 5. 6. This time-lapse video illustrates the budding of pine tree needles to teach about plant taxonomy in just seconds. 7. 8. 16.