Education

10 Essential Science Apps. Science apps are becoming more popular because we can use them to illustrate volatile chemical reactions, to look at molecular structures or even find constellations not visible to the human eye.

Kids Are Natural Scientists. S_772574. What is it that educators are supposed to be preparing kids for? · heidiellis. School Designs That Inspire Learning [Series] – Vilhelmsro Primary School. Third in our series on school designs that inspire learning is the breathtaking concept school of Vilhelmsro Primary.

Designed by copenhagen-based BIG architects, the school is built into the undulating hillside where sloping roofs blend into the natural scenery as well as provide areas to walk and play. Set in the green hills of Asminderoed, Denmark, the surrounding landscape not only serves as an aesthetic backdrop, it is also integral to the schools curriculum which focuses on nature and sustainability.

Formed as sloping landscaped bands, the building merges with the surrounding nature and gives a futuristic vision while still looking at one with the environment. Open areas form courtyard spaces between buildings providing spots for students to play and work outdoors. Although giving the impression of being underground, the futuristic design allows daylight to stream into each classroom.

As Schools Face Closing, New Lines Are Drawn. Play With Science on Spongelab's Open Education Platform. TORONTO, ON – November 25, 2011 – Spongelab's free science learning community is soaking up even more great content and tools for teachers, students and learners of all stripes.

Toronto-based educational gaming company Spongelab Interactive's all-in-one online learning platform continues to innovate with games, images, animations and videos alongside user-friendly teaching tools and classroom assessment aids. In Biochem Gems, compete for the highest score and learn the basics of biochemistry! Make carbohydrate, fatty acid, amino acid and nucleic acid molecular combinations to eliminate biochem gems from the game board in each mission. Complete all of the building blocks of life to win the game. When an adult took standardized tests forced on kids - The Answer Sheet. Update 12/12: QUIZ: Take part of the test that the local school board member took in the story below: Reading Quiz | Math Quiz.

Questions come from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) for 10th grade. Update 12/6: Revealed: The school board member who took standardized test Original post: This was written by Marion Brady, veteran teacher, administrator, curriculum designer and author. The "Dirty Work of Education" No question, one of the most talked about, Tweeted about, blogged and written about ideas in the past year has been the “flipped classroom,” the idea that we can use technology to deliver the “lecture” as the homework and then use class time, ideally, to bring the concepts to life in meaningful, real world ways.

And it’s been interesting to watch the “debate” around the merits. 2011 ed tech media darling Sal Khan and his Khan Academy supporters would tell you it’s a transformative, new way of thinking about the classroom fueled by technology. Detractors argue it’s old wine in new bottles, that a lecture is a lecture regardless of form, and that at best the opportunity is to help kids who need remediation or extra help. In case you’re not up to speed on what Knewton is doing, here’s the brief from their website:

Inquiring into Play – Part II. As I mentioned in my last post, I decided to use a recent Washington Post article by Alfie Kohn discussing his thoughts on How children’s ‘play’ is being sneakily redefined to inquire within and “aloud” about some of my thoughts on play.

Below are my reflections on his last two propositions (listed in bold). 4. The point of play is that it has no point. This fourth idea is one I feel like simultaneously celebrating and questioning. It seems hard to dispute the value of defining play as a “process, not product” and allowing it to have no other goal than play itself yet play can produce amazing “products” (e.g., cognitive learning, social development), right? Donorschoose.org Deal of the Day. Every four years athletes from around the world gather to compete in whatever country has the most corporate sponsors and enough resources to recycle all of the bottles of power juice that athletes drink.

Regardless of where it takes place, here’s what you can expect to see during the event's opening ceremony: • Elderly athlete lighting a tree on fire to signify that plants can never be athletes • Child representatives from every country marching into the arena to the sound of their country's official brass instrument • Coloured lights that spell out "LOSING IS BAD FOR COUNTRIES" DonorsChoose.org: An online charity connecting you to classrooms in need. Alexander Howard - Google+ - Salman Khan on the power of the Internet for learning I…

What's Popular This Week on The Innovative Educator. Budget Cuts in the Classroom: What's on the School Chopping Block? The slow pace of America's economic recovery means many states are still hurting financially.

Ted Curran.net » Cultivate your Personal Learning Network. This post discusses how to build your own Personal (or Professional) Learning Network.

Instead of starting by telling you which tools to use, I want to talk about why you would do this in the first place…. This is a photo of my high school math teacher, Coach John Ward, who recently passed away after a long career of distinguished service at Bishop Diego High School in Santa Barbara. He took me from being a hopelessly poor math student to a very capable one in three years of instruction, despite my deep and abiding dislike of the subject. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Invests Over $20M In Educational Tools And Games. As part of a series of investments to improve education in America, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has invested over $20 million in developing tools and games for improving education.

The donation includes money invested in three distinct game-based projects, each of which aim to improve education standards throughout America. The organization invested $2.6 million in the Digital Youth Network's iRemix, an application that teaches children about skills such as creative writing, awarding them with badges as they progress though a range of difficulty levels. Declaration of Education. Gaby Rodriguez, Toppenish High School, Fakes 6-Month Pregnancy For Senior Project. SAVE THE DATE! EdCamp Philly: May 21st, 2011! <div class="greet_block wpgb_cornered"><div class="greet_text"><div class="greet_image"><a href=" rel="nofollow"><img src=" alt="WP Greet Box icon"/></a></div>Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to <a href=" rel="nofollow"><strong>subscribe to the RSS feed</strong></a> for updates on this topic.

<div style="clear:both"></div><div class="greet_block_powered_by">Powered by <a href=" title="WP Greet Box WordPress Plugin" style="text-decoration:none;">WP Greet Box</a><a href=" title="WordPress Plugin" style="text-decoration:none;">WordPress Plugin</a></div><div style="clear:both"></div></div></div> The edcamp Philly organizing team is thrilled to announce we have a date and a venue! Edcamp Philly 2011 will take place on Saturday, May 21st at Jon M. Huntsman Hall on the University of Pennsylvania campus located at 3730 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA! Doors will open at 8:00 am and we will conclude at 4:00 pm, just like last year. Web tools.

Q&A with the author of Increasing the Power of Instruction. What Does "Technology Integration" Mean? One reason why I love blogging is the chance to get a variety of responses to my ideas and thoughts. A reader of my last post commented: "This article describes how to help children learn to use an unfamiliar computer program. Is that what 'integrating technology' means? " TACSEI. Teachers’ Colleges Upset by Plan to Grade Them. Now U.S. News & World Report is planning to give A through F grades to more than 1,000 teachers’ colleges, and many of the schools are unhappy, marching to the principal’s office to complain the system is unfair.

Numerous education school deans have protested that the ratings program’s methodology is flawed since the program was announced last month. In a letter last week, officials from 35 leading education colleges and graduate schools — including Columbia, , and Vanderbilt — denounced an “implied coercion” if they do not cooperate with the ratings. U.S. News and its partner in the ratings, the National Council on Teacher Quality, an independent advocacy group, originally told schools that if they did not voluntarily supply data and documents, the teacher quality group would seek the information under open-records laws.

That got the attention of educators. Teacher Magazine: Community Forums. Edutopia Group Discussions by and for Educators. Race to the Top: Win, Lose, and Draw Conclusions. Chat Race to the Top: Win, Lose, and Draw Conclusions Thursday, September 2, 2 p.m. Parents Are Being Forced To Spend More On Back-To-School Supplies As Schools Cut Back. Anyone can contribute. Everyone can learn. A Little Bit About Knotebooks Knotebooks is a unique approach to the open educational resource (OER) movement, providing users with the tools to create, collaborate on and share customized, self-guided physics lessons. Whether you are a student, teacher, professional or self-learner, we think you'll really enjoy being a part of this burgeoning educational community.

Our goal is simple: to make all physics — from the basics of classical mechanics to the cutting edge research in high-energy topics — accessible, understandable, interactive and free. As a company, our mission is to expedite access to knowledge and create more effective methods of learning using customizable, student-focused tools. Create self-guided multimedia lessons, study guides and course supplements for college and graduate level physics using a global body of knowledge.

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Opposing view on early education: 'Significant dividends' Interview: Bill Ayers & Ryan Alexander-Tanner, authors of To Tea. Early Childhood Education. Starting a project.