Developing a Vision and a Mission. By John G. Gabriel and Paul C. Farmer You could have avoided any confusion and better harnessed efforts by explicitly asking your companions during the planning stages, What is the actual purpose of the trip? What are the goals of the attendees? What does everyone envision for the weekend? Has everyone shared these things with one another? Whatever the context, the point is the same: if a group wants to move forward, it needs to develop an understood, agreed-on purpose. Developing strong vision and mission statements can help stakeholders in your school reach such a common understanding.
Drafting the Vision Statement According to the Task Force on Developing Research in Educational Leadership (2003), "Effective educational leaders help their schools to develop or endorse visions that embody the best thinking about teaching and learning. Without a vision, your school lacks direction. As important as the vision is, we have found that keeping it alive throughout the year is not an easy task. Learning Beyond Walls: 28 Resources for Your Students to Connect Globally. Posted by Shelly Terrell on Sunday, October 3rd 2010 Part of the Cool Sites series Many students have yet to ever communicate with another student from outside their city, state, or country? This simply isn’t built into most curricula. Creating successful global citizens should be a goal of all schools. Why?
Globalization is our current reality. In a world of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) developing quickly and becoming staples, international communication and communication with these technologies is a necessary skill. Yesterday, I presented the following resources and Prezi at the recent Tri-State Educational Technology Conference (TSETC). Where to Find Classes Worldwide to Connect Internet Safety Information for Parents and Forms Using Skype to Collaborate Learning Beyond Walls: 21 Skype Resources Video: A Teacher’s Perspective of Skyping in the Classroom Video: Students’ Perspectives of Skyping by Silvia Tolisano, @langwitches Using Wikis to Collaborate Challenge: 5 Disruptive Education Trends - Social Innovation Minnesota | Social Innovation Minnesota. By BEN HECHT of Co.Exist At the root of many American problems lies an ineffective and outdated education system that is failing our students.
Inequality and education have always been inextricably linked, and if we don’t fix education, we don’t fix inequality. Simply put, our citizens are not being prepared to compete in today’s global, hyper-connected economy, and, for low-income students, the outlook is especially grim. A recent Boston College study of 57 countries showed, among other unflattering comparisons, that only 7% of U.S. students (versus 48% of students in Singapore) reached the advanced level in eighth-grade math.
Meanwhile, a 2012 Brookings studyshowed that “a whopping 43% of job openings require a bachelor’s degree or more.” Yet, only 30% of Americans and 15% of Latinos, our nation’s fastest growing demographic, have the credentials. Yet amidst all these gloomy statistics are rays of light. They aren’t alone. The textbook will soon be dead. Debates about Gamification and Game-Based Learning(#GBL) in Education. By Justin Marquis Ph.D., from OnlineUniversities.com There is a tendency in life to see things in absolutes.
Sensationalist media thrives on the love/hate, friend/enemy, smash hit/trash it dichotomy. The proposition of including games in the classroom at any level is no different. There are those who love the concept and are all in for redesigning entire classes, curriculums, and even whole schools that are focused on game-based learning (GBL), such as Quest to Learn and the Playmaker School. There are also those who think that games and gamification have little value in education. In reality, however, those who are really using games for learning such as Susan Bohler (stay tuned for our upcoming Google+ hangout where we’ll discuss this very issue) know that, like any innovation, games must be deployed in a measured and systematic way that maximizes their benefits while minimizing the negative consequences.
The Negatives The Positives Still Open for Debate/Research. Six Secrets to a Successful Professional Development in Technology Session. Tracking Your Digital Footprint. School Webmaster Handbook. REPORTS TO: School Principal JOB FUNCTION: Maintain a school website which communicates school-related information to parents, students and the community-at-large. 1. Edit and maintain the school website. 2. 3. Contact information: school name and address, phone numbers, contact people. 4. 5. 6. 7. Tips for Beating the Clock in the Classroom. 50 Education Technology Tools Every Teacher Should Know About. Steve is in the back, uploading your file We're sorry, but we could not find what you are looking for.
Global Digital Citizen Foundation © 2015|terms & conditions|privacy policy. How to Get Hesitant Teachers to Use Technology. In my consulting as well as administrative technology work, I am often asked the same questions by different schools and officials. One of the most common is: “How do you get teachers who are hesitant or resistant to use technology?” I am keenly aware that many of my colleagues are not, for various reasons, gung ho about educational technology. And it’s interesting. Quite often, the teachers who are hesitant to adopt new technology are great — in fact, amazing — educators.
They are frequently veterans and usually leaders in their academic field and within their institutions. In my role as tech advocate, I habitually find myself trying to coax these established educators to use new tools and incorporate new methodologies. 1. If you’re working with veteran educators, this is especially important. Instead, try this: observe what they do in the classroom that’s made them successful and build out from there. 2. 3. Teachers respond better to other teachers who share their situation. 4. 5. 6. Padlet: now with the ability to download and print! What it is: Wallwisher has long been one of my go-to cool tools. Recently, Wallwisher got a bit of a facelift as well as a new name: Padlet.
Padlet is a fantastic little web application that provides a virtual bulletin board of sorts. Teachers can pose questions or ideas for students to answer or think about. Students are sent the unique wall URL and can leave virtual sticky notes answering the question. Students do not have to login to use Padlet, a simple double click allows them to add any thoughts they need to the wall. How to integrate Padlet into the classroom: Padlet can be used to create a flexible online space where students can create virtual posters, brainstorming boards, virtual project portfolios, and share learning with others. Padlet offers an exceptional opportunity for students to brainstorm, collaborate, and group ideas. Students could even use Padlet to create “bucket lists.” Padlet boards are SO versatile. How Do You Teach Digital Literacy? Literacy once was defined simply as the ability to read and write, but in the digital age, it's become much more than that.
The American Library Association's Digital Literacy Task Force defines digital literacy as "the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills. " But what's the best way to teach these skills? Inquiries Welcome At the Inquiry Hub, a technology-driven, inquiry-based school within Coquitlam, British Columbia's School District No. 43, "Digital Literacy" — offered under the name Digital Media, or DM101 — is one of two required courses. The school's philosophy is to teach the rather nebulous concept of digital literacy in ways that require critical thinking, ethical decision-making and reflective learning.
One DM101 assignment requires students to examine my digital profile, as well as the profiles of a few of my digital friends. No Easy Answers. Kuato teaches kids to code via Hakitzu educational game | GamesBeat. Not all players are the same! Join GamesBeat's Dean Takahashi for a free webinar on April 29th that will explore why players leave Free to Play games and how you can change this. Sign up here. Kuato Studios has launched its first code-teaching game, Hakitzu: Code of the Warrior, as a title on the Apple iPad.
The game is part of an effort to pioneer a new way for kids to learn programming. Hakitzu is a mobile-strategy game where two robots square off against each other on a grid. It teaches the JavaScript programming language through a battle arena. To make a mech robot warrior maneuver and fight, the player has to write increasingly sophisticated code that allows it to perform functions such as movement, targeting, and firing. San Francisco-based Kuato wants to “gamify” education, or use game mechanics to get kids interested in non-game applications such as learning computers. Kuato set out to make a series of games. Hakitzu has been tested in schools with proven results. Weekly Twitter Chat Times. Why you Should or Should Not Adopt new Technology in your Classroom.
Why you Should or Should Not Adopt new Technology in your Classroom I have a reputation for being “techy,” that is absolutely true. I am an early adopter. I like to play and experiment with new tools. However, people are often surprised to hear that my classes are not “all tech all the time.” I have a more hybrid classroom – sometimes we use tech and sometimes it’s all about paper and pencil. The reality is that I advocate a model of adoption that is about enabling the teacher and students in promoting learning. You do this by assessing the tools you need in your learning environment. Before I adopt any type of new technology, I ask myself these questions: Does it make my life easier somehow (save time, save space, save energy)?
If this answer is not “yes” to at least one of these questions, then I will not adopt the tool and I cannot advocate that my peers adopt it either. One of my greatest concerns in the field is using technology for the sake of using technology. Like this: