States of Matter: Engaging Students With Snow and Science States of matter can be a tricky topic to broach with young students. My students quickly attach to solids and liquids, but gas isn’t apparent, and phase changes are confusing. There are many scientific inquiry activities out there to explore phases. Combine science learning with some math activities and reading, and all of a sudden you have integrated lessons that make learning stick. These are a few of my class's favorites: Background Knowledge I showed students a few objects: stapler, bottle of water and filled balloon, and asked them to tell me the differences between them. States of Matter Snowman After learning what states of matter are, I asked students how we might create a snowman without any snow (which is easy to imagine since we rarely, if ever, have snow here). To assemble the snowman, unwrap the ice balls from the balloons and add salt, which helps the ice stick together. After our snowman melted, we made predictions about how long it would take him to evaporate. Crystalize
Google Drive Workflows to Use with Students One of the most common questions teachers have had lately is regarding the best way to have students share work with them and vice-versa via Google Drive. In my opinion this is the best feature of Google Apps for Education; the ease of sharing and collaborating with your fellow teachers and students. It really simplifies your workflow and we aren’t confined to emailing attachments back and forth or accessing items via a network drive that’s only accessible at school. When you’re wanting to use Google Docs/Drive with students, figuring out which workflow works best for you is one of the biggest challenges. “Out of the box” Sharing Teacher creates the folder and manages the sharing – The sharing features that are already built in to Google Drive are very handy. Student creates the folder and shares with you – This is the option that I usually suggest for students in grades 3 through 12. Google Scripts Like I said before, a script is something you install on a Google Spreadsheet. Like this:
Teacher in a Strange Land By Nancy Flanagan January 1, 2015 at 5:37 PM Even though a child may indeed be reveling in and absorbing the wonders of a rich travel experience, or a deeply rewarding family visit, back home in the classroom, they're...behind. And school time is sacred. Or not. By Nancy Flanagan December 24, 2014 at 8:00 AM There are reviewers (both formal and casual) who judge a book entirely by one aspect: Does the author agree with me? By Nancy Flanagan December 22, 2014 at 10:36 AM Student athletes and student musicians have lots in common--they're kids who are seriously engaged in wholesome, school-based activities that have a big impact on their development and eventual lives, careers and citizenship. By Nancy Flanagan December 16, 2014 at 9:32 PM Kicking kids out for misbehavior is easy. By Nancy Flanagan November 26, 2014 at 8:39 PM Shouldn't we educators be modeling civic discourse, at appropriate levels of understanding? By Nancy Flanagan November 16, 2014 at 8:11 PM Here's the funny thing.
Snagit for Google Chrome TechSmith Snagit for Google Chrome™ is a free screen capture and recording app that works on Chromebooks or in the Chrome browser. Using Snagit for Google Chrome can help you provide better feedback, encourage teamwork, and create images that explain exactly what you mean. BESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswy Overview Video Check to see if your Chromebook will work with Snagit for Google Chrome™. View System Requirements | View Version History © 2012 Google Inc. The Digital Scoop Five Essential Google Drive Skills For Teachers This school year I've worked with a few school districts that are using Google Apps for Education for the first time. A lot of what I have done with those school districts is help to get the teachers acclimated to using Google Drive. When I sat down to plan an upcoming Google Drive training session I thought about some of the essential Google Drive skills that teachers need in addition to creating documents, presentations, and spreadsheets. Here are five essential Google Drive skills that I think teachers and students need. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: Step 4:
A New Wonderful Wheel on SAMR and Bloom's Digital Taxonomy The buzz that the Modern Taxonomy Wheel generated over the last couple of weeks has not yet died out and now we have a new updated wheel from the same guy Allan Carrington. We love Allan's work and we find it really interesting. His wheels come along in such a visually attractive way summarizing most of the apps and web tools we have been sharing here with you. If you already had a chance to have a look at the previous wheel and compare it with this new one you will notice that Allan has brought about some new updates to the new wheel. If you are not familiar with what SAMR is all about, please read this post. Now, Click on this LINK to get the poster as PDF.
3 quick and easy Google Docs ideas for your classroom Google Docs can be simply implemented into the classroom even if students don’t have school-issued Google accounts. Google Docs is truly a killer way to ditch a textbook. My school has adopted it (more formally/completely: Google Apps for Education). Except I can’t yet. See, my school has upgraded its version of Harmony (attendance/grades/data/etc. managing software), and there are glitches galore. The teachers have it, though. No way. Before student Google Docs accounts are set up and deployed, I’ve found ways to transform what we do in my classroom already through my own school-provided Google account. Here are some ideas: 1. Click to see full-sized image showing how to share a document. If you’re familiar with Google Docs, you probably already know that you can provide a link to your documents for others to view, comment on and edit. Finish your document. Are you like me with no easy way to share an enormous link with students? (Haven’t used Today’s Meet yet? 2. 3. Related August 31, 2015
Resources for Using iPads in Grades K-2 If you are teaching with one, a few, or a class set of iPads, finding the right apps and project ideas for your students can be a challenging task. We’ve organized some of the best resources from Edutopia and beyond to help you figure out what tools are best for your early elementary school students. Explore different ways to integrate technology into your instruction! Favorite Apps 7 Apps for Helping Others (Edutopia, 2015) Children can practice empathy through apps that encourage collaboration, whether it’s drawing pictures together, cooking for each other, or creating lessons to share their knowledge. Social-Emotional Apps for Special Ed (Edutopia, 2015) On this list you’ll find nine apps to help special ed students build emotional literacy. Back to Top Best Practices Common Core in Action: Manipulating Shapes in the Elementary Math Classroom (Edutopia, 2014) In this post you’ll learn how to develop a tech-friendly task that addresses the Common Core State Standards.
@coolcatteacher Blog - Teach with better results, lead with a positive impact and live with greater purpose. Educational Blogs, Podcasts, App Reviews and more | Video: Watch Richard Byrne (@RMByrne) on @TeacherCast LIVE from #ISTE2014 - TeacherCast.net: Educational Blogs, Podcasts, App Reviews and more On Saturday June 28, TeacherCast welcomed Free Tech for Teachers founder, Richard Byrne, onto TeacherCast LIVE at ISTE2014. About the author Jeffrey Bradbury, the creator of TeacherCast.net and TeacherCast University is a highly respected educational consultant. Related posts
21 st Century Educational Technology and Learning | K12 educational transformation through technology