Quick Guide to the Common Core: Key Expectations Explained - Vander Ark on Innovation How the Common Core Will Change the Way Teachers Teach and Students Learn Guest Post By Adam Berkin, vice president of product development at Curriculum Associates Since the Common Core State Standards were introduced, there has been much discussion about what they mean for educators and students and how they will impact teaching and learning. While the standards have been adopted by 45 states and 3 territories so far, there is a lot of concern, anxiety, and debate around what is best for students, potential challenges for teachers, and what implementation should and can look like. While many educators, parents, and concerned citizens have delved deep into the world of Common Core and understand the detail and complexity, most people have only a cursory understanding of the changes that are taking place, and some only know that changes are coming but don't know what they mean. The new standards are focused on two categories: English Language Arts and Mathematics. English Language Arts
In the News: Five Web Tools to Help Teach Bloom's Taxonomy Wow, October is already here; the school year is flying. Banned Book Week is kicking off the new month, offering a chance for classroom conversations about freedom of speech and censorship. Last Friday, Edutopia took a quick look at some censored books in a great Five-Minute Film Festival, which rounded up some of the best Banned Book videos from around the Web. Elsewhere, tech integration made the headlines quite a bit last week -- including a story about the importance of tech learning, a teacher's look at using online discussions, and a list of recent education buzzwords. Here are some of the stories that jumped to the top of the education conversation. Five Tech-Friendly Lessons to Encourage Higher-Order Thinking Here, Susan Brooks-Young of THE Journal highlights five Web 2.0 tools that can be used to help students develop higher order thinking skills. Giving Every Student a Voice Through Online Discussion Author and teacher Catlin R. Movie Review: 'Won't Back Down'
200 useful chord phrases in C major We've spent two full months of this blog exploring the basics of chord writing in rock music so you can create your own chord progressions (or chord phrases, as I like to call them). Personally, I love this stuff! There are so many hidden symmetries to discover, so many subtle relationships between notes that you can play with. But... All right, then. Wherever you need a phrase of music, just drop in one of these chord phrases. By the way, these chord phrases are not random; they're in a sort of functional order. Teaching Kids Programming | The Baheyeldin Dynasty In order to teach kids how to program, you need first to get them interested in something that is computer related. One of the best ways to get them interested in computers is games. They may want to write their own games, and that could be their entry into programming. Here are some links to sites that deal with this subject. Python is a very clean and very easy to understand language, yet a very powerful one as well. PyGames is a set of libraries that allow someone to write their own games using the language. Here are several tutorials on the Python language, which you will need to write games using PyGames: For beginners, it is recommended that they start with something that does not assume they know too much about programming. IBM Alphaworks Robocode teaches kids Java programming while writing a game. Robocode Central is a web site dedicated to the Robocode community. Slashdot discussion on Robocode, titled: Learning Java through violence Kuro5hin discussion on Robocode
Grant Wiggins: Defining Assessment Grant Wiggins is a nationally recognized assessment expert who has been working in assessment reform for more than twenty-five years. He is president of the educational consulting firm Authentic Education, and with Jay McTighe, co-author of Understanding by Design, an award-winning framework for curriculum design used around the world. In this interview, Wiggins shares his thoughts on performance assessments, standardized tests, and more. Wiggins has published several articles for Edutopia.org. In 2002, he wrote Toward Genuine Accountability: The Case for a New State Assessment System. In 2006, he wrote Healthier Testing Made Easy: The Idea of Authentic Assessment. 1. Our line of argument is that testing is a small part of assessment. What can the test do that more complex, performance-based, project-based things can't do? Back to Top 2. Authentic assessment, to me, is not meant to be the charged phrase, or jargony phrase that it has come to be for a lot of people. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Class Charts - seating plans and behavior management Do I need to install this software? Nope – it runs on any internet enabled device such as a laptop or iPad. How much does it cost? Zip, nada, zero, zilch... this system is 100% free. But it would be nice if you could give us a tweet or like us on Facebook. Can I add student photos? Yes – just click on an image in a behaviour popup or in the pupil details table. How can I quickly add students? You can add students with our quick add feature where you just need to paste in their names. What happens when I collaborate? By collaborating with colleagues you share your behaviour data which is amalgamated into student reports. What about security? Safeguarding students is of utmost importance and you are wise to consider this aspect. Can I tell you how to make this better? Please do – we are always open to new ideas and would love to hear from you. I have a question that is not listed here! Just ask – we will get back to you as soon as we can.
Wondering About Common Core and Complex Text? - Common Core State Standards TOOLBOX "A lot of reading skills students can apply with a simple text, but can't do so much with a challenging text."- Dr. Blocked from YouTube? Does the information in this chart* cause you concern? *CCSS Appendix A: CCSS Lexile Bands How will you help ALL of your students access the required complex text? You may be thinking, why should I give my struggling readers such difficult text when I know they can’t read it? In a blog post from this summer, Dr. So why is the common core making such a big deal out of having kids read hard text? You can view the summary or download the ACT report right here. Watch Dr. Dr. www.mhecommoncoretoolboxtn.com
Top 10 Websites to Learn Coding (Interactively) Online Gone are the days when programming languages could only be mastered programmers like Bill Gates, who later got to dominate the world by storm. Now everyone holds the same potential, and the chance to learn and even master programming language easily. Today, we will show you 10 interactive websites that will help you do that. That’s right, forget about complicated setups and black, cold command prompts that make you want to quit before you start, and say hi to 10 educational websites with instant and interactive lessons that teach you programming languages like HTML, CSS, PHP, Ruby and even iOS. Pick up tips, screencasts and even best practices from industry professionals. Recommended Reading: Getting A College Degree Or Self-Learning? Kickstart the beginning of your new path into programming today! Codecademy Codecademy is indisputably the most famous website to teach you to code interactively, thanks to its helpful interface and well-structured courses. Code Avengers Code School Treehouse
Common Core State Standards Initiative - Curriculum and Instruction ESE Resources for Implementing the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks in 2012-2013 Diving Deeper: Implementing the 2011 Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for Mathematics Diving Deeper: Implementing the 2011 Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy Updated Interactive PARCC Model Content Frameworks for Mathematics Grades 3-11 (Revised Version 3.0 November 2012) and English Language Arts/Literacy (Version 2.0), Grades 3-11 Common Core State Standards Implementation Workbook National Parent-Teacher Association Guides to Student Success 2011 Frameworks: MCAS Assessment Transition Plan PARCC Releases Initial Set of Item and Task Prototypes Model Curriculum Units Resources to Support the Transition to the 2011 Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for Mathematics Making Decisions about Course Sequences and the New Model Algebra I Course Enhanced High School Pathway to Calculus Supplementary Additional Common Core Resources for English Language Arts and Literacy
BBC News – Computer science teachers offered cash incentive October 26, 2012 at 5:56 am Great news that the UK is putting up cash incentives to draw in CS teachers! This move addresses the biggest concern that I have for the CS10K project — where are we going to get the teachers? What will motivate them to study CS? A cash reward would certainly help. Isn’t it a little surprising that Facebook, Microsoft, and IBM are being asked to design the training for the new teachers? High-flying graduates are to be given a £20,000 golden handshake to train as computer science teachers.Ministers have asked Facebook, Microsoft and IBM to help design the training for the new teachers.Education Secretary Michael Gove said current information and communications technology (ICT) teacher training courses would be axed from next year.The move “could not be more welcome or more necessary”, said Prof Steve Furber of the Royal Society. via BBC News – Computer science teachers offered cash incentive. Like this: Like Loading... Entry filed under: Uncategorized.
SEC Online - Welcome The Surveys of Enacted Curriculum web site. The purpose of this site is to encourage teacher reflection and conversation about classroom practice and instructional content. About the Survey Using a survey data collection and reporting model, teachers can compare their own practice and instructional content to responses by other teachers around the country and within their school or district. News Participating states, schools and districts are able to make use of aggregated teacher reports (individual teacher responses are disclosed only to the teacher) to develop a base-line of information about teacher practice in mathematics, science and English language arts, or to inform professional development or school improvement planning efforts. SEC Orientation Tutorial This tutorial will assist you in understanding what the SEC is, and then how to go online and successfully complete the survey. SEC Registration Tutorial This tutorial will take you step-by-step through the registration process.
36 Resources To Help You Teach Kids Programming As a parent, I am always looking at what my children are learning and what they like. As a software developer, I hope that my daughters embrace their inner geek one day and get involved with technology. That being said, I was wondering at what age kids should learn programming and what resources there are to teach kids programming. I found that some people were starting the education as early as 6 years old. That seems a little early to me as the child barely has any formal educational background, and logic is not something children embrace that early. Now that we have addressed the age issue, the big question is what programming language should the child learn? Traditional Languages This section will probably draw the most criticism. Lisp and Scheme are used heavily in research oriented universities when teaching an introduction to programming and the theory of programming. Learning Environments And Other Things References
David Coleman on ELA Common Core Standards Watch this video presentation here: Shifts in literacy with CC 1. 50 percent stories and 50 percent informational text. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Summation: Read like a detective and write like a conscientious investigative reporter Scratch Projects Project #11: Communication Project Requirements: 1. Design a user interface where different icons represent catagories of short phrases speech impaired students need. For Example: Emotions: Happy and Sad Food: Apples and Popcorn Rooms: Gym and Classroom Colors: Red and Blue 2. Extras: 1.