Teen Librarian Toolbox — @TLT16 Pprofessional development for teen librarians How Collaboration Helps School Leaders Succeed School leaders can use online networks and communities for their own personal professional learning, and to support collaboration with staff across schools and districts. In “How Online Learning Communities Help Principals Collaborate and Succeed,” Shannon Holden, Assistant Principal, Republic Middle School, MO, presented on the unique possibilities that online collaboration offers for personal professional learning and within schools, and how school leaders can use edWeb.net for online collaboration with staff. As a personal tool, school leaders can use online communities to expand their network. To support school and district professional learning and collaboration, Shannon Holden recommends school leaders use edWeb.net. Using the Browse edWebinars feature on edWeb, school leaders can search through over 1,300 edWebinar recordings by topic, community, keyword, or date and find recordings that fit their staffs’ professional learning needs. This broadcast was hosted by edWeb.net.
Insecure Writer's Support Group: How to Maintain Your Writing Sanity During the Holidays With the holidays coming up, many writers begin to stress. Here are a few tips for surviving without losing your sanity: Pay attention to details and people. You’ll probably be around a lot of people and maybe in some new locations. Take advantage of it. Let family know you need a small block of time to write. Use down time and travel time well. Set a routine but be flexible. Don’t expect too much of yourself. Know you don’t have to do it all. The holidays should be joyous. The IWSG Admins would like to wish you happy holidays. In the meantime, we invite you to visit some of our most popular posts this week and thank you for helping us become a Writer’s Digest 101 Best Website for Writers.
Global Community Project: Literature Circles Students work in small groups reading a novel and assuming various roles in the Literature Circle in order to demonstrate their understanding of the novel and share... Project: Email Exchange Students will engage in an ePals email exchange, practicing the skills of collaboration and communication while building friendships and learning about the daily lives and cultures of others around the world. Collaborative Detective Story Students will compose a collaborative narrative short story while creating international friendships and a great story to share. 21st Century Learning Tools Project When students are a part of an online collaborative learning community, powerful learning takes place. Monster Writing Project Students attempt to recreate the monsters based on the description they received from other ePals. Project: Theme Detectives Is it just a funny talking spider or do his antics serve a deeper cultural purpose? Project: Biographies: Explorer Expedition
Home - Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog Helping Students Understand Media Literacy Students today are increasingly turning to online news sources to meet their research needs. Because of this, it is important for educators to teach students about trustworthy news sources. In “Media Literacy: A Crash Course in 60 Minutes,” hosted by edWeb.net and sponsored by Mackin Educational Resources, Michelle Luhtala, Library Department Chair at New Canaan High School, CT, interviewed Greg Toppo, the National Education and Demographics Reporter for USA Today, on today’s shifting trends in journalism and how teachers can help students identify reliable sources. “Is there such a thing as objective journalism?” It is also important to understand where good journalism comes from. In today’s world where so many people get their news through the internet, the news one sees on a daily basis can easily be filtered through clicks on a social feed. This broadcast was hosted by edWeb.net and sponsored by Mackin Educational Resources. This article was modified and published by eSchool News.
Find the Right ONLINE CRITIQUE GROUP For You! Every writer needs honest, constructive feedback. With increasing frequency, writers turn to online critique groups for that support. These virtual fraternities come in all flavors and sizes, from those specializing in science fiction, horror or children’s books, to communities of general interest. There are groups for beginners; others cater to more advanced crowds. These choices can bewilder. The pros An online crit group may be your only choice if you’re tight for time or live in a remote area. In an online crit group, you’ll read and help shape other works in progress and perhaps be lucky enough to form lifelong friendships. Online groups deliver rapid-fire feedback to help pinpoint a problem. Beginners can find online guidance that speeds the learning process, but don’t rely on a group to take the place of craft books and coursework. The cons There are disadvantages to participating in critique groups. Joining up Submitting and critiquing best work. Choosing the right one
Project Share Reading Across a Dozen Literacies This article will define each literacy while giving examples of "reading" within each category. It takes special skills to read a swamp or a beach or a desert area. These skills also differ from region to region as the flora and fauna shift. Most of us have heard of swimmers caught in rip tides because they did not know how to read the signs or of visitors enjoying tidal flats suddenly swept up in an incoming tide much larger than anything they knew back home. Artistic Literacy Anyone can look at a painting, a photograph or a movie. But looking, commenting, listening or sitting do not automatically translate into understanding. One can learn to read a photograph - understand its elements and interpret its meanings. Apply your own interpretive skills to this photograph by Rosie Hardy, Seven Deadly Sins, Pride : What choices did this photographer make in setting up the image? Students will observe and make personal decisions about abstract artworks using a four-step critique process: 1. 2. 3.
Why Instructional Design Must Focus on Learning Outcomes, Not Learning Activities It’s no secret that kids learn better when teachers provide learning activities that keep them engaged. Teachers work tirelessly to plan engaging lessons that capture and keep the interests of their students, thereby making content more accessible. However, teachers continue to feel the daunting pressure to compete for their students’ attention amidst the ever-evolving and rapidly-hanging mass media, social media, and entertainment industry, as these elements do a stellar job of keeping students highly engaged outside of the classroom. Although it is vitally important for us to know and understand our students' interests and the best conditions under which they learn, there is good news: It’s not necessary that we focus our efforts on competing with the devices and activities our students engage in during their downtime outside of the classroom! Nonetheless, students also want to enjoy learning. Let’s look at tools first. Student growth is a result of the practice, not the product.