QR Codes in the Classroom Mobile Learning | Q&A QR Codes in the Classroom Wyoming science teacher London Jenks not only allows mobile technologies in his classroom, but he's also learned how to maximize them as educational tools, tapping the devices for assessments, research, and even student scavenger hunts using QR codes. By Bridget McCrea08/31/11 At a time when schools are banishing student-owned mobile devices from their classrooms--or, at least making sure the disruptive laptops, tablets, and phones are powered down class begins--London Jenks is taking a decidedly different tack. A science teacher at Hot Springs County High School in Thermopolis, WY, Jenks welcomes iPhone- and Android-toting students into his classes. A Google-certified educator who teaches earth science, physics, chemistry, and astronomy, Jenks explainedhis reasons for letting down the walls that so many other instructors have erected during this "mobile" age and told us how the strategy has helped him be more effective as a teacher.
The 12 Most Important Things Children Want From Their Teachers - 12 Most Whether you are a teacher, parent, relative, boss, or fellow community member, each of us has a chance to make a positive and impactful difference in a child’s life. But in order to do this, we must carefully consider this question: What do you think matters most to our children? For 20 years I have been posing this question to my students. At the beginning of every school year, I would ask my students to give me advice on how to be their best teacher. I asked them to think about the times they felt most successful and to consider what the adults in their lives did to make this success possible. The classroom would become immediately silent as the students wrote intensely for longer than they had ever written before. Surprisingly, many of the responses were the same. Here is a list of the 12 Most Important things that came out of these amazing conversations 1. Wish me good morning, and send me off with a “see ya tomorrow.” 2. When you look at me, let me see happiness in your eyes. 3. 4. 5.
911 Rise: Reconnect & Remember Overview This year marks the tenth anniversary of September 11th, 2001. Discovery Education is proud to support your efforts as you go beyond the walls of your classroom to share these historic events with your students. Experience an Archive of the Live Events Discovery Education hosted four events in cities closely affected by September 11th featuring a preview of RISING: REBUILDING GROUND ZERO, followed by a live panel discussion with members of the community who were personally affected by September 11th, and an interactive Q & A session. We encourage you to customize and share this letter with the parents at your school prior to the event. September 11th Theme Page(Discovery Education Login Required) How did the events of September 11, 2001 affect American attitudes toward freedom, privacy, and safety? Click here to access Discovery Education’s September 11th Theme Page Don't have a Discovery Education account? Educational Resources from our Partners
Classroom iPod touches & iPads: Dos and Don'ts Do delete content. Since you are mirroring the computer's iTunes Library onto the iPods, deleting items from iTunes will delete them from the iPods. After you no longer have a need for a podcast, video, or audiobook, delete it so it is not taking up room and cluttering up the iPods. Chances are you want to use this content with a future class. If it's something you will use again, drag and drop it into a folder on your desktop. Do configure the Music app for easy access to playlists and podcasts.
Information Literacy - Home What is Information Literacy? Information Literacy is the ability to identify what information is needed, understand how the information is organized, identify the best sources of information for a given need, locate those sources, evaluate the sources critically, and share that information. It is the knowledge of commonly used research techniques. Information literacy is critically important because we are surrounded by a growing ocean of information in all formats. Not all information is created equal: some is authoritative, current, reliable, but some is biased, out of date, misleading, false. Information literacy skills are used for academic purposes, such as research papers and group presentations.
Feed the teachers! I just finished up a full week of professional development at two campuses. This will be my first year being responsible, at least in part, for two high school campuses in my district. Thursday morning, teachers at one of the schools were treated to a panel presentation by current and former students, who talked about what their education at our school meant to them. It was like food for our malnourished souls. Going into this year, many of us had deflated dreams. I presented several sessions to teachers throughout the week on how to bump up the level of technology integration in their classrooms. Sustenance. Today, I spent the day at the second campus – the one that is new for me. I began my presentation deflated once again. Well-fed. Looking back at this week, I realized just how easy it is to get us (teachers) back on track. I’m no longer in the classroom, but even I could feel the energy return. Teachers often forget to “eat”, too. When that happens, we need to be fed. Like this:
FakeiPhoneText: Create Fake iPhone Text Conversations Almost everybody is now familiar with the iPhone’s way of displaying a text conversation. If you want to have a little fun with your friends and fool them into thinking a fake iPhone text conversation actually happened, check out the web tool entitled Fake iPhone Text. Fake iPhone Text is a simple web tool that lets you create fake iPhone text conversations. You start by entering the text conversation as shown in the image above. You can type in any names ““ the names do not matter as they do not show up in the conversation itself. Clicking on the Create button generates the iPhone text image. To share the image you will first need to save it. Features: A simple to use web tool. Check out Fake iPhone Text @ www.fakeiphonetext.com Start with what we have I recently read a blog post by Chris Lehmann entitled Root Causes and the Save our Schools March. It was a very thoughtful post and clearly shows the sincerity of Mr. Lehmann’s education philosophy. In the post, he describes a classroom he observed and why he supports the Save Our Schools March in Washington, D.C. I was directed there by a former collegue’s Facebook page, which shared the link, saying she wished she could work for a principal like him. You see, Chris Lehmann is in fact a really good principal. Principals have people who give them directives, who have people who give them directives, who have legislators who came up with the directives, who are following the lead of the nation’s leadership who have the ideas behind the directives. Which brings me to the reason for this post. I listen to educators complain all the time about administration, about standards, about testing, about their students. They do not focus on what they do have. When we talk about education reform.
A movement I had the opportunity to attend the annual Podstock in Wichita, Kansas, this weekend. As I tweeted, using the hashtag #podstock2011 as instructed, I started to get replies from my Twitter followers – “what is podstock, and should I be there?” This post is an attempt to explain, just a little, what Podstock is. Podstock is a conference. Or rather, it is an un- conference – with a conference-style format, the sessions lend themselves more toward discussion than traditional sage on the stage programming. Growth can be a good thing. Podstock is an attitude. This was my first year at Podstock. Podstock is. Just when I was giving up on the value of attending an educational technology conference, there Podstock was. Podstockers are a faithful group, often using personal funds and driving hundreds of miles to attend. “What is Podstock, and should I be there?” Podstock was an exceptional experience. Yes, you should have been there. Like this: Like Loading...