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! Recreation, entertainment, and downtime for students outside of the classroom are just that: recreation, entertainment, and downtime.
Paper Bag Books: A Simple Way to Teach Story Elements Have you ever made a paper bag book? I hadn't, but I'd seen them floating around pinterest and finally decided we had to try! One of our current favorite activities is creating books. I like to staple a few pieces of paper together and have my son draw pictures on the pages and then we talk about the pictures and I write down what he says or have him write down his own stories. There is no real plot yet in his stories... and if there is, it is really confusing and hard to follow. My goals as we created the book were to... have funbe creative togethermake a paper bag book (since I really wanted to try this)teach the basic story elements of conflict and resolution (in a simple way) These concepts seemed easy to introduce since I feel like we spend a lot of time each day talking about problems and how they could be resolved! Materials Needed for Paper Bag book:several paper bags (I think we used 3-4?) How to Make a Paper Bag Story Conflict/Resolution book: Did You Know?
How To 'App Smash' And Implement Digital Storytelling On The iPad App smashing, the process of using more than one apps in conjunction with one another to create a final product, is a concept that allows students to create engaging educational projects and illustrate their creativity in multifaceted ways. One of the most gratifying and effective ways to use app smashing in the classroom is to create digital storytelling projects. The concept of digital storytelling is emerging as a form of personal and collective expression of knowledge, ideas, and perceptions. Its numerous and positive effects on students’ communication skills are well documented. Digital storytelling is the perfect vehicle for the delivery of visual and audio stimuli that greatly enhance a storyline or a simple narrative. Here is an iPad app smashing activity you can use in your classroom in order to create professionally looking digital storytelling projects. Getting Hands-On: The Project A typical app smashing activity has four steps: First, you start with the end product in mind.
Formativa arbetssätt för engelskundervisningen Jag samlar länkar för att utmana mig själv i det formativa arbetssättet och för att variera undervisningen och hitta rätt inlärningsstil för eleverna. Jag såg att vi är fler som vill utmana oss i det på blogghubben. Här kommer ett litet bidrag med de länkar eller arbetssätt jag just för tillfället kan bidra med. Den absolut bästa länksamlingen är gjor av IT-mamman, men även den på IKT-skafferiet är väldigt bra. Sen finns detta tydliga ark för att hitta verktygen som passar för att ställa frågor och få snabb återkoppling på lärandet. Nedan har jag kategoriserat mina länktips efter rubrikerna muntligt (gäller både tala och samtala), skriftligt, lyssna, och läsa, men även grammatik och ordinlärning då det är centralt i språkinlärningen, samt övrigt: Muntligt För muntligt kan man testa Mystery Skype, Silent viewing eller att spela in sig själv på diverse program på datorn är kul, som Quicktime eller iMovie om man har tillgång till surfplattor. Här finns ett inlägg om att göra egna podcasts.
Overview - Mentira Mentira, a project launched in July 2009, is the first mobile, place-based, augmented reality game explicitly oriented towards the development of language skills in Spanish. It is set in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood in Albuquerque, NM and plays out much like a historical novel in which fact and fiction combine to set the context and social conditions for meaningful interaction (in Spanish) with simulated characters, other players, and local citizens. While playing Mentira, learners must investigate clues and talk to various non-player characters (NPCs) in order to absolve their own family, proving they are not responsible for a murder in a local neighborhood. In a core component of the game, players are required to visit the local neighborhood in order to collect additional clues and, ultimately, solve the mystery by determining the responsible party.
DIY Map Magnets I picked up this puzzle at a yard sale a few weeks ago. I intended to frame it in Matthew’s room, but unfortunately I realized one piece was missing. Bummer! I still love the look of the pieces, so I decided to turn the individual states into magnets. I used sticky magnet strips on the back of each piece. The magnets weren’t sticking well, so I ended up using hot glue to stick them on. I attached a locker door front on this little empty wall space in Matthew’s room. It’s the perfect magnet board for a narrow space. When my kids saw it they thought it was really cool, but my little two year old nephew seemed to enjoy playing with it the most! This ended up being a really fun and easy project. As for the locker door front, I love it so much as a magnet board I decided to put one in my studio too!
Excellent Audio Recording Apps for iPad The huge importance of iPad as a learning and teaching device lies in the fact that it can be used as a fundamental media production tool with students inside the classroom. Educational Technology and Mobile Learning has been tapping into some of the areas and ways teachers and educators can use iPad both constructively and productively. We have , for instance, reviewed apps for video creation , apps for storytelling, reading apps, apps to improve writing, and the list goes on. Today, we are providing you with another great set of iPad productive apps but this time for recording and generating audio clips and messages to share with students . Check out the list below and let us know what you think of it. 1- AudioBoo Audioboo is an application for recording and sharing your voice with the world. 2-`iTalk Recorder `` iTalk Recorder is a full-featured recording app with a streamlined and intuitive user interface. 3- Mobile Podcaster 4- iPadio 5- Voice Recorder HD 6- Audio Note 7- Sound Note
20 Ways To Get A Noisy Classroom's Attention 20 Ways To Get A Noisy Classroom’s Attention by Terry Heick Okay, so this isn’t about rethinking teaching and learning in a connected world, but that doesn’t change the fact that for many of you, simply beginning class can be the most challenging thing you do all day. It’s not easy. While muting an entire classroom for 35 minutes at a time so they “listen” isn’t ideal, every teacher needs to quiet a noisy classroom at some point. And note, much of what works is indeed about your personality. That said, students deserve to feel protected in a classroom that is efficient, protected, and under the control of a caring adult, so I have to make adjustments for my teaching style and how it relates to my natural personality. So below are 20 (well, 19) ways to get a noise classroom’s attention. 1. No matter the grade level, let students know right away exactly why you need them immediately responsive when you signal for the class to be quiet. 2. This one is the old standby. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Awaken the Learner, Tips Awaken the Learner To effectively prepare learners for success, teachers can emphasize cognitive skills in addition to content in their classrooms. Teaching knowledge has always been an essential component of the American school system, but recent instructional standards have also highlighted the importance of teaching cognitive skills. Cognitive skills, such as generating conclusions, problem solving, experimenting, and decision making, are thinking processes that promote a deeper comprehension of complex ideas. The cognitive skill generating conclusions challenges students to analyze the truth and validity of their own and others’ thinking. Conclusions are formed when one accepts that certain premises about an idea are true and uses these premises to make a judgement about a person, topic, or idea. Problem solving is a cognitive skill that has significant application in school and outside the world of academics. Students best learn in environments where they feel safe.
Our Reader's Notebooks Today we had a 6th grade Language Arts teacher planning day. I was really excited about it, but I am bummed at the lack of things we actually got planned today altogether. I wish I could have just had a whole day to plan alone because I know I could have at least gotten a 6 weeks taken care of. I was actually excited to dive into the C-SCOPE materials because I have really struggled with not having a real scope and sequence to use this year. Well, I know what I am going to be doing over the Christmas break! I know that I have blogged about our reader's notebooks a few other times, but I just love them. Sorry for the bad quality, they are from the phone.
iPads in Guided Reading Before a class set of iPads I was differentiating my literacy centers for guided reading. Here were some of literacy centers and how I differentiated them: 1. Word Study--At the beginning of the year, it is beginning sounds. As the year progresses it is ending sounds, short vowel sounds, blends, digraphs, long vowels, irregular verbs. The three students that come to this center listen to their individual tape player and complete their work. These tapes are direct feedback and have the students complete the work and then they check it at the end of the tape. 2. I made copies of the CD's or tapes so I would not use my originals in tape decks (so little hands would not ruin the tape by pushing record). Now, I use iPads during guided reading. Here are some of the apps I use. I am working on incorporating Raz-kids where the students will also be assigned leveled books based on their guided reading.
Veckans förmåga Värdegrundande förmåga – Att kunna arbeta tillsammans med andra Värdegrundande förmåga – Att göra sitt bästa vid varje tillfälle Kommunikativ förmåga – Samtala, resonera och diskutera. Procedurförmågan – Veta skillnaden mellan fakta och åsikt. Over 300 Virtual Tours & Museums around the World Tour The American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Photography Guided Tour American Red Cross Virtual Museum American Treasures - Library of Congress The Ancient Olympic Games Virtual Museum Tour an Ancient Roman Villa Tour of The Andy Warhol Museum The Canadian Museum of Civilization Tour The Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo Tour The Collection at The National Gallery of Art Tour the DeCordova 35 acre Sculpture Park The Drop Zone Virtual Museum (WW II Airborne) Virtual Tour of Durham Cathedral Tour the Ellis Island, NY 1900-1920 Photographic Exhibit Tour the Field Museum of Natural History Exhibits Institute and Museum of History of Science - Florence, Italy German Leather Museum Greek and Roman Art Collection Tour the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village Holocaust Museum Tour The International Museum of Horses Tour The Jimmy Stewart Museum Museum of HP Calculators Tour The Museum of Unnatural Mystery Tour the Metropolitan Museum of Art The First Virtual Mousepad Museum Tour the U.C.
Pick Up States Do you remember the classic game "Pick Up Sticks?" I created a new game for my class last week based from the childhood game. My fourth grade social studies curriculum is the regions of the United States. You need to collect Crystal Light canisters and Popsicle sticks. To play the game the child or children dump out the sticks and take turns naming the state or capital. Here is the document...sorry about the first one. Do you have any ideas for learning states and capitals?