tweentribune What Teachers Are Saying about TweenTribune: “Build an exciting informational reading experience...that involves students in reading and discussing current events.” -- Teacher Librarian Magazine “There has to be a source somewhere in the digital universe that can provide high interest reading for all students in a classroom right? Well look no further than Smithsonian Tween Tribune...The beauty of this website lies its ability to draw readers in with fun, exciting, and occasional weird articles geared towards youth.” -- Jorge Santana, review in The iLearn Initiative Want to Build a New App? There's an App for That, Too Competition in Apple’s App Store is so tough that even strong concepts must be planned to perfection before any development should start. So enter App Cooker: A hot new iPad app that makes sure other apps have the right ingredients in place before any development begins. App Cooker ($19.99) from Sophia-Antipolis, France-based Hot Apps Factory helps aspiring designers organize, plan and get app projects ready for production. 30-year-old Xavier Veyrat — the designer of App Cooker — spoke to Mashable about the development of the platform and the steps that go into creating a masterpiece app recipe. Have you always been into design? Always. What type of design inspires you? Companies such as Apple, Dyson and Braun are some of the main sources of my inspiration because they care about usefulness and beauty at the same time. How did the concept for App Cooker come about? Two years ago, I started to work on a gaming app with my partner Johann. What makes a good app?
12 Rules Of Great Teaching - 12 Rules Of Great Teaching by Terry Heick Recently, I’ve been thinking of the universal truths in teaching. Students should be first. So I thought I’d gather twelve of them to start with. 1. This is how great things are built. 2. Learning models, for example, are the new teaching strategy. Traditionally, teachers focus on “strategies” to “teach.” But the modern approach should have as much to do with what students access, when, how, and why as it does with “what students do in the lesson.” 3. Your students, first and foremost. 4. If you can’t make them curious, teach something else. Taskmasters seek compliance. 5. Teaching is a craft. Not only does this keep things fresh for students, but it keeps you sharp and relevant as an educator as this big world keeps on turning. 6. Know that it’s okay to think technology-first. 7. Technology. 8. When explaining, less is more. 9. Know the difference between confusing and complex. Between standards and curriculum. 10. 11. Be unpredictable. 12. Bonus
How to Design a Beautiful iPad Lesson: This is a beautiful lesson designed and presented by Rob Miller on Scrib. What I really like about this series of activities is that it allows the students or in Rob's case his teachers to articulate their own learning. It is never about a single app. It is the combination of apps that allow the learners to meet the learning outcomes. It is a great example of building a meaningful lesson around a concept and then providing the students with the tools to create content. The other great thing about this lesson is the beautifully designed yet simple instructions built by Rob. I would like to thank Rob for sharing this resource. This series of activities has got me thinking about a whole range of tasks that I now want to design and share with my own students.
13 Ways Successful People Deal With Toxic Persons Among friends, family and co-workers, there are those whose attitudes can be demeaning and toxic. It is difficult relating to some of these people and thus it becomes a challenge. So how do we get out from the hole and be masters of our own fates? The best way is to learn from successful people how they have approached the same role of winning the war against toxic individuals. 1. Toxic persons try to consume you and make you swim deep in their problems. Successful people understand that there is a fine line between offering to listen to the problems and getting themselves involved too deep in the negative emotional twists of such complainers. 2. By expecting change, you lower your energy and create a resistance in people. 3. Successful people know how important it is to store energy. By managing their emotions they can live to fight another day and avoid being brutally beaten. 4. Successful people do not allow other people’s opinions to determine their joy. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
50 Must-Have Educational Apps It’s time for holiday road trips and you know what that means: driving, flying, cranky kids, and… teaching opportunities! What’s that, you say? Well, there is so much downtime during the holidays where kids and adults spend hours just passing the time… why not try out some new apps on your phone? Many of these apps were found by The Teaching Palette, be sure to check out their fantastic site for more helpful resources! From learning the ABCs to doodling, there’s plenty of terrific apps out there that will pass the time but also educate. *Most of the links below are to the iTunes store which will open another window and/or iTunes. Great Apps For Kids (And Adults) Alphabet Animals Perfect for your talented toddler, this game is packed with colorful animations, animal sounds, and tons of tips for learning their letters. WordSearch Kids Kids search and highlight vocabulary words by tapping the first and last letters. Mad Libs Just as goofy and fun as your remember. SmackTalk Annoying?
edWeb: A professional online community for educators Be a School Leader: The 16 Best Resources for School Administrators The role teachers play in the educational system is significant and vital, but if teachers are the heart of the operation, administrators are the bones. You support teachers, forge relationships with students and the public, and strive to create a school environment that is beneficial for everyone who walks through the doors. How can you take your role to the next level and become an even more effective administrator? The following resources may be just what you need. Build Relationships Image via Flickr by flazingo_photos You perform a delicate balancing act. You’re good at your job, and you know its ins and outs, but sometimes a question pops up that throws you for a loop—not because you don’t know the answer but because you don’t know how to provide that answer. Sharpen Your Leadership Skills It is one thing to build healthy relationships; it is another thing to transform yourself into an effective leader. Edutopia poses and answers the question “What Makes a Great School Leader?
IES Penn*Links | CCIU, Innovative Educational Services Division, sharing news regarding education in Chester County Media and Technology Resources for Educators February 27, 2014 We are thrilled to announce the release of our entire Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum as a set of eight interactive, multimedia iBooks Textbooks, available for free in the iBooks Store... read more March 31, 2014 Imagine … a school district that is teaching Digital Literacy and Citizenship lessons to 28,000 K-12 students, with 1,800 trained teachers. Is it possible? Categories:
10 Powerful Twitter Tools for Teachers Professional Development There is nothing that beats the power of Twitter when it comes to growing professionally using social media. I have written a lot on this topic and my master thesis is buzzing with all kinds of academic evidence that support my claim. You might be thinking why Twitter is making such a big fanfare in the world of academia. The answer is simple: it works. related : 12 Ways to use Twitter for Professional Development One of the powerful features I like the most about Twitter is the ease with which you can set up a PLN. But Twitter alone can only do so much. 1- Hashtags Though hashtags are not third party tools, still I want to make sure they are featured in this list. 2- WeFollow With WeFollow you can search for people by interest and sort them by their Prominence Score. 3- Twitscoop Twitscoop allows you to receive, send tweets, and find new friends instantly, without ever reloading your page. 4- Nearbytweets Nearby tweets allows you to search local tweets from Twitter by location and keyword.
11 Bad Teaching Habits That Are Stifling Your Growth 11 Bad Teaching Habits That Are Stifling Your Growth by Saga Briggs, opencolleges.edu.au There’s a certain class of mistakes that all educators can eliminate with conscious effort, and in this post we outline 11 of them. It sounds easier to lecture to a sea of faces than to get through to thirty individuals. We all make healthy mistakes, every class period of every day. They really only scratch the surface of a long list of potentially destructive practices. 1. Effective instructional strategies change with time; what you learned in teaching school may no longer be relevant to the students you’re currently dealing with. Sure, it doesn’t hurt to watch TED talks and inspiring videos of others teaching, but using the resources within your own environment should be the first place you start. 2. We all know there’s a difference between giving a presentation and actually teaching. 3. 4. 5. This is also a great way to offer a re-cap before the bell rings. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.