untitled Bill Gates: Why 'game-based learning' is the future of education The Gates Foundation is working with the Center for Game Science at the University of Washington on a free, online game called Refraction. In Bill Gates’ vision of the classrooms of the future, students are grouped according to skill set. One cluster huddles around a computer terminal, playing an educational game or working on a simulator. Another works with a human teacher getting direct instruction, while another gets a digital lesson delivered from their teacher’s avatar. This kind of “game-based” learning is one of the priorities of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a nonprofit founded by the Microsoft creator. Last year, the foundation announced it would invest $20 million in a variety of teacher tools, including this and other technologies geared toward changing the way teachers teach and kids learn. Gates sat down with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week while he was in Atlanta speaking at the Education Commission of the States’ national forum.
Creativity Resource for Teachers » Teaching Resources 21st Century Skills Resources RSA Animate: 21st Century Enlightenment The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), formed in the 18th century, is a network of people devoted to creative thinking for social progress. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills This is the advocacy website for the implementation of 21st Century Skills. Arts Integration: The Authentic Context for 21st Century Learning This article details how arts integration offers unique and successful methods for instilling 21st Century Learning Skills across the curriculum. Useful Websites for Teachers Art Museums ArtNC This North Carolina Museum of Art website is designed for educators, students, and anyone interested in looking and learning from works of art. ArtsConnectEd This interactive website is full of artworks and resources from the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Walker Art Center. ArtThink Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Online Classroom Activities ArtBabble PBS LearningMedia
Virtual Musical Instruments: play the guitar, piano, drums and flute. A Video Lecture You Won’t Soon Forget: Video Games and Storytelling <div class="greet_block wpgb_cornered"><div class="greet_text"><div class="greet_image"><a href=" rel="nofollow"><img src=" alt="WP Greet Box icon"/></a></div>Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to <a href=" rel="nofollow"><strong>subscribe to the RSS feed</strong></a> for updates on this topic.<div style="clear:both"></div></div></div> Daniel Floyd’s ten minute YouTube video, “Video Games and Storytelling,” is a video lecture you won’t soon forget. Reminiscent of “RSA Animate – Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us,” about Dan Pink’s book “Drive,” this video by Daniel Floyd is the most intense, “rapid-fire” visual presentation of related images I’ve seen in a video lecture to date. Via “Indie Video Games” by Kojo Nnamdi. On this day..
RebelMouse: Let Your Content Roar Strategies for Reading Comprehension Strategies for reading comprehension are conscious plans — sets of steps that good readers use to make sense of text. Explicit instruction in comprehension strategies help students become purposeful, active readers. We love the strategies for reading comprehension that Tanny McGregor and other top authors offer us to help children understand what they read. Reading Process Poster Template By enlarging the following template and laminating, you can write (with a dry-erase marker) important reading processes and applications for children to discuss and understand during and after a piece of literature is read. READ-O As mentioned on the Reading Fluency Activities Page, students are encouraged to read each night at home with their families and keep track of the books they read. Strategies for Reading Comprehension Template Use the above template to display the strategies for reading comprehension in your classroom.
SlideShark: PowerPoint Finally Gets a Deserving iPad App Let’s face it: the Microsoft Office suite has largely dominated the workplace productivity landscape for the better part of two decades. Even as worthy competitors have arisen, the “industry standard” nature of the programs has pushed them to the side. Now however, as there are evolving spheres of software platforms, developers are working to incorporate that standard into their products. Web and mobile apps are providing support for importing the dreaded .docx, .xlsx and .pptx formats. While Microsoft seemingly crawls toward the release of their first-party Office iPad app, it is being beaten to the punch. PowerPoint on the iPad SlideShark is the creation of Brainshark, a company that helps users create online videos from their PowerPoint presentations. The SlideShark app looks sharp, both on the iPad and online. iPad + Web app + options = a great app The app is a perfect example of a cloud connection. Criticism Nitpicking aside, SlideShark does have some great features: Conclusion
Webster.pdf Top 8 Educational Apps for Health Education Health education class used to involve watching dated videos and looking at graphic pictures in a textbook. Thanks to apps, it is now a little more exciting. With these top 8 educational apps for health, students can access interactive, engaging information and be inspired to make healthy decisions. Health Ed Buddy Health Ed Buddy makes a health education teacher’s job easier by providing lesson plans on common topics, such as healthy eating, substance abuse and teen health problems. The app also features fun quizzes and flash cards to help students study health education topics. Awesome Eats Awesome Eats, designed by Whole Foods, is a healthy eating app for children. Eat-and-Move-O-Matic Eat-and-Move-O-Matic helps students understand more about the foods they eat and the effects those foods have on the body. FitQuest FitQuest is designed to get students moving and develop healthier lifestyles. KidsDoc yumPower YumPower helps individuals find healthy meal options wherever they are.
How to Use the “4 C’s” Rubrics This excerpt appears in the Buck Institute for Education's book, "PBL for 21st Century Success: Teaching Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity." Rubrics for each of the "4 C's" are in the book, and we offer guidance below on how to use them in a PBL context. They are also available to download on BIE's website at the following links: What these rubrics assess These rubrics describe what good critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity & innovation look like in the context of Project Based Learning. What these rubrics do NOT assess: “content” These rubrics are designed to assess only the 4 C’s, not subject-area knowledge in, say, math, history, or science. How these rubrics align with Common Core State Standards In these rubrics, note that: Specific ELA standards are cited in the “At Standard” column only, but their intent is reflected in the “Approaching” and “Below” columns too. How to use these rubrics How these rubrics are organized
Q&A: Every Expert Will Teach Online In 10 Years - Getting Smart by Sarah Cargill - blended learning, IOLchat, MOOC Udemy co-founder Eren Bali makes a bold statement: “In 10 years, we believe every expert in the world will be teaching online.” Find out more about his thoughts behind massive open online classes (MOOCs) and mission behind the fast-growing online platform Udemy. SC: What inspired you to start Udemy? What’s the mission behind it? EB: I was inspired to start Udemy based on my own personal experience using the Internet to teach myself mathematics. Our mission at Udemy is to democratize education by enabling lifelong learners to access the skills & knowledge they need to accelerate their lives. SC: What role does Udemy play in the “edupunk” movement (ie. EB: We believe that now, more than ever, learning isn’t just something that happens from birth to college graduation. Udemy provides the destination and marketplace for all types of learning content for any student. SC: What sets Udemy courses apart from other MOOCs like Coursera or others?
Can Everyone Be Smart at Everything? This week, we feature the most popular posts over the past year on MindShift. Flickr:Saxtourigr When a student gets a good grade, wins an award, or proudly holds up a painting, we all know by now that we’re not supposed to say, “Good job!” Praising the achievement rather than the effort will backfire. To a kid, “Good job” means “You’re smart” or “You’re talented” — the praise goes to inherent, natural-born abilities or intelligence. Kids who are praised for their intelligence end up caring more about grades, trophies, and awards than those who are praised for their effort, according to the famous 1998 Stanford report “Effects of Intelligence and Effort Praise” by Claudia Mueller and Carol Dweck. Kids might think that if they have to work hard at something, that must mean they’re not smart. But there’s another byproduct: children praised for intelligence “described it as a fixed trait more than children praised for hard work, who believed it to be subject to improvement.” Related