Blog I’ve always thought the term “re-entry” to our regular lives after an ISTE conference was a bit dramatic, but it really does feel that way this year. 16,000 educators in one building is…intense. Now that I’m back from Atlanta and scrolling through my notes, I’m going to try to condense everything down to 10 main take-aways. These are not necessarily the most emphasized or important ideas shared, just the “aha moments” that stuck with me most deeply this year: 1) Last year our discussions emphasized getting kids engaged in learning; this year, the conversation shifted to teaching kids how to learn for themselves. Many innovative educators spent the past year experimenting with giving students more control than ever over their learning…and it didn’t always go smoothly. 2) Relationships with students are crucial, but we have to be careful not to take that to an illogical extreme. 3) When you give someone responsibility, you must also give them some measure of authority.
Science Google Earth and SketchUp Google Earth, Maps, and SketchUp have been identified as a powerful learning tools that can help students conceptualize, visualize, share, and communicate information about the world around them. National Geographic Education This site brings science, social studies, and geography to life for K-12 educators, learners, and their families—in and out of the classroom. The free education resources at NatGeoEd.org include activities, lessons, teacher guides, encyclopedic entries, printable and interactive maps, National Geographic’s iconic media, and more. PowerMyLearning® Science PowerMyLearning.com includes free educational activities from across the web. Virtual Labs Virtual labs are used as a center in a chemistry class at Eminence High School (Eminence, KY). Wonderopolis® Each day, Wonderopolis features a free inquiry-based learning approach through its Wonder of the Day®.
The 5 Elements Students Should Look For When Evaluating Web Content March , 2014 In a section in her wonderful book "Understanding The Social Lives of Networked Teens" Danah Boyd talked extensively about the concept of digital natives and argued that this nomenclature does not really capture the essence of what a digitally savvy teenager really means. Dana argued that the mere fact of being comfortable with a social media tool does not prove that the user has a digital fluency to allow them to better use it for educational purposes : Just because teens are comfortable using social media to hang out does not mean that they’re fluent in or with technology. Many teens are not nearly as digitally adept as the often-used assumption that they are “digital natives” would suggest. Learning how to evaluate online content is an essential step in the process of developing digitally literate students. Watch this short introduction to CRAAP Currency: Is the information too old.
50 Really Cool Online Tools for Science Teachers A 21st-century education revolves around the Internet for everything from collaboration, tools, lessons, and even earning degrees online. If you are looking for ways to integrate online learning into your science class or science degree programs, then take a look at these cool online tools that are just perfect for both teachers and students. Science Tools to Use with Students These tools offer opportunities for learning about climate, cells, the human body, nature, and more. ChemiCool. AP Tools Whether you are setting up a new AP curriculum or are just looking for additional material to use with your AP science students, these tools will help. Advanced Placement Biology. Websites and Resources for Science Teachers These websites are chock full of amazing resources and tools for science teachers. Discovery Education. Calculators Use these informative environmental calculators with your students. Ecological Footprint Quiz. Online Games Online Science Games. Google Earth Google Earth Ocean.
TECHNOLOGY - The Learning Network Blog Overview | What does “good” science education look like? What experiences, good and bad, have students had in science classes? In this lesson, students explore suggestions for improving the way science is taught and make their own proposals for new approaches to science teaching. Read more… This video is part of our guest lesson “Gearing Up for a Summer of Making, Connecting and Learning by Doing.” Updated June 13, with links to all our 2012-13 collections. This week, we’re looking back at all the lesson plans we published this school year. In addition, here is a list of all 182 Student Opinion questions we have asked this year. Below, our science, math, health and technology collection. Read more… Joseph LapchickA mobile, fire-breathing dragon, 90 feet long, that contains a lounge for 20, was created by Ryan C. We asked Suzie Boss, who has done a series of guest posts on project-based learning for us, to focus her final post of the school year on ideas for summer. Happy making! Read more…
Education Week Published Online: December 2, 2015 San Francisco Google is being accused of invading the privacy of students using laptop computers powered by the Internet company's Chrome operating system. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group, depicts Google as a two-faced opportunist in a complaint filed Tuesday with the Federal Trade Commission. Google disputes the unflattering portrait and says it isn't doing anything wrong. The complaint alleges that Google rigged the "Chromebook" computers in a way that enables the company to collect information about students' Internet search requests and online video habits. The complaint contends Google's storage and analysis of the student profile violates a "Student Privacy Pledge" that the company signed last year. The foundation is calling on the FTC to investigate Google, stop it from using information on students' activities for its own purposes and order it to destroy any information it has collected that's not related to education.
Educational Videos and Games for Kids about Science, Math, Social Studies and English 365 things to make you go "Hmmm..." | Thinking skills resources | Sparky Teaching What is 365 Things? '365 Things' is a thinking skills resource. Simply put, it's one big question for every day in the year. Its official aim as a thinking skills resource is to help your pupils deepen their understanding and introduce them to different ways of thinking, but if it gets your class talking hard about the answer, that's good enough for us. We've had both secondary and primary schools using the resource, but our main support comes from KS2 classes. The daily questions vary, from open-ended Maths challenges to more philosophical issues. - creative thinking,- mathematical thinking and problem-solving,- decision making,- critical thinking- logical thinking We try to be topical when there's a subject we think will provoke discussion (e.g. we covered the Chilean miners' release and the Royal Wedding) and if your class has a question they'd like to see featured, fill in the form below and we'll send you an e-mail if/when we plan to use it. Using this resource Your privacy
Release Your Inhibitions - Writing Resources No matter how techie our lives have become, good writing is still a requirement to succeed at school and professionally. Good writing helps see in the world from a different angle, may be cathartic and most of all, good writing may be a pleasure. Now - how to get students writing? Yes, there are journals to write, quick notes to pass around, stories with beginnings, middles and endings. Yes, writers need to heed to sentence fluency and word choice, organisation and conventions. And yet.... how to release students' inhibitions when it comes to actually writing? 100 Word Story is a collection of stories written in 100 words. The Write At Home Blog includes reflections on the many varying aspects of writing, from how words sound to grammar rules. As for learners? Here are some suggestions: NoRedInk - to practice Grammar and Writing Skills Fraze.It - how to use a particular word in a sentence Writing Felonies - Videos featuring the worst writing crimes and how to fix them
Online Scavenger Hunts This week’s site selection is dedicated to improving search skills. Some of today’s sites feature a single daily question (or search challenge), and others offer topic-based research questions often called online scavenger hunts. Good hunting! Ask.com: Question of the Day4 starsThese are fun, topical questions, but often very easily answered with a single search.