Home Startl - supporting innovation in learning products How to Create a ThingLink Tutorial My Reflections on ThingLink and Interactive Presentations Major shifts in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) require students to have opportunities to practice and master skills in the areas of speaking and listening as well as the ability to compare, contrast, incorporate evidence, understand primary source documents, and create arguments. In terms of student engagement and creation in these areas, the possibilities are endless. When I was attending the PARCC ELC in Chicago recently, I attended a workshop on close reads using primary source documents. In a classroom, I would have the students create a Thinglink with required elements. Remember to remind students of copyright and creative commons licensing. Source: Paula Dillon 3.17.13 Related Resources and Articles Thinglink Tutorial Slide Show by JGoodburn from Burgettstown Area School via HelloSlide Make Interactive Images on Thinglink Education by Ruchard Byrne via Free Technology for Teachers
Computers In Schools Are A Failure, Says Computer Pioneer Alan Kay [Apple in Education] It’s Education Week on CultofMac.com. How’s Apple doing in schools these days? What are the best education apps? Is iTunes U worthwhile? Join us as we learn more about Apple in Education. Computer scientist Alan Kay is one of the most foremost experts in computers in schools, and yet he believes technology in education has largely failed. Computers have been in schools for the last 30 years, but with few exceptions, they haven’t been used to their full potential. Kay says the education system has squandered 30 years of technology in classrooms. Computers have become tools of distraction, Kay said, instead of education. “When I look at computers in schools, this is what I see. We asked Kay to expand on these ideas in this exclusive Q&A. Why has technology in schools failed? The first idea is that pencils, paper, and especially printed books are technologies that can help real learning and real education. How important is it to get education in schools right? Related
Using Animoto in the Classroom It’s unusual for me to write a blog post extolling the virtues of a single edtech tool – I usually prefer a rundown of several resource that can be used for any given subject, because there are so many brilliant tools out there to feature and usually so many advantages and disadvantages to using each one. But Animoto is a special case! It is incredibly easy to use, which is a huge plus for the classroom, but also presents a really wide and flexible range of possible uses, which isn’t always the case with the simpler end of edtech tools. If you’re not already familiar with Animoto, it’s a website that allows you to make your own videos by choosing a background template from a wide range of options, adding a piece of music, and then creating a completely unique compilation of photographs, video clips and text, which is then all magically pulled together into an incredibly professional finished product. The real beauty of Animoto is its sheer, joyful flexibility.
Ulearn Education Conference | ULearn Details ULearn Permission to Play pre-conference 6 October 2015 Auckland's Crowne Plaza Hotel ULearn15 three-day conference 7–9 October 2015 SKYCITY Convention Centre Auckland Conference Strands We have four conference strands and a research strand. Re-imagining Learners and LearningRe-imagining Teaching PracticeRe-imagining Leaders and LeadershipMāori mediumResearch Strand Call for Abstracts Call for abstracts are closed Costs$250* ULearn Permission to Play$745* ULearn15 early bird (until 3 July, $795 thereafter) Save $50 when you register for both ULearn Permission to Play and ULearn15.ULearn Gala Dinner $92* (add this separately as you register)Research Strand $230* * GST inclusive Watch this short video about ULearn 15: Exhibitors: Register your interest for a trade stand at ULearn15
Overview - Baseball, Race and Ethnicity: Rounding the Bases - Lesson Plan Back to Lesson Plans Lesson Overview Students use primary sources focused on baseball to explore the American experience regarding race and ethnicity. Objectives Students will: analyze historical images; create an original argument using primary sources; pose historical questions after analyzing and reflecting on primary sources; employ search strategies to obtain primary historical data from targeted collections of sources; place the developments of race and ethnicity in America in historical context. Standards Time Required Five classes Recommended Grade Level Topic Sports, Recreation & Leisure Immigration & Ethnic Heritage Era Progressive Era to New Era, 1900-1929 Rise of Industrial America, 1876-1900 Credits Jennifer Schwelik & Greg Deegan
Forget the Unchangeables I speak with a lot of faculty, staff, and administrators about teaching with technology. And nearly every single time, one of the first questions I am asked is, "What do we do about all the faculty who don't want to change? Who are resistant to trying new things? Who don't believe, for example, a cell phone could ever have a place in a classroom?" The fact that this question is asked so much is, I think, indicative of a bigger problem. Yes, many faculty are resistant to change. Why would I suggest such a thing? Have you sat down and engaged in a Twitter chat using the hashtag #edchat? All of you have creative, risk-taking educators on your campus. I do not intend to put words in anyone's mouth here. Folks, this is our crisis.
23 Excellent Professional Development Tools for Teachers Today we are sharing with you some web tools to help you grow professionally. These are probably the best you can ever find online. Check out the list below and share with us your suggestions and additions. 1- Education World This is a great website that offers all the resources you need to grow professionally. 2- Classroom2.0 In this networking group, you can get connected with other educators who are interested in Web 2.0, social media, and more in the classroom. 3- Diigo Collect, highlight, remember, and share all of the great resources you find online with your PLN on Diigo, and annotation and online bookmarking tool. 4- Discovery Education There is no way that you did not hear about this awesome website. 5- Google Rss With Google Reader or any other great RSS tool, you can subscribe to blogs and stay on top of it all. 6- Twitter 7- Staff Develop This is another great resource for professional development.It provides articles, books, workshops, and many resources links. 8- Yahoo!
After Frustrations in Second Life, Colleges Look to New Virtual Worlds - Technology - The Chronicle of Higher Education | Feb 2010 By Jeffrey R. Young Some colleges that have built virtual classrooms in Second Life—the online environment where people walk around as avatars in a cartoonlike world—have started looking for an exit strategy. The virtual world has not lived up to the hype that peaked in 2007, when just about every day brought a new announcement from a college entering Second Life. After sitting in on Second Life classes and touring several campuses in virtual worlds, I see why they appealed to college leaders. Well, not necessarily, it turns out. Plus, a lot of decidedly nonacademic activity goes on in Second Life, and it's difficult to limit access so that only students can enter a classroom there. Then there are worries about what would happen if the company behind Second Life, Linden Lab, went out of business. That has happened to some of Second Life's competitors: In late December, a company called Metaplace announced that its virtual world would self-destruct because of financial difficulties.
3 Great Professional Development Guides for Teachers Are you looking for some free professional development guides to read in the coming Christmas break? Edutopia has generously put up these three guides to help teachers and educators better improve their practice and enrich their instructional knowledge. I have just finished reading the second guide in this list and I must say they are really wonderful. Let me share with you a brief synopsis of each of them together with the links where you can access them. 1- Project-based Learning Professional Development guide This guide is divided into three parts: the first part is an introduction to project based learning in which the authors argue for the importance of PBL in learning together with some explanation on how it works. 2- Technology Integration professional Development Guide This guide walks you through the process of technology integration in education. 3- Assessment Professional Development Guide The content of this guide is structured in the same way as the previous guides.
The Teacher Tap: Professional Development Resources for Educators The Teacher Tap is a free, professional development resource that helps educators and librarians address common questions about the use of technology in teaching and learning by providing easy access to practical, online resources and activities. Check out the Project Overview for more information. For a more indepth look at these topics, go to our online courses including: We're in the process of updating this resource, so you'll find a mixture of old and new pages.