How (And Why) To Flip Your Classroom It’s no secret that interacting with students on an individual level can drastically improve the learning process. Having the capacity to reach all of your students one-on-one is certainly ideal, but large class sizes can understandably make this challenging. Moreover, the traditional teaching method — students sitting in class, taking notes, fighting to stay awake — is not conducive to an interactive style. So, how can you use your class time more efficiently? Keep the Breakthroughs Going In order to reach the students who are used to treating class time as nap time, flip your classroom the information intake routine. See Also: The Teacher’s Guide To Flipped Classrooms Let’s flip your basic Tuesday morning math class. The conventional method of homework involves students struggling to figure it out by themselves. Teacher Benefits Not only does the flipped method make learning more accessible to students, it helps teachers do their job as well. Brought to You by Technology Now, Flip It
10 Tools Every Teacher Should Master This Summer According to Common Sense Media, 95% of teachers agree that using technology increases student engagement and 92% of teachers want to add more technology to their classroom. We at Getting Smart are still basking in an ISTE afterglow… we’d like to share 10 great tools that we were introduced to there and the reasons they are so worth taking the time to master this summer. These are the tools that will transform your classroom in the fall because you will notice the definite threads that run throughout all these applications… real-time, collaborate and creative! Those words together are sure to build a lot of excitement around exactly how educational technology is developing and transforming what school looks like! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Leadership, not Process, is the Keystone of Innovation To think differently, act differently. For most, easier said than done. I’ve stressed this over and over again. And will keep on stressing it because I know we’ll never get over it. Simply put, there are those that seek new thoughts before taking action. So, everyone seeks new thoughts about innovation thinking. Again, that means not just thinking differently, but also acting differently. Last week I wrote about how there is a lot of focus on innovation methodologies, but not so much on the leadership part. This is because methodologies spread easily. Mindset precedes methodology The sad thing is that when a company is considering hiring service providers that provide innovation capability their criteria is based on specialization on a specific methodology. Wishful thinking, I know. Although I think methodologies like design thinking are great because it is about putting the customer at the center of what you do, a methodology doesn’t equal mindset. Scale leadership, not process Wait!
70 Tools And 4 Reasons To Make Your Own Infographics Infographics are everywhere. Some love them. Some hate them. But however you feel, it’s fun to learn a little bit in a short period of time. Most are made so you can quickly grasp the key concepts behind them. That’s a key thing to keep in mind if you want to make your own infographics . Why Should Classrooms Use Infographics Before we dive into the list, let’s talk about WHY you might want to make an infographic: 1) you run a blog or website that you want to display visually-engaging information and grab the attention of your readers. 2) you want to grab the attention of students by boiling down theories and content into key concepts that can inspire more in-depth learning. 3) you’re a student who wants to show off your understanding of concepts by analyzing, digesting, and then remixing it all into an elegant infographic. 4) you’re a teacher who wants to get students engaged and doing new projects. What Makes A Good Infographic? Tools To Make Your Own Infographics
How To Effectively Use The Top 4 Social Networks Have you ever wondered why you need to be a member of the top 4 social networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the whole host of other social networking sites that your friend invite you to be a part of? Maybe you should only join Facebook. Or maybe Google+ would be the better option. Doesn’t everyone end up connected in all of the same places anyway? Well, the short version of the answer is no. I'm a "Learner First" in a Whole New World Charles E. Gramatges has recently been appointed Head of Middle School at St. Thomas’ Episcopal in Houston, Texas. Until very recently, he was a middle school mathematics teacher at St. John’s School in Houston, teaching 6th and 7th grade pre-algebra, coaching varsity lacrosse, and serving as an advisor to 14 sixth grade students. by Charlie Gramatges One of the biggest fears I have as I move into my first full-time administrative role in a school is being ready to handle the unexpected. That’s a pretty comforting statement. This fall, I will begin the academic year in a new position, as Head of Middle School at St. As I try to wrap my brain around the monumental change that is taking place in my professional life, I’ve been thinking back on my year as a participant in Powerful Learning Practice’s Connected Learner Experience and what the most important first steps in this new leadership role might be. As I read that last paragraph, it may appear that I’m having a mini-panic attack.
A Printable Guide To Creative Commons Something you probably see a lot of these days as you browse the internet is Creative Commons licensing. You’ll see many graphics that say something like ‘shared under a Creative Commons license’, or you’ll see a little rectangular graphic with some signs in them. Since we live in an age where most of our information comes from the internet in some way or another, its useful to know when and how it is ok to use something that you’ve found. We’ve already taken a look at some fair use guidelines (which comes along with a brief mention of Creative Commons licensing), but we thought that this handy infographic below gave a great, easy to read and understand version of the different types of CC licenses available. These licenses allow you to easily give others the opportunity to share your work.
What If We Flipped Online Learning? If you’re an online student, taking an online course (perhaps at Modern Lessons or Khan Academy or Coursera or, well, the list goes on…), or simply looking into putting your lectures online, there’s something you should know. People are already considering what flipped online learning might look like. It’s a thought that’s being passed around some social media circles that I follow and illustrated in the below infographic. In short, flipped online learning would involve a larger focus on the student producing the learning materials and having an online instructor be more of a ‘guide on the side’ as it were. Essentially, it could be a never-ending class filled with a seemingly infinite number of lessons. Source: An Ethical Island
9 Ways to Get Things Done When Everything Is Going Wrong Ever have one of those days where nothing goes right? From the first thing you do, everything seems to go sideways. How do you stay productive when nothing is going your way? Some Days Nothing Goes Your Way Some days just don’t cooperate. Everything seems to be out-of-order. From your first step out of bed things go wrong. Your clothes aren’t clean. Makes you ready to turn around and head back-to-bed, right? Turning It Around How do you get things back on track when nothing seems to be going your way? You can fold and surrender to the day. “When things aren’t going your way, it’s your choice to give up or turn things around.” Sometimes it is that choice that makes the difference between a bad day and one that is productive. Here are 9 Ways to Be Productive When Everything is Going Wrong: Bring a Positive Attitude – A positive attitude can make all the difference. Turn Your Day From Wrong to Right We all have days when we want to just to give up until tomorrow. The key is to keep going.
10 Free Web Resources For Math Teachers And Students Time for some math. You either love it or hate it, but it makes the world go round. For me, math was always a struggle. I wanted to love it, but the numbers swirling in my head never seemed to straighten themselves out for the test. But maybe that’s just it–”the test.” When math is separated into columns and rows, some students struggle. Integrating math, math apps, project-based math, and math applications in society … the United States’ STEM initiative is important. What Can a Math Major Do? Professor Jim Olsen answers this question in style . Math Videos That Make Math Make Sense This very popular Learnist board has resources designed to dig in and get to the heart of making math understandable. Math Induction Coach Alicia Sullivan put together this list of math resources she loves. Math Playground Who doesn’t want to go to the Math Playground? BBC Skillswise This learning board links to adult math resources as taught by the BBC . Math/Maths Digital Education Resources Grade 9 Math Mr.
How Science Supercharges Creativity When a creative idea takes root, it’s a highly empowering (Eureka!) experience. And if you’re in an industry that’s known for being powered by creative ideas--advertising, marketing and media for instance--it can be the life and death of your success. But in today’s content-driven industries, being creative on its own isn’t a sufficient skill anymore. Creative teams have always had to be artistic. It may seem like a stretch of skills at first, but actually it’s a natural extension. So if you’re a creative type in your company, and you’ve been tasked to warm up to these disciplines, do not fear. Before: Target the right people (Computer Science) Much of the beauty of art is that it speaks to people in very different ways. That’s easier said than done. During: Ask the right questions (Psychology) In order to target the correct audience, creative developers also must put on the hat of a mind reader--but better yet, make statistically sound predictions.
10 Things You Didn't Know Dropbox Could Do We live in an age when we want (and sometimes need) to access information at all times. This includes our own data and files — text documents, photographs, videos, music and more. That's why services like Dropbox and the cloud are so popular with the connected generation. Free of charge (with a paid upgrade option), Dropbox lets you upload your files to folders accessible anywhere there's an Internet connection. SEE ALSO: Dropbox Enables Two-Step Verification Dropbox is a simple service, but you may not realize there are several ways to amp up the user experience. Check out the gallery above for some useful ways you can get more out of Dropbox. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, funky-data.