Curious Homework: An Inquiry Project for Students and Parents Photo credit: iStockphoto International educator Scot Hoffman is a big believer in the power of curiosity to drive learning. After nearly two decades of teaching around the globe, he also realizes that school isn't always so hospitable to inquiring minds. I first met Hoffman a couple years ago during a visit to the American School of Bombay in Mumbai, India. Here are highlights of our recent conversations about The Curiosity Project. What was the inspiration for this idea? Scot Hoffman: In about my third year of teaching -- this was back in the 1990s -- there were a couple students I just wasn't reaching. Another inspiration was a set of questions that a former professor, Dr. What is curiosity? Those questions reminded me of the writers' workshop model. How do you encourage students to be more curious learners? Hoffman: A teaching partner and I started by interviewing curious people in front of our students. After a few of these interviews, we told students: Now it's your turn. It's Time!
7 herramientas gratuitas para crear presentaciones en el iPad Además del impresionante Keynote son muchas las opciones para crear presentaciones desde el iPad con una facilidad incluso superior a la proveída por el software para equipos de escritorios gracias al intuitivo manejo de la pantalla táctil y las decenas de servicios adicionales y funciones especiales que tales aplicaciones incorporan. Hoy damos un vistazo a siete de las mejores y más recientes: 1. Flowboard La solución perfecta para crear presentaciones en segundos y a partir de cualquier cantidad de multimedia (incluyendo PDF, fotos y enlaces) importado de la memoria del iPad y de populares servicios web (Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, Instagram, Facebook, etc.). El límite de la cuenta gratuita es 1 Gb (con opción de pago a U$5 por mes) y funciona muy bien sin necesidad de conexión a Internet. 2. 3. 4. Haiku Deck viene orientado a profesionales del sector educativo y empresarial. 5. 6. 7.
How To Understand Anything Using The Inquiry Process Hypothetical situation: you’re a student and your teacher has tasked you with identifying a topic that is important to you, understanding it, interpreting it, and then delivering a report to your classmates. Aside from the nerve-wracking part of talking at the front of the classroom (eep!) there are a lot of things to consider. For example, how do I find my particular topic? How do I find relevant resources, interpret what I read, and then distill it all into a presentation that shows I learned … you know … something. That’s where the inquiry process comes in to save the day. Quick aside: like the graphic on the right? The Inquiry Process Check out the fabulous visual below that maps out everything in a flowchart. Step 1: Pose real questions! Step 2: Find useful resources: Ask yourself questions like ‘Where do I find quality resources?’ Step 3: Interpret all that information you just acquired in step 3. Step 4: Now the hard(er) part. Good luck!
Create a Culture of Questioning and Inquiry I have often suggested to teachers that when students have access to technology, whether it is provided by the school in a 1:1, BYOD, or simply the smart phone in their pocket, there should never be a question that goes unanswered –or un-followed. These are teachable moments for how to effectively search for information (information literacy & digital literacy) and allowing the time for students to explore connected ideas brings more depth to the learning, and allows students to make sense of things as they combine new information what they already know and understand, as well as to identify misunderstandings. Questioning leads to synthesis. It also makes the learning personal for students. What I discovered in the 300+ observations I have done for our 21 st Century Learning grant work was that the problem isn’t necessarily about allowing time for students to answer questions. Ask: “What do you wonder?” This seems like a simple thing to do – and it is! Question wall Question journal
101 aplicaciones gratis de 2014 imprescindibles para Android - Dotpod Las aplicaciones para Android cambian constantemente y esto obliga a muchos a reciclar apps todo el tiempo, ya sea cambiando de una que deja de desarrollarse por otra paga o gratis, o por qué no, por una más moderna que acaba de salir al mercado. Hemos visto como algunas apps oficiales sustituyeron a versiones de desarrolladores independientes, como algunos juegos dejaron de ser tan populares y fueron cambiados por otros, y por supuesto, cómo nuestras aplicaciones gratis imprescindibles, fueron compradas por otras más poderosas, para bien o para mal. Decidí realizar este listado con las 101 aplicaciones gratis de 2014 imprescindibles para Android, buscando los cambios más importantes, tal vez no incluyendo a Facebook o Twitter porque las imagino prácticamente preinstaladas, pero sí algunos complementos que pueden ser importantes, y que probablemente no aparezcan en tu teléfono ni bien lo enciendas, especialmente si sale de una empresa de telefonía celular. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Authentic Inquiry Maths Inquiry-based Learning: Explanation What is inquiry-based learning? An old adage states: "Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand." The last part of this statement is the essence of inquiry-based learning, says our workshop author Joe Exline 1. "Inquiry" is defined as "a seeking for truth, information, or knowledge -- seeking information by questioning." A Context for Inquiry Unfortunately, our traditional educational system has worked in a way that discourages the natural process of inquiry. Some of the discouragement of our natural inquiry process may come from a lack of understanding about the deeper nature of inquiry-based learning. Importance of Inquiry Memorizing facts and information is not the most important skill in today's world. Educators must understand that schools need to go beyond data and information accumulation and move toward the generation of useful and applicable knowledge . . . a process supported by inquiry learning. The Application of Inquiry Outcomes of Inquiry
Three iPad Apps for Creating Multimedia eBooks One of my favorite things about iPads and the web in general is the ease with which anyone can create a multimedia product. Teachers can create and organize multimedia reference materials for students and students can create multimedia products to show off their ideas. The following three iPad apps allow you and your students to create multimedia ebooks. Story Creator is a free iPad app that makes it easy to create narrated picture books on your iPad. Little Story Maker is a great little app that adults and children can use to create their own custom books on their iPads. Book Creator allows anyone to create their own books using images, text, videos, and audio recordings. Tags: social studies, free apps, ipad apps, language arts, science, book creator, story creator, Little Story Maker, Multimedia ebooks
Teaching Strategies: Stimulate Through Effective Questioning If you’re looking to improve the effectiveness of your teaching strategies, it’s best to start by improving your questions. Questioning students is the foundation of teaching, and when done effectively, it can transform a traditional teacher-led classroom into one where the students lead. Oftentimes teachers ask questions in an attempt to “fish” for the right answer. When doing this, teachers are missing out on giving all students the opportunity to participate in the class discussion. To help shyer students develop skills of inquiry that will extend learning beyond the classroom, consider the following teaching strategies. With a little forethought and a bit of tweaking to your lessons, a STEM-based... To kick off this holiday week, we want to spread a little Thanksgiving joy with... Google Play for Educators is designed specifically to help teachers find the... Here are some ways teachers around the nation continually promote connectedness... Teaching Strategies for Asking Questions
Inquiry-based learning Inquiry-based learning (also enquiry-based learning in British English)[1] starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios—rather than simply presenting established facts or portraying a smooth path to knowledge. The process is often assisted by a facilitator. Inquirers will identify and research issues and questions to develop their knowledge or solutions. Inquiry-based learning includes problem-based learning, and is generally used in small scale investigations and projects, as well as research.[2] History[edit] In the 1960s Joseph Schwab called for inquiry to be divided into four distinct levels.[10] This was later formalized by Marshall Herron in 1971, who developed the Herron Scale to evaluate the amount of inquiry within a particular lab exercise.[11] Since then, there have been a number of revisions proposed and inquiry can take various forms. Characteristics of Inquiry-Based Learning[edit] Specific learning processes that people engage in during inquiry-learning include:[13] 1.