Cracking The Code To Teams: What Educators Can Learn From Programmers | EdSurge News While so many educators devour books on leadership and attend lots of conferences, their efforts often fall short when they try to achieve game-changing goals with teams. What if the secret lies with programmers? What if they’ve cracked the code on achieving big goals with teams and it’s a matter of educators learning their strategies? The secret is an organized approach to work programmers call “scrum.” Once you get past the name, you’ll realize it’s a process that has a lot to offer educators. How Does It Work? Scrum is a team-based approach many software engineers take to develop products. During daily “stand ups,” each team member shares three things: (1) actions taken yesterday; (2) actions to be taken today; and (3) any obstacles thwarting today’s actions. Takeaways for Educators 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. What Could This Look Like in Schools? Students: Student leaders, such as athletic team captains, club and publication leaders, and others, can develop sprint goals with their teams.
Save This List! 21 Top Websites for Social Studies Teachers Every day on our Facebook page, teachers post "Helpline" questions and receive resource recommendations, lesson and classroom management ideas, career advice, and so much more. Recently, a high school teacher asked readers to suggest their favorite sites for teaching social studies. The list was so awesome, we just had to share it! 1. iCivics icivics.org 2.
Twitter for Teachers: A Quick Start Guide Technology is a growing part of the classroom, with tablets and smart TVs quickly integrating themselves into the curriculum. But fast-paced change – and the fact that students are often miles ahead of both teachers and parents when it comes to the latest apps and social networks – can intimidate even the most tech-savvy teacher. Here’s a quick-start guide for teachers who are looking to incorporate Twitter into their classroom as a learning tool, without getting lost in the millions of tweets sent every day. There are a variety of ways that teachers can use Twitter to augment their student’s time in the classroom, a number of which we outline below. To broadcast On the simpler end of the spectrum, Twitter can be used as a secondary, online bulletin board. You could also use Twitter to broadcast links to additional reading that expands on the course content, or your own thoughts and opinions to help students understand complex topics. To learn To discuss Resources for teachers
3D learning tools positive for pupils, says study 29 September 2011Last updated at 18:11 Biology teacher Ros Johnson says 3D projections of body organs have given lessons a new direction at the Abbey School in Reading. A study of the impact of 3D in the classroom has found that it improves test results by an average of 17%. Increasingly schools are using 3D projectors and learning resources to add a new dimension to learning. The research, conducted in seven schools across Europe, found that 3D-enabled learning tools helped children concentrate more. It also led shy children to speak up in class discussions. Only a handful of schools in the UK use the technology, which requires a 3D-enabled projector as well as 3D glasses for all pupils and a set of bespoke learning resources. 3D provides a wow factor in class but it has longer lasting effects, research says Students were tested before and after the lessons with a control group learning with traditional resources only. "Children can see how things function.
Advanced Level Projects with Scratch: Fun with Fractals In his book Program or Be Programmed, author Douglas Rushkoff describes computer programming as an essential literacy for the 21st century. It makes sense, as we recognize the importance of teaching students to communicate by listening and speaking, and we go to great lengths to teach reading and writing. Now, in an increasingly digital world, we should ensure that our students have experience using and making programs. In our previous tutorials about elementary and intermediate level Scratch, we practiced programming by using code to draw 2D geometric shapes commonly covered in elementary mathematics curriculums. There is an interesting example of recursion found in nature called a fractal. Here's How A Quick Review Visit scratch.mit.edu. 1st Challenge: Basic setup and variable creation. 2nd Challenge: Make three custom blocks for drawing fractal art. The "Make A Block" feature allows you create custom procedures that you can reuse in your Scratch projects. How It Works (Click to enlarge.)
10 Tools to Help you Flip Your Classroom Two years ago I "flipped" my high school Anatomy & Physiology class. Read my previous post for the full story. I learned by trial and error. I have also found some very helpful resources that I would like to share with you. 1. : The leading screen casting software title on the market. Easily zoom, pan, and create call-outs on your screen captures. 2. : from the makers of Camtasia ( TechSmith ), this screen capture tool allows you to quickly capture a still image of all or part of your screen. 3. : You will be creating lots of presentations and handouts in your flipped classroom. 4. : After creating your recorded lectures and hand-outs, you will want somewhere to post them sot that your students can access them. The commercial version of wikispaces includes advertising. 5. : The internet has enabled like-minded people, scattered across the globe, quick and easy access to each other. 7. : the cousin of Camtasia Studio (see #1 above), Jing is a light-weight screencasting tool.
Track & Rate Skills Directly in Google Drive Track & Rate Skills Directly in Google Drive One of my favorite tools for providing feedback in Google Drive is Kaizena, which allows you to leave voice comments on documents. Today Kaizena launches an enhanced feature: tags. Here is a summary of what these new features in Kaizena can do: Track and rate skills - tags can be rubric criteria, common core standards, your local state, region, or country’s standards, learning objectives or outcomes…anything. Voice comments saved educators time while enabling better student outcomes, and tags continue this legacy: Better student outcomes Knowledge of strengths and weaknesses is a prerequisite for improvementTransparency: showing the evidence behind a rubric score builds trust between educators and students Save time Re-use your feedbackGet rubric criteria out of your head as you read Like this: Like Loading... About Jennifer Carey My name is Jennifer Carey and I am a student and educator of the human condition.
TeacherTube - Teach the World 6 Entertaining Games Made Entirely in Microsoft Excel Excel — your friendly (and perhaps most dreaded) office tool. But it's not just for spreadsheets anymore. Believe it or not, you can turn the data-analyzing, number-cruncher into one unbelievably cool game. The Microsoft software has a few secrets up its sleeve; many people have managed to design new games or recreate classics like Monopoly from its offerings. Below, we've highlighted six games made entirely in Microsoft Excel. Note: For most of these games, you'll need to enable macros. You may have heard of the addicting game 2048 by Gabriele Cirulli. In 2048 two tiles of the same number can merge into a new tile that equals the total value of the two. The geniuses at Spreadsheet1.com built an Excel version that allows you to play the game, and track your moves to help analyze your strategy. But what if you want to play this game and be discrete at work? To download this sneaky version, click here. 2. In four days, Canadian accountant Cary Walkin created Candy Number Crunch Saga. 3. 5.
Stuff You Should Know Podcast Product Details Description Whether discussing redheads or exorcism, you can count on Josh and Chuck to deliver a fascinating dose of Stuff You Should Know in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com. People Who Liked Stuff You Should Know Podcast Also Liked These Podcasts: Reviews & Ratings User Reviews Rate this title Podcast Episodes If this Podcast isn't working, please let us know by emailing us and we will try to fix it ASAP: Podcast Website: How X-Rays Work stuffpodcast@howstuffworks.com (Stuff You Should Know) Author: HowStuffWorks.com Thu, Dec 04, 2014 Like many huge discoveries, X-rays were accidentally stumbled upon. Download File - 14.3 MB (Click to Play on Mobile Device) Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio) How Leper Colonies Worked stuffpodcast@howstuffworks.com (Stuff You Should Know) Author: HowStuffWorks.com Tue, Dec 02, 2014 Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, used to mean a one-way ticket to banishment. Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
You will soon be able to run any Windows application on a Chromebook Google, VMware, and NVIDIA were on hand at VMworld 2014 to show off a collaborative effort utilizing VMware Blast Performance and NVIDIA GRID vGPU technology. The result will be high performance virtual desktops and workstation-class graphics for Chromebooks. Imagine getting hardware-accelerated graphics, and at the same time, enjoying the flexibility of a virtual environment. With the flexibility of the Chromebook, manufacturers can design complex 3D models and share them with engineers around the globe. “We are breaking down traditional barriers to adopting virtual desktops and offering new economics for the delivery of graphics-intensive applications through the power of the cloud,” said Sanjay Poonen, executive vice president and general manager, End-User Computing, VMware. Chromebooks featuring NVIDIA Tegra K1-processors will be among the first ones to get access to this technology. What do you guys think? source: VMware » See more articles by Robert Nazarian
The Past, Present, And Future Of The iPad In Learning The Idea When Apple started dropping hints about a coming “tablet PC” in 2009, it would have been difficult to see the way it might change the way we interact with digital media. The first-generation iPad was introduced in April, 2010 and in lieu of some significant hardware limitations, was a world-beater, garnering $1 billion in sales in just 4 months. Dog years have nothing on tech years. The concept for the iPad started over a dinner. But Jobs was bothered by Microsoft’s insistence on using a stylus. And so, standing on the shoulders of smartphones and in-development tablet PCs, the iPad was conceived. Education has an odd reputation for both resisting change, and short-sightedly jumping on emerging edu-trends. Undoubtedly, technology will continue to play a larger role in both formal and informal learning environments, and it’s fair to wonder where this is all going. The Gee Wiz Era “Motor skills are not necessary. Gee Wiz. The App Era Specifically, apps. Enter the app. And gender-equity?
The future is here: New ed tech targets the brain Measuring and even changing a student’s brain activity was once a science fiction concept. But technology advances are pushing to market more products that use attention levels and plasticity of the mind to raise academic achievement. “I think it’s the direction we have to go in,” says Tom Kelchner, director of special education at Goose Creek CISD in Texas, a district of 22,000 students outside Houston. “We have to look at innovative approaches based on research to do something different for students who have reading and math deficits, and we feel these cognitive development programs are part of the answer.” Over the summer, the district began implementing the program Cogmed Working Memory Training from Pearson in special education classrooms. Measuring attention At the end of the study session, students can see where their attention was highest and lowest, and go back to the exact place where attention dropped. Tapping neuroplasticity
Audioboo for Education Schools and universities around the world are embracing Audioboo as the easiest, most effective way to give teachers and students a voice. Audio enriches the curriculum, engages the learner, and creates conversations that build community. Take a look at some amazing ways that Audioboo is reinventing the classroom experience. Give Your Students A Voice Your students have a lot to say! Listen to Brody proudly read the book he authored. The students at Michael Faraday School are using Audioboo to recreate history in their own voices. Mr. Student Voice Live is an initiative that strives to to create a international network of students who are empowered to tell share their stories. Enrich, Engage and Extend Learning Audioboo has thousands of amazing audio recordings that will help you create personalized lesson plans, support the flipped classroom model and motivate students to engage in learning that supports Common Core Standards. Check out these great resources from Audioboo too...