15+ Ways of Teaching Every Student to Code (Even Without a Computer) According to Code.org, 90 percent of parents in the U.S. want their children to learn computer science—it will be crucial for many jobs in the near future—but only 40 percent of schools teach it. Critics claim that it is mainly the more affluent schools that offer computer science courses, thus denying those who attend poorer schools the chance to learn necessary skills. A focus on STEM is not enough: Code.org also reports that while 70 percent of new STEM jobs are in computing, only 7 percent of STEM graduates are in computer science. It is imperative that savvy schools begin to focus some STEM resources on computer science and programming. In my opinion, parents of every student in every school at every level should demand that all students be taught how to code.
With the following resources, you can teach programming to every student and every age. Teaching Coding to the Youngest Students Tynker Games: Use these age-appropriate games to teach your elementary students coding concepts. 46 Tools To Make Infographics In The Classroom. Infographics are interesting–a mash of (hopefully) easily-consumed visuals (so, symbols, shapes, and images) and added relevant character-based data (so, numbers, words, and brief sentences). The learning application for them is clear, with many academic standards–including the Common Core standards–requiring teachers to use a variety of media forms, charts, and other data for both information reading as well as general fluency. It’s curious they haven’t really “caught on” in schools considering how well they bridge both the old-form textbook habit of cramming tons of information into a small space, while also neatly overlapping with the dynamic and digital world.
So if you want to try to make infographics–or better yet have students make them–where do you start? The 46 tools below, curated by Faisal Khan, are a good place to start. 20 Creative Ways To Use Instagram In The Classroom. The buzz around Instagram might have you thinking about jumping ship. Instead, why not consider a few ways to use the app in your classroom? Teachers who want to reach their students must continue to evolve their curriculum for the world now- not as it was five or ten or fifteen years ago. Despite the negative connotations that Facebook and other such platforms have (specifically in regards to distracting students), there are all kinds of positive ways that social media can play a role in learning enrichment. Instagram may not be as well known as Facebook or Twitter, but this photo-sharing social media platform could be a great tool in your classroom. 1. Students can make a photo collage of all the books they’ve read throughout the year. 2.
Turn a dry subject with numbers and formulas, and connect it to art through visual expression. 3. Have each of your students take a photo of themselves in different parts of their town and city. 4. 5. 6. 7. Host a field day for your class. 8. 9. 10. Five Ways to Use Online Portfolios in the Classroom. Our digital world is transforming the way we learn, and today's teachers are tasked with the challenging job of sifting through the deluge of educational technologies and creating a meaningful learning experience for students. In my 15 years in education, I've seen firsthand how opportunities and a little guidance can positively impact a person's future and change the life path they're following. In fact, as a result of serving on the San Francisco School Board, where I learned about the obstacles to education, I've seen how creating learning opportunities can impact a long-term digital identity.
Next-generation education portfolio platforms -- such as Digication, Pathbrite, Taskstream and Epsilen -- are one way for teachers to start early and educate students about how they can manage their own academic and professional accomplishments. 1. Build in Opportunities for Peer-to-Peer Learning 2. Sifting through the endless hoards of information on the Internet is becoming a necessary skill. Digital Tools for the Common Core.
By Michael Fisher In the next few weeks, Janet Hale and I will have our newest book published by ASCD, Upgrade Your Curriculum: Practical Ways to Transform Units and Engage Students. We will very soon be launching a new ASCD Edge Group and Discussion Board around the book to discuss improvements in instructional practice and design. We also want to hear the awesome ideas of all the educators who would like to engage in a dynamic multi-media conversation! In the book, we discuss different lenses and considerations through which you can view your current curriculum for a particular upgrade. This blog post is honing in on two upgrades: technology integration and Common Core alignment. The Common Core alignment relates to a pair of anchor standards for reading: #1 that asks students to read closely, and #10, that asks that students read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts.
It’s always worth reminding ourselves that it’s the task that matters, not the tool. Smore Piktochart. 15 Great Mindmapping Tools and Apps. Mindmapping is the process of drawing up diagrams that show relations between various ideas, tasks or information. For many of us this shows to actually be a way of taking notes that can be more useful than just writing down keywords or sentences like we do on a to-do list. By drawing mind maps you actually visualize your tasks and how each task can influence each other in a better way, making your brain remember more easily and/or come up with new ideas. The Tools There are various tools for mindmapping out there, both free and paid versions. In this article I will focus solely the free options. The apps are not in any particular order.
I will simply mention 15 apps I’ve tried and found interesting, then you can see which one(s) could be most interesting for you. The ones that require any installation, can be run on all platforms that support Java unless something else is specified. Freemind ↓ You can download Freemind here. Xmind ↓ You can download Xmind here. Bubbl.US ↓ Web application. Whiteboards Promote Student and Teacher Collaboration. In the 21st-century classroom, interactive whiteboards have taken the place of traditional chalkboards from the past.
Whiteboards allow for interactive, digital instruction and use software that both students and educators can collaborate with. The lessons, presentations, and online content are also brought to life on whiteboards with the use of projectors, tablets, stands, and controllers. The products featured here are all used to enrich the interactive whiteboard learning experience in the modern K12 environment. MimioMimioBoardMade with a durable, magnetic, and dry-erasable surface, this whiteboard solution includes an integrated MimioTeach bar, which turns the MimioBoard surface into an interactive whiteboard. Epson BrightLink ProjectorsThis line of interactive projectors uses connectivity options to project onto any existing whiteboard, wall, or other smooth, light-colored, or hard surface.
SMART Technologies Inc. PolyVision Panasonic Bretford. 5 Innovative Mind-Mapping Tools For Education. What do you do when you have an elaborate project, assignment, or paper that needs to be quickly organized? Do you fire up Microsoft Word and whip up an outline? Do you pull out a pen and paper and start sketching? What if you could have the best of both options with a free online tool? It’s called ‘mind mapping’ (“Mind Map” is a trademark of the Buzan Organization .) and it’s basically a fun and intuitive way to visually organize your thoughts. Thanks to a recent article , I received an influx of mind-mapping web tools that I wanted to pass along to the Edudemic audience. XMind Definitely one of the easiest ways to embed a mind map into your blog or website.
The biggest feature to me is the ‘Pro’ feature which lets you record what an audience (or your classroom) says directly into the mind map as an .mp3. MindMeister MindMeister is a powerful tool that is great for mind-mapping on the go. The killer tool is far and away the ability to collaborate, though. iMindMap Sample From ThinkBuzan.
Four Smart Ways to Use Cell Phones in Class. Digital Tools Teaching Strategies Erin Scott By Jennifer Carey A good rule of thumb for any classroom use of cellphones: the lesson/activity must be engaging as well as productive. You don’t want technology for the sake of technology (and students aren’t going to be intrinsically fascinated with a device they use routinely when they’re outside of school). Here are some ideas: IN-CLASS POLLING/QUIZZING. IN-CLASS BACK-CHANNELING: Backchanneling refers to the use of networks & social media to maintain an online, real-time conversation alongside spoken remarks. Backchanneling can be a great way to give quiet students a voice, to introduce additional facts and insights during a lesson, or simply to encourage “conversation” during lecture or group readings when you don’t want to actually interrupt the presentation.
Poll Everywhere can also be used for this purpose. IN-CLASS READINGS AND HANDOUTS. ORGANIZING RESEARCH. Jennifer Carey teaches at Trinity Valley School in Ft. Related. Tips for Augmenting Whole-Class Discussions with Collaborize. Technology can enhance academic conversations, says Anna Des Roches, a community development officer for Collaborize Classroom. The American Association of School Librarians (AALS) agrees, naming Collaborize one of the "Top 25 Best Websites for Teaching and Learning in 2012.
" Blake Wiggs, a history and language arts teacher in North Carolina, often uses Collaborize to efficiently "organize classroom participants and sort their contribution to the discussion. " He likes that he can integrate audio or video clips and widgets into the discussion pages. Nico Saldana, a high school world history teacher, uses Collaborize to increase student participation: "Nobody can check out of a conversation because everyone is writing. " Collaborize: The Basics The free online Collaborize Classroom platform allows teachers to create password-protected multi-media discussion prompts in a couple minutes and has iPad and iPhone apps available.
Four Discussion Types on Collaborize Credit: Collaborize Classroom. Help Center - 20 Ways to Use Edmodo | 50 Education Technology Tools Every Teacher Should Know About. Technology and education are pretty intertwined these days and nearly every teacher has a few favorite tech tools that make doing his or her job and connecting with students a little bit easier and more fun for all involved. Yet as with anything related to technology, new tools are hitting the market constantly and older ones rising to prominence, broadening their scope, or just adding new features that make them better matches for education, which can make it hard to keep up with the newest and most useful tools even for the most tech-savvy teachers.
Here, we’ve compiled a list of some of the tech tools, including some that are becoming increasingly popular and widely used, that should be part of any teacher’s tech tool arsenal this year, whether for their own personal use or as educational aids in the classroom. Social Learning These tools use the power of social media to help students learn and teachers connect. Learning Lesson Planning and Tools Useful Tools. Educational Technology and Mobile Learning: Teachers Easy Guide to The Most Important Web Tools in Education.
When it comes to using web resources with our students, time plays a decisive role.It is next to impossible for a busy teacher restricted by curriculum constraints, day to day lesson preparations, assignment corrections, to mention but a few of his chores, to effectively search the web and find the adequate resources to share with his/ her students. Most people just do not have the time to learn all these technologies and some educators pick just one or two websites of interest and start exploring them.
This is definitely not the right thing to do particularly if you want to leverage the huge potential of technology into your classroom.There is, however, a simple roudabout to this problem. Look for educational technology blogs ( such as the one you are reading now ) and subscribe to their feeds to stay updated about the latest web tools to use in your instruction. 1- A List of The Best Video Editing Tools for Teachers 2- A List of The Best Digital Story Telling Tools for Teachers. Educational Technology and Mobile Learning: Top 20 LiveBinders you should not Miss. Digital bookmarking is a pivotal learning skill.
It does not only allow you to organize your information into one single platform accessible from anywhere with an internet connection but can also help you in your professional growth. Web2.0 technologies have made it way easier for us to control and curate the content we come across online. I definitely believe that without the power of bookmarking we would never be able to manage the huge influx of information Internet provides. I have already talked in a previous post about the benefits of bookmarking for us as teachers and learner and I said that bookmarking web tools: I am also recommending the following bookmarking tools for you : LiveBinder is one the best bookmarking web tools out there. A Great app for developing spelling. I've been a fan of SpellingCity.com for quite some time now and I was fascinated when I heard they had produced a free app.
For those of you who don't know about SpellingCity, the website enables learners or teachers to enter a word list and then automatically generate a range of interactive multimedia activities based around the words. The site automatically adds audio recordings of the words and example sentences to the activities it generates. There is a great range of activities that students can do within the site and they can generate certificates for their teacher or parent to prove they have done their homework. The app is in many ways very similar to the site. There are some ready made word lists and you just click on one and then click on the type of game or activity you want to play.
The app has six different activity types: Spelling TestMe - In the activity students have to spell out the words from the word list. Related links: Best Nik Peachey. Learnist: A Helpful Tool on the Road to Inquiry. The meaningful and careful use of technology is one of the most significant conversations in education today. When educators offer students greater access to knowledge through technology, and encourage them to use that knowledge to inquire about the world around them and beyond, they are providing students a chance to succeed in even the toughest conditions. I teach eighth- and tenth-grade English and sixth-grade Speech/Drama for Stockton Collegiate International Schools.
Our mission is to "offer the rigorous, relevant and practical International Baccalaureate (IB) curricula and methodology to urban students grades K-12 in order to prepare them for post-secondary education and global citizenship in the 21st century" and to "enable students to become literate, self-motivated, competent, lifelong learners by providing a multi-cultural, student- centered environment. " Although our school is only in its third year, we are already making a mark on the community. 3 Free (But Powerful) Presentation Tools For Teachers. Resources and Downloads for Online Learning. The 30 Best Web 2.0 Tools For Teachers (2012 Edition)
20 Blogs About Mobile Learning Worth Following. Video Conferencing from the Classroom. Web-Based Tech Tools-An Organized List. Lights, Camera, Learn: SchoolTube Strives to Be YouTube for K-12 Education. 50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom. Integrating the Web. Interesting Ways. 5 Ways You Should Integrate Digital Citizenship Into Your Classes. 9 Creative Storytelling Tools That Will Make You Wish You Were A Student Again. 14 Edtech Integration Tips & 20+ Resources for the School Year. For Dyslexic and Visually Impaired Students, a Free High-Tech Solution. Minneapolis autism teachers “blown away" by new classroom technology. 22 Top Blogging Tools Loved by the Pros.
How Blogging Can Improve Student Writing. The 35 Best Web 2.0 Classroom Tools Chosen By You. Web 2.0 Tools for Educators. 10 Free Tools to Help You Organize the Internet. Using @Evernoteschools for Lesson Planning. Glogster - join the visual communication network. 81 Interesting Ways to Use Google Forms in the Classroom. Using Dropbox in the Classroom. Moving to the cloud: how wrong can you be?