Jason deCaires Taylor: An underwater art museum, teeming with life Flip This Library: School Libraries Need a Revolution School libraries need a revolution, not evolution One of the biggest business battles of our time is between Microsoft and Google. The two have very different business models. Microsoft believes that if they build it, we will come—and buy their product. Google’s approach is different: if they build it, we will integrate it into our lives. What does this have to do with school libraries? School libraries are like Microsoft (without the revenue, of course). Sorry folks, but the old paradigm is broken. Last year, when I thought of revising my book Taxonomies of the School Library Media Program (Hi Willow, 2000), I realized that I had pushed the traditional model of school libraries about as far as it could go. What has to happen for school libraries to become relevant? The learning commons also includes an experimental learning center, which also occupies a physical and virtual space. What does this new learning commons look like? Do that 180-degree flip How? Need some more examples?
33 Digital Tools for Advancing Formative Assessment in the Classroom I came across a great blog post the other day – Formative Assessments Are Easier Than You Think – that told the firsthand account of a teacher, Steven Anderson, who implemented formative assessment in his classroom. He used a sticky-note version of an exit ticket to elicit evidence of student learning and in his words, “what a difference that made.” Formative assessment is ‘easier than you think’ and with all the digital tools and apps now available for mobile devices it’s even easier. We’ve shared some digital tools before and with the five tools that Steven shared combined with our earlier suggestions there are now 33 digital tools that we’ve uncovered that are free or inexpensive and help teachers implement formative assessment in their classrooms. Here they are: A few of Steven’s discoveries: Lino – A virtual corkboard of sticky-notes so students can provide questions or comments on their learning. Poll Everywhere – Teachers can create a feedback poll or ask questions. Pick Me!
The Flipped Learning Process Visually Explained April 2, 2015 After yesterday’s post on “Flipped Learning Resources” one of our readers emailed us this beautiful visual outlining the six main steps involved in the creation of a flipped classroom. These steps include: planning, recording, sharing, changing, grouping, and regrouping. Read the graphic for more details on each of these steps. As a refresher for those who are not yet familiar with the concept of a flipped classroom. Flipped learning or Flipped classroom or is a methodology, an approach to learning in which technology is employed to reverse the traditional role of classroom time. via Daily Genius Courtesy of eLearning Infographics
Indigenous Knowledge: not a separable area of knowledge | Activating TOK (by Eileen Dombrowski, from OUP blog) It’s easy to miss the point entirely when treating Indigenous Knowledge in TOK. It’s not a special “category” of knowledge, even though it is listed in our syllabus in parallel with other areas of knowledge. Clustering up indigenous groups across the world to look at their knowledge does not enable us to treat that knowledge as separate or separable from other areas of knowledge. I’m a big fan of treating Indigenous Knowledge — but specifically as a particular cultural synthesis of other areas of knowledge and as a cultural perspective within and upon the other areas. Today I’d like to bring attention to three current topics that clearly deal with Indigenous Knowledge but, on consideration, deal equally with history, anthropology, and archeology. 1. These selected articles from the Canadian Broadcasting Company provide background and arguments: 2. • “Franklin exhibition in London features shipwreck items, Inuit artifacts”, CBC News. 3. Like this:
10 TED Talks Every Art Teacher Should Watch Hopefully, when I tell you I have been watching Ted Talks non-stop for a month, you know I am talking about the short, inspiring videos and not the rude, crude talking bear. TED Talks started back in 1984 when a conference was held for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. Speakers were challenged to present powerful speeches in under 18 minutes. Since then, it has grown into a national movement with one mission– to spread ideas. My first TED talk happened to be by Matt Cutts with his challenge to do something new for 30 days. There are lots of “Top 10 Ted Talk” lists out there, so I am going to keep this one focused on the talks that spoke to me as an Art Teacher. 1. I have shown this 10-minute talk in my middle school classroom to help my students understand that when you experience a setback, you can quit or you can adapt. 2. Jarrett Krosoczka is a successful author and illustrator of children’s books. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. I spent all 6 minutes of this video glued to the screen. 8. 9.
Flipping the Library: Tips from Three Pros | The Digital Shift 2013 Through the use of innovative technologies and online resources, school libraries can now be available to students wherever—and whenever—they need them. “Flipped” or blended learning offers students the power of personalized instruction, through a mix of virtual and face-to-face interactions, at a student’s own pace. Embracing this concept is a must for student engagement and the future of the profession, say school librarians Joyce Valenza, Brenda Boyer, and Michelle Luhtala. The powerhouse trio of experts shared their thoughts on the concept during “Flipped School Libraries,” a rapid-fire, dynamic session during The Digital Shift: Reinventing Libraries (#TDS13) webcast on October 16, in which they exchanged tips, inspiration, motivation, and their favorite tech tools. “The library has to be flipped. In the classroom, Valenza notes, the flipped model frees up time to be used interactively on problem-based learning, and turns the 100-plus-year-old instruction model on its head.
The Best 8 Web Tools for Doing Formative Assessment in Class February 25, 2015 Formative assessment, as we have agreed elsewhere, is assessment for learning which is completely different from summative assessment, which is assessment of learning. The insights gained from formative assessments are usually used to decide on the next instructional steps and also inform teachers as to the additional opportunities needed to ensure students' success. Examples of formative assessment include: assigning projects and performances, giving writing assignments, and asking questions. There are a variety of ways to do formative assessment in class and this post features some interesting examples of formative assessment techniques. You can also draw on technology to formatively assess your students and gather feedback from them. 1- Today’s Meet This is an excellent tool to use with students to gather instant feedback on their learning or poll them on matters related to what you teach them. 2- Socrative 3- Infuse Learning 4- iClicker 5- Poll Everywhere
It's Never Too Late to Flip! As the upper school librarian at the Bullis School in Potomac, Md., a northwest suburb of Washington, D.C., I’m viewed as a valued resource by teachers who are preparing to embark on research projects with their students. Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of spending more than a single class period with students, so it is important that I use the time well. Toward that end, I have developed a set of tools that allows me to optimize my time with them by “flipping” what are traditionally viewed as classroom tasks (lectures) with what are traditionally viewed as homework tasks (researching and writing). While assignments vary, and, therefore, so do my presentations, I typically have no more than 50 minutes to lay out everything to students. Tips and How-To’s Over the past few years, I’ve come up with a short list of suggestions to assist others who are beginning to add some flipped learning elements to their practice. And here is one for AP U.S. The Flipped Learning Network Kari M.
How Early Academic Training Retards Intellectual Development Source: Google Image approved for reuse In my last post I summarized research indicating that early academic training produces long-term harm. Now, in this post, I will delve a bit into the question of how that might happen. It's useful here to distinguish between academic skills and intellectual skills—a distinction nicely made in a recent article by Lillian Katz published by the child advocacy organization Defending the Early Years. article continues after advertisement Distinction between academic and intellectual skills, and why the latter should precede the former Academic skills are, in general, tried and true means of organizing, manipulating, or responding to specific categories of information to achieve certain ends. Intellectual skills, in contrast, have to do with a person’s ways of reasoning, hypothesizing, exploring, understanding, and, in general, making sense of the world. Now, here’s the point to which I’m leading. What a finding! (3) Attempts to push reading can backfire.
Ideas y recursos para poner tu clase al revés con la 'flipped classroom' - aulaPlaneta Conocida también como pedagogía inversa y clase al revés, la flipped classroom apuesta por invertir el orden tradicional de la clase, cambiando su organización. Con este sistema de enseñanza-aprendizaje semipresencial, el orden de las actividades se altera y los niños empiezan el proceso de aprendizaje fuera del aula, para luego trabajar los conocimientos y ponerlos en práctica con el profesor. El enfoque de esta metodología es revolucionario, pero la aplicación en clase es muy sencilla. Te damos algunas herramientas y recursos para que experimentes y des la vuelta a tu clase. Las clases tradicionales suelen comenzar con una presentación de la teoría en el aula que luego el alumno debe afianzar por su cuenta con las tareas, deberes de estudio o trabajos que el profesor le indique. Entre los beneficios de la flipped classroom destaca la atención personalizada y directa que el docente puede ofrecer a sus alumnos en clase, controlando su aprendizaje de forma individual. 1.
Seven Tech Tools for Fast Formative Assessment by Curtis Chandler You and I would be hard-pressed to find a teacher who’s against formative assessment. We would have better luck finding someone who hates whales or pizza. In theory, every teacher is regularly designing and deploying a variety of outcomes-based learning activities that help the teacher determine where students are in the learning process. And then adjusting their instruction accordingly (Greenstein, 2010). But in practice, formative assessment is more like proper diet and regular exercise—just another one of those things that we all know is important, but few of us have the time and focus to achieve. In education, there is nothing—not even technology—that is a silver bullet. That’s why I’m always on the hunt for free tech-tools that help me engage students, track their individual achievement, and provide them with opportunities for improvement. 1. Geddit is a free, powerful tool that works on any web-enabled device. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Make Time for Formative Assessment