EduClipper

It's like Pintrest...

 Check out EduClipper

    The concept of a pinboard, like the ever-so popular Pintrest, has been spreading on the Internet. Personally, I love Pintrest and I have no idea how I lived without it! I'm not sure if I really need 467 ways to make my own candles, but I do love all of the educational related things I have pinned over the last year. A new pinning site has emerged and it is completely centered around education. No need to sift through the latest crock-pot recipes to find a great Common Core related lesson. Check out EduClipper! And, yes, it is just as addictive!   

Keeping Creativity in the Common Core

How do we keep creativity with the the new Common Core?

       

      After a year of working to implement the new Common Core Learning Targets in middle school, many teachers have struggled to find ways to incorporate the fun in learning. With many heavily text based targets and more content than the old Illinois State Standards, how do we bring these targets to life for our students? 

      

     The idea of making learning fun and engaging is nothing new. The bigger question becomes how to bring those hands-on, interactive, multimedia projects and learning experiences into the new curriculum. 

     Here are some excellent resources for integrating creative, engaging, and meaningful teaching into the Common Core...

Ways to develop creative thinking in the Common Core

The P21 Common Core Toolkit - Great for integrating 21st century skills in the Common Core targets.

Creativity in the Common Core - I love Pintrest, and this is a great PinBoard of educational ideas.

The Common Core is Not the Problem, Nor the Solution

     

Create your own textbooks with iBooks Author

iBooks Author

     When you can't find exactly what you're looking for, the best thing to do is to make your own! Now, you can make an amazing iBook using iBook Author. This app is available through the Apple store and is basically a drag and drop application that allows you to add movies, links, photo galleries and more. I have used this program to make theme based text books for various subject areas. 

    The interactive capabilities of an iBook increases student engagement and allows teachers to make the content more interesting. Did you find a great movie clip on YouTube? Add it right to the book! Do you have a great link for an extension of the content? Add it to the book! There are so many wonderful ways teachers can integrate technology with their content areas and iBooks pave the way for the blending of creativity and content. Check out this link for 5 Great Uses for iBooks in the Classroom. 

Blogging in the Classroom

Blog? Why Blog?

    Blogging has exploded on the Web, and is beginning to pop up in education. Why should kids blog? It really is the same answer as to why kids should write. Writing expands vocabulary, builds literacy skills and helps students become creative producers of consumable content. As educators, we should be helping students to become more than consumers of social media. They can be producers of content as well. Blogging gives students an authentic audience and allows them to share their thoughts with more than just their teacher. Give your students access to the world and help them to build up their writing confidence and see how much they grow over time! 

    There are wonderful blogging sites that are easy to use and take the technological difficulties out of the process. Google's Blogger is simple and anyone with a Google account already has a Blogger account. For safe and simple blogging, KidBlogs is a wonderful resource and is FREE to teachers. 

Above and Beyond - Using the 4 C's

Why Do We Want to Use the 4 C's in Education?

     The Four C's, or 21st Century Super Skills, should be at the center of all instruction, whether that instruction includes technology or not. As educators, it is our responsibility to prepare our students for the future. The 4 C's focus on communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. Why use these 4 C's as guidelines for classroom instruction? Take a look at this great video about why we need to foster these skills and prepare the next generation of leaders and thinkers.

Teachers Embrace Digital Learning

163 Questions to Write or Talk About

Reading and Writing with the New York Times

     The New York Times does a fabulous job of supporting education by creating lessons centered around the Common Core and editorial or news pieces. This article by The Learning Network complies 163 thought provoking questions for middle and high school students linked to articles and Common Core targets. These can be used as engaging writing prompts, discussion starters or as non-fiction informational text to support a piece of fiction about the same concept. I love this website and it never ceses to amaze me!

163 to Write or Talk About Article