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

10 Ideas for Interactive Teaching

Engage Students with Interactive Teaching

      There are many ways that teachers can move beyond the age old practice of standing at the front of the room lecturing their students. Sometimes, a few minutes of this may be necessary, but a whole class period? No way! It is a hard habit to break, but this article written by Jenna Zwang gives 10 great ideas for engaging students in their learning. There are actually 100 suggestions, but the article focuses on the 10 she found to be the easiest to implement on a daily basis. Enjoy!

10 Ideas for Interactive Teaching Article

The Future of Education

The Future Starts Now

      The future of education relies on our willingness to integrate technology appropriately into what we teach our students. That is not to say that technology should be the center of our instruction, but when it is most effective, useful tools should be imbedded in our instruction. ICT skills will be the focus of the future and this great video outlines how and why we should all be paying attention to what's going on around us. 

It's Like Pintrest!

Scoop It

       This is a great resource for people looking to keep track of the things they find on the web. Similar to the very popular Pintrest platform, Scoop It allows users to copy links of things they find interesting online. They can group these by category and then share with others via social networking.

       If you don't feel like making your own Scoop It, at least search the other sites people have made. There are some very interesting topics and links that would otherwise be hard to find. Happy Scooping!

Wall Wisher

      Looking for a place for students to post comments, ask questions or share opinions? Wall Wisher is essentially a "bathroom wall" for teachers and students. One person creates the wall by posing a question or starting a conversation. They can then share the URL with anyone or post it online for others to access. The wall will eventually be covered in "Post-it" notes all centered around the original topic. 

    

      This is a great tool to use for gathering student feedback on class discussions, collect information on  nearly anything, brainstorm topics, have group discussions, watch and share videos, or a host of other great uses. There is no registration required and students only need to post their first names or even screen names. Easy to use and access, Wall Wisher is a simple and reliable tool to use in the classroom.

Integrating Non-Fiction in the New Common Core

        The above article appeared in the New York Times Learning Network section. It highlights the non-fiction emphasis that the new Common Core requires as part of a whole-school literacy initiative. This lesson uses informational text to teach students about the Common Core and what it means for them.
   
        The Learning Network structures their articles by including a topic that is interesting to students. They will then create a lesson designed around the article and include probing questions for students. This is a great resource for teachers looking to use informational text in a meaningful and relevant way. Check out all that the Learning Network has to offer at http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/.

A Flipped Classroom

What is a Flipped Classroom?

The concept of a Flipped Classroom has been spreading and many people are wondering what exactly that might look like. Don't worry! Teachers are not going away. Instead, teachers are finding ways to reach outside of the classroom and teach students at home... through the Internet. 

By making videos or recording lessons, teachers can have students learn important concepts at home before even coming to class. Similar to what college professors do when asking students to read a chapter before the lecture, this ensures students build background knowledge on the topic first. These recording should be short, informative and focused. Check out the infographic below to get an idea of what a Flipped Classroom could look like.

Created by Knewton and Column Five Media