Ask a Tech Teacher

OCTOBER 15, 2024

Ask a Tech Teacher has a passel of online resources to help you introduce, teach, and reinforce digital citizenship to your students. Here’s our long list–and click here for updates if you arrive at this page late: Avatars Copyrights and Digital Laws Curriculum Applied Digital Skills –all tech skills Google’s Be Internet Awesome –abbreviated course K-8, scaffolded, Ask a Tech Teacher (with projects) Cyberbullying Cybersecurity Cyber Patriot program –by the Air Force DigCit–General

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ED Surge

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

How often do you come in contact with a conspiracy theory? Maybe on occasion, when you flip through TV channels and land on an episode of “Ancient Aliens.” Or perhaps when a friend from high school shares a questionable meme on Facebook. How confident are you in your ability to tell fact from fiction? If you’re a teen, you could be exposed to conspiracy theories and a host of other pieces of misinformation as frequently as every day while scrolling through your social media feeds.

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Cool Cat Teacher

NOVEMBER 18, 2024

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Speech-to-text, audio, personal drawings and pictures, and writing about things kids love are all part of helping kids get excited about writing. In today's show, we talk to 15-year educator Randi Ahrndt about encouraging kids to get excited about writing as we discuss interactive writing strategies and one of the best free tools for teaching writing.

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Ask a Tech Teacher

DECEMBER 20, 2024

Here’s the outline for a seminar I teach in schools before the holiday break, to excite teachers about what they can accomplish “the second half” of the school year: Every year, I make New Year resolutions and ignore them. I don’t promise to fulfill them. I don’t even check my progress and revise as needed. I make-and-forget, check it off the New Year’s To Do list and move on.

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Speaker: Andrew Cohen, Founder & CEO of Brainscape

The instructor’s PPT slides are brilliant. You’ve splurged on the expensive interactive courseware. Student engagement is stellar. So… why are half of your students still forgetting everything they learned in just a matter of weeks? It's likely a matter of cognitive science! With so much material to "teach" these days, we often forget to incorporate key proven principles into our curricula — namely active recall, metacognition, spaced repetition, and interleaving practice.

Teaching

Ask a Tech Teacher

DECEMBER 9, 2024

A school-based makerspace is a hands-on, creative environment where students can explore STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and other interdisciplinary subjects. These spaces empower students to develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaborative skills while working on real-world projects. Key features are: Tools and Equipment : Basic Tools : Screwdrivers, hammers, pliers, and measuring devices.

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Ask a Tech Teacher

OCTOBER 17, 2024

Understanding how to use the internet has become a cornerstone issue for students. No longer do they complete their research on projects solely in the library. Now, there is a vast landscape of resources available on the internet. But with wealth of options comes responsibility for their use. As soon as children begin to visit the online world, they need the knowledge to do that safely, securely, responsibly.

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Ask a Tech Teacher

DECEMBER 10, 2024

Lou Holtz, the University of Notre Dames erudite ex-coach, entrusted with turning UND football players into graduates, once exhorted, How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser. High School is like the second half, and youre about to find out if youre a winner.

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Ask a Tech Teacher

OCTOBER 30, 2024

In about half the world–mostly those where people live under socialism, communism, dictators, or autocracies–law and order is decided for the people. In the 1700’s, when the brand new United States of America, newly liberated from the British aristocratic rule that relied on Kings and Queens, wrote its very first Constitution and Bill of Rights, it decided to establish a system of government by the people.

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ED Surge

NOVEMBER 11, 2024

Walberto Flores EdTech Coordinator, Highlands International School San Salvador Artificial intelligence has entered our classrooms — sometimes invited and other times not — leaving educators to ask essential questions about its implementation and impact. Teachers are exploring how AI can be used to redefine learning experiences, strengthen student-teacher relationships and support students as ethical AI users and creators.

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Mathematics, a subject steeped in abstract concepts, often poses challenges to students, especially those in grades 5-10. But imagine a bridge that transformed this intricate maze into an interactive adventure.

Math

Ask a Tech Teacher

NOVEMBER 5, 2024

As you prepare for the holiday break and then a new year, it’s a great time to think about resources available in your classes for students with special needs. Ask a Tech Teacher has a long list of online websites and apps for a variety of special needs , but if you’re looking for a good overview of general tips, check these out: Tips for Supporting Students With Special Needs Using Technology You might not realize that over 60% of students with special needs benefit remarkably from

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Ask a Tech Teacher

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

Education has come a long way since the focus on “reading, writing, ‘rithmetic” In Ask a Tech Teacher posts, we’ve covered many teaching strategies: Behavior Learning Theory Depth of Knowledge (DoK) Flipped Classroom Frayer Model Growth Mindset Habits of Mind Mindfulness Orton-Gillingham Project-based Learning (PBL) Socratic Method Standards-based Grading Understanding By Design Unschool VARK model Visible Learning Whole Brain Teaching Any of these might be perfect for yo

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Ask a Tech Teacher

OCTOBER 25, 2024

Three holidays are fast-approaching–Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. If you’re a teacher, that means lots of tie-ins to make school festive and relevant to students. Here are ideas for Halloween projects, lesson plans, websites, and apps ( check here for updated links ): Websites and Apps 30-day Halloween fitness challeng e Build a Jack-o-lantern (in Google Slides) Carve-a-Pumpkin from Parents magazine – Resolute Digital, LLC (app) Enchanted Learning Halloween games, puz

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ED Surge

NOVEMBER 18, 2024

Many people think of school nurses as the people in a school building responsible for patching up a scraped knee, confirming a fever and checking students for lice. It’s not that they don’t do those things. It’s that those tasks are only a very small part of what Eva Stone views as a significant role within a school. Stone, manager of district health at Jefferson County Public Schools, a large district in Louisville, Kentucky, with about 100,000 students, has served as a school nurse for more th

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ED Surge

OCTOBER 25, 2024

New federal survey data on the education workforce shows that a majority of schools had a tough time filling at least one fully certified teaching position this fall. Parsing education data into snack-sized servings. Public schools reported having six teacher vacancies on average in August, based on responses to the School Pulse Panel by the National Center for Education Statistics.

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ED Surge

OCTOBER 17, 2024

One of Shane Woods’ favorite memories as executive director of Girlstart, a nonprofit that aims to empower girls in the sciences, was as a participant taking her own goddaughter to the organization’s back-to-school extravaganza. Parsing education data into snack-sized servings. They zipped through activities with rockets and robots, and Woods asked her goddaughter — named Sailor — what she thought of it all when they were heading home.

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Ask a Tech Teacher

APRIL 30, 2024

Explore the benefits and drawbacks of AI in essay writing, including its impact on student learning. Unveil the evolving future of writing education with AI through these suggestions from the Ask a Tech Teacher team. AI and Writing Essays: Pros and Cons, How Will Students Learn to Write if an AI Writes It for Them? In the fast-changing digital world, integrating AI into education is both a breakthrough and a problem.

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Ask a Tech Teacher

NOVEMBER 25, 2024

Ask a Tech Teacher is officially on Thanksgiving break so I’m going to pop in here with two posts from our international team that just couldn’t wait: From Blank Page to First Chapter: A Beginner’s Guide on How to Start Writing a Book- – for the teacher-authors following Ask a Tech Teacher, a how-to primer on writing the book that rattles around in your head (see below) Top 5 Game Development Platforms for Young Coders: Building Skills with Fun –perfect for those still do

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Ask a Tech Teacher

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

Teaching the days before big holidays is challenging. Students and teachers alike are ready for a break. Both struggle to pay attention regardless of how innovative and engaging are the lesson plans. I’ve been there often. As a result, I’ve come up with fun ways to support learning while students power through the last few days of school.

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Ask a Tech Teacher

OCTOBER 24, 2024

A lot of teacher-authors read my WordDreams blog. In this monthly column, I share the most popular post from the past month on my writer’s blog, WordDreams : Surprisingly, 15-20% of the population has a language-based learning disability and over 65% of those are deficits in reading. Often, these go undiagnosed, written off as “s/he doesn’t like to read”.

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Ask a Tech Teacher

MARCH 15, 2024

St. Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on March 17th to honor St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, credited with bringing Christianity to the country. The day is marked by parades, wearing green clothing and accessories, traditional Irish music and dance, feasting, and the symbolic consumption of foods and beverages like corned beef, cabbage, and Irish stout.

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ED Surge

NOVEMBER 6, 2024

When I came out to my family during my first year of college in the early 2000s, my mom’s immediate concern extended beyond my safety and happiness to my future as an educator. She asked, “But what about your career?” as though living authentically meant I’d have to hide my queerness to succeed in teaching. In that moment, even before I entered my teacher preparation program, I confronted a troubling reality: in education, there would always be scripts I’d be expected to follow.

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Ask a Tech Teacher

NOVEMBER 8, 2024

National STEM Day is November 8, 2024, the unofficial holiday that celebrates science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education throughout the United States. Many add ‘art’ to the celebration for the acronym, STEAM. Here are some great ideas that remind your students of the excitement that is these core subjects: Ten Ways to Celebrate National STEM Day with NASA National STEM Day focuses on helping students advance in STEM fields, a priority of NASA as we continue to

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Ask a Tech Teacher

OCTOBER 29, 2024

Can a high school freshman be goal-oriented? Should they—or is this too early? Though many deliberate, no one yet has invented a time machine to unring the proverbial bell. And high school requires the ringing of many academic, social and economic bells. Many future-shaping decisions become final based on these four years. Zoe, like your sons and daughters, is thinking about which college she wants to attend.

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Ask a Tech Teacher

NOVEMBER 14, 2024

Gamification of Education This video is from a series I taught for school districts. It is now available for free, here on Ask a Tech Teacher: –summarize with NoteGPT Summary Jacqui Murray discusses the integration of technology in K-8 education, focusing on gamification to enhance learning. Highlights Gamification enhances learning by incorporating game elements into education.

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Ask a Tech Teacher

APRIL 17, 2024

Generative AI is an exploding influence in education with lots of potential but unknown outcomes. Most people focus on its impact on school research, lesson plans–that sort–but another piece isn’t considered often enough: its impact on student mental health. This next article from but we’ll do in this article from Education Week does Educators, teens differ on AI’s mental health effects Teens and educators hold divergent views on its mental health effects of AI, wit

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ED Surge

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

I began my teaching career as a Teach For America (TFA) Corps member in Jacksonville, Florida. I was part of a cohort of about 100 first-year educators, all united by a common mission: to serve under-resourced and underserved schools. Entering the classroom for the first time, I was filled with hope and passion, believing I could make a positive difference.

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Ask a Tech Teacher

JUNE 5, 2024

World Environment Day , celebrated annually on June 5th, is designed for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment. Established in 1972 by the United Nations General Assembly and first held in 1974, it has grown with participation from over 143 countries. Significance World Environment Day serves as a reminder of our collective responsibility to protect and preserve the environment.

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Ask a Tech Teacher

OCTOBER 18, 2024

In these 169 tech-centric situations, you get an overview of pedagogy—the tech topics most important to your teaching—as well as practical strategies to address most classroom tech situations, how to scaffold these to learning, and where they provide the subtext to daily tech-infused education. Today’s tip: Google Street View Category: Problem-solving Q: I can’t find enough detail about a geographic area we’re studying.

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ED Surge

NOVEMBER 26, 2024

Since the pandemic, the number of students who are missing class has risen. More than a quarter of students were “chronically absent,” meaning they had missed 10 percent of classes or more, during the 2021-2022 school year. That was a steep increase from the 15 percent of students missing that much class before the pandemic. In fact, absenteeism has become such a nationally notable problem that it was picked up by the White House in May.

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