User Generated Education
DECEMBER 5, 2014
'This morning I was thinking about the things that all young people should know how to do regardless of income, geographical location, life goals, etc. I started a list – see below. Some have “always” been true – some are unique to this century of learning. Let me know of any other universal skills you believe young people should know how to do.
The Innovative Educator
OCTOBER 15, 2014
'Guest post by Michelle Loucas No one enjoys boredom. It is an uncomfortable state, leaving one to cast about for relief. If you Google "boredom" and "school," you will find numerous entries about the boredom "epidemic" in our schools and oodles of "boredom-busting strategies" to eradicate this outbreak. The essence of these cures is to "surround them with wonder"-- make schooling more entertaining so that kids will stop fidgeting and absorb wha
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Technology Tidbits
NOVEMBER 21, 2014
'Well, it''s that time of year again for my favorite and most robust list on the top 100 Sites/Apps of the year. As w/ the previous year''s list, more and more mobile apps are making the list as mobile learning continues to be the rising trend in education. However, that''s not to say that there isn''t a good amount of websites and Learning Management Systems showing up as well.
Science Teaching Junkie
DECEMBER 31, 2014
I'm very excited about a new vocabulary game I'm working on! It's called Hump Day Hedbanz and is inspired by this commercial: Get your students excited about vocabulary review and bring your word walls to life. Keep your eyes out - it's coming soon! You can really "sell this" to your students by incorporating it into your weekly or biweekly routine on Wednesdays.
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.
CTE Learning
DECEMBER 11, 2014
Coding and 3D Video Game Design Course One of our Coding and 3D Video Game Design customers, Mr. Ali chose to use the Hour of Code as part of his kickoff for this year for his game course at Northeast High School in Philadelphia. Again this year the Northeast High students will be taking part in a career simulation using the Coding and 3D Video Game Design course.
STEM Education Central brings together the best content for STEM education professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
STEMx
MARCH 26, 2014
by Margaret Ashida, director of the STEMx network. If you ask five people to define STEM education, you’ll probably get five different answers. The reality is there is no single definition! The STEMx network thinks about it this way: STEM 1.0 = the acronym for the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics – each important in its own right.
The Innovative Educator
MARCH 23, 2014
'Me and my mother I was at a large conference in the fall when the presenter asked the audience of more than 1000 educators to say the first word that comes to mind when thinking of high school. As if rehearsed for church choir, the audience responded. Their answer? BORED! I was thinking, wow! We all know this truth yet seem to accept it as just the way things are.
The Innovative Educator
JULY 9, 2014
'Alex Laubscher and mentor Mike King at MoCCA Fest Alex Laubscher is a cartoonist who I met this year when his mother brought him to New York City for MoCCA Fest which is an art festival for illustrators. By the age of 15 Alex developed an extensive network of others who share his love for the zine culture and illustrating. Alex connected and developed relationships with some of the leaders in his field via Instagram.
The Innovative Educator
JUNE 1, 2014
'@InnovativeEdu Balance is key. — Herman Miller EDU (@HermanMillerEDU) May 28, 2014 The above tweet was sent to me in response to my post explaining why innovative educators should look down on upon a new video called, "Look Up." But I disagreed with this balance-seeking Tweeter. "Balance is key" is a common refrain heard by innovative educators and their students.
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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.
User Generated Education
DECEMBER 1, 2014
'Mrs. Lisa Marie Blaschke, Mr. Chris Kenyon, and Dr. Stewart Hase contacted a group of us due to our interest in heutagogy for the purpose of writing a chapter in an edited book. This past week, because of their hard work, this book has been published through Amazon. It is titled Experiences in Self-Determined Learning and can be found at [link].
The Innovative Educator
JUNE 22, 2014
'Guest Post by Vicki Davis Editor’s note: Vicki Davis just wrote a new book called, Reinventing Writing. I asked her if she could contribute a post to The Innovative Educator explaining specifically how social media has reinvented writing. This is that post. As hall of fame baseball player, Babe Ruth said, “Yesterday’s home runs won’t win tomorrow’s games.
The Innovative Educator
APRIL 16, 2014
'It’s not uncommon for today’s children, brought up in a fast-paced, digital world, to become bored and uninterested when visiting cultural institutions. It doesn’t have to be that way though. Sometimes the first step to enjoying art is to look forward to a museum visit as something that is fun. Social media can provide a great way to engage young people during a trip to museum, landmark, or other cultural institution.
The Innovative Educator
AUGUST 3, 2014
'When I talk to students these days they tell me that when they want to learn something they're interested in, it usually is not teachers or parents they turn to. It’s Google , YouTube, or to others they find online ( aka their PLN ) who engage in their activities of interest. These kids aren’t just playing on the computer either. They mean serious business.
The Innovative Educator
NOVEMBER 19, 2014
'The good news is that more and more often students are presenting at education conferences. The bad news is that they’re doing a poor job and it’s their teacher’s fault. Don’t be a teacher who let’s your students give a bad presentation. Before you have your students present make sure you’ve prepared them with these tips. I want more ».
The Innovative Educator
MARCH 19, 2014
'In his recent article, " 14 things that are obsolete in 21st century schools ," Ingvi Hrannar Ómarsson, gives innovative educators, students, and parents some food for thought in their own schools. When I read the article, I couldn''t help but think that an excellent activity would be to turn the article into a quiz for school staff, students, and parents.
The Innovative Educator
DECEMBER 7, 2014
'Whether workshops, panels, keynotes, or classes there is one mistake presenters should never make. It is a mistake I learned to never ever do from a wise lady early in my career. I've heeded this advice and seen the negative ramifications of those who do not. Ramifications such as a frustrated, unsatisfied, and anxious audience as well as less than favorable reviews and feedback.
The Innovative Educator
FEBRUARY 2, 2014
'Crossposted at Smartblogs Districts across the nation are determining teacher effectiveness in part using a rubric created by Charlotte Danielson. The rubric contains four domains and 22 components. You can download the full evaluation instrument here. The framework below outlines exactly what administrators will look for when evaluating teacher practice.
The Innovative Educator
FEBRUARY 9, 2014
'Districts across the nation are asking teachers to provide artifacts and evidence of effectiveness aligned to the four domains of the Charlotte Danielson framework. ( You can download the full evaluation instrument here.) This model provides an incredible opportunity to do something that is rare in the teaching profession. It provides an opportunity for teachers to release the great work they are doing from the classroom and share it with the world.
The Innovative Educator
JANUARY 5, 2014
'Guest post by Computer Teacher & Tech Coordinator, Chris Casal | Cross posted at The Casal Operating System Editor''s note: Chris Casal is a member of the NYC DOE Social Media Advisory Team. His insights have helped inspire and guide teachers in the effective use of social media in the classroom. Here''s how he does it. I am often asked about how we use "social media" here at PS 10.
The Innovative Educator
JUNE 4, 2014
'As I shared earlier this year the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) created social media guidelines for students 13+ with students, teachers, and parents. Students said they wanted to see the guidelines as infographics. Teachers and parents wanted guides. So. The NYC DOE gathered together students, teachers, and parents to create what they requested.
The Innovative Educator
MAY 4, 2014
'This week I had the pleasure to speak on a panel to career-minded students at the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation's annual conference. Our panel consisted of four experts familiar with social media who shared advice about what to do when it comes to how to best use Facebook, Twitter and other digital platforms. The main message as reported in the Staten Island Advance : Think before you post, tweet. and curse.
The Innovative Educator
JUNE 8, 2014
'The Innovative Educator in the Social Media Booth at NYSCATE 13 As the 13/14 school year comes to a close, it's time to think about what events and conferences to attend for the next year. While I certainly won't be attending all these conferences below are my top picks listed in chronological order. They include a link to the conference, brief description, approximate dates (if they are not yet scheduled) based on previous years and non-member, full costs (some are estimates based on
The Innovative Educator
JULY 13, 2014
'Editor’s note: This guest post from Chris Casal started as a comment on “ Filtering social media in schools because it’s a ‘distraction’ ” which appeared on Scott McCleod’s Dangerously Irrelevant blog. Social media is no different than pencil and paper. I doodled a lot in the margins of my physics book. It wasn’t Twitter and Facebook that made me doodle but I doodled nonetheless.
The Innovative Educator
MAY 18, 2014
'Mozilla, the non-profit that created Firefox, has created tools and resources to educate and empower people to understand the architecture, culture and citizenship of the web. The effort stems from a framework of skills and competencies–known as the web literacy map that addresses everything from basic web navigation and writing code to understanding the consequences of sharing data online and collaborating with others.
The Innovative Educator
OCTOBER 1, 2014
'Clay Shirky author and professor of media studies at New York University, recently penned a guest article for the Washington Post sharing why he decided to ban technology in his class. He explains how it was challenging to be more interesting than the devices. The following quote captures some of his thinking: “The practical effects of my decision to allow technology use in class grew worse over time.
The Innovative Educator
JANUARY 26, 2014
'While it is no longer unusual for teachers to embrace and understand the value of personal learning networks, few are supporting their students in doing the same. I went on a search for educators involved in this work a s part of a chapter I am writing for a book on the topic of student liberation being released by Steve Hargadon later this year, In the below Q&A you will get a look at the insights from one of these educators.
The Innovative Educator
SEPTEMBER 24, 2014
'By Chris Casal + Lisa Nielsen Cross posted at [link] Innovative educators know first hand that social media like Twitter, Facebook, Google, and Instagram can be a powerful tool for teaching, learning, leading, and strengthening the home-school connection. In many cases though, others may need to be brought on board. Especially when parents are expressing concerns and unsure of how a platform can be used successfully.
The Innovative Educator
DECEMBER 21, 2014
'Innovative educator Samantha Stouber uses the NYCDOE student-friendly social media guidelines as part of her efforts to teach digital literacy to her students. The guidelines provide a roadmap for to use digital media effectively. For parents and staff there are guides. For students, the guidelines are in infographic format. As a reminder, Stouber printed out the guidelines and infographic to create this great visually teen-pleasing bulletin board.
The Innovative Educator
OCTOBER 12, 2014
'It's hard to believe that one of the top tools for learning as recognized by the Center for Learning &Performance Technologies is blocked in many schools today. Fortunately, innovative educators are resilient souls. If they can't get the learning to their students, the old fashioned way, they'll find another. In this case, the tool we're talking about is YouTube.
User Generated Education
NOVEMBER 26, 2014
'A recent interest of mine has been the Growth Mindset. I have blogged and presented on this topic: The Educator and the Growth Mindset. The Educator with a Growth Mindset: A Staff Workshop. Growth Mindset: Personal Accountability and Reflection. How Educators Can Assist Learners in Developing a Growth Mindset. Due to my interests, Carol Reiley contacted me about her initiatives about growth mindsets.
The Innovative Educator
JANUARY 15, 2014
'While places like New Jersey, who the New York Daily News recently reported , have passed a bill requiring schools to teach acceptable use of social media, cyber safety, cyber security, ethics, and cyberbullying, the NYC Department of Education goes even further. As evidenced in their newly released student social media guidelines , they recognize the importance of social media beyond just using social media responsibly.
The Innovative Educator
JULY 2, 2014
'More and more schools are realizing that Google Chromebooks are the answer to updating outdated schools. Unfortunately though, in many cases they are making purchases for large scale deployment with little investment toward preparation for implementation issues or knowledge of where to turn to connect with others who have had experience in Chromebooks (and Google Apps for Ed) deployment.
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