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FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Presidents’ Day is an American federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February–this year, February 20, 2023. It was originally established to honor George Washington, the first President of the United States, and expanded to also celebrate the birthdays and legacies of other U.S. Presidents, particularly Abraham Lincoln whose birthday is on February 12th.

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FEBRUARY 2, 2024

Every month, subscribers to our newsletter get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching. Common Core–Math Lesson Plans 141 pages, 20 projects, over 114 Common Core standards, for K-8. 33% off right now through February 3, 2024 How to Achieve Common Core with Tech is a four-volume series that focuses on using technology to meet Common Core standards in Language, Writing, Reading, Speaking/Listening (not yet available), and Math.

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JANUARY 26, 2024

In these 169 tech situations, you get practical strategies to address many classroom tech situations. Today’s tip: Fix computer with system restore Category: Problem-solving Q: My computer no longer runs right. I downloaded the auto-updates to my PC and it hasn’t worked right since. What do I do? System Restore is a recovery tool for Windows that allows you to reverse certain kinds of changes made to the operating system.

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DECEMBER 20, 2023

Chat GPT is popular among teachers for lots of reasons. For example: to explain concepts, demonstrate ideas, answer specific questions, and assess knowledge. When we asked the Ask a Tech Teacher team to apply it specifically to teaching physical education–not something we usually think of with tech tools–they came up with these great ideas: Using ChatGPT to Revolutionize PE Teaching: 5 Expert Strategies!

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DECEMBER 7, 2023

Over the next weeks, I’ll share ideas that will get you ready for Hour of Code. This includes (links are live on publication day) : An Overview of This Week — Dec. 5, 2023 Coding activities by grade — Dec. 6, 2023 9 Unusual Projects — (this post) Dec. 7, 2023 5 Unplugged Hour of Code Activities — Dec. 8, 2023 Coding–that geeky subject that confounds students and frightens teachers.

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DECEMBER 5, 2023

Traditionally, the hugely-popular Hour of code has been celebrated one week in December, but now, you can participate any time you want. This year so far: 1,706,394,983 hours in 180+ countries. at 8,620 events What is it Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to students on coding, programming, and why they should love it, designed to demystify that geeky subject that confounds students and teachers alike and show that anyone can learn the basics to be a maker, a creator, and an innovator.

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Robotics Computer Science EdTech Curriculum 221

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NOVEMBER 9, 2023

As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy! Q: My mouse stopped working. Do I need to buy a new one? A: Maybe, but try a few things first: Check the plugs. Is it still plugged in?

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Computer Curriculum Professor Technology 195

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NOVEMBER 3, 2023

ASCII art is text-based visual art that uses ASCII characters to create images. It is a fun and effective way to teach keyboarding because it requires students use a variety of different keys, including the symbols. Here’s a pumpkin I did for Halloween in about fifteen minutes: Are you suitably impressed? Here’s how I did it: Add a watermark of a picture you like, preferably a single image (I picked a pumpkin for Halloween) Type over it with appropriate letters (if you’re more

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OCTOBER 2, 2023

“Family physical education” refers to physical activities families do together that promote health and fitness. Why? How about: Bonding: an opportunity for shared experiences and mutual support. Healthy Lifestyle: healthy habits from a young age Quality Time: as a family Role Modeling: when children see parents value fitness, they are more likely to do the same Fun and Enjoyment: create happy memories.

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AUGUST 22, 2023

Fractions are not the easiest of math concepts to learn (or teach), yet are arguably one of the most oft applied to our daily lives. Teachers have long sought intuitive methods to teach fractions that are less frustrating than worksheets and more effective than rote drills. Luckily, there are a lot of online apps on offer that are accessible to students and make learning much easier than traditional methods.

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Mathematics Math Gamification Problem Solving 256

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AUGUST 7, 2023

When I first wrote this article seven years ago, remote teaching was something done on snow days, teaching from home short-changed student learning, and parents were too busy to get involved in their child’s education. So much has changed. Here’s an update on this popular post to reflect what my grad students tell me they now face. Education today is characterized by rapid technological advancements, globalization, and changing workforce demands.

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JULY 12, 2023

No one questions whether literature influences the formation of student personalities. It enhances cognitive abilities, emotional intelligence, moral and ethical development, identity formation, communication skills, social awareness, and creativity. It helps students to grow into well-rounded individuals with a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them.

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Critical Thinking Communications Creativity Curriculum 67

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JUNE 28, 2023

The popularity of bridge building as a school activity has fluctuated over the years, once a right of passage for 8th graders and then avoided. Recent years have seen a resurgence for some great reasons: Problem-solving skills: Bridge building requires you to identify and solve problems, such as how to make a bridge strong enough to support a certain weight or how to make a bridge that is aesthetically pleasing.

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Transportation Critical Thinking Problem Solving Communications 303

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JUNE 13, 2023

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: 5 Ways to Find Lost Files Category: Problem-solving One of the scariest things for students is not being able to find their file.

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MARCH 27, 2023

Succeeding in college is both easy and hard. It takes planning, drive, and dedication, but once you commit to the required changes, the payback is worth it. The first big tip: College is not like High School. Succeeding in the former in no way predicts success in the latter. With High School graduation close, college on the horizon, one of our Ask a Tech Teacher contributors put together a list of great tips and ideas to help you prepare for one of the biggest steps you can take to build your fu

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MARCH 17, 2023

Getting ready for St. Patrick’s Day? Try these fun websites with activities for different grade levels, different classes: Puzzle–St. Pat’s Puzzle Puzzle–St. Pat’s drag-and-drop puzzle Puzzle–St. Pat’s slide puzzle Puzzles and games Physical Education St. Patrick’s Day Activities from Elementary PE Teacher.com Resources for St. Pat’s Day from Education.com by grade and subject St.

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MARCH 14, 2023

Two math celebrations are coming up on March 14th : Pi Day and World Maths Day Pi Day Pi Day is an annual celebration commemorating the mathematical constant π (pi). Pi Day is observed on March 14 since 3, 1, and 4 are the three most significant digits of π in the decimal form. Daniel Tammet, a high-functioning autistic savant, holds the European record for reciting pi from memory to 22,514 digits in five hours and nine minutes.

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Math Mathematics Curriculum Professor 327

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MARCH 13, 2023

This is a topic every teacher I know is talking about. BAM Radio has a couple of podcasts you’ll enjoy: Why Some Educators Are Convinced Artificial Intelligence Can Make Teaching Less Stressful Millions of schoolchildren walked into their classrooms at the start of the academic year missing one crucial element that should have set them up for success: the prior knowledge they needed to take on a new grade level.

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MARCH 9, 2023

To students, knowing how to ‘compare and contrast’ sounds academic, not real world, but we teachers know most of life is choosing between options. The better adults are at this, the more they thrive. Common Core Standards recognize the importance of this skill by addressing it in over 29 Standards, at every grade level from Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade.

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Critical Thinking Problem Solving Argumentation Achievement 294

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MARCH 8, 2023

Memorizing word lists and testing on them doesn’t really work very well. Here are lots of websites that will make student academic and domain-specific word study more relevant and sticky. I’ve collected them into various categories–pick what works for you: Context Clues Game Context Clues Millionaire Flashcard Stash –collect words, view sentences and images Friendly Letter Maker Main Idea Battleship The Patchworker Using a table of contents Web-based Mad Libs Word Balloons Word

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MARCH 3, 2023

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: Software vs. Online Tools Category: Pedagogy Here are relevant criteria for evaluating software vs. online tools in your classroom: For more detail on comparing software and online t

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FEBRUARY 17, 2023

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: How to fix a tilted screen Category: Problem-solving Q: My screen is sideways 90 degrees.

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Problem Solving Curriculum Professor Teaching 313

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JANUARY 13, 2023

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: My desktop icons changed. Category: Problem-solving.

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Problem Solving Curriculum Computer Professor 273

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OCTOBER 24, 2022

I reprint this post every October, to remind all of us about the treachery of bullying. In October 2006, thirteen-year-old Megan Meier hung herself in her bedroom closet after suffering months of cyberbullying. She believed her tormentors’ horrid insults, never thought she could find a way to stop them, and killed herself. She’s not the only one. In fact, according to StopBullying.gov, 52 percent of young people report being cyberbullied and over half of them don’t report it to their parents.

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Curriculum Information Technology Schooling Physics 46

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

The first time I read about Unschooling , I ignored it. Surely, it was a fad that would go away. When I read about it a thousand more times, I dug into it. Inspired by the teachings of John Holt (1923–1985), this free range branch of homeschooling promotes learning through nonstructured, child-led exploration. There’s no set curriculum or schedule; students learn what interests them with guidance from involved adults.

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SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Students learn best when they are relaxed, happy, and feeling loved. It is challenging to include those characteristics in classes when you are concurrently trying to achieve school goals, comply with curriculum timelines, juggle parent concerns, and blend your lessons with those of colleagues. This is where mindfulness becomes important. It reminds teachers that the fulcrum for learning is the student’s emotional well-being.

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Curriculum Flexibility Teaching Achievement 281

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AUGUST 17, 2022

Every month or so, we share themed posters you can re-share on your website (with attribution), post on your walls, or simply be inspired. This month: Keyboarding. –for the entire collection of 65 posters, click here. Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum , K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum.

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JULY 25, 2022

A lot of teacher-authors read my WordDreams blog. In this monthly column, I share one of the most popular posts from the past month on my writer’s blog, WordDreams. . Tech Tips for Writers is an occasional post on overcoming Tech Dread. I’ll cover issues that friends, both real-time and virtual, have shared. Feel free to post a comment about a question you have.

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JULY 8, 2022

I update these suggestions every few years to remind teachers there are easy ways to techify your lessons even on a tight schedule. I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments about how you do this in your classes: Because I teach graduate classes for educators, I talk to lots of teachers all over the country. It’s become clear that for most of them, adding technology to their lessons means layering more work on top of their already overburdened lesson plans.

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JULY 4, 2022

It’s America’s birthday and I’m celebrating. My Army Sergeant son is in Japan–Okinawa. My Navy LT CDR daughter’s in the DC area. I thank both of them and all those soldiers who fought for America’s uncertain future so long ago. God be with all of us. I want to include all my efriends from Canada in the celebrations though I’m a few days late for Canada Day: July 1 is Canada Day.

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JUNE 10, 2022

Earlier this week , we posted activities for a summer school student program. Now, we’ll focus on you–what do you want to accomplish with your summer? I’ve collected the most popular AATT articles on how to spend your education time this summer. Pick the ones that suit your purposes: 6 Must-reads for This Summer–2020 edition.

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JUNE 5, 2022

World Environment Day is June 5th. I posted this article from Catherine Ross, Ask a Tech Teacher contributor, a year ago and it’s worth repeating. She has great suggestions on how to celebrate with children and students in a way that shows how to be responsible stewards for the only planet we have. I think you’ll enjoy her article: We live in a millennium where technology has disrupted many of the traditional systems and ways.

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MAY 30, 2022

I’m taking the day to honor our all soldiers on America’s Memorial Day. Without their sacrifice, where would we be?

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MAY 23, 2022

If you’re not familiar with Kiddom , you should be, especially in the changing environment of today’s classroom. Kiddom is an all-in-one education platform for remote or in-person learning or a hybrid of the two that provides a high-quality digital curriculum capable of integrating curriculum management, instruction, assessment, and communication tools into one location.

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MAY 3, 2022

Here are the most-read posts for the month of April. National Library Week April 3-9. Preparing for College or Career. Long-Term Benefits of Bilingual Education. How to Become a Tech Teacher. Tech Tools for Reading Fluency. Assistive Technology in Colleges. Resources to Teach Taxes. How to Make a Program Easy to Find. 18 Easter Websites and Apps. Earth Day Classroom Activities.

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APRIL 14, 2022

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: How to Make a Program Easy to Find.

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APRIL 7, 2022

This is such a great article on the benefits of bi-lingual education. Sure, we intuitively know what these are, but what are the real metrics? From an educator with a passion for her calling, see if you have any reasons you’d add: 4 Long-Term Benefits of Bilingual Education. Raising bilingual children is the norm in Singapore. From an early age, the children living in this multicultural city are exposed to a number of languages at home, in their preschools, and in their communities.

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