Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 24, 2016

A topic I don’t cover enough in Ask a Tech Teacher is how seniors handle the onslaught of technology in their lives. Thankfully, Beata GREEN, Director of HeadChannel Ltd. , London-based bespoke software development company, has experience in this area and was willing to share her ideas. Beata is responsible for overall strategic direction and overseeing the company’s continuing growth, building closer client relationships and maintaining best working practices.

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Communications Curriculum Technology Physics 181

Amy Brown Science

AUGUST 30, 2016

It is so easy to get kids excited about science! We get to "play" with so many cool gadgets and gizmos in our lab activities. Why not make the FIRST day of school the BEST day of school for our students? Let them know on the very first day that your class is going to be great! I have developed three lab station "first day of school" icebreaker activities that I think your science students will love.

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Chemistry Biology Physics Science 100

User Generated Education

AUGUST 26, 2016

I have written before about the beginning of the school year, Beginning the School Year: It’s About Connections Not Content. I begin all classes focusing on having the students make connections between each other and with me. I want students to learn about one another in a personal way. I want to learn about my students so my instructional strategies can be more personalized and tailored to their needs and interests.

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Schooling Problem Solving Learning Math 85

The Innovative Educator

AUGUST 7, 2016

When I was pursuing my Masters degree in education back in the 90s, we spent time figuring out how to best set up a classroom. Traditional rows were out. Pods of four were in. But there were many other options too: the circle, the horseshoe, desks on the perimeter of the room. Teachers were thinking about what would suit their teaching style and foster the best learning.

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Teaching Learning Education Education 73

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

Wisconsin Science and STEM Education

AUGUST 22, 2016

I created the three-dimensional rubric below in an attempt to help get the ball rolling. I have honestly not yet seen a rubric where the creator claims it is three-dimensional. I’m not sure I’m there yet, so critique away! Most rubrics I’ve found only focus on the practices, which I agree is a good place to start ( see the resource list at the end of this post ).

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Chemistry Science Sciences Biology 52

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 8, 2016

Here are eight of the top Digital Storytelling articles according to Ask a Tech Teacher readers: 9 Best-in-Class Digital Storytelling Tools. Storyboard That–Digital Storyteller, Graphic Organizer, and more. Digital Storytelling Apps. Digital Storytelling Websites. Common Core Writing–Digital Quick Writes. 42 Great Story Websites You’ll Love. Monday Freebies #28: My Storybook.

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Curriculum Professor Technology Teaching 167

Science Teaching Junkie

AUGUST 2, 2016

As secondary educators, our list of responsibilities seems to grow exponentially every year. More paperwork, more tasks, more meetings. Why do we view communication as such a daunting task? I believe it has a lot to do with the amount of time it can take. On several occasions, I've contacted a parent at the beginning of my conference period, only to have the BELL end the conversation!

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Communications Schooling Flexibility Elementary 52

User Generated Education

AUGUST 6, 2016

Too often teachers are passive recipients of professional development rather than being active agents of their own development and change. Several recent reports have indicated that teacher professional development, as it is being implemented in most schools, is ineffective and a waste of time and money. Several studies over the past few years that have found professional development to be largely ineffective or unhelpful for teachers.

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Schooling Achievement Teaching Education 80

The Innovative Educator

AUGUST 21, 2016

I was excited to check out this Tweet from @ TaliCSM the ed director at Common Sense Education about how to ethically respond to a student friend-request. It took me to educator Keegan Korf’s blog post where in short, she shared that she only “friends” former students, and warns them that inappropriate behavior will result in defriending. Keegan’s simple and sensible policy mirror’s the practice of many educators I work with, know, and respect.

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Education Education Learning 69

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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

Technology Tidbits

AUGUST 31, 2016

Paperscorer is a fantastic new mobile (iOS/Android, or Chrome plug-in) app that allows educators and students to assess their learning in real-time. The way this works is a teacher creates an assessment/quiz in Google Forms/Documents and then create and print out a unique answer form/bubble sheet for each student. The student then uses those forms to answer the question and take the assessment/quiz.

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Education Education Learning 49

STEMx

AUGUST 27, 2016

Dave Ferrero, Senior Program Officer for Education at Vulcan Inc., and his team have released project-based STEM resources for teachers and grants to incentivize early adopters. These “DIY project guides” were created by recipients of the Allen Distinguished Educator Award, a program that recognizes teachers who have developed innovative ways to teach computer science, engineering, and entrepreneurship.

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Computer Science Economics Innovation Creativity 40

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 30, 2016

One of my new favorite online writing tools is BoomWriter. It is a free group writing website for teachers where their students can develop and enhance their writing, reading, vocabulary, and peer assessment skills through three collaborative tools. I won’t go into detail today–that’ll come later–but I did want to share this humorous video I got from them about the Pre-Conference–that meeting teachers have with the principal before he comes in to observe your class.

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Curriculum Creativity Professor Teaching 160

Amy Brown Science

AUGUST 10, 2016

These tips will serve you well your entire teaching career! Learning is a life-long experience. We are never too young or too old to learn new things. After teaching for 31 years, I am still learning how to be a better teacher. Along the way I had wonderful mentors and colleagues who helped me develop my teaching skills, and I discovered a few things for myself as well.

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Science Sciences Teaching Schooling 130

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These easy-to-use design briefs outline student objectives, challenges, and materials needed to complete each 30-minute to 4-hour lesson. ITEEA’s Integrative STEM curriculum, Engineering byDesign, includes many more standards driven hands-on activities just like these!

STEM

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 4, 2016

Every month, subscribers to Ask a Tech Teacher get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching. August 1-10. 169 Real-World Ways to Put Tech into Your Class NOW. get 10% off with coupon code SUBSCRIBERSPECIAL. 169 Real-World Ways to Put Tech Into Your Class Now provides 1) an overview of the tech topics most important to your teaching, and 2) practical strategies to address common classroom tech problems.

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Computer Curriculum Professor Teaching 160

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 26, 2016

Primary schoolers learn about money. The only way to really ‘get it’ is by repetition. Here’s a list of websites to provide redundancy for each type of learner: Brain Pop Learn about Money. Cash Out. Cashtivity. Coin Counting. Coin games —from US Mint. Count Money. Counting Money. Face on money. Face on money –from Lunapic; lots of options.

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Primary Math Curriculum Professor 158

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 19, 2016

Whether you teach habitats in second grade or Middle School, understanding how animals survive in their corner of the world is critical to a well-rounded perspective on life on planet Earth. Animals evolve or disappear based on their ability to adapt to the environment. Here are eight resources to encourage discovery of the amazing and varied worlds that surround Earth’s animals: Build a Habitat .

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Teaching Geography Computer Science 157

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 1, 2016

I get a lot of questions from readers about what tech ed resources I use in my classroom so I’m going to take a few days this summer to review them with you. Some are edited and/or written by members of the Ask a Tech Teacher crew. Others, by tech teachers who work with the same publisher I do. All of them, I’ve found well-suited to the task of scaling and differentiating tech skills for age groups, scaffolding learning year-to-year, taking into account the perspectives and norms of

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Curriculum Computer Professor Technology 157

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 18, 2016

If you’re like me–and 20% of US schools–when you think of ‘online slideshow tool’, you think of Haiku Deck. And now, your favorite tool just got better. Haiku Deck Classroom offers an easy way for educators to add and manage student accounts, integrate with Google Classroom and other CMS systems, sign in through Google, share projects to a classroom gallery, and more.

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Education Education Schooling 156

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 22, 2016

I get a lot of questions from readers about what tech ed resources I use in my classroom so I’m taking a few days this summer to review them with you. Some are edited and/or written by members of the Ask a Tech Teacher crew. Others, by tech teachers who work with the same publisher I do. All of them, I’ve found well-suited to the task of scaling and differentiating tech skills for age groups, scaffolding learning year-to-year, taking into account the perspectives and norms of all stakeholders, w

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Curriculum Technology Teaching Schooling 155

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 31, 2016

An LMS — Learning Management System — is a digital tool that tracks a wide variety of student-teacher interactions such as homework, grading, sharing of resources, parent communication, assessments, and more. It allows teachers to create, distribute and track class materials anywhere, on any device. That means it’s accessible from school or home, with any platform (including Macs, PCs, Chromebooks, and tablets).

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Data Analytics Accessibility Communications Mobile Learning 153

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 10, 2016

C-STEM Studio is a California A-G approved curriculum and turn-key solution for teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics through computing and robotics. This web-based scalable program is available for elementary through high school students and can last anywhere from four weeks to a year. As Calvin Chen, Assistant Director of the UC Davis Center for Computing and STEM Education who offers this program, states simply: “O ur goal is to get kids interested in math and robot

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Robotics Math STEM Computer 153

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 5, 2016

BloomBoard is a professional development website for teachers and administrators. On the teacher side , educators learn, share, and discuss teaching ideas. The resources–including over 10,000 articles, videos, lesson plans, and more–are clear, easy-to-navigate, and user-friendly, with opportunities to collaborate with other teachers. What truly makes this educator-oriented site unique is that teachers can earn topical micro-credentials that can be used by their school district or st

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Curriculum Mathematics Education Education 153

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 17, 2016

Here are the top geography tips according to Ask a Tech Teacher readers: 14 Ways to use Scribble Maps. Lesson Plans: Where Did I Come From? 149 Websites for K-8 Geography/Geology. Google Street View. Sponge Activities for Geography. A Virtual Tour of America–Via Biplane. The Power of Symbols–What does the word ‘Turkey’ mean? Wonders of Google Earth. 20 Websites to Learn Everything About Landforms.

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Geography Geology Teaching Curriculum 152

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 16, 2016

I get a lot of questions from readers about what tech ed resources I use in my classroom so I’m taking a few days this summer to review them with you. Some are edited and/or written by members of the Ask a Tech Teacher crew. Others, by tech teachers who work with the same publisher I do. All of them, I’ve found well-suited to the task of scaling and differentiating tech skills for age groups, scaffolding learning year-to-year, taking into account the perspectives and norms of all stakeholders, w

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Curriculum Achievement Professor Technology 152

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 9, 2016

I get a lot of questions from readers about what tech ed resources I use in my classroom so I’m taking a few days this summer to review them with you. Some are edited and/or written by members of the Ask a Tech Teacher crew. Others, by tech teachers who work with the same publisher I do. All of them, I’ve found well-suited to the task of scaling and differentiating tech skills for age groups, scaffolding learning year-to-year, taking into account the perspectives and norms of all stakeholders, w

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Problem Solving Curriculum Professor Teaching 152

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 25, 2016

Ask a Tech Teacher’s Summer PD 2016 just ended. A couple dozen of us–teachers, library media specialists, tech integrationists, and lab teachers–gathered virtually for three-five-week-classes that included: The Tech-infused Teacher. The Tech-infused Classroom. The Differentiated Teacher. Teach Writing with Tech. 20 Webtools in 20 Days. We talked about curriculum maps, warm-up and exit tickets, backchannel devices, building a PLN, screenshots, and screencasts.

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Problem Solving Gamification Personalized Learning Curriculum 151

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 2, 2016

Here are the most-read posts for the month of July: Padlet: A Versatile Classroom Tool y in the Classroom. 4 Ways to Use Podcasts in the Classroom. Tech Ed Resources for your Class–Digital Citizenship Curriculum. 10 Reasons to Screencast in Your Class and 7 Best-in-class Tools. Why is the Supreme Court So Important — and How to Explain That to Students.

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EdTech Curriculum Computer Professor 151

Ask a Tech Teacher

AUGUST 15, 2016

Several times a year, I teach an online class called the Tech-infused Classroom. Here, we discuss the idea that tech-infusing a class isn’t about replacing activities with technology, rather enhancing and extending learning with the wonderful tech tools now available (think M or R on the SAMR Model). One of my students, Matthew DiSiena, a PK-8 grade tech teacher in Queens New York, wrote a top-notch description of what he sees as the tech-infused classroom: The tech-infused classroom is a

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Computer Curriculum Technology Teaching 150