Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 30, 2015
Coding has become the poster child for a tech-infused classroom. Over 15 million kids participated in Hour of Code this past December. So many teachers took students to Code.org’s curriculum offerings, the website crashed. So what is ‘coding’? According to the Urban Dictionary, it’s another word for ‘programming’ which means: The art of turning caffeine into Error Messages.
Educators Technology
APRIL 18, 2015
'April 19, 2015 PhET is a very good platform that offers free interactive simulations to help students develop a an informed understanding of a variety of phenomena covering science, physics and.read more.
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User Generated Education
APRIL 13, 2015
'Responding to Scott McLeod challenge and Steve Hargadon’s Tag: When it comes to education, we have to stop pretending. That “we” know best what students should learn; that it is okay for students to not have the freedom, time, resources to pursue their own interests and passions. That is it okay to make students sit in a desk for hours and hours every day learning things they don’t want to learn in a way and a place they don’t want to learn it.
The Innovative Educator
APRIL 15, 2015
'Educators who incorporate social media into the work of students must ensure responsible use. I asked members of The Innovative Educator group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheInnovativeEducator ) for their advice to students when it comes to using social media responsibly. Here is what they said. I want more ».
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.
Technology Tidbits
APRIL 1, 2015
'*Monster Math will be free April 2nd-6th for Autism Awareness Day. Monster Math is an excellent iOS app/game for learning basic Math skills (i.e. addition, multiplication, etc.). This is done through an engaging and fun game, as a student helps Maxx solve Math problems to find his friend Dextra. Best of all, is the detailed reporting that allows parents/teachers to track student''s progress.
STEM Education Central brings together the best content for STEM education professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 17, 2015
'April 22nd is Earth Day. Celebrate it with your students by letting them visit these websites: Breathing Earth. Breathing Earth YouTube Video –of CO2 use, population changes, and more. Conservation Game. Earth day collection. Earth Day—NASA Ocean Currents. Eco-friendly house. Eeko World. Ecotourism Simulation–for grades 4 and above. Electrocity.
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 13, 2015
'It’s the end of school. Everyone’s tired, including you. What you want for these last few weeks are activities that keep the learning going, but in a different way. You want to shake things up so students are excited and motivated and feel interested again. Change your approach to teaching. Provide some games, simulations, student presentations–whatever you don’t normally do in your classroom.
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 3, 2015
'April is National Poetry Month. For thirty days, we celebrate the value and joy that poetry brings to our world. According to the Academy of American Poets , the goals are: Highlight the extraordinary legacy and ongoing achievement of American poets. Introduce more Americans to the pleasures of reading poetry. Bring poets and poetry to the public in immediate and innovative ways.
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 15, 2015
'Technology plays an important role in the classroom. Teachers can apply technology to help students learn through inter active games and simulations, or by taking advantage of educational resources online. Technology can facilitate communication and collaboration between students and between students and their teacher. Students who develop a strong familiarity with technology in the classroom are better-equipped to remain proficient users of new technologies throughout their lives.
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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.
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 10, 2015
'A wide variety of topics, with one thing in common–they teach you about technology in education: Common Core training–the Hunt Institute. Common Craft- -videos on wikis, phishing, etc. How-to videos –technology, reading, math, more. How to Videos for Web 2.0. Internet Movie Database. K-8 school-related videos. Tons . Learn Zillion—teaching videos.
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 29, 2015
AATT contributer, Sara Stringer, is looking at digital music tools this month. This is a topic I don’t say enough about so I’m thrilled Sara’s sharing her thoughts with you. There are at least three tools below I’ve never tried. After you read this, I’d love to hear your thoughts on her choices and any she didn’t mention you love.
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 24, 2015
Space units are always exciting. Part of it’s the history, but a lot is that space is our final frontier, a wild untamed land that man knows so little about. I have a list of over 20 websites I use to support this theme for K-8. Here are 10 of my favorites: 100,000 Stars. 100,000 Stars is an interactive visualization of the stellar neighborhood showing the real location of over 100,000 nearby stars.
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 2, 2015
'Mentoring Minds is an education publishing company and resource site created by former teachers. Their goal: Critical thinking for life– ” to develop affordable, effective learning tools that help children think critically, giving them the skills to succeed not just in the classroom, but in life.” Focus is on both teacher and student.
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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!
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 8, 2015
'Summer Tech Camp Survival Kit. From Ask a Tech Teacher. Are you teaching a Summer Tech Camp to Kids? We have the solution: Build Your Own Adventure. $230 value for $179. This is not training for you (you can find Summer PD here). This provides you with materials to run a tech camp for students. Weeks: 3 weeks (can be repeated).
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 27, 2015
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 youngers often save a blank document over their MS Word file. How? Instead of ‘file>open’, they use the menu command ‘file>save-as’ and then they lose all their work.
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 15, 2015
'There are 22 common Excel skills easy enough for fourth and fifth graders. When they’re done, they–and their parents (and you, by the way)–will feel that they’ve accomplished much more. If the lesson plans are blurry, click on them for a full size alternative. More Excel lesson plans and tips: 5 bundled Excel lesson plans (for a fee). #73: How to Graph in Excel.
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 20, 2015
'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 internet stopped working on my laptop. Everyone else’s in the house works, but mine won’t connect.
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 7, 2015
'Classtime traditionally is a static point in time. Students show up in your room. You teach for 50 minutes (or however long the period is). You may post study guides and homework on a class website, but they don’t make a lot of sense to the student who missed class because s/he was sick or out of town. Those students—you try to meet after school to catch them up, which may or may not work with your schedule or theirs.
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 1, 2015
'Summer is coming, and so is Tech Training! Join me with a great group of professionals (who will quickly become your best online friends) for three weeks of intensive training on tech topics you want to learn about. All the details are below. Note: Early Bird special for those who sign up by May 31st. Use coupon code SUMMERPD to get 10% off! Sign up now– it’s all online, but a lot of 1:1 assistance, so space is limited. you get lots of the materials as soon as you sign up.
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 22, 2015
'Teach students using whichever email program is installed at school, but warn students that theirs will be different. Also warn parents they will have to guide students to the correct spots on their particular version. This will avoid confusion when students go home and try to email homework. Teach To:, From:, cc:, bcc:, subject:, attachments, and basic rules of emailing (I’ll share a list that I’ve created from working with students and parents.
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 23, 2015
'Interested in a summer keyboarding program for yourself or your students? Click the link. Or read on for more detail: Teachers: Here’s a poster for your classroom: Summer KeyboardingOnlineFlier [link]. Have students mention your name when they sign up. You could win a FREE keyboarding curriculum or even a class-set of student workbooks! More Summer Learning: Summer PD.
Ask a Tech Teacher
APRIL 11, 2015
'Summer is coming, and so is Summer Keyboarding for Students ! If your students are looking for a summer keyboarding class to smooth out their rough edges, prepare them for next year’s increased tech demands, or get them started, this is the program for them. It’s online, one hour a day M-F for three weeks, with a wide variety of activities that keep keyboarding fun and challenging.
User Generated Education
APRIL 12, 2015
'I was asked recently why I have a strong interest and innate understanding of the growth mindset. I believe it comes from a background of being an adventure educator, and even though it was not labeled as such, the adventure educator embraces a growth mindset when working with participants. The underlying tenet of adventure education is “You are capable of so much more than you can even imagine.
User Generated Education
APRIL 21, 2015
'Those who follow my blog know that I have jumped into and am loving the current emphasis on the Maker Movement and Maker Education. As I was flying back from a recent conference, I noticed a film on the screen embedded in the plane seat in front of me. I was immediately intrigued by the animated film and watch the 10 minute short animation in awe of its brilliance.
The Innovative Educator
APRIL 12, 2015
'There’s a lot of debate about screentime for youth. Not only is it important for teachers to be familiar with the research, but Holly Flanders, CEO of Choice Parenting reminds us that parents, nannies, and any childcare provider must also be armed with accurate information. Flanders was recently quoted in the New York Post explaining why misinformation and misunderstanding can be a problem.
The Innovative Educator
APRIL 22, 2015
'While interest is growing in the usage of mobile devices in school, a report on learning with mobile devices and social media tells us administrators still struggle with key concerns. Nearly half of principals identify teachers who are not trained in how to use mobile devices for instruction as the number one barrier. Teachers cite student distraction as their top concern of mobile use in the classroom.
The Innovative Educator
APRIL 5, 2015
'It’s time to get ready for the death of paper. I know you love it. I know it helps you think better if you can just write on paper. I know you love the smell and the feel of paper. Get over it. It’s dead. Stop killing trees. Stop wasting time and MONEY. Stop saying we can’t afford to get tech for every kid so we need paper. That’s a lie. We can get a Chromebook that will last three years for $300 bucks.
The Innovative Educator
APRIL 8, 2015
'If you love The Innovative Educator blog, you may like some of the books I've written on the topics of technology and learning alternatives. The books hit upon some of my favorite topics including how to turn technology from weapons of mass distraction to tools of engagement, how to harness the power of technology to strengthen the home school connection, and alternatives to learning for those students that are struggling in a traditional school setting.
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