Ask a Tech Teacher

SEPTEMBER 7, 2016

On everything from get-to-know-you activities to getting yourself ready: New School Year? New Tech? I Got You Covered. 5 Top Ways to Integrate Technology into the New School Year. 5 Ways to Involve Parents in Your Class. 3 Organizational Apps to Start the School Year. 6 Tech Best Practices for New Teachers. How to Prepare Students for PARCC Tests. 8 Tech Tools to Get to Know Your Students for Back to School. 5 Tools To Shake up the New Year. 3 Apps to Help Brainstorm Next Year’s Lessons.

Schooling 153

Schooling Curriculum Professor Technology 153

User Generated Education

SEPTEMBER 4, 2016

There is a new platform for immersive learning games that’s taking classrooms across the world by storm. Based on the same principles as interactive Escape The Room digital games — which challenge players to use their surroundings to escape a prison-like scenario — Breakout EDU is a collaborative learning experience that enhances critical thinking and creativity while fostering a growth mindset in students.

Critical Thinking 60

Critical Thinking Problem Solving Physics Creativity 60

CTE Learning

SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

One of our new Coding and 3D Video Game Design schools – Allen East HS met with two of our development team today. Bill Mattevi’s two Video Game Design I classes got the chance to chat with CTeL authors about coding, game design and how to succeed on a design team. These Allen East students will be following up their fall semester of Video Game Design with an exciting spring using our iWD Web Design with HTML5/CSS3 industry certification course.

Computer Science 52

Computer Science Engineering Computer STEM 52

The Innovative Educator

SEPTEMBER 4, 2016

The research is clear. Time together around the dinner table has beneficial results including improving quality of daily life, your children's chances of success in the world, and your family's health according to the Family Youth and Community Sciences Department at the University of Florida. In fact, your child may be 35% less likely to engage in disordered eating, 24% more likely to eat healthier foods and 12% less likely to be overweight Hammons & Fiese, 2011.

Learning 54

Learning Research Research Science 54

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

SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Play as the vehicle of education is not a revolutionary idea. Pedagogy has long recommended ‘play’ as a superior teacher for youngers–. Play is the great synthesizing, integrating, and developing force in childhood and adolescence. –PsycINFO Database Record 2012 APA, The play of children is not recreation; it means earnest work. Play is the purest intellectual production of the human being, in this stage … for the whole man is visible in them, in his finest capacities, in his innermost being.~ F

Learning 152

Learning Architecture Physics Construction 152

Technology Tidbits

SEPTEMBER 3, 2016

GoClass is a wonderful site/app for flipping a classroom. This is a fantastic solution for educators to be able to manage their classes/students and create dynamic lessons that can be shared on mobile devices. Students can login to a session on their mobile device and then follow the lesson following the "show-explain-ask" method. Teachers can then get instant real-time feedback on student engagement and learning as well as attendance.

Student Engagement 31

Student Engagement Technology Learning Education 31

The Innovative Educator

SEPTEMBER 7, 2016

Hacks are those who come up with clever solutions to everyday problems. Innovative educators are natural hackers constantly coming up with, and even sharing, ideas to improve teaching and learning. Microsoft has come up five teacher personas as an easy-to-think about framework for hacking our classroom. This is a great framework to keep in mind for teachers and administrators who are considering ways to innovate learning in their classrooms.

Innovation 48

Innovation Achievement Teaching Education 48

Ask a Tech Teacher

SEPTEMBER 6, 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

Problem Solving 150

Problem Solving Curriculum Professor Teaching 150

Ask a Tech Teacher

SEPTEMBER 3, 2016

Every month, subscribers to Ask a Tech Teacher get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching. September 1st-30th: K-8 Technology Curriculum Student Workbooks. We’ll credit your K-8 teacher manual purchase against the student workbook price–if it’s the 6th edition. That’s up to 25% off the Room License (1:1 school: Here’s info for the School License ).

Accessibility 150

Accessibility Curriculum Professor Research 150

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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

SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Labor Day is annually held on the first Monday of September (this year, September 2nd). It was originally organized to celebrate various labor associations’ strengths of and contributions to the United States economy. It is largely a day of rest in modern times. Many people mark Labor Day as the end of the summer season and a last chance to make trips or hold outdoor events.

Publication 150

Publication Curriculum Professor Technology 150

The Innovative Educator

SEPTEMBER 3, 2016

Moving From Lecture to Learning remains at the top for another week. This post is essential for innovative educators looking forward to #backtoschool strategies that go beyond the lecture. Also at the top is a topic on every teacher’s mind as they prepare for #backtoschool. Classroom set up and design. This post looks at what various classroom designs are inviting students to do.

Innovation 45

Innovation Education Education Learning 45

Technology Tidbits

SEPTEMBER 4, 2016

Level it Books is the excellent mobile app (iOS/Android) that people everywhere are using to scan a book and get a Reading/Lexile Level. Educators are using it to create a digital library of class books, as well as creating a class roster of students w/ their Read Level. Also, a user can add a book, select a "book of the day", and manually search for any book as well.

Technology 30

Technology Education Education 30

Technology Tidbits

SEPTEMBER 3, 2016

ClassDojo the widely used (free) tool for behavior management and communication for education has just released Student Stories. Student Stories is a new way for students to create digital portfolios and share them w/ others. More info from their press release. Students take the lead - students can share and celebrate their learning by snapping photos of projects, taking videos of presentations, and writing reflections.

Communications 30

Communications Schooling Technology Education 30

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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

Technology Tidbits

SEPTEMBER 7, 2016

Otus Worksheets is the latest update from the innovative easy-to-use Learning Management System, Otus. This feature allows educators to create a assessment/worksheet for students to take inside of Otus. The questions can be T/F, multiple choice, EdPen, or short answer. Best of all, Otus grades the assessment automatically except for short answer. Below is a brief demo.

Innovation 29

Innovation Technology Learning Education 29

Technology Tidbits

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

Answerables the innovative educational tool that combines the best features of game based learning w/ a learning management system has just released their free iPad app. Answerables is being used by educators in a variety of ways from collaborating w/ other classes, to browsing the web, all in a secure 3D virtual environment. Answerables is used as a: • Virtual classroom • Lesson planner • Learning manager • Quest creator • Resource manager • Web browser (managed) • Social Network • Student port

Innovation 29

Innovation Technology Learning Education 29

Technology Tidbits

SEPTEMBER 4, 2016

Modern Chalkboard is a wonderful new free site for finding SMART board resources. This is a great place to find interactive lessons on a wide variety of subjects such as: Math, Grammar, Science, Social Studies, and more Also, this is a nice place to find other resources such as links and help files. I highly recommend checking out Modern Chalkboard by clicking here !!!

Math 29

Math Science Sciences Education 29

Technology Tidbits

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

30hands Learning is the excellent company for creating an innovative LMS (Learning Management System) as well as the popular mobile iOS apps that are ideal for digital storytelling ( 30hands Starter (free), 30hands Pro (paid)). The 30hands community is a perfect cloud based solution that allows educators to: manage/track students, hand in/out assignments, sched ule events, and more.

Learning 28

Learning Blended Learning Innovation Accessibility 28

Ask a Tech Teacher

SEPTEMBER 9, 2016

I read recently that 70% of millennials get their news from Facebook. Really? Isn’t Facebook a place to share personal information, stay in touch with friends and families, post pictures of weddings and birthdays? So why do students turn to it for news? And then, not two days later, I heard Twitter has reclassified their app as a news purveyor rather than a social media device.

Research 153

Research Research Geography Math 153