2017

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Websites for Hour of Code by Grade

Ask a Tech Teacher

This December will again host the Hour of Code , a one-hour introduction to programming designed to demystify the subject and show that anyone can be a maker, a creator, and an innovator. Last year, almost 300,000 students (age 4-104) participated from over 180 countries and wrote almost 20 billion lines of code. The 200,000+ teachers involved came away believing that, of all their education tools, coding was the best at teaching children to think.

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20 Great STEAM Websites for Young Learners

Educators Technology

February 3, 2017 Over the last few days we spent sometime going through the piles of tools saved in our archive and managed to select the ones that fit perfectly for STEAM (Science, Technology,read more.

Science 355
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5 Days of Science-y Holiday Cheer!

Amy Brown Science

December 4 - 8, 2017 Ready for some holiday fun, science-style? Thank you, thank you, thank you to all have supported my work through 2017. To celebrate the holidays, and the entire year, let's have some fun with a week of giveaways, freebies, discounts, and more! For the third year, a group of science teachers / TPT authors are having a blast with the "Five Days of Holiday Cheer.

Science 130
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Beginning the School Year: It’s About the Learners Not the Content

User Generated Education

9Too many classes, all grade levels, begin the school year with getting down to academic business – starting to cover content, discussing expectations regarding academic requirements, giving tests, and other academic information provided by the teacher to the students in a mostly one-way communication. The human or social element is often disregarded.

Schooling 116
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Can Brain Science Actually Help Make Your Training & Teaching Stick?

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.

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Is AR BS or Good Teaching & Learning?

The Innovative Educator

Augmented Reality is nothing new for youth. It has been a part of student's social experience in apps like Snapchat and it made a big splash when Pokemon Go made its debut. But when it comes to learning, does it have a place? While seeing an object, insect, or animal up close in an augmented reality is certainly preferably to reading about it in your science text, is it really the best way to help students learn?

More Trending

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Stacks of Kinematics Curves as a Card Sort

PHYSICS! BLOG!

I’ve been making major updates and changes to my materials in the intro physics course this year. It is the first year we are teaching a yearlong physics class to everyone (10th graders) in my school as the result of a big curriculum redesign in science, and the first time back to teaching a course like this in a few years for me. I will try to update this blog with each of the new activities and changes as I have time.

Physics 52
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Forensics: Fingerprinting Lecture & Note Guide

STEM Teacher Inspiration

This is my lecture given in a forensics class about collecting and analyzing fingerprints. It describes some of the history of fingerprinting, people involved in major discoveries, and how fingerprints are use in a forensic investigation. There is an embedded youtube video in the prezi and the powerpoint about IAFIS, the FBI’s database of fingerprints.

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Flying Monkey Tour 2017 – El Rancho Charter School – Coding and Video Game Design

CTE Learning

My first stop was at El Rancho Charter School’s Coding and 3D Video Game Design course is lead Troy Coffey a veteran teacher who has been teaching video game and app development courses since 2007. It was fun to sit in with 2 of his Coding and Video Game Design classes and to check out some of the games they had been working on. Flying Monkey Tour – Coding and Video Game Design at El Rancho Charter School Troy has a dark secret.

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Inspiring Interest in STEM in a World That is Rapidly Changing

Jay Flores

"FIRST provides programs for students starting at age 6, meaning that they could potentially have 12 years of experience with engineering, design, and problem solving by the time they’re 18. Interested in learning more about how to encourage interest in STEM, Lauren Robeson (Global Communications Specialist at ProSoft Technology) talked with me, to find out how we can all help closer to home.

STEM 52
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Harnessing The Power Of Math Manipulatives

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.

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Teaching resources for the eclipse

STEMx

Total solar eclipses aren’t too rare, in principle. As Vox notes in. this video. , they happen around once every 18 months. But they don’t land in the U.S. very often. The last time you could see one in the continental states was 1979! This year, you can be anywhere in the continental U.S. and see at least 60% of the eclipse. Early this month, the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network shared a full packet of materials about the eclipse, and it’s too good not to pass along.

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How Magnolia ISD ‘leveled the playing field’ for students in math

Ask a Tech Teacher

If you’re evaluating math programs at your school, a good option to consider is ORIGO Education’s Stepping Stones. Here’s one educator’s story about how Stepping Stones made a big difference with his students’ math skills: How Magnolia ISD has ‘leveled the playing field’ for students in math. by Dennis Pierce. Like many U.S. school systems, the Magnolia Independent School District in Texas serves a diverse student population.

Math 420
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12 Great Books to Help Kids Learn Coding

Educators Technology

April 30, 2017 A few days we shared with you this interesting resource featuring some of the best apps and tools to help kids learn everything about coding. Today, we are adding another important.read more.

Learning 328
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The Pros and Cons of Outdoor Science Education

Amy Brown Science

The benefits of taking our science students out of the classroom for an outdoor activity are many. BUT , you better be prepared and super organized! If I ask my students what the term “environment” means to them, I am going to get a wide variety of answers. Many of them will automatically think of a beautiful setting in nature, such as a bubbling creek through a forest, a field of wildflowers, or a stand of shimmering evergreen trees along a mountainside.

Science 130
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Downloadable Design Briefs for an Integrative STEM Curriculum

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!

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Design Thinking Process and UDL Planning Tool for STEM, STEAM, Maker Education

User Generated Education

Post by Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D. @ jackiegerstein and Barbara Bray @bbray27. Crossed posted at [link]. If there is a makerspace in your school, it may be down the hall, in the library, or in another building. If there is someone other than the teacher managing the makerspace or there is a schedule for the school, your kids may only be able to use it once a week or month.

UDL 110
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9 Keys For Successfully Using Facebook to Connect Educators: #ISTE17 Presentation

The Innovative Educator

This year at #ISTE17 I had the opportunity to share with those at conference, and those around the world (via livestream), nine keys we’ve discovered from years of moderating a powerful group for #NYCSchoolsTech educators on Facebook. My New York City colleagues, JoJo Farrell ( @ FarrellJoJo ), Jackie Patanio ( @ JPatanio ) and I shared how school district administrators have worked together to form a supportive community that encourages educators around New York City and helps them get instant

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Employee Profile: Justin Chou, School District Success

Informed K12

Justin is the director of School Success. When he is not hiring or training new employees, he researches potential partners for Informed K12, researching innovative, solution-seeking districts that are passionate about district operations and efficiency.

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High School Physics Teacher Camp 2017

PHYSICS! BLOG!

It’s time to register for this summer’s AAPT HS Physics Teacher Camp! The camp happens on the Sunday of the summer national meeting of AAPT. This year, that meeting is in Cincinnati, and the camp will take place at a nearby high school in Covington, KY. This year’s date is Sunday, July 23rd (in 2017—for those of you reading this post too far in the future).

Physics 52
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Introduction to Forensics Lecture & Note Guide

STEM Teacher Inspiration

This is my introductory lecture given in a forensics class about the field of forensic science. It describes some of the history of forensics, people involved in major discoveries, and a list of the main topics in forensic science. There is an embedded youtube video in the prezi and the powerpoint. The video is a quick clip of a PBS series on how Sherlock Holmes changed police investigations.

Science 52
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Flying Monkey Tour 2017 (West) Begins

CTE Learning

In honor of the Flying Monkey Game App I took one of the hundreds of Flying Monkeys we shipped out this year to our client schools with me to visit schools in Los Angeles. The Flying Monkey Tour 2017 – Begins – So, once and a while the dev team lets me out of the office. Recently, I gave everybody a bunch of work and then I ran off to California to visit some schools and see how our courses are running in the land of sun, traffic and fish tacos.

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Rockwell Automation and FIRST are Changing the Game

Jay Flores

I’ve always been in search of the best avenues to encourage excellence in STEM among youth on their terms — through platforms they feel most comfortable. STEM activities that are as exciting as they are educational are often hard to come by. Last year I was given the perfect opportunity to make this happen. I was invited to influence the next FIRST Robotics Competition.

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Tools to get your message heard

STEMx

Just a few weeks ago, we unveiled. a major re-design to the STEMx website, including a major expansion to our list of. STEMx-endorsed resources. We invested in these upgrades (and devoted a full section of the resources to communications) having getting your messages heard matters. It takes serious time, practice, and energy to be heard. We aren’t done yet.

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Visible Learning and John Hattie

Ask a Tech Teacher

Over the years, I’ve struggled to teach in ways my students would understand. Standing at the front of the classroom stopped working so I researched (and tried in some cases) Whole Brain Teaching (WBT), Socratic Method , Understanding by Design , Mindfulness , and a lot more options that colleagues mentioned as helpful with their differentiated student groups.

Learning 379
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7 Excellent Tools for Creating Interactive Video Quizzes

Educators Technology

February 12, 2017 A few days ago we featured a collection of some of the best web tools teachers can use to create non-traditional quizzes and today we are sharing another collection but this time.read more.

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"Words to Live By" from Famous Scientists

Amy Brown Science

These famous scientists teach us about life as well as about science. #KindnessNation #WeHoldTheseTruths We teach about the work of famous scientists all the time in our classes. If you take one of my classes, then it is a given that you know that Jonas Salk developed a life-saving polio vaccine, that Stephen Hawking changed the way we think about our universe, that Jane Goodall works tirelessly on behalf of her beloved chimpanzees, and that nothing makes sense in a biology class without the wor

Biology 130
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Focusing on the Process: Letting Go of Product Expectations

User Generated Education

I am a process-oriented educator. I focus on how to learn rather than what to learn. I’ve addressed this in Freedom to Learn : In order to facilitate these desired elements of learning, I believe it is important to focus on the process of learning rather than the products of learning. When learning is viewed as a product, and the same performance measure applies to all students, learning facilitation can be reduced to cookie-cutter teaching: same pieces of information and instruction are s

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It’s Class Load, Not Just Size, That Matters

The Innovative Educator

As the school year launches for students across the nation, questions from passionate and innovative educators come into my networks on how to effectively support student learning. One common thread comes from innovative educators who have several classes of students and are trying to figure out how to manage all the demands placed upon them. They know that learning is not effective if you don't get to know your students.

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How School District IT Departments are Evolving to Become Technology Evangelists

Informed K12

A report released last year by IDC Government Insights estimated K-12 IT spending to be $4.7 billion dollars with 46% of school districts expecting to increase their technology spending.

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Science Teaching Junkie - Untitled Article

Science Teaching Junkie

What Science Junkie, Kid-Loving, Education Nerd Wouldn't Love This Place?!? Science is a compilation of facts and evidence, but at the very basic core of each scientific endeavor lies imagination, exploration, discovery, and passion. All of this can be found at the Hill Country Science Mill. When I first found out about the Hill Country Science Mill in Johnson City, Texas, my inner science nerd came out!

Finance 52
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Forensics: DNA Evidence

STEM Teacher Inspiration

This is my DNA Evidence lecture given in a forensics class about types of evidence that contain DNA. It also describes Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and DNA Fingerprinting by electrophoresis in detail. There is also an embedded youtube video in the prezi and the powerpoint. The content in the prezi and powerpoint are identical so it is just a matter of choice for the teacher.

Biology 52
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STEM Education Facts – Sustainable Energy and Energy Savings are looking good – US Department of Energy

CTE Learning

How are we doing as a nation saving energy and implementing sustainable power? In our STEM course Building Green & Residential Architecture & Construction we promote the best and the most sustainable strategies for construction and home design. We are always fact checking and updating content. Let’s face it, STEM never sleeps. The very first version of this STEAM course was created in 2006.

Energy 52
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Innovating Automation Education

Jay Flores

There’s an engineer in all of us. By applying unique immersive experiences to draw out that natural attraction to making things, we can, hopefully, solve manufacturing’s biggest obstacle: the skills gap. Read More.