2025

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What is a Virtual HS?

Ask a Tech Teacher

Virtual high schools have become increasingly popular as technology has advanced and educational needs have evolved. Here is an overview of key data and trends associated with them: Enrollment and Growth Enrollment Numbers : Virtual high schools have seen significant growth in enrollment. In the United States alone, millions of students are now taking at least one online course.

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A Reading Expert’s Case for Rethinking Fluency

ED Surge

Reading fluency the ability to read accurately, automatically and with appropriate expression remains a critical yet often overlooked component of literacy development. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 68 percent of U.S. students are not reading at proficient levels. By fourth grade, students transition from learning to read to reading to learn.

educators

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From Ego to Excellence: School Leadership Growth with Dr. Samuel Nix

Cool Cat Teacher

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter School leadership is not about ego; its about transformation. Whether you're striving to improve school culture, make assessment meaningful, or rebuild your reputation as a leader, this episode is packed with practical insights to guide you in your school leadership growth journey.

Schooling 289
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Schools Apply: IET Faraday® Challenge Days 2025/26

All About STEM

Schools – Register today for an IET Faraday® Challenge Day! Free, STEM activity days with a real-world challenge and annual competition for pupils aged 12-13 years. IET Faraday® Challenge Days aim to encourage more young people to study and consider exciting and rewarding careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) by using creativity, innovation and problem-solving skills.

Schooling 294
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The Case for Game Design as an Innovative STEAM Teaching Tool

Speaker: Speakers:

Searching for innovative ways to deliver integrated STEAM education that also help students attain industry-ready skills? Then this punchy 30-minute thought leadership webinar is for you. Join fellow education leaders as we share: National data on STEAM performance and student engagement that indicates post-pandemic learners are craving inspired intervention 10 research-backed reasons why game design is the leading method for practically teaching integrated STEAM education An inside look at live

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Should K-12 CS Education Be About Belonging in CS

Computer Science Teacher

Ive been rather wrapped up in moving the last few weeks so havent been thinking about high school, or K-12, computer science education as I intended since my last blog post. Mark Gurdial thought has been doing some thinking. Check out School teachers dont need to recruit students into CS: An alternative model for K-12 computing education for his latest post.

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This End of Year Science, Biology, Life Science Activity is So Much Fun!

Amy Brown Science

Celebrate the Wild Side of Science with this Mother Nature Awards activity! Looking for a new way to wrap up the school year or kick it off in style? Say hello to the Mother Nature Awards an exciting, low-prep activity that gets students researching, thinking critically, and most importantly saying COOL! in your classroom! Each year, I challenge my students to create their own Planet Earth Award for a unique and very deserving living organism.

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Translanguaging: A Vital Tool for ELL Teachers

Middle Web

When teachers apply "translanguaging" in class, write Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypnieski, they're using a students home language as a scaffold to help them achieve English language acquisition and to learn academic content they might not be able to access yet in English. The post Translanguaging: A Vital Tool for ELL Teachers first appeared on MiddleWeb.

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Fostering Collaboration in Our Classrooms

Defined Learning

Fostering collaboration among students and educators enhances learning, builds essential skills, prepares students for the future, and more! Explore practical methods to enhance collaboration such as project-based learning, game-based learning, and leveraging digital tools to align technology with students' needs and goals leading to meaningful engagement.

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School teachers don’t need to recruit students into CS: An alternative model for K-12 computing education

Computing Education Research Blog

The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) is in the process of updating their influential standards. Its a long process, and it started last summer with a visioning document called Reimagining CS Pathways. Part of their new reimagining includes dispositions which are meant to cross all content and skill areas. I am arguing here that Sense of Belonging in CS should not be in that set.

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How to use Digital Quick Writes–the video

Ask a Tech Teacher

How to use Digital Quick Writes This video is from a series I taught for school districts. It is now available for free, here on Ask a Tech Teacher: summarized by NoteGPT Summary In this video, Jacqui Murray discusses the concept of quick writes as a dynamic and engaging way to teach writing in the classroom. Quick writes are short, spontaneous writing exercises that allow students to express their thoughts and ideas without the pressure of formal writing tasks.

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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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17 K-8 Digital Citizenship Topics

Ask a Tech Teacher

Education is no longer contained within classroom walls or the physical site of a school building. Learning isn’t confined to the eight hours between the school bells chimes or the struggling budget of an underfunded program. Today, education can be found anywhere, by teaming up with students in Kenya or Skyping with an author in Sweden or chatting with an astrophysicist on the International Space Station.

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Top Grant Sources to Bring Technology to Under-Resourced Classrooms

Ask a Tech Teacher

Top Grant Sources to Bring Technology to Under-Resourced Classrooms In todays classrooms, technology is more than a supplement its a necessity. From digital literacy tools to interactive learning platforms, access to reliable technology helps level the educational playing field. However, for many under-resourced schools, affording updated tech remains a major hurdle.

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New Series on Military Careers for High School Students

Ask a Tech Teacher

This is a new Ask a Tech Teacher series on College and Career with a focus on military options. High school students contemplating a military career should research extensively, speak with recruiters, and perhaps participate in preparatory or introductory military programs to make an informed decision. Each branch of the military has unique offerings, so aligning personal goals with the branch’s culture and opportunities is crucial.

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Top Ten Posts and Tips for 2024

Ask a Tech Teacher

Since we started Ask a Tech Teacher fifteen years ago, we’ve had almost 6.3 million views and 3300 comments from about 11,500 followers who read some or all of our 2,454 articles on integrating technology into the classroom. This includes tech tips, website/app reviews, tech-in-ed pedagogy, how-tos, videos, and more. We have regular features like: Weekly Websites and Tech Tips ( sign up for the newsletter ) Edtech Reviews Lesson plans If you’ve just arrived at Ask a Tech Teacher, sta

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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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How to Change the Dynamics of Peer-to-peer Learning

Ask a Tech Teacher

Here’s what most educators and parents innately know as a truism of education: “If you can’t explain something simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” –Albert Einstein Peer-to-peer learning–acquiring knowledge from a peer group–has become a popular strategy as teachers move from a teacher-lecturer education model to teacher-guide.

Learning 391
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Is the Traditional Classroom Becoming Obsolete?

Ask a Tech Teacher

Something broke in American education these past years. Too many students don’t reach grade-level metrics and no one can agree on the cause. I went out to our international contributors for ideas. They had a lot, but this one I thought I’d cover first: Is the Traditional Classroom Becoming Obsolete? You might argue that the traditional classroom still plays an essential role in education, but the rapid growth of online and hybrid models suggests otherwise.

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Tech Tip #156: How to Turn on Google and Duck Duck Go SafeSearch

Ask a Tech Teacher

In these 169 tech-centric situations, you get an overview of pedagogythe tech topics most important to your teachingas 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: Category: Parents Here’s how to turn on SafeSearch on Google: Open [link] in a web browser.

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Summer STEM at USNA

Ask a Tech Teacher

Summer STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics), is a week-long, overnight camp at USNA each year for students currently in the 7th-10th grades. Here’s information from the USNA website: Engineering is all about creating, building, and making things better! So what does it take to be an engineer? If you like math and science, you are off to a great start.

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Subscriber Special: 25 Digital Tools for Your Class

Ask a Tech Teacher

Every month, subscribers to our newsletter get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching. January 8th-11th the 53-page PDF, “25 Digital Tools for the Classroom” for free! “25 Digital Tools for the Classroom” is a thorough discussion on which are the most useful tools in a K-8 classroom. This includes popular digital tools such as blogs, backchannel devices, vocabulary decoding tools, avatars, digital portfolios, digital notetaking, as well as others you may n

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Genius Hours: What is it? Why? Quick How-to, and a Lesson Plan (for a small fee)

Ask a Tech Teacher

Genius Hour Overview The Genius Hour Project traditionally sets aside 20% of class time to pursue a topic students are passionate about. An after school setting follows these basics, but adapted to a full-time exploration of the topic. Basics While immersing themselves in a topic they love, Genius Hour also teaches students how to pursue a goal important to them.

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Tech Tip #125: Basics in Every Lesson Plan

Ask a Tech Teacher

In these 169 tech-centric situations, you get an overview of pedagogythe tech topics most important to your teachingas 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: Basics in Every Lesson Plan Here are four skills to be included and reinforced in every lesson plan.

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Integrating Technology in Education for Modern Classrooms

Ask a Tech Teacher

Technology can transform traditional classrooms into dynamic learning environments by leveraging exciting tools like virtual reality , AI, and educational apps. This not only enhances student engagement and accessibility to information but fosters critical thinking, digital literacy , and prepares students for a tech-driven future. If you’re wondering where to start, here are some good basics from the Ask a Tech Teacher international team: Integrating Technology in Education for Modern Cla

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What Will Districts Do With All Those Empty School Buildings? Some Look to Fill Them With Younger Kids

ED Surge

Several years ago, Oklahoma City Public Schools shuttered more than a dozen of its school buildings. It was part of a realignment process in the district to right-size student populations within schools some were overcrowded, others were underenrolled and to make the school experience better and more consistent for students across the city. But what to do with all of those empty buildings?

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In Elementary School, Many Teachers Have a Shaky Grasp of Math. Can Preparation Programs Change That?

ED Surge

When it comes to math, students are struggling. The recent national assessment underscored that by revealing that 24 percent of fourth graders are still performing below basic math skills, also shining a spotlight on an ever-growing inequality in math performance across the country. Other assessments such as the critical thinking-focused international PISA exam have also indicated declining math abilities.

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Teachers Believe That AI Is Here to Stay in Education. How It Should Be Taught Is Debatable.

ED Surge

One of the perks of Angie Adams job at Samsung is that every year, she gets to witness how some of the countrys most talented emerging scientists are tackling difficult problems in creative ways. Theyre working on AI tools that can recognize the signs of oncoming panic attacks for kids on the autism spectrum in one case, and figuring out how drones can be used effectively to fight wildfires in another.

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Relationships Are Key to Kids’ Growth — And They’re in Crisis, Expert Says

ED Surge

Education in the 21st century is obsessed with assessing children, attempting to measure every aspect of their intelligence, learning and growth. Yet we are not, according to Isabelle Hau, measuring what matters: relationships. Theres a disconnect between what we know is really critical and then what were paying attention to, says Hau, executive director of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning and author of a new book about the essential role of relationships in healthy human development.

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Making Math Class Relevant to Real Life

ED Surge

When would I ever use this? Its a question that high school and middle school math teachers have heard many times. Some educators think its because math instruction is stuck in a rut. Procedural, boring and, in some cases, totally outdated , math lessons just dont seem to pull students in. Solving this motivation problem is tricky. It also connects to other issues, such as the rigid class sequences that some experts warn block certain students from advancing in math and that exclude courses lik

Math 278
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Be a Quick Learner: 6 Tips to Learn Any Language Faster

Ask a Tech Teacher

Learning a language is a long process, often filled with ups and downs. The Ask a Tech Teacher team has these six tips to help you learn any language faster: Be a Quick Learner: 6 Tips to Learn Any Language Faster Learning a new language may be overwhelming, but it can also be enjoyable and rewarding when you apply the right strategies. You’ll be amazed at your progress when you’re dedicated to learning with a positive mindset.

Learning 359
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Exploring the Intersection of Art and STEM Through DIY Projects

Ask a Tech Teacher

Showcasing art and STEM with DIY projects not only enhances learning and creativity but makes these subjects more accessible to a broader audience. The Ask a Tech Teacher team explores how to do that in innovative ways that should please your students: Exploring the Intersection of Art and STEM Through DIY Projects Blending art and STEM into creative DIY projects isnt just funits a brilliant way to help kids learn.

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Minecraft Builds Coding Skills

Ask a Tech Teacher

Minecraft has been popular with kids for a long time with no sign of slowing down. It’s useful for teaching a plethora of subjects, from history to math to geology to tech skills. Just as important, it’s that rare fun lesson that teaches problem solving and critical thinking without the usual pain. Edweek has a good article that focuses on Minecraft and coding, a quick three-minute read that is well worth your time: How Playing Minecraft Can Help Students Learn Coding Skills “S

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Unlocking Learning Fun: How Educational Bini Games Foster Child Development

Ask a Tech Teacher

If you haven’t heard of Bini Games, you’re not alone. When they contacted me about sharing their website with my readers, I checked it out and agreed it was a great idea. Their offerings are designed to support multiple facets of child development through engaging, interactive, and fun gameplay. Here’s a more detailed peek into how they assist cognitive growth, critical thinking, and creativity: Unlocking Learning Fun: How Educational Bini Games Foster Child Development Parents

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Portland’s Universal Pre-K Proposal Was Hailed as a ‘National Model.’ How’s the Rollout Going?

ED Surge

Its been a little over a year since Tram Gonzalez opened Color Wings Preschool in her home in Portland, Oregon. Of the 15 children enrolled in her program, 10 attend for free, covered in full by Multnomah Countys Preschool for All initiative, which was passed by Portland voters in November 2020 to create universal free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds who want it.

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Why the Dire State of the Early Learning Workforce Is ‘Alarming and Not Surprising’

ED Surge

The state of early care and education today is, in a word, unsustainable. Thats what a recent survey of 10,000 early childhood educators found, and its what providers continue to share anecdotally. With the pandemic in the rearview and the accompanying funding it brought the field now a fading memory many early education providers find that they cannot keep up with rising costs, staff shortages and low morale.

Learning 287
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Can Colleges Do More to Help Students Succeed?

ED Surge

Near the beginning of every semester, Sarah Z. Johnson has her students make her a promise: If they think about dropping the class, they will meet with her first. While many of the students roll their eyes, it may save at least one student a year, says Johnson, who is a writing instructor and head of the writing center at Madison Area Technical College in Wisconsin.

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