May 2013
28 posts
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Churnalism US →
Ever wonder if the news story you’re reading is a product of real journalism or just a spin off of another story posted elsewhere?Discover the journalism you can trust and what you should question.
The Sunlight Foundation’s Churnalism is based on the UK site by the same name and is driven by open-source search engine technology dubbed SuperFastMatch. Both the original Churnalism site...
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Copyright in a Copy Paste World →
Interesting site for students and teachers dealing with digital plagiarism. Best part of site: Has useful tools to help detect validity of sources and if it is plagiarized or not.
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Witch Hunt Takes Down CSCOPE →
“…But none of this is likely to comfort the hundreds of rural and small school districts that were using CSCOPE. Sen. Patrick and other state politicians who proclaim their support for local control clearly decided that they trust the gross distortions and wild claims of political activists more than the ability of local school administrators and teachers to choose instructional...
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CC Search →
Search a wide range of creative commons sites for multimedia material for you or your student projects.
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Blog | edshelf: Highlights of latest tools added... →
edshelf:
We had an incredible number of tools added to edshelf this week. Wow! Thank you, you kind and generous members, for submitting so many great tools.
Here are six notable additions. The first three will help you search through and organize the wonderful world of open educational resources &…
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Yuck: The Movie →
A brave fourth grader goes undercover to reveal the truth about the New York City public school food service program.
This is what we should be teaching our kids: relevant, rigorous, and showing relationships.
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99 cent sale! 180 Questions →
Now on sale for only 99 cents USD!
Designed to get the conversation of education back in your Professional Learning Community.
For every educator that is part of a Professional Learning Community, there comes a time when the conversation about ‘learning about learning” slows down or even stops. This book is designed to get the conversation going again by providing daily...
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“I wonder if the millions of US adults that go to casinos on a regular basis,...”
– Tim Holt
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The Honor Roll: 50 Must-Read K–12 Education IT... →
For those of you that are trying to convince colleagues to read education blogs and don’t know where to point them, this is a pretty good starting point.
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Update: Scratch - Imagine, Program, Share →
From the great webspace EdSurge:
The popular free coding language will show that it has just been scratching the surface when it gets an overhaul on May 9th. Scratch 2.0 will feature profile pages that let users show off their content, comment, and favorite projects. Users will also be able to see the inner workings of projects they like and modify them. Other improvements include the ability to...
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180 Questions on sale for just 99 cents USD →
My first iBook, 180 Questions. Now on sale for 99 cents from the iTunes Bookstore. One week only. If you have not purchased an iBook, try this out. Written especially for those of you with iPads.
From the description:
For every educator that is part of a Professional Learning Community, there comes a time when the conversation about ‘learning about learning” slows down or even...
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It’s the opportunity gap, stupid →
From the article:
The undeniable fact of life in America, indeed the world, is that higher-income families are fortunate to have the resources to supplement their children’s education with arts, science, history and engaging, expansive learning. Children in lower-income families are usually denied such opportunities. And as their schools become more test-focused, they have few places to turn for...
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Texas Education Agency - Dyslexia Technology Plan →
The purpose of this letter is to inform school districts and open-enrollment charter schools of a new online tool available to assist Texas teachers of all grades and courses in integrating technology to accommodate students with dyslexia.
In accordance with Texas Education Code (TEC) §38.0031, added by Senate Bill 866 (82nd Texas Legislature), the Texas Education Agency (TEA) established a...
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On Sale: 180 Questions for only 99 Cents →
Beginning May 15 and for one week, my iBook 180 Questions will be on sale for just 99 cents USD in almost all iTunes stores across the globe. Now is your chance to got this book right before summer at an incredible price! Just 99 cents! 1/4 of a grande latte at Starbucks! Less than a 20 ounce Coke! Less than half the price of a big Mac! Almost half a cent a...
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Teacher Development Research: Avoiding Pitfalls |... →
Been adding to my collection of PD material. Here is some more.
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List of Free Science Books →
Need some science? Get it here. Over 150 free science books. Not vetted by me, so I cannot vouch for correctness.
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Willingham has it wrong. It is not the kids, it's... →
Most teachers t think that students today have a problem paying attention. They seem impatient, easily bored. Iâve argued that I think itâs unlikely that they are incapable of paying attention,…
Daniel Willingham is starting to turn into the 21st Century equivalent of the old man that sits on his porch and yells at kids to get of his lawn. In this essay, he waxes poetic about kids...
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Ed Surge's Best of School Tools: Q1 2013 →
“Here’s a rundown of the best s’cool tools from the first quarter of 2013. These are the tools that had you clicking, sharing, and tweeting away. Per the usual, we’re only highlighting those tools that are free to use (in some capacity) or currently in beta.
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Who Couldn't Use a Mind Map of All the Different... →
Here is a mind map of every learning theory out there…enjoy. Good for you next education theory class I suppose.
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WatchOld Spock New Spock Audi Ad. Funny. Worth the 2 minutes for all us trekkers!
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Nonfiction as Mentor Text: Style | On Common Core... →
How to use nonfiction texts to teach writing techniques Nonfiction works can be used to teach literary techniques and model quality writing styles, such as using strong introductions and conclusions, metaphor and onomatopoeia, educators Myra Zarnowski, Marc Aronson and Mary Ann Cappiello write in this article. They offer examples from children’s nonfiction books that highlight approaches...
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Power to the Schools →
The Superintendent led school district is not an ideal method for leading large urban districts. Here is why
Power to the schools Robert Slavin’s latest blog post explores a structural problem that inhibits the progress of large urban school districts. According to Slavin, this problem is the power of superintendents. He says, “School boards across the country seek wise, good,...
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Ten Reasons to Abolish Homework (And Five... →
I wonder how long it will take before this message is finally taken seriously? Starting with Alfie Kohn and others a few years back, there is a growing silent minority of educators that are beginning to see that homework’s value is limited, especially with specific populations.
What are your feelings on homework? Valuable or valueless?
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Adult Learning Theory and Principles: Great... →
This looks to be a really nice resource for those of us that are in the business of Adult Professional Education. Lots of good info about Adult Learning Theory.
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Failure of U.S. Public Secondary Schools in... →
Interesting read. Maybe we are chasing the wrong bad guy when we say it is the teachers that are the most important thing in student learning. This paper says it is poverty and makes a good case.
“Many say the US public school system is broken, its failure is an ongoing disaster for our students and country. Once when systems of great consequence failed, the accidents were investigated...
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If it works for pilots it will work for kids →
American Airlines says that it is reducing back injuries among pilots by giving them iPads instead of 40 pound flight books backpacks.
So, if it works with pilots, and they say it does, why aren’t we doing this for kids?
From the article:
“We’ve reduced the single biggest source of pilot injuries, carrying those packs,” said Patrick O’Keeffe, VP of Airline Operations Technology at...
April 2013
47 posts
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Hopscotch Introduces Programming for Kids on an... →
Hopscotch allows kids to create their own games and animations. Kids unleash their creativity with this beautiful, easy-to-use visual programming language. Inspired by MIT’s Scratch, the Hopscotch programming language works by dragging and dropping method blocks into scripts. When you’re done with a script, press play to see your code in action! As you get more advanced, you can add more objects...
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CASPER FOCUS | JAMF Software →
It will be interesting to see if this works as a stand alone product or do you have to purchase the entire Casper Suite of MDM software? If it is stand alone then you may be onto something. Providing that the price is right.
From the site:
With Casper Focus, distractions are no longer an issue and hovering is a thing of the past. With just a couple taps, teachers can command the attention of...
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Remembering the Kiss: Thoughts on Why Problem...
This first appeared on my Intended Consequences Website back in 2009.
I bet, if you thought about it for a second, that you could remember your first real kiss. I am not talking Tia Lucia pecking you on the cheek. I’m talking that girl or boy that you were so hot for back in the day. You were nervous, you were excited, you were sweating, you were worried. Even if it happened decades ago you...
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40 Must Know Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers
40 Must-know Web 2.0 Edutools by ProfDrAmin
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Speak Up Reports: Five Major Findings →
Sometimes I wonder about these SPeak Up surveys. For instance, can anyone remember last year’s findings? Probably not, only some vague “something about mobile learning” stuff. So I take each year’s survey with a giant grain of soalt, because each year they say that whatever they find out is going to change education as we know it…
So here are the five big points...
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Commissioner Williams announces 2013...
AUSTIN – Commissioner of Education Michael L. Williams today announced the four components that will be part of the new 2013 state accountability system for school districts, campuses and charters in Texas. The first ratings under this system will be issued by the Texas Education Agency on August 8, 2013.
“I have heard the criticism of the previous accountability system, with its overemphasis on...
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Get Ideas Latest Newsletter
The Top 5 education resources from GETideas for the week of Apr. 22, 2013.
Google+ Hangout: Moving Forward with GETideas.org’s Learning Trends
GETideas.org is the incubator where education leaders can develop their professional learning networks. This community provides tools, research, and inspiration to help transform learning institutions.
[Google+ Hangout]
Designing a New Learning...
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The bottom line on "no excuses" and poverty in... →
Placing blame for the achievement gap on bad teachers and schools is dangerous, and hereâs why.
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“Why aren’t the people at the Partnership for 21st Century Skills taking...”
– Tim Holt on 21st Century Skills and Standardized Tests
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Five Questions/Five Answers EPISD School Board...
Whenever there is a local school board election in my district, I try to get as many of the candidates to respond some questions as possible. Here are the answers to the Five Question / Five Answers. I contacted ALL the candidates running, these were the ones that responded:
Rocio Benedicto District 1 (incumbent)
Susie Byrd, District 3
Robert Geske District 1
James Lamonica District 5
Charles...
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Connected from the Start: New Book from PLP Press
Kathy Cassidy (is) a shining example of what one teacher with some grit, curiosity and passion can do to realize the powerful potential of computing and technology in the classroom. And she does it with 6 and 7 year olds.” –Dean Shareski, Community Manager, Discovery Educa- tion Canada
In her new book Connected from the Start: Global Learning in the Primary Grades, primary teacher Kathy Cassidy...
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The World of 100 : Toby Ng Design →
If the world were made up of 100 people, this is what the composition of the world would be using statistics in several categories. GREAT CONVERSATION STARTERS for your students.
From the site:
The World of 100
If the world were a village of 100 people, what would its composition be? This set of 20 posters is built on statistics about the spread of population around the world under various...
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The Evolution of Ed Tech
The Evolution of Educational Technology infographic by lemonwood_design.
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2 Must Watch Videos on The Importance of... →
What amazes me is that in 2013, we are still trying to convince people to use technology in classes.
From the site:
Do you feel stuck when trying to come up with solid arguments in favor of your use of technology in your teaching ? Do you want some inspiration on how and why this technology should be part of the curriculum you teach ? Are you skeptic about the importance of technology...
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The Ultimate Education Reform: Messy Learning &... →
My latest article for the Voices from the Learning Revolution blog:
If we can teach kids to solve messy problems before they graduate, they might have better luck solving messy problems when they start running the world, says teacher and instructional technology leader Tim Holt. Problem-Based Learning could be the final education reform.
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When the Conversation Stops
Socrates might have been proud. We educators are great at asking questions. We love to ask our students something, anything. Probably, if you think about the last class period you taught, you could make the case that the entire class period was based on questioning. We question for a variety of reasons including increasing understanding of a concept, improving retention and encouraging...
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The Smart Way to Use iPads in the Classroom →
I have been trying to get people to see iPads as content creation devices for a long time. Maybe I need to move to Switzerland where they apparently understand this.
From the article:
“The school has an unconventional take on the iPad’s purpose. The devices are not really valued as portable screens or mobile gaming devices. Teachers I talked to seemed uninterested, almost dismissive, of...
