Extra credit: Citation Generator.
Jan 21, 2012
SITE: Morguefile
I've noticed that the kids have discovered Google Images. Free images for everyone! Yeah, no, not really. Teachers, if we assign projects that involves images, we must teach the rules of attribution. Morguefile makes it easier. Each image is very clear about its copyright. Plus, the images are free!
Write it on your communicator: morguefile.com.
Extra credit: Citation Generator.
Extra credit: Citation Generator.
ARTICLE: Parent Trigger?
'Parent trigger' would let parents convert schools
This is monumentally moronic. I can't even begin to wrap my head around this insanity. If 51% of a school's parents are brainwashed into thinking that naming your school with the word, charter, is an improvement, it becomes a charter school. I haven't read much, but the research seems inconclusive to me. Besides, I would argue that a successful charter school has effective teachers. A successful public school has effective teachers. A successful clown school has effective teachers. Let's stop pretending that the type of school is the secret to success. Use research to train teachers in best practices, allow them the freedom to collaborate, and reward them for creative, effective lessons--when that happens, you'll see success... in public, private, and clown schools.
I'm convinced that someone is making trademark money every time the word, charter, is used.
ARTICLE: Student Seminars
We Learn By Teaching
"I insist that all my students present their learning in seminars, and I also encourage questioning during these seminars. It's for a very good reason - having to stand up and explain something, means the students need to learn it first. They need to become familiar with the concept, theory, idea they will be talking about in front of their peer group."
Okay, so the article isn't ground-breaking. It's not supported with research. In fact, it seems common-sensical, which is dangerous. I find it interesting, though. In class, my students are reviewing topics in Math. Once they finish the lessons, I'll need to assess them again. Instead of paper and pencil, it's an interesting idea to have them present a lesson. It doesn't need to be long, but should include 1) vocabulary, 2) things to remember, 3) an example, and 4) things to avoid.
SITE: Web 2.0 Tools for Educators
Good ol' Jim from ITD put this together. And he must have put in hours and hours of work to organize this collection.
Come on, teachers, get with it! Web 2.0 tools are wicked cool and fun. Kids love them. The great thing about stuff on computers and the Internet is that kids teach themselves. Don't take the computer lab session to instruct and point out all of the options. They know something that adults forget--if you want to learn something, dive in.
SITE: Prezi
Dig it, folks. This site is free. Free! It's infinitely more interesting than PowerPoint or a poster. I always offer this as a project choice, and a few kids take me up on it. Without instructions or hints from me, they figure it out and put together interesting shows.
Write it on your communicator: prezi.com.
SITE: Glogster
I keep thinking about this site. I want to use it. Unless hit by creative lightning, I don't anticipate using it for Math, but it has great potential in Social Studies. Our art teacher uses it in class as a hook--what a great visual introduction to artists and styles. Much better than a poster or video. It's free unless you want to create and manage student accounts. For 50 ad-free student accounts, it's $29.95 per year. That's not bad--you could use it over and over during the year.
Write it on your communicator: glogster.com.
SITE: Teachers Pay Teachers
Teachers, you have to visit this site. Whenever you create an account and add products, your first offer must be free, so there are buttloads of free lessons, activities, worksheets, and assessments. Plus, there's over 100,000 items that are $5 or less. There's only one thing that I don't like. Many of the products are professionally made--you could find them on other sites or at the teacher store. That's just cheating.
Write it on your communicator: teacherspayteachers.com.
Extra credit: my store.
Extra credit: my store.
SITE: Voki
ARTICLE: Merit Pay
Teacher Reward Report: Focus on Collaboration, Not Competition
There's a report by the National Education Policy Center that suggests that merit pay won't improve student achievement. Instead of merit pay, it might be worthwhile to offer teachers other incentives. NEPC suggests that policymakers consider rewarding teachers with...
- Principals who cultivate and embrace teacher leadership
- Time and tools for teachers to learn from one another
- Specialized resources for high-need schools, students and subjects
- The elimination of out-of-field teaching assignments
- Teaching loads that take the diversity of students into account
- Leeway to take risks
- Integration of academic, social and health services for students
- Safe, well-maintained school buildings
Jan 20, 2012
Jan 1, 2012
IDEA: The Chain of Success
I don't know how I'm going to use this, yet. I considered making it a take-home sheet, but I don't want the extra responsibility of checking all of them. I considered a poster. Or laminated locker signs. Or I could print them on cardstock and the students can keep them in their binders. I guess the easiest thing would be to reference it on my screen every day. Otherwise, they just ignore it.
Dec 31, 2011
SITE: My Fake Wall
It's been a while. I'd like to expand the blog a bit and include websites and ideas. For my first site, I'll mention My Fake Wall. Kids love facebook, so I think they'd love to create a fake page for a historical figure or literary figure.
Write it on your communicator: myfakewall.com/
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