British newspaper The Guardian has put together some terrific tips for using current technologies to teach languages. In an article by Emma Durry, teachers can see how everything from cutting edge tech like QR codes to antiquated tools...
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded each year to someone deemed to have made an important contribution to world peace. A petition has started to consider 15 year old Malala Yousafzai for this award.The Pakistani teen spoke out for girls to be allowed to go to school. You may remember that Malala was shot by Taliban members who do not want girls to get an education. Teachers around the world, perhaps,signing the petition to have Malala considered for the Nobel Peace Prize, is something you may...
The conversation went something like this:
Student:
So how is nuclear energy used in everyday life?
Expert:
Have you ever had an X-Ray taken?
Student
My sister has.
Expert:
Well~ that radiation~ thats a form of nuclear energy.
Student:
Oh~ O.K.
The above interview took place recently between one of my fifth-grade students and a researcher at the University of South Florida. The student~ part of the gifted program at the...
The folks at All Things D are issuing a warning to those who may be quick on the social media trigger.
The site warns of spurious--or outright fake--posts that are expected to be put out in an effor to dissuade voters. As results come in, but...
A True Test
What is a true measure of our students success?
In this world of standardized testing~ does our current system of evaluation in education mirror the real world~ where students will spend the rest of their lives working and striving for success?
To arrive at an answer~ I think we have to look closer at what is expected in the work environment. Where in the workplace is success measured by how many facts you can memorize or whether you can pass a standardized test...
Election Day is just around the corner, and as voters go to the polls to cast their ballots, in many states, they vote on more than just candidates. Most voters will have several ballot referendums to vote yay or nay on, and the consequences of those decisions influence policy. Take as one example the recent vote on gay marriage in the state of North Carolina. It is no different with ballot referendums on public school funding. This fall, five states have some such type of ballot initiative...
Title: Digital Storytelling Guide for Educators~ by Midge Frazel. ISTE~ 2010.
Description: Midge Frazel brings the craft of storytelling to today's classrooms with her Web 2.0 walk-through Digital Storytelling Guide for Educators. The title helps teachers support students as they use current technologies to build the skills they'll need to conquer multimedia presentations in college and eventually~ the workforce.
...Should the annual classic~ It's the Great Pumpkin~ Charlie Brown~" be shelved? Does it advocate... bullying? That's the thought of Buzz Bishop. The father thinks a television program that has kids calling each other words like dumb~ blockhead and stupid is wrong. Bishop feels that the classic television program~which first aired on October 27~ 1966~ shows young kids that it's OK to taunt others. What do you think~ does Buzz Bishop have a point? Could watching~ It's the Great Pumpkin~ Charlie...
Every year, the folks at SplashData release a list of the worst, most ineffective, potentially dangerous passwords employed by people to "protect" their various technological properties. These are considered the bottom of the barrel and are as bad as not password protecting at all.
SplashData's list of the worst...
When it comes to teaching~ often times~ I think we have it backwards.
We think that the students are expected to sit there and be interested in what we teach them. They are supposed to fall in love with our curriculum and become engaged.
I remember when teaching middle school~ how fellow teachers would complain about their kids not be interested (which naturally led to behavior problems and headaches). While still a novice to the profession~ I instinctively knew I had to do...