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Blog: Ed Tech Today

OED Added "Tweet' to Official...

The Oxford English Dictionary’s annual June update has a decidedly tech feel this year as the much ballyhooed reference title is adding the words “tweet,” “crowdsourcing,” “e-reader” and “re-direct.”

Every June the dictionary adds several new words to the English vernacular, provided they meet certain criteria. While “tweet” does not meet the standard of having been in...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

Student Ability Grouping: Help or...

This post was contributed by EducationWorld Web Assistant Joe Murphy.

Vivian Yees New York Times article Grouping Students by Ability Regains Favor in Classroom focuses on a classroom practice that had declined in popularity~ but has started to make its way into schools again. The controversial strategy of grouping students...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

Southern Word Uses Poetry To Empower

Southern Word works with poet coaches and other mentors to use creativity to help develop literacy and presentation skills in students. These skills help many kids going from high school through to the beginning of college connect the dots between education and their lives.

Southern Word does many local programs~ helping to establish young students as leaders in their communities all through using spoken word poetry. This includes spoken word school residencies~ after school...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

Five Reasons Why All Teachers Should Be...

Ive spent the last four years of my education careerimmersed in gifted education as a practicing teacher of the gifted and a graduate student in gifted education. The more I study the subject~ the more I am convinced that every teacher should be required to take gifted education courses to some extent.

Believe me~ I realize how busy teachers are and the demands that are placed upon educators. However~ if we can make time for professional development~ then we can find time to complete...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

Creating Music...with the Eiffel Tower...

IN the NEWS....
Possible Bell RInger Activity

Piano~ guitar and drums are instruments...but the Eiffel Tower? Composer Joseph Bertolozzi is creating on opus~ "Tower Music" using the Eiffel Tower as his instrument! The American Bertolozzi says banging different sized mallets~ drumsticks and a lambs wool covered log against the tower's girders~ railings and panels creates sounds similar to that of marimbas~ Indonesian gamelan gongs and metallic drums. Before...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

President to Bring High-Speed Internet...

In an effort to boost achievement and better prepare students for the workforce, President Obama is spearheading a program that will bring high-speed Internet access to 99 percent of America's K-12 schools.

Dubbed ConnectED, the program aims to accomplish its goal in the next five years. In addition to bringing Internet speeds of at least 100 Mbps and...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

Using the News in the classroom: Moving...

With the pressure of testing creating more focus on getting kids ready for tests~ current events may be getting moved to the side-lines. Use news stories as possible Bell ringer activities(or whatever the current jargon is for a short activity for the students to do) especially while you are checking homework~ doing attendance~ at the end of the period~etc.) Find a news story~ write up a brief summary and then include two reaction questions for the students...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

Summer Skills

Summer is an excellent time to learn new skills and sharpen old ones.

Courses in common core standards~ classroom management~ and differentiated instruction all have their value. However~ Id like to offer a slightly different suggestion for summertime training. Think of it as an opportunity to develop a new skill or gain a new experience~ one that might be a little out of the box but could add great value to your classroom.

What do I mean?

What if you took an acting...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

Android Apps to Invade Schools

Android apps are planning an invasion of the education market, and teachers and administrators are taking sides in a serious tech battle.

The recent announcement of Google’s new app store for educators is interesting for a number of reasons. The move signals a clear attempt to cut off what, up until this point, has been a hard line between Apple and the K-12...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

Summer Fever

Lets face it many of us feel exhausted by this time of the school year.
Others have mentally checked out.
Your students, in similar fashion, are dreaming of sandy beaches, lemonade, sleeping in late, and playing video games until their fingers hurt.
I call it the Summer Fever, and like germs, its highly contagious. With standardized testing complete, many students begin to feel like the school year is over. The problem is, its not. We are left with the demands of teaching,...

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