EDchat

Quality teaching instructs us that reflection and evaluation is vital in the development of ourselves as teachers.

Staffroomhq raises 5 points that will be compiled in the data collection of their iPad evaluation form.  Those are: providing feedback, promoting direction, concrete data, focus, and reason.  

To read the entire post and view their iPad evaluation form visit http://goo.gl/tEWnx

What are the components of a digital classroom? From eBooks to smartboards, iTunes implementation to online learning, the world of learning is changing.  

I do believe this infographic from TeachThought does a nice job of addressing points comparing Textbooks and Ebooks as well as media resources currently in the hands of today's students. 

Google Drive will let users store and share big files online.  Google Drive will let users store photos, documents, and videos, then access them from any device with a Web connection, including smartphones.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-is-painting-a-big-fat-target-on-dropbox-2012-2#ixzz1lxDKO3zz

Give John Green 40 weeks, and Green will give you a playful and highly visual crash course in world history, taking you from the beginning of human civilization 15,000 years ago through to our modern age.

TeachHub has compiled a list of interactive whiteboard resources and arranged them in the following catgories:

* General Teacher Resources for IWB

* IWB Games & Activities

* Unique, Cool Whiteboard Resources

* Science Website for IWB

* IWB activities to teach music

* Basic Reading & Foreign Language

Be sure to checkout the site as it includes several STEM resources as well.  Enjoy letting your students interact!

Gleen Wiebe, Social Science and Integration Specialist for ESSDACK, has posted a reasource blog addressing methods for students to share their work with others outside of their classroom.  Glenn starts his post off witht the following quote "We know that the world is moving online and that to prepare our kids for that world, we need to train them to use that world's tools."  

Glenn goes on to provide links to six different Web 2.0 options for students to publish their work in electronic formats that does not include wikis, Nings, and slide shows.  

Read the entire post here: http://goo.gl/7ir88

Sponge Lab Biology recently won a National Science Foundation award for its interactive Build a Body activity. Spend a few minutes using Build a Body and it is easy to understand why it was recognized by the NSF.

On this page, you will find the best 103 Mac applications for all your needs. We’ve taken the effort to categorize the apps and picked only those we believe to be the best ones and which will most likely be useful to you.

While reviewing posts and collections I have subscribed to via Scoop.it!  I came across this reflection post writtn by Jim Heynderickx regarding BYO vs School 1:1 programs.  Here is the early point he made that kept me readying.  

"There’s been some great discussions about “bring your own” vs. “school provided” 1:1 laptops......the determining factors are school culture and the targeted objectives of the program."

As I read the entire post Jim make great points about student choice via BYO as well as touched on the issues when it comes to support and application compatibility.  The final point that is mentioned talks about the life expectancy of a BYO selection.  I too have been involved in establishing, developing, and maintaining a 1:1 school iniative.  The concern of a three year life span over four school years will have you scratching your head on how to handle it.  

Thanks to Nic Peachey for sharing this article on his Scoop.it page (http://www.scoop.it/t/learning-technology).

The author, Peter Pappas,  has provided a very nice overview and flow of Blooms Taxonomy and reflection.  Peter's diagram illustrates the process he models when leading trainning for administrators when they conduct walkthrough observations which in turn lead to deeper professional conversations between administrator and teacher.  He also provides a reflective question for each level of Blooms to consider when observing as well as discussing with others.

Finally, I encourage everyone to explore Peter's Prezi on Blooms Taxonomy as there are a wealth of examples and resources that further explain and related to folks how each level may be applied. View the Prezi at http://goo.gl/w4ty

This article from plpnetwork.com was written by Dolores Gende.  She talks about creating your own textbook after providing an illustration showing textbook rental fees, cost of purchasing new or used books, and eTextbooks.  

Dolores' "The Process" image (one used to illustrate this post) says it all aggregation, curation, creation.  What really stands out on this post is the number of resource links, tool options, and strategies provided.  She even talks about the use of online learning repository options for organization ranging from Edmodo to Moodle and beyond.

Another diagram within the post that makes you think is the one used in the "Teacher and Learner Roles" portion of the post.  It illustrates the transistion from teacher centered to student (learner) centered learning. 

I will close with this question.  Which of the resources she provides for getting started in creating your own textbook is one others should review in considering this approach?