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by Julie Dirksen "So this session is about pulling some of the specific strategies that fiction writers use to into learning scenarios. There are a lot of other interesting ways to explore storytelling in terms of meta-structures, psychology and cultural constructs. This isn’t that presentation (though I’ll probably do that one too, one of these days). "This presentation is focused on specific strategies for making learning stories more interesting."
If high school students took charge of their education with limited supervision, would they learn? A Massachusetts school is finding out. by Alexandra Sifferlin "By taking ownership of their learning, the students at Monument are forced to think creatively and capitalize on their own talents in order to excel. The class framework is similar to what will be expected of them in college and in the workforce, when they have to make their own educated and independent decisions. "Some faculty say the program is equally rejuvenating for teachers. “The project provides the setting for students both at risk and at the top academically to bring themselves further along. I have seen students who would never be successful in a normal schedule of the school thrive in the project,” says Lisa Baldwin, the science faculty adviser to the Independent Project. “As a teacher, I am pushed to think about diverse and challenging science topics depending on what the students are working on. I like how my work there stimulates my own love of science in a different way from my traditional classroom teaching.” "Among the defining parts of the Independent Project are the Individual and Collective Endeavors. The Individual Endeavor is a personal project each student works on throughout the semester to present to the school and their families. Individual Endeavors have included creating a film, learning to cook for 80 people, and, in Whalan’s case, writing a novel. The only requirement is the student be passionate about their chosen subject. "The Collective Endeavor is a group effort that must have a local or global impact. For one semester, students created a film about the program for other interested schools. You can watch it here
Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2013/03/27/a-high-school-where-the-students-are-the-teachers/#ixzz2U3KBTOxS
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By Larry Ferlazzo, Rosanna Elden, and Donalyn Miller Summary by MiddleWeb SmartBrief :Ideas such as making sure any intensely graded assignments are due two weeks before the end of the year, and having students work on group or reflective projects in their final days are among those suggested by educators and authors Roxanna Elden and Donalyn Miller in this blog post, compiled by educator Larry Ferlazzo, about finishing the school year. "The temptation to go on autopilot is strong during the final stretch of the school year, but that doesn't mean veering off course," Elden writes."
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Boolean search logic illustrated in Venn diagrams can help you visualize what you are searching for. If you think this sounds suspiciously like mathematics, you’re spot on. But don’t let that discourage you! It’s pure and simple logic, demonstrated with pretty and very simple diagrams, and so it’s easy. I promise! And I have fun examples to prove it."
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Yes commencement speeches are often little more than platitudes. But as David Foster Wallace Jeff Bezos and Arianna Huffington show us some platitudes can save your life"
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.
Via GoogleLitTrips Reading List
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Date: 15–16 June 2013 Venue: Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, USA Preliminary Congress Program The second international Global Future 2045 congress will take place on 15-16 June 2013 at the Lincoln Center in New York, and will be focused on discussion of a new evolutionary strategy for humanity aimed at overcoming the 21st century’s civilization challenges. The strategy is based on carrying out two revolutions: spiritual and sci-tech. We believe this is the only way to overcome existing crises. At the congress, a vision will be presented for the spiritual transformation of humanity, and new technologies will be demonstrated which are likely to form the basis of the sci-tech revolution. The congress will also showcase our Avatar science mega-project, aimed at accelerating the creation of technologies enabling a gradual transition from our biological bodies to an increasingly advanced artificial carrier of the human self.
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"Today at its I/O event, Google announced Google Play for Education: A version of the Play store that is aimed and curated for young kids. "Applications that are in the Play for Education store are sorted by age and genre. So, users can find math-based applications that are appropriate for their kindergartener, who wants to learn more math. "However, what is most interesting about Play for Education is the ability for administrators to send out applications to their entire tablet fleet. So, if a school wants to send an app to their 200 Nexus 7 devices, they can do so, by simply inputting the group’s name. The app will be pushed out by Google."
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Get the latest ratings and reviews on the go Search 19,000+ ratings and reviews of movies, DVDs, books, music, TV shows, games, websites, and apps Create customized profiles to get recommendations for your kids View top picks from our editors to discover new favorites Watch video reviews of new movie releases Scan barcodes to quickly check reviews before you rent or purchase Save reviews as favorites, or share with friends on Facebook and Twitter or via email
"Do you want to get more out of your iPhone? Check out the second part of our in-depth guide to Apple’s premier phone. The second of a three part series from author Tim Brookes, this 12-lesson guide outlines everything from the camera to the App Store. Lesson-by-lesson, we’ll take you through your phone’s many functions, from the very basics to more advanced operations and features you might not have even been aware of. "The iPhone is a revolutionary device thanks to its user-friendly interface and sleek minimalist design – but that doesn’t mean it’s always straightforward. Many of the iPhone’s advanced or lesser-used features are hidden away and Apple don’t always do the greatest job of filling you in."
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By Justin Pot "Tweak Gmail to work exactly the way you want it to. Whether you want to integrate social media icons in your signature, see more information about your contacts, or deal with an email later instead of now, Chrome’s seemingly endless collection of extensions has you covered. "If you’re looking to get the most out of Gmail, you’ve come to the right place. "We take great pride in our list of the best Chrome extensions, and try to update it regularly. There are more than a few Gmail-related extensions to be found there, but they’re not all there – and there is no way to filter to only Gmail-specific plugins. This list is an attempt to remedy that. "Some of these extensions I use; some I hear about constantly from friends and colleagues. Everyone’s workflow is different, so not every extension will work for everyone. If you love Gmail, however, at least one of these tools is bound to make you happy."
Mind mapping is a great way to brainstorm, make a plan, or turn ideas into the steps needed to make it real. Thankfully, there are great tools out there to help you build mind maps, organize them, and save them for later.
Via Baiba Svenca
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by Ann Michaelson "After eight years of teaching in a technology driven high school and after attending workshops, seminars and conferences worldwide, I thought it was about time I challenged both my students and myself. "I wanted to see if it was possible to find a project that could engage every student in my 9th grade class of English learners and learn if they all could work together as a team. Most of all, I wanted to see if they could produce an end product that would be authentic and involve collaboration with educators and students globally. "I believe they and I succeeded! The evidence: Our publication of the 200-plus page collaborative book Connected Learners: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Global Classroom.As our press release says, this interactive eBook is a unique compendium of stories, advice and how-to articles designed to help high school teachers and their students around the globe shift from classrooms that are isolated and teacher-centered to digitally rich environments where learning is student-driven and constantly connected to the global internet."
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By Bill Ferriter Summary by MiddleWeb SmartBrief "Teaching students how to read nonfiction material -- from understanding an expert's bias to learning how to be active readers -- is an important component of Common Core State Standards, educator Bill Ferriter writes in this blog post. Ferriter shares four assignments and includes links to the handouts he uses to teach nonfiction writing skills to his sixth-grade science class."
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" "Free Tools and Resources to Help Students Develop 21st Century Skills Our online tools create active learning environments where students can engage in discussions, analyze information, pursue investigations, and solve problems. You’ll also find teaching resources, including lesson plans, assessment strategies, and technology-enriched project ideas for all K–12 subjects."
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By Andrew Smith Lewis "It is an error to think that personalized learning is just set of digitized practice problems. We’re not talking about old multiplication tables in newly digitized form, where students get increasingly difficult questions until they get one wrong, then get easier problems until they get them right again. Those kinds of tools are trivial, and they’re not oriented to change outcomes. Digitized drill-and-kill is not revolutionary, nor is it personalized. The fact that any learning tool is digital is simply table stakes these days. Digital is a condition of modern living and learning — nothing more, and nothing less."
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by Maria Popova "On May 21, 2005, David Foster Wallace got up before the graduating class of Kenyon college and delivered one of history’s most memorable commencement addresses. It wasn’t until Wallace’s death in 2008 that the speech took on a life of its own under the title This Is Water, and was even adapted into a short book. Now, the fine folks of The Glossary have remixed an abridged version of Wallace’s original audio with a sequence of aptly chosen images to give one pause:" Wallace: “The real value of a real education … has almost nothing to do with knowledge and everything to do with simple awareness.”
Sir Ken Robinson outlines 3 principles crucial for the human mind to flourish -- and how current education culture works against them.
Via Andrea Zeitz
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New Ken Robinson video from Discovery Education Network, posted May 6, 2013. Runs for about an hour. Always a great pleasure to listen to him.
Some very good video sites for teachers...
Via Steven Engravalle, Jenny Smith, Deborah Millar , juandoming, Ana Rodera, Adriana Marichal, Susan, Ricard Garcia, Lee Hall, Angela Kerr, R.Conrath, Ed.D., Lynnette Van Dyke, Deborah Arnold
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By Greg Anrig Summary by Carnegie Perspectives "The Cincinnati school district has improved both test scores and graduation rates since 2003 while -- unlike Atlanta and Washington -- transparently pursuing highly collaborative reform strategies that, counter to the current trend, don't rely on rigid hierarchy and punitive accountability. Because Cincinnati has implemented proven instructional approaches while nurturing a culture in which administrators, teachers, parents, and community groups closely communicate and work together as teams, the case serves as an important counterweight to the public school stories that have been dominating the news in the past few years. It also can serve as a roadmap for reversing course from the high-pressure tactics that gave rise to the cheating scandals and led to little progress elsewhere."
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Edited by Karen Forni "Technology has expanded the meaning of “classroom” to include any physical or virtual space for formal learning. For educators and designers trained and experienced with the physical classroom, however, virtual classrooms can be daunting. How do you engage students you can’t see? What if someone’s network or Internet connection drops or is slow? How do you select the appropriate virtual-classroom (or virtual-world) platform? "In this eBook, experts provide 129 tips for educators and designers who want to make the best use of these technologies. Whether you are brand new to virtual classrooms and virtual worlds or have been working with them for a while, you should find something in here for you, in areas including: Using virtual-classroom and virtual-world features effectivelyInstructional design and presentation skills for the classroomPros and cons of virtual classrooms and virtual worldsPros and cons of physical and blended classroomsGames for the classroomMobile and social learning for the classroom
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By Sam McNerney "...it is inherently difficult for designers to explain and ultimately sell an idea to an analytically minded client. After all, with money on the line it is probably not reassuring if you, the client, hear from a designer that a design will work because it “elicits warmth” “feels positive” or “conforms to human nature.” These abstractions may correctly describe a design but they did not communicate, in concrete terms, its potential value well. "In a recent exchange Michael explained how embodiment might provide a new vocabulary with two examples. One involved a premium home goods project, in which he and his team gathered from consumer interviews that certain production details like hand sewn contrast stitching (as opposed to laser-welded seams) created impressions of authenticity and longevity. They converged on the product direction, “materials that wear in instead of wearing out” and used leather because scuffs and creases communicated personalization and durability. "In the second project Michael and his team wanted to design a product that communicated healthiness. He knew that taut, plump corners suggested “healthy” while ruffled corners suggested “wrinkled” and “old” but needed to show clients why. To do this Michael and his team juxtaposed a freshly picked apple with a withered apple and asked the client which one they would like to eat. The entire boardroom chose the fresh apple and the capital expenditure was approved for design production."
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