Eclectic Technology

Today is Earth Day and this inforgraphic shares information about water. Why choose water for Earth Day? Think about the drought in California and how it is impacting people, and crops. Water is seen as a finite resource (although there are scientists at work figuring out how we might be able to make water).

This infographic focuses on the US and how much water we (we being Americans) use, specifically in the following areas:

* The amount daily, not just for drinking but to "grow and make the things we eat, wear and use to generate energy."

* The top eight crops that use water

* The top eight river basins, plus what happens when the water level drops below critical levels

Additional resources are provided under the infographic. Students are fascinated by  nature, and this infographic could be used to have students think about how they use water in their household, and how your school uses water.

Check out this visual using the quote "Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude." Consider printing out a copy and putting on the wall, reminding students that with time and effort they will improve!

Fractus Learning provides a great visual that shares 5 cooperative learning strategies as well as links to additional information including
* A book on Educational Psychology (Creative Commons)

* Additional techniques in a four-page handout called The Basic Collaborative Learning Techniques

* 20 Collaborative Learning Tips and Strategies for Teachers

* 2 Videos

The Common Core promotes cooperative/collaborative learning. These strategies may provide you with new ways to move students on the spectrum of learning, and potentially have your students engaged in project-based learning, which promotes critical thinking skills as well as highly engaged learners who will share their work with a much larger community.

Here is a great idea to provide differentiation in homework. The Heat-ometer provides four levels, from mild (not shown in the image above) to medium (also not shown) to hot and extra hot. each level is more complex than the previous level, and 3 options are provided for each level.

The designer of this image also provides links to the original design, which is located at Take Away Homework.

This post from For the Teachers provides two great resources to help you look at differentiation in your classroom. The first is a detailed visual  (Differentiation Planning Diagram) that looks at three areas of planning necessary for differentiation.

* Concepts - The skills and concepts students will are expected to know or be able to do (at the end of a lesson or unit).

* Assesments - How the students will demonstrate what they have learned.

* Activities and Materials - The materials, activities and lessons that students will do or use to practice skills and gain information.

There is also a great visual that provides  101 Ways to Show What You Know (which may be downloaded as a pdf). This visual has four areas that students may show their knowledge/understanding:

* Visual

* Written

* Performance

* Spoken

You may find yourself printing out this visual and using it as a way to quickly consider a variety of ways students could demonstrate their knowledge.

The Differentiation Planning Diagram may also be downloaded. 

Are you interested in having your students be more involved in the creation of projects? This visual is a "learning commons working model" that looks at "key stations in the learning commons."

As a teacher what changes might you need to make in your classroom for this to work? What will you see and hear? How will you get your students engaged?

Maker stations, innovation work, project-based learning - all are experiential and many of our students will gravitate towards projects if given the opportunity. This visual provides a road map that may help you make shifts in your classroom.

Check out this great visual on Problem Based Learning (PBL)from Mia MacMeekin. It provides a look at the seven steps found in PBL. For each step she provides a number of ways for students to think about the specific process. What are the seven areas?

1. Start with a real life problem

2. Map it out

3. Prototype, prototype, prototype

4. Be creative

5. Think global

6. Join a challenge

7. Set goals

8. Create learning moments

Along the way she also makes some suggestions on what you should be doing as a teacher. If PBL is new to you (or your students) this would be a great visual to have your students recreate, where they may change words and add images to make it their own. Then hang it in your classroom and support them as they become experienced at problem based learning.

This visual is based on an article published by Edutopia, 5 Powerful Questions Teachers Can Ask Students. You can access the article through the link which provides some additional information. If you read the comment section you will also find some additional resources related to questioning.

If you are interested in comparing some key components of behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism side-by-side check out this visual. You will quickly find areas where components are similar as well as areas where ideas are more diverse.

Teaching students digital citizenship is not as easy as one might think.Tweens and teens often make decisions when posting online before they consider the consequences. Dr. Mike Ribble "coined the nine elements of digital citizenship" and many use it as a base to help teach these skills. The poster (shown above) may be printed out and six additional resources are provided in this post. 

Are you looking for ways to get your students more engaged in your classroom? This post includes some background information on student engagement including:

* Five levels of student engagement that include authentic engagement and rebellion (with three in between)

* Three ways to measure student engagement

* Seven ways to increase student engagement (which includes a visual, part of which is shown above)

This post provides a quick review on material that may be new to some, and this great visual to help you recall some ideas that you may want to try in your class. 

Google is a company that many of us rely on for email, to search, for their free apps and more. Check out this infographic to learn more about Google's background, finances and the many services that it provides. This would be a good infographic to kick off a classroom discussion about what it means to be the company that holds so much of your information and what they have the potential to do with this information.

Do your learners know what happens when the read, or when stories are read to them. This post, from the Open Education Database, provides a visual (that you may want to print out and share with learners and their families) as well as 10 ways that reading helps your brain workout. The list is below.

* We make photos in our mind, even without being prompted.

* Spoken word can put your brain to work.

* Reading about experiences is almost the same as living it.

* Different styles of reading create different patterns in the brain.

* New languages can grow your brain.

* Your brain adapts to reading e-books in seven days.

* E-books lack in spatial navigability.

* Story structure encourages our brain to think in sequence, expanding our attention spans.

* Reading changes your brain structure (in a good way)).

* Deep reading makes us more empathetic.

To learn more about each of these points click through to the post.

This image looks at 20 skills essential today, and 20 skills that are no longer essential to know. What are your thoughts? Do you agree with the two lists? What would your students think?

The infographic above is geared to elementary students. Research shows that if we teach students about their brain, and about growth mindset and fixed mindset it makes a difference. Consider sharing this with your students and have them answer the questions. Some may find that they are holding themselves back based on their mindset. Students could share strategies that they use when they find themselves falling into areas of a fixed mindset.

Jackie Gerstein shares a number of posts she has written that discuss growth mindset as well as an interview with Carol Reiley, who is publishing a book, Making a Splash, which is designed for children to learn more about growth mindsets (as well as parents/teachers). Along with the great image (shown above) that compares growth mindset and fixed mindset there is an interview with Carol Reiley as well as two short video clips.

You can also check out her website, GoBrain, to learn more the book and to find a larger version of the visual and information on growth mindset.

This new infographic from ISTE compares a good citizen to a good digital citizen. Many students many find this poster of value as they learn the need to be a good citizen both online and offline.

As the post states, being a good citizen and a good digital citizen "are not so different from the basic tenets of traditional citizenship: Be kind, respectful and responsible, and just do the right thing."

This is an animated visual that shows how human lungs, bird lungs, and a grasshopper (who does not have lungs) breathe. I suspect that students will be very intrigued with this and that a great classroom discussion could take place, or students might want to learn how other animals breathe, and compare them to the images provided.

How can you, as an educator, help students develop a growth mindset? This infographic from Jackie Gerstein provides provides a  look at:

* "the common beliefs of an educator who promotes a growth mindset"

* "common beliefs of an educator who promotes a growth mindset"

She also discusses the need for a teacher to become a coach when we look at mindset, providing a link for additional information that you may find helpful, as well as links to some of here previous writings on mindset.

This infographic (from Knewton) provides an overview of differentiation. It is divided into the following sections.

* What is differentiated instruction?

* Why differentiated instruction?

* Differentiated instruction in schools

* Differentiated instruction at scale

Learning how to differentiate instruction effectively is not always easy, but it is a skill that we need to learn. This infographic provides an overview that may be helpful for you as a teacher, and it might be a good way to introduce parents to this concept if it is new to them.

This infographic looks at the brain and how we learn. As more is learned about the brain it is clear that education is not a one-size-fits all.

* Learn how the occipital lobe, Wernicke's area, Broca's area and auditory processing impacts reading. 

* Read three examples that show brain plasticity (the ability of the brain to change over time).

* And find out how struggling readers can be helped at a neurological level.

Some additional resources are also included.

We have many students who struggle with reading. This infographic provides information that you may want to share with parents.

LEGOs. Math. Put the two together and you may have a winning combination. And to make it even easier check out this infographic that provides a range of ideas on how to use LEGOs in math. Make sure to scroll past the infographic. More detailed explanations are provides as well as a template to a LEGO stud dice (with additional ways to teach math with LEGOs).

It is amazing how little many students know about food. This infograhic shares statistics from across the world and some may come as a surprise. How often do Americans eat fast food? Does yoghurt come from plants? These questions and many more are answered in this visual.

Take some time to explore this post and see if you could create a lesson or two to help our students why and how to make better choices when choosing what to eat.