Showing posts with label educator. Show all posts
Showing posts with label educator. Show all posts

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Mission Possible Book and Giveaway!

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Mission Possible Book and Giveaway!


Preparing for this coming school year, I read a really inspiring book by Eva Moskowitz and Arin Lavinia about the Success Academies that started in Harlem, New York. I first heard about the Success Academy in Harlem on NPR a few years ago.  It sounded like such an exciting prospect and I was intrigued to know more on how the school works and why it is so successful in educating a population that was considered low potential because of their economic situation.  The book is called  Mission Possible:How the Secrets of the Success Academies Can Work in Any School and I highly recommend reading it. 


photo of book mission possible how the secrets of the success academies can work in any school

The state of education in the US worries me with Baby Bear a few years away from going to Kindergarten.  Are things going to change? Its so sad to say, but sometimes I think of education in American like a stagnant pool of water.  Yeah, there is water in the pool, but the water is not moving and it starts to get smelly and stale.  How come we think this is OK for our education system that is suppose to teach and nurture our children? If you don't see any change in how the system works it will lead to low teacher moral and therefore poor student performance.  Everyone knows that a great teacher makes a difference.  I still remember the names of my great teachers (but the bad ones, now so much).   When there  is no way to allow teachers to learn and grow throughout their teaching career, how can a teacher want to be the best if mediocre is OK.  

author eva moskowitzauthor Arin Lavinia

Eva Moskowitz        and         Arin Lavinia 

How can we do better for our children? The book Mission Possible: How the Secrets of the Success Academies Can Work in Any School give simple and easy to apply methods. The secrete is that there really is no secret.  It is changing the ways that schools are structured and funded and making parental support mandatory.  This begins with the most overlooked part- the Teacher.


Teachers are educated individuals that go through college programs to be certified but they are often looked down upon.  It is so sad that we do not revere our teachers and idolized them like we do musicians and actors, because teachers have the ability to mold young minds and inspire students.  They also have a small income potential for the amount of schooling that they go through and the public knows the reputation of public schools as horrible places.  If we were able to change the outcome of the students in all of the schools across the country, then people would want to be teachers and teaching would be a profession that was looked upon as special and worthy.  

You can read more about the book Mission Possible here
Connect with Eva on Facebook 
Connect with Eva on Twitter {tweet her what you think about the book}








~sponsored post~
 I was compensated for this post however, all opinions expressed are my own


Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Why Texting & Chewing Gum in Class should be OK

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I am at the Moreh L'Morim "Teacher to Teachers" conference and listening to Joel Hoffman speak about teaching Hebrew.  I am a little bit frustrated that the teachers attending are really talking more about classroom distractions, but it did come to some interesting points about cell phone usage in class (despite what the teachers attending wanted!!)

I got an in school suspended for bring an cell phone that was turned off when I was in High School.  My parents even spoke to the principle and said that since there was theft in the parking lot, they did not want me to keep my phone in the car.  The principle did not care and I had to miss out on a day of school by sitting in a small room with busy work.  

The way that I feel about allowing students to use cell phones in class is not only something that I think because I want to be the 'cool teacher' but because there is factual evidence that they can pay more attention when multitasking.  


I personally use cell phones as a teaching tool with my students.  I like to have them interact with one another and me (the teacher) using them for positive learning opportunities. I have had my students use them to take photos, videos, texting, googleing...etc! I admit though, that I did not let them use their phones to text or play games, but my thinking has now changed.


To see the article that Joel Hoffman wrote quoting the research about cell phone use click here

Chewing gum has a similar bad wrap in class


I see the point that they may put the gum in places other then the garbage and that IS a problem.  I would also suggest gum without chemical of color additives.  However; Gum has been scientifically proven to help kids focus better and to improve their memory (Allen, NYU).



Psychologists in the United Kingdom have also proven that chewing gum helps your memory and studying. This is due to the fact that chewing gum helps to release insulin into the bloodstream which affects how well your memory works. Gum might be helpful for people with 'ADD' or 'ADHD'. The simple chewing motion can help you relax.


What alternative methods have you tried in your class?

Friday, June 29, 2012

Cool tools for iPads/tablets & Tech Products -ISTE 2012

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Cool tools for techies
for use in the classroom and everywhere
Love this staying.. This is the way that I teach & learn!

These are some of the products that I liked from the ISTE conference and wanted to share with you.  If these are not things that you are in the market for, they may be tools that you kids will use in the classroom!


Doing math problems using fingers to get the answer.  You will need to have the group using the table work together to get enough fingers to make the correct answer.

Smart Table
Touchable table with programs that kids can do in a group
Up to 8 kids and 40 fingers at a time 


Turning Technologies Clicker for Smart Boards
These can be used to get responses from students.  They have a fancier version that has a text feature.  The software has teacher assessment tools, testing abilities and more.  



StudentPublishing.com
Free for teacher to use to make iBooks and also read printed books.  You will receive one printed book per student or one hardcover book for the class. (The catch is that you send home a form for parents to order additional copies) 



If you don't have the money to buy WhiteBoards, then you can use a, iPad to do the same thing. Use these
converters to make an appleTV.  You an use this with your Apple Computer or iPad to make your own projection devise. 


Ipeva Chopsticks for iPads.  These you can use as a stylus and as your fingers since there are 2.  Use them to zoom and move the screen as you would your 2 fingers. 


iBallz for keeping your iPads/tablets/readers safe.  Absorbs the shock and the balls can be re-arranged to angle the screen. Very economical option to protect your investment. 


There were a lot of live camera feed technology out there, but the IPEVO company had 2 great quality cameras that were both under $100!  You can use them to project your text, show experiments on the screen, look closer at an object, etc.  He put a penny on the book and you zoomed up with the magnifying lens addition and you could see Lincoln on the penny!  



Belkin Tablet/iPad/Reader Stand with Storage Box
It is one of those simple but incredible ideas for using your iPad at work or school!


I LOVE my Silhouette Cameo and was happy to see it at the conference to show teachers how to apply it to the classroom setting.  This is a *must have* in my mind! PS. I will be featuring a follow up post with more on the Cameo.  




Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Apps for the Classroom - iPad and Other

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Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works ISTE 2012
Lecture by Matt Kuhn

The coolest part is that the teacher is doing his presentation off an iPad!

If you want to purchase technology get a mix of iPads and Netbooks- cheep and you can get a bunch of them to do cloud computing. Get a zagg keyboard to connect to iPad. 


3 themes of Apps that are relevant for Teachers to Use

Create an environment for learning
develop understanding
extend & apply knowledge

infinote $2.99
brainstorming idea mapping app that students can add to.

Idea Sketch - free
 brainstorming idea mapping app to set objectives with students

MindMeister -free

eclicker - free for participant $9.99 for the host
   
edmodo - devise agnostic app.  It is a Space for learning and interacting with students

Annotate PdF

Intro to Math $4.99

Free Grammer - free (4-5 level)

apps that reinforce learning objectives 

Monkey Thinks- Praises young children learning to speak and read.  Look at the pictures and say it out loud to the iPad.

Easy Chart HD $.99
ongoing chart making software so that students can see how efforts pay off

Cooperative LEarning

SyncPad  $9.99host, readers are free  turns your app into projection too.  One 'leader' projects to other iPads so that the teacher can share the material with students

Brainstorm Together (use with syncpad)
use the ipad like a smart board and it will projection on the screen.  Students could also get the power to project and show their thinking on problems.  

ReelDirector $1.99
Great assessment tool instead of testing. Cooperative group work- storyboard, practice, edit, listen, watch
Bring in video/photo, photos, record sounds, bring in sounds and stitch them all together.  

Brain Pop free app but $ for subscription (highly recommended as a purchase) 
assessments, games, videos, etc you will need subscription

Draw Free
collaborative drawing

WatchKnow - free
Educational videos that are free unorganized.  You can easily use this instead of YouTube for schools since it is monitored and rated by teachers as safe for student/class viewing.  

Nonlinguistic representation

ShowMe
Make a tutorial with students and then make available for students to watch

VoiceThread- free
Better then powerpoint software. Students can pop in during a presentation to engage and comment during presentation by other students

AudioNote $4.99
allows you to take regular written notes and add audio notes

Note Taking

Pages $9.99
word documents for iPads

PaperDesk $2.99
looks like paper and you can write and draw on it

My Editing Buddy $.99
Simple to use. 2 screens, one where students write and the other a student will correct the work and use symbols to correct it or give editing suggestions. Teaches students to write well and collaborate. 

Practice

Bobo Explores Light $4.99
sophisticated science app for older students (middle and high school)

Math Pentagon subscription required
Wide range of levels (K 12)  track progress and student performance.  

Inspiration $6.99 (webspiration on browser)
compare and contrast diagramming

iDesk Lite - free
similar to the 2 above for free

QuickGraph- free
sophisticated graphing program with scientific graphing calculator type equations . *makes the TI calculators obsolete

Generating and testing hypothesis

3D Cell Stain free
teaching about body cells, great drawings

Isaac Newton's Gravity HD- free for a few levels
illustrates the way that the formulas feel.  You will need to know and understand the formulas and laws of motion. 


Experimental Inquiry- 
SPARKvue App use with Pasco Airlink that collects data and takes measurements. 80 meter radius from iPad and collects the data (temperature, PH, etc)


Sites that recommended Apps

http://apple.com/education/apps  Apple reccommended apps

http://go.gl/7o3GU  Top 20 must have Educational Apps from Appolicious Advisor 


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Monday, June 25, 2012

Game Creation for Students in 1 week

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Thanks to Prof. Dr. Alexander Repenning from the U of Colorado for teaching at ISTE 

You can make anything from Frogger to SIMs and there will be a 3D version called agentcubes. 
First you will need to download the software at www.agentsheets.com .  


Why should you have your students create games? - To get computational thinking education in to public 
       school


Once you download the software, you will want to start to play with it and learn it.  I think that it is simple enough to use when you just follow a few steps by Dr. Repenning in his step by step manual and lesson plans found here until I have some time at home to do screen shots.  


for now you can see my snapshots with my camera-



Here is the interface:



Here is the interface where you control how the games work. 


You get to draw your game board and control the actions





Great Education Links from ISTE 2012

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You can follow my Delicious Book Mark tabs to see what I am adding it as I add in real time

or see the links below
________________________________

  1. Effective Mobile Learning: 50+ Quick Tips and Resources "In this e-book find several tips, resources, and links for integrating mobile devices into the curriculum." -ShellTerrell
  2. 20 Free iPad Apps Educators Can’t Live Without! "There are thousands of free iPad Apps out there, but finding the perfect ones for you can be tough. We’ve spent hours searching for the best-of-the-best, free iPad Apps for Educators, and we’re sharing all of them with you in this eBook! Discover a multitude of free apps for professional development, cross-curricular activities, and every area of the core curriculum. This eBook is part of a webinar, "20 Free iPad Apps Educators Can’t Live Without!". View a recording of this session inside the webinars area." -SimpleK12 Team
  3. Diary of an iPad Grant Team "Follow our school site as we pilot our iPad Lab and work toward writing a grant to fund an iPad Lab. We hope to share with others our iPad lesson plans, the FREE iPad apps we found, resources and tips. We also hope to collaborate with others on their experiences and resources." -Reba Gordon Matthews
  4. Essential iPad Websites and App Guide "A collection of essential websites and iPad apps guides to support your instruction." -Naomi Harm
  5. Free Educational iPad Apps for the Classroom Grades Pre-12 "Great apps that are both free and educational for the classroom." -ldenker
  6. iPad Apps Tied 2 The New Blooms "Web resource for iPad apps from tech guru Kathy Shrock. On this site she groups apps under the following New Blooms categories: Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating and Creating." -Jim J
  7. iPads in Schools "Live binder created by Mike Fisher. Links to a wide-variety of resources for administrators, teachers, & students!" -Patti Wilkins
  8. 15 iPad Tips for Teachers "Learn some “top secret” iPad tips that’ll change the way you think about your iPad’s keyboard, camera, settings menu, and more! This eBook is is a copy of the presentation slides for "15 iPad Tips for Teachers". You can view an on-demand webinar recording of this presentation in the Community." -SimpleK12 Team
  9. Apps for Students with Special Needs "This website has a comprehensive list and demos of iPad apps that are excellent for assisting students with special needs. This organization also helps students to gain iPads through donations. Each day they spotlight a different app and associated app demo." -reba Gordon Matthews
Everything Apps for the Elementary Educator 




Hebrew Through Movement






Agent Sheets 
Game Maker Software for the Classroom 
You can try this out for 90 days free.  Be sure to check out my 'how-to' posts to see how I make a sample Frogger Game at my ISTE secession.  
Then go here to get instructions to make your games and see sample.  There are lesson plans on this site. 

Brain Pop
Free educational games and places to go for game making instructions and software.  Easy to use and great looking website!  They also have foreign language sites in Spanish, Hebrew, ESL and others! 
Hebrew- www.brainpop.co.il
English- www.brainpop.com




http://skydrive.com/school
Microsoft tools to save your files anywhere. Great for school computers so students can access work at home.




E-Learning Theory Meets Art Theory








A site that you can get a window for live commenting when you are teaching your lesson via twitter and some other social media.  This would be a great way to gauge students understanding of the topic while you are teaching.   Remember that [unlike some of us] they can still follow what else is happening in the classroom while reading and interacting with a twitter feed (some even may absorb the material better). 




Arcademic Skill Builders
Free online Eudcational Games for
Math & Language ArtsOur Story
A timeline that you can share photos, stories and video on a collaborative timeline.  I can already think of cool ways to use this!




ToonDoo
A website where you can easily create cartoons online with cool graphics that would appeal to students. 



LULU
Self Publishing online.
Have your students turn their writing into real eBooks!

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