What is Mindset

Every so often a truly groundbreaking idea comes along. This is one. Mindset explains: Why brains and talent don’t bring success How they can stand in the way of it Why praising brains and talent doesn’t foster self-esteem and accomplishment, but jeopardizes them How teaching a simple idea about the brain raises grades and productivity What all great CEOs, parents, teachers, athletes know Mindset is a simple idea discovered by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in decades of research on achievement and success—a simple idea that makes all the difference. In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. Teaching a growth mindset creates motivation and productivity in the worlds of business, education, and sports. Related: Universal Design for Learning and Brain Based Learning

Creating accessible materials How to make documents, presentations and online materials accessible. Introduction to alternative formats The University has a legal and moral responsibility under the Equality Act 2010 to provide any of its documents, leaflets, electronic resources etc in an alternative format if requested by a disabled user. Examples of alternative formats are providing a document in large print, Braille, printed on coloured paper, a paper copy of an electronic resource or vice versa or an electronic resource in an alternative way eg: Word document instead of a PDF.The following information explains how to offer this service and what it involves, points to keep in mind are: Word documents A few simple steps to help make your Word documents more accessible. PDFs It is possible to create PDFs that are accessible to most users. Audio CDs Requests for documentation on audio CD are rare, but they can be time consuming. Emails Advice and tips on how to make your emails accessible. PowerPoint presentations

Using E-Portfolios in the Classroom For decades, students have been completing assignments in school. Often, these were seen only by the teacher, graded and returned to the student. Sometimes, the work was posted on a classroom wall or in a school hallway. Many teachers kept portfolios of student work for report card conferences, and the rare teacher taught students how to build their own portfolios from their work. With more and more schools going paperless or migrating to the "cloud" (storing files on the Internet), student work has become more easily shareable, accessible by many, and more easily organized. Many teachers have turned to digital portfolios -- or "e-portfolios" -- for their students. However, with so many options for collecting and sharing student work, it's hard to know which method or tool to use. Defining Your Needs Here are some guiding questions to consider before you commit to a tool or platform: Can student work be made public or is it housed inside a "walled garden?" Some Options Project Foundry

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Had His Top Execs Read These Three Books Creating accessible PowerPoint presentations This article offers guidance on ways to create Microsoft PowerPoint presentations to make them more accessible to users with disabilities. Because many files are often viewed electronically, governments and industries around the world are implementing policies requiring electronic and information technology to be accessible to people with disabilities. For example, the amended Section 508 of the United States Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires Federal agencies to make all of their electronic and information technology accessible. Tip: If you have Microsoft Office 2010 or later, you can use a tool for PowerPoint, Word, and Excel called the Accessibility Checker to check your PowerPoint presentations for any issues that might make it challenging for a user with a disability. In this article Add alternative text to images and objects Provide column headings in tables Give every slide a unique title Use ordinary words in hyperlink text Use simple table structure Learn more Top of Page Learn more

Dylan Wiliam Professional development Finally! The revised Embedding formative assessment pack for schools and colleges to run their own two-year professional development programme on formative assessment is now available worldwide. In Europe, this can be ordered through SSAT, in Australasia through Hawker-Brownlow, and in North America from Learning Sciences International. Also, a series of high-quality video presentations by Dylan Wiliam, with a total running time of over two and a half hours, is now available world-wide.

18 Easy Conversation Starters For Networking Events I think one of the hardest things about networking events is just getting a conversation going with someone – without being awkward about it. Related: 10 Tips For People Who Hate Networking Approaching someone new can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. So, what are some natural and easy ways to break the ice? Here are some tips and tricks: Go Fishing At The Food Table While waiting in line for the food, start chatting up the person next to you. So, instead of just standing there in silence, start a conversation. “Oh man, everything looks so good… I’m not sure what to get! Who knows, you might leave the buffet with a better plate of food AND a new contact! Find A Loner If you see someone standing alone in the corner, clutching his or her drink, and looking miserable, don’t be afraid to walk up and introduce yourself. Here are some ice breakers: “Man, these networking events can be so crazy. If someone is standing alone, he or she is probably feeling uncomfortable or unconfident.

Center for Instructional Supports and Accessible Materials The Center for Instructional Supports and Accessible Materials' (CISAM) role is to assist school personnel in locating large print and braille textbooks, audio and digital textbooks, instructional aids and tools and specialized equipment for students with visual impairments and print disabilities in Ohio. The Ohio Department of Education, Office for Exceptional Children funds the Center for Instructional Supports and Accessible Materials to meet the federal requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) and the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standards (NIMAS). CISAM brochure — outlines the program and who is eligible for these services. IDEA 2004 addressed the timely delivery of print textbooks in specialized formats including braille, large print, audio and digital text to school-age students who have visual impairments or print disabilities. Information on NIMAS and IDEA Additional information on CISAM and NIMAS

6 YouTube lessons for building better instructional videos With the rise of the blended learning model of education, video is becoming an increasingly important medium for instruction. The essential components of blended learning - such as flipped classrooms, MOOCs and “Bring Your Own Device” programs - are facilitated by video instruction to ensure the personalization and flexibility of a digitized education system. Over the last few years, a wave of YouTube channels has emerged to deliver high quality educational content in an accessible, engaging format. Although instructional and lecture videos can be found all over YouTube, these channels distinguish themselves by employing strategies to appeal to audiences. Here are six takeaways from these channels: 1. Sometimes, the most compelling videos are short and to the point. 2. Eye-catching graphics play an important role in making videos both accessible and entertaining. 3. 4. The success of educational YouTube channels owes a lot to the charisma of their hosts. 5. 6.

Kolbs lärstilar Eng: Kolb's experiential learning theory [kɒlps ɪkˌspɪəriˈenʃl ˈlɜ:nɪŋ ˈθɪəri]. Teori om erfarenhetsbaserat lärande och lärstilar som på 1970- och 80-talen utformades av den amerikanske psykologen David Kolb (f 1939). Med erfarenhets- eller upplevelsebaserat lärande (eng: experiential learning) avses ett lärande som tar sin utgångspunkt i det konkret erfarna eller upplevda. Fyra faser, fyra lärstilar Lärande som sker i anslutning till konkret material och konkreta situationer kan, enligt Kolb, indelas i fyra olika faser som kräver var sin lärstil. Kolbs lärcikel Lärande börjar, enligt Kolb, var som helst men bäst med varvid man gör nya erfarenheter som kräver att man anpassar sin teori och sina nya begrepp till den verklighet som man nu kommer i kontakt med och som kan skilja sig från den där begreppen och teorin först uppstod. Fyra lärstilar, fyra kognitiva stilar Kolb fick i denna modell fram fyra inlärningsstilar eller kognitiva stilar, vilka kan kombineras hos en och samma individ. 1.

ORC - 3329.01 Adoption and purchase of textbooks or electronic textbooks - filing of price statement. Any publisher of textbooks or electronic textbooks in the United States desiring to offer such textbooks or electronic textbooks for use by pupils in the public schools of Ohio, before such textbooks or electronic textbooks may be adopted and purchased by any school board, must, on or before the first day of January of each year, file in the office of the superintendent of public instruction, a statement that the list wholesale price to school districts in Ohio will be no more than the lowest list wholesale price available to school districts in any other state. No publisher of a textbook shall file a statement under this section unless the publisher complies with all of the following: (A) At the same time as filing the statement, the publisher also files:

What makes education in Finland that good? 10 reform principles behind the success. | BERT MAES Posted by Bert Maes on February 24, 2010 Students from Finland outperform peers in 43 other nations – including the United States, Germany and Japan – in mathematics, science and reading skills. Finland is also ranked top in economic competitiveness. The performance of this small and remote European country springs directly from education policies set in motion 40 years ago, according to the World Bank in its report “Policy Development and Reform Principles of Basic and Secondary Education in Finland since 1968.” A summary: Explaining the excellence of the schools in Finland is extremely complex. (1) When Finnish kids turn 7 years old they go into compulsory primary school during nine years. (8) Building upon the expertise of local players, whose experience, opinions and abilities allowed them to indicate the best ways forward. RELATED POST: Finland Gets Its First Haas Technical Education Center