Edutopia

edutopia When we think of student engagement in learning activities, it is often convenient to understand engagement with an activity as being represented by good behavior (i.e. behavioral engagement), positive feelings (i.e. emotional engagement), and, above all, student thinking (i.e. cognitive engagement) (Fredricks, 2014). This is because students may be behaviorally and/or emotionally invested in a given activity without actually exerting the necessary mental effort to understand and master the knowledge, craft, or skill that the activity promotes. In light of this, research suggests that considering the following interrelated elements when designing and implementing learning activities may help increase student engagement behaviorally, emotionally, and cognitively, thereby positively affecting student learning and achievement. 1. Make It Meaningful In aiming for full engagement, it is essential that students perceive activities as being meaningful. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Research Ames, C. (1992).

Three Steps for Improving Teacher Questions According to Robert Marzano's book, Classroom Instruction that Works, 80 percent of what is considered instruction involves asking questions. It makes sense then, that if we want to improve our effectiveness at teaching, of course we would start by improving our questions. I have thought a lot about this topic and I would like to share three specific actions that we can take to improve our questions. To begin with, we need to get students talking rather than the teacher talking. Second, prepare the questions when you plan the lesson. And third, scaffold the questions. Step One The first action for improvement in reality is not an action, but a shift in thinking about our own concept of teaching. Step Two The next move is to prepare the questions you want to ask as an integral part of the lesson. Certainly students cannot answer questions or discuss something of which they know nothing. Step Three

Google Unleashes their new #Google Slides app on iOS !!! Learn how to use it in your classroom here! #GoogleEdu Google Brings Slides and Presentations to the iPhone and iPad! On Monday August 25, the day after the TechEducator Podcast produced an amazing Google Slides Smackdown (see video above) Google heard our cries and released an amazing addition to the iPad lineup. Google Slides is a free downloadable app that integrates seamlessly with your personal Google account or your Google Apps for Education suite. When you first start up slides you will be prompted to sign in to your Google Account or add a new account. From this point, Google Slides will provide you access to all of your created Google Presentations. It didn’t seem to matter where in your drive it was located, this app brought all of your slides in a beautiful color landscape to the front for you to view and manipulate. Menu options allow the user to see their slides, organize them by “starring” them, download them onto your iPad or switch over to the new Google Drive app. Creating your First Google Slide Presentation on your iPad

edutopia The opening months of school are a time of optimism and new beginnings. Each school year's start rejuvenates educators and students. Yet these feelings can quickly turn sour if we do not encourage students to find meaning in what we ask them to do. Practice One: Be Real Communicating authentic purpose to students is critical if we want their attention. 1. Curriculum is often taught as non-concrete concepts that are steeped in academic abstractions (just like this sentence). 2. Parents, friends, and colleagues either have expertise or know "the right people" who can talk with (not to) your students. 3. Give students real-world challenges to solve. Practice Two: Launch Events That Matter Relevance matters. Creative PSA Show The Sneeze. Personalizing History As an invisible theater exercise, the Teaching Channel's Making the Declaration of Independence Come Alive can help students recognize the value of historical events and ideas by making personal or contemporary connections.

12 Amazing Ways to Teach During the Crazy Days of Christmas Some teachers are tempted to be babysitters during the holidays when, in fact, you can get some powerful teaching moments in your classroom. Take time to be creative and integrate holiday-themed teaching into your classroom. Please share what you like to do in the comments. 1 - Have a Social media activity relating to topics you're learning Two of my most tweeted things from last week were the Facebook template and Twitter template that you can download and use in Microsoft Word. This is a great alternative for those of you who cannot use the online Fakebook template from Classtools.net. Our AP Literature teacher has had students create a Facebook profile for their term paper author. These spark fun conversations and can be done offline or online. 2 - Make an Interactive Story This is a great time of year to teach students how to create interactive stories using PowerPoint. But you could take this further if you have older students. Share on your blog (like I've done here.) Teach!

Enhance your #Google Drive with new Google Add-Ons In this video, we will show you how to enhance your Google Drive experience by adding new Google Drive Add-Ons. Simply click on the red NEW button and click the MORE button to unlock hundreds of Google Add-Ons. Video recorded by Jeff Bradbury: @TeacherCast For more information about having TeacherCast broadcast at your event, please visit www.TeacherCast.net and follow @TeacherCast Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel today! About the author Jeffrey Bradbury, the creator of TeacherCast.net and TeacherCast University is a highly respected educational consultant. Total Sensory Immersion | How To Practice We want to help you practice better. Our newsfeed will keep you up to date with regular advice. Free personal help is available in our practice clinic and new news and offers can be found in our newsletter. Are we all blind, unfeeling and without emotion? Of course not! Why then do a lot of musicians only use their hearing sense when practising? Sight What can you see? Touch Playing your instrument is NOT a purely mechanical process. Moving Standing absolutely still may be the way you play. Emotion How does your music make you feel inside? Taste & Smell Are there any smells or tastes evoked by your playing? Hearing Learn to listen in many ways. Spend some time to work through each of these senses. Related posts:

Smart Classroom Management The Power of the Pygmalion Effect SOURCE: AP/Stephan Savoia Jimmy Guevara, 17, left, stands next to the board taking notes during his 10th-grade math class as teacher Sammy Gutierrez works a problem at the Boston Community Leadership Academy pilot high school in the Brighton section of Boston, Massachusetts. By Ulrich Boser, Megan Wilhelm, and Robert Hanna | October 6, 2014 PRINT: SHARE: Endnotes and citations are available in the PDF and Scribd versions.Download the report: PDFRead it in your browser: Scribd This brief contains a correction. People do better when more is expected of them. Raising student expectations has been in the news a lot recently as part of a larger conversation about improving learning outcomes. The importance of the Pygmalion Effect To look at the issue of expectations more closely, we analyzed the National Center for Education Statistics’ Education Longitudinal Study, or ELS, which followed the progression of a nationally representative sample of 10th grade students from 2002 to 2012. Conclusion

Citation Query Rules of play: game design fundamentals Multimodal human computer interaction: A survey by Alejandro Jaimes, Nicu Sebe , 2005 "... Abstract - Cited by 75 (2 self) - Add to MetaCart In this paper we review the major approaches to Multimodal Human Computer Interaction, giving an overview of the field from a computer vision perspective. Jogging the distance by Florian ‘floyd Mueller, Darren Edge, Frank Vetere, Martin R. "... Abstract - Cited by 66 (16 self) - Add to MetaCart Exertion games require investing physical effort. Fundamental components of the gameplay experience: Analysing immersion by Laura Ermi, Frans Mäyrä - In DIGRA. "... Abstract - Cited by 62 (1 self) - Add to MetaCart This paper presents a gameplay experience model, assesses its potential as a tool for research and presents some directions for future work. An Experiment in Automatic Game Design by Julian Togelius, Jürgen Schmidhuber , 2008 "... Abstract - Cited by 45 (21 self) - Add to MetaCart This paper presents a first attempt at evolving the rules for a game. "...

30 Surprising (And Controversial) Ways Students Learn Have you checked your assumptions about student learning at the door? People in general, hold onto beliefs that are shaped by early experiences, the media, and faulty influences. The following list is a compilation of research that may surprise you. Video games, e-books, playtime, and music are all a part of an educator’s repertoire. Read on, and be prepared to put your traditional beliefs aside as science points to innovative methods that indicate future success. 1. Until recently, studies done with regards to children and video games usually centered on the negative impacts and consequences of prolonged use. She recognized several social motivations for playing video games including competition, a reason to hang out and casually converse with friends, and teaching peers how to play a game. In boys who struggle with stress, fear, and anger- negative emotions that can have violent consequences- video games acted as a safe alternative for the release of pent up emotion. 2. 3. 4. Patrick S.