Mr Robbo – The P.E Geek New Classrooms Can Change Children's Brains Children come to school with different aptitudes, many of which determine their ability to learn. Some are quicker at grasping the concepts and skills that form the core of most educational curricula. Others are better able to concentrate or make friends. Some seem lazy; others determined. As a result, we label children as smart, attentive, social and hardworking—or as slow, distracted, shy and lackadaisical. The labels suggest fixed traits, not teachable skills. In recent years, however, researchers have begun to parse the basic brain functions that form the foundation for many of the qualities and abilities necessary to succeed in school—and in later life. Select an option below: Customer Sign In *You must have purchased this issue or have a qualifying subscription to access this content
New Academic Year: RSA « Cathy Wint Blog | ESOL | Teacher training photo by ZhouXuan Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic As a HE in FE teacher at the college I am very fortunate that I am able to bid for remission hours to undertake Research and Scholarly Activity (RSA). This year I hope to be able to bring HE tutors and students together in an exploration of mobile technology. Description of the Research This project aims to investigate how HE in FE teachers and students can develop a community of practice in relation to exploring the use of emerging technologies for their Continual Professional Development (CPD) and Professional Development Planning (PDP). I first became aware of Lave and Wenger (1991)’s notion of a community of practice when I developed the Action Research Network within SfL. Whatever term is applied here, the characterises of the group I would like to develop include a face to face environment (despite the geographical and work load constraints) in order to be able to share and discuss how the mobile devices are being used. Update
Reporting Resources Reporting is not just tied to assessment. It can be used for social and developmental concerns, or simply reporting what is happening within the school. It can be done in writing, face-to-face, online, through conferences, … . It may be system, school, teacher or parent initiated. Below is a collection of resources for reporting from different reporting styles to comment banks, parent/teacher conferences to electronic formats linked to assessment, newsletters, more. Remember many sites are not Australian. General Sites Reporting to ParentsWA. Parent-Teacher Conferences Includes, conferences, student-led conferences, more. Australian Helpful Hints for Parent Teacher MeetingsA brochure containing suggestions from the Tasmanian State Schools Parents and Friends Inc.. Other 5 Tips for Successful Parent Teacher ConferencesYouTube video [approx. 10 mins.] designed mainly for parents. Report Card Comments Wherever possible it should be positive, with recommendations or suggestions for the future.
Ofsted, Outstanding Teaching and the iPad If OFSTED were to walk into a lesson tomorrow they would see the following: Prior to the lesson students would have viewed an 8-10 min screencast introducing the topic. This resource would have been produced and sent via twitter to the students when appropriate.Students would have uploaded work required to Edmodo that is then assessed, annotated and sent back to students again prior to the lesson. The nature of the work is determined by perceived difficulty of the topic. The initial task would be a Socrative quiz to establish understanding for the lesson (AFL) – this often includes one multiple choice and two short answer questions. With a given problem the students would then have to produce an explanation of the problem on the interactive whiteboard app ExplainEverything - collaboration in groups of 3. Socrative would then be used again to assess where the students are and the lesson would be adjusted accordingly. So what would OFSTED make of this standard lesson? Attitudes to learning.
6 weird science experiments With just a few items nearly everyone can find at home, you can do amazing science experiments. Want to make a lava lamp? Just grab a little cooking oil, water and salt. How about writing with secret “ink” on a mirror? All it takes is dishwashing detergent, water and a cotton swab. Note: Be sure to ask for a parent’s help and permission before starting any experiment. Make spaghetti do tricks with this fun and fizzy experiment. What You Need: uncooked spaghetti1 cup of water2 teaspoons of baking soda5 teaspoons of vinegartall clear glass What You Do: Put water and baking soda in the glass. What’s Going On: When baking soda and vinegar are mixed together, a chemical reaction occurs. Write an invisible message on a mirror using a soapy solution and a cotton swab. liquid dishwashing detergentcup of watera few cotton swabshand mirror or bathroom mirror Place a few drops of dishwashing detergent into the cup of water. stir to mix well. Dip a cotton swab into the soapy solution. What’s Going On :
The eLearning Site Show Off Technology – Student Emails 28 Aug If your students are using technology in your classroom there are many ways to show off their work to visitors. I make sure that every bulletin board in my classroom clearly demonstrates how technology is used by my students everyday. Instead of exit slips to check understanding at the end of a lesson, my students email me what they have learned and any questions they still have. Each iPad in my classroom (this works with PCs too) is set up with the same email account.I post a question or quick task on the board.Students answer the question in an email and send it to me.I print out the emails, write a comment on the bottom, and staple it to my bulletin board. It is clear to any visitor (our principal, superintendent, maybe even Mayor Bloomberg) that students use technology with ease in my classroom. Tags: bulletin boards, email, iPad education, student work
Learning styles – and other made-up stuff « kirstyevidence Some years ago, when I worked in a university, I underwent training in teaching and learning to improve my lecturing skills. I have to say that I learnt a huge amount from this – and indeed went on to teach pedagogy to others – but the one thing that I found difficult to swallow was the emphasis that our teacher put on learning styles. She explained to us that everyone has a different ‘learning style’ – some were visual learners, some kinaesthetic learners and some auditory – and that to ensure that all students learnt well, we had to encourage learning in all different ways during our lectures. Teaching through interpretive dance (btw, this picture is REALLY funny if you’re an immunologist – honest) Similarly the idea that my students would learn best by debating an issue just didn’t seem to make sense for a topic that required you to learn so much before you could possibly make credible arguments… (OK, I promise, no more immunology jokes after this) Like this: Like Loading...
Horizon Project Login or Create New Account Member Spotlights RIT Launches Nation’s First Minor in Free and Open Source Software and Free Culture Partner News NMC Partners with the Balboa Park Online Collaborative iTUNES U Ideas that Matter and More High Quality, Free EdTech Content Sparking innovation, learning and creativity. > NMC Horizon Project > NMC Horizon Reports > NMC Horizon Project Navigator > NMC Horizon EdTech Weekly App NMC Horizon Project The NMC Horizon Project charts the landscape of emerging technologies for teaching, learning, and creative inquiry. > Serve on a Horizon Project Expert Panel > Submit a Project for Inclusion in a Horizon Report Open Much of the work of the NMC Horizon Project takes place in a wiki where international experts across all different educational sectors openly exchange ideas and engage in insightful discourse. Global The most recent addition to the NMC Horizon Project is a new series of region-specific reports called NMC Technology Outlooks. NMC Horizon Reports › News
Papershow Starter Kit: Amazon.co.uk: Office Products PAPERSHOW is an annotation tool that allows users to draw on paper with a clever pen and paper system that simultaneously creates electronic versions of the sketch on a local computer. The system is connected to any computer with a small USB dongle which wirelessly links to the PAPERSHOW pen. The pen, in turn is used to write on PAPERSHOW paper which features a dot matrix array and some neat control features to alter how the pen strokes appear on the computer screen. Whilst only using a single pen type on the paper, the PAPERSHOW electronic functionality allows users to create a reasonable variety of appearances for the pen markings on the screen. Other functions include an eraser to remove any items previously drawn, completely or in part (this only works for the electronic version though and not the paper) and undo options to remove specific actions. AccuracyPAPERSHOW translates the pen strokes to the screen with excellent accuracy.
Why Kids Need Schools to Change Big Ideas Flickr: Elizabeth Albert The current structure of the school day is obsolete, most would agree. Created during the Industrial Age, the assembly line system we have in place now has little relevance to what we know kids actually need to thrive. Most of us know this, and yet making room for the huge shift in the system that’s necessary has been difficult, if not impossible because of fear of the unknown, says educator Madeline Levine, author of Teach Your Children Well. “People don’t like change, especially in times of great uncertainty,” she said. “I’m astounded at the glacial pace of change in education.” During this time of economic uncertainty, especially, Levine said parents want to make sure their kids won’t fall into the ranks of the unemployed and disenfranchised young people who return home because they’re unable to find jobs. Yet therein lies the paradox. “I’m astounded at the glacial pace of change in education,” she said. PROJECT BASED LEARNING.
Do Students Really Have Different Learning Styles? Teaching Strategies Lenny Gonzales Learning styles—the notion that each student has a particular mode by which he or she learns best, whether it’s visual, auditory or some other sense—is enormously popular. It’s also been thoroughly debunked. The scientific research on learning styles is “so weak and unconvincing,” concluded a group of distinguished psychologists in a 2008 review, that it is not possible “to justify incorporating learning-styles assessments into general educational practice.” A 2010 article was even more blunt: “There is no credible evidence that learning styles exist,” wrote University of Virginia cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham and co-author Cedar Riener. The “learning style” that teachers and parents should focus on is the universal learning style of the human mind. This doesn’t mean, however, that teachers and parents should present material to be learned in just one fashion. First, students benefit from encountering information in multiple forms. Related