Cuisenaire Rods A few weeks ago, I was reading a post on Ceri’s blog and stumbled across a picture of some Cuisenaire rods. I made a quick comment on the post, and Ceri asked me if I would like to write a joint post on how we use them. Ceri is a respected ELT writer and inspirational teacher and it’s an honour to be able to blog with her for a newbie like me. It’s the first attempt at cross-posting and blogging together for either of us: hope you like the results! Ceri’s story I bought my box of cuisenaire rods in 1989 when I was doing my induction to the Dip TEFLA (as it was known then) at IH Hastings. Recently I dusted them off and used them in class. Inspired by her enthusiastic response , I took them into my adult class the next day. In the second lesson I introduced them to the rods for language practice using an activity I’d seen modelled back in that lesson in Hastings. After this, everyone of us made a figure and we explained how to make it and the other classmates tried to find out .” Hi Ceri!
A New Awesome Visual on Flipped Classroom A few days ago I published here a post featuring a host of interesting video clips explaining the concept of flipped classroom together with providing some examples on how others have been employing it in their classrooms. Today, I come across this awesome graphic entitled " What Is A Flipped Classroom " and thought it might be a good addition to the flipped learning resource page here in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning. Flipped classroom or flipped learning is a methodology, an approach to learning in which technology is employed to reverse the traditional role of classroom time. Check it out the full visual from this page.
Ilman kirjautumista somettelua (päivitetty taas!) EDIT 21.3.12 koottu dia-esitykseen alla olevat, esitystä voi vapaasti muokata. Linkeistä luotu Pearltree-jäsennys. Aina ei tarvitse luoda käyttäjätunnuksia vaan somepalvelun saa käyttöön noin vain. Kidblog tarjoaa 1- ja 2-aseteen opetukseen maksutta Wordpress-pohjalla toimivan luokkablogin, jossa vain opettaja kirjautuu ja luo luokkablogin (maksuton versio sallii kaksi opettajaa samalle luokalle). Socrative mahdollistaa luokkatilanteessa yhteistyön niin, että opettaja luo yhteistyötilan (kysymyksiä, äänestyksiä, monivalintoja) ja jakaa linkin ja avaimen, jolla oppijat pääsevät yhteistyötilaan joko tietokoneilla tai mobiililaitteilla (katso esittelyvideo). Jussi Linkola oli löytänyt kätevän tlk.io-chatin, jota heti kokeiltiin. Kalastelin tähän listaukseen apua Google+:ssa (ja sitä kautta Twitterissä). EDIT 2.9.2013: Matleena Laakson diasarja samasta aiheesta eli Somettelua ilman kirjautumista.
Useful links for CELTA Anyone following my blog will know that CELTA took over my life in August last year (2014), and will continue to dominate until the same time this year (2015). I’ve been building this list in my head for a while, and it’s finally time to get it onto the blog. It’s arranged into categories, with subtitles and topics in bold to help you navigate. There’s a lot here, so just use the bits you need as you need them rather than trying to look at all of them – if not, you’ll end up being overwhelmed! A quick way to find what you need it to press CTRL + F (CMD + F on a Mac) and type a key word connected to what you’re struggling with, like ‘TTT’, ‘instructions’ or ‘writing’ – this will take you straight to the relevant section. Please let me know if any of the links are broken so I can update them, and feel free to add suggestions to the comments. Before the course CELTA is a very intensive experience, and it’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into. Is the CELTA worth it? Top Reading
This is Why Flipped Learning is Important for your Students I just came across this great video ( less than 3 minutes long ) about flipped learning. This is basically a successful case in which flipped classroom helped students learn better. I am really amazed at how the teacher in the video managed to shift direct instruction out of his class and turn his class time with students into work time, engaging them in some higher order thinking . He records his lessons and tutorials and share them with students online. Educational Technology and Mobile Learning has also featured some previous posts and guides on how teachers can apply the concept of flipped classroom in their teaching, check out this resource to learn more.
Free Technology for Teachers Classroom Activities for 1:1 & BYOT | Talk Tech With Me In February, our district will begin state testing. Once testing begins, there will be at least one grade level in at least one school in our district testing every single school day until May. This big span of time marks the third round of testing this year. We are not alone. Toss that around in your head for a minute or two. I’ll spare you my soap box about too much testing and where the focus has gone in education; you likely feel the same way (if you’ve got some time, or you’re just as passionate as I am about these issues, I do suggest you head on over to Nancy Chewning’s blog response to TIME Magazine’s Rotten Apples article that was featured in the Washington Post). Teachers are working so hard not to teach to the test, while at the same time making sure students are as prepared as possible for the tests- the scores of which will directly impact their own livelihoods. Take the following example. We learn through experience. So what do you think? Tech To You Later! Like this:
A Comprehensive List of Apps and Tools to Flip your Classroom For those of you intent on employing the flipped learning model in their instruction, we have curated a set of important web tools to help you create the appropriate flipped classroom environment for your students. Check them out below and as always let us know what you think of them. Enjoy 1- Explain Everything Explain Everything is an easy-to-use design tool that lets you annotate, animate, and narrate explanations and presentations. You can create dynamic interactive lessons, activities, assessments, and tutorials using Explain Everything's flexible and integrated design. 2- Knowmia Knowmia is a great website that offers thousands of video lessons from great teachers around the world. 3- Edmodo Edmodo is another great web tool you can use to flip your classroom. 4- Screencasting tools Here is a host of some great web tools to create screencasts and video tutorials. For more tools to flip your classroom , here is a great list from Ducman . check it out
Tips, Tricks and Useful Information | The iTeach Hub This page features a range of tutorials on tips, tricks and useful information for iDevice users. The main content of each is outlined below. Select the picture links below the text to view a tutorial page. How to Set Up Guided Access in the Classroom – explains how to set up guided access and lock users into an app.Help! Myths in Education, or How Bad Teaching Is Encouraged | Moments, Snippets, Spirals “Opinions don’t affect facts. But facts should affect opinions, and do, if you are rational.” (Ricky Gervais) I thought I would not have to blog about these fads again but it seems they have the strange ability to be reborn every single year and surface in professional development courses as well as in tweets, blog posts, and conversations within the education community. The reasons are different, ranging from ignorance to vested interests, but the effect is the same: poorer teaching. And no, you are not a bad teacher because you used them but you are a less effective one. Let’s see these monsters in their entire splendor: The Cone of Learning / The Learning PyramidLearning StylesRight-Left BrainBrain GymBrain-Based LearningMultiple Intelligences The Learning Pyramid – a complete bogus Where does it originate? Where did the percentages come from? References: The Learning Pyramid Deception, Institute for Learning Professionals Will Talheimer, PhD – People Remember 10%, 20%…Oh, Really? I know.
Teachers' Practical Guide to A FLipped Classroom July, 2014 Unlike the numerous graphics I shared here on the topic of flipped learning which were substantially theoretically based, the one I have for you today provides a practical demonstration of how Dr.Russell flipped his classroom . The graphic also features some of the activities and procedures he drew in his flipped instruction. Another section of this graphic highlights some of the bearings of this flipped methodology on students performance particularly in terms of the enhanced test scores. The purpose behind sharing this visual is to provide you with a concrete example of how you can go about integrating a flipped learning methodology in your instruction. Here are the three easy steps Dr. 1- Record 25 lectures were recorded with Echo 360, each just 35 minutes long 2- Watch Students tune in and watch video the night before class 3- Active Learning Students arrive to class ready to engage and participate Read on to learn more about the whole procedure Dr. Source: Echo 360