#PSP2012 VIDEO – KR Sir Ken Robinson concludes the morning sessions of “Teaching and Learning at Home and at School” by inviting educators and parents to collaborate in the design of a covenant of shared principles to transform our schools. First, Robinson identifies an agenda of issues on which we need to focus as we move forward: vexing economic, cultural, and personal challenges with which our education system has not caught up. Then, Robinson asserts that our current system is incapable of dealing properly with these challenges, owing to a ‘command and control mentality’ among political leaders, and invites stakeholders at the grassroots level — in our classrooms, and in our homes — to create an agenda not just for reform, but for transformation. Further information and related resources are provided below the embedded video. To advance the presentation to key transitions, drag the slider to the indicated timeframes:
The greatest creative writing activity ever UPDATE: This post was awarded the British Council’s Teaching English blog award for February, 2013. Thanks to all those who voted for my work, you’re awesome. This post is a response to a question posed on the British Council’s Teaching English page on Facebook: ‘Have you got a favourite lesson plan or class activity that you come back to and use again and again? Ok, let me dive straight into it. First, I’ll describe the activity, and then I’ll tell you why it’s great. 1. How long have you been on the planet? 2. You are going to write a paragraph that tells a story.Your paragraph will be a response to these questions.Any sentence you write is OK, but you must follow the sequence of questions.You can ask me for help while you are writing. 3. What kind of language might we use to answer the first question? 4. Twenty minutes is long enough for most to finish. 5. This keeps the early finishers busy, while the slower writers aren’t disturbed and can get on with their writing. 1. Passive structures
Radio Rookies: Radio Rookies - Resources for Educators If you would like to receive a copy of Radio Rookies: Teaching True Stories Curriculum Guide, please let us know a bit more about yourself: and we will email you a PDF. Youth produced radio documentaries are valuable curriculum resources because youth voices are too often excluded from mainstream teaching materials. The Radio Rookies approach places youth voice at the center of issues-oriented instructional programs. Radio documentaries foster academic engagement by capturing the interest of students and inspiring them to question and share their beliefs and perspectives about contemporary issues. Students are pushed to ask themselves: What do I think about this issue? Integrating Radio Rookies documentaries into educational programs allows youth to do more than simply hear the opinions and viewpoints of other teens. The N-Word: It Represents Hatred Wednesday, December 13, 2006 ListenAddDownload Coming Out in The Age of Lady Gaga Guns
Best Education-Related Videos of 2013 I love end of year “best of” lists. My own list is what I found to be the most powerful education related videos of 2013. They all, in some way, address the mind, heart, and spirit of education. Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion Favorite Quote: Every child deserves a champion – an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be. Ken Robinson: How to escape education’s death valley Governments decide they know best and they’re going to tell you what to do. Sugata Mitra: Build a School in the Cloud We need a curriculum of big questions, examinations where children can talk, share and use the Internet, and new, peer assessment systems. Malala Yousafzai United Nations Speech 2013 Dear brothers and sisters, we want schools and education for every child’s bright future. Hackschooling makes me happy If students designed their own schools… “To This Day” … for the bullied and beautiful Quote: Like this:
9 Tools to Create E-magazines and Newspapers for Your Class 1- Uniflip UniFlip converts your magazine, brochure or catalog from its original PDF format into an exciting, professional multi-media digital format with pages that flip. 2-Joomag Joomag is a web tool that lets you create your own magazines using a simple online editor. 3- Scribd Scribd is known for being a reading library where you can search for and find ebooks and slides but it is also a magazine creator which allows users to upload their own content and turn it into a magazine 4- Issuu This is like Scribd above. 5- Zinepal This tools lets you create an ebook or magazine from posts and articles of a blog. 6- Build A Newspaper This one is a professional platform that provides teacher based templates to create mazagines. 7- Fodey This is most simple of all the tools mentioned here. 8- Open Zine This is another web tool that allows users to create their own magazines without any need for advanced tech knowledge. 9- Calameo
English Language Development (ELD) Standards WIDA's 2012 Amplification of the ELD Standards The 2012 Amplification of the English Language Development Standards was developed with input from leaders in the field and educators in WIDA Consortium member states. This process was also informed by the latest developments in both English language development research and states' content standards for college and career readiness. The 2012 Amplification of the ELD Standards, Kindergarten–Grade 12 is available for free download or for purchase as a spiral-bound booklet. Order Now Here are some suggestions for how you might organize your review of the standards publication: Review our 2012 Amplification Overview Tutorial. The WIDA Standards Framework and its Theoretical Foundations WIDA draws on multiple theories and approaches in an effort to describe language use in academic contexts; this is the language that language learners must acquire and negotiate to participate successfully in school. Essential Actions Handbook Resource Guide
John Hattie – Why Are So Many Of Our Teachers And Schools So Successful? John Hattie – Why Are So Many Of Our Teachers And Schools So Successful? I wanted to sit on this until the holidays were finished to make sure that people noticed. I’ve spoke about John Hattie on several occasions on this blog. Simply put, Hattie has done more research into the factors that can lead to student achievement than any other scholar. You see, Hattie’s research is clearly at odds with the dominant narrative of educational reformers in the United States. If you’re not familiar with Hattie’s larger body of work, I would recommend you review these two videos. If you haven’t had enough, I would recommend this interview… Or this keynote speech that he gave. Now how to we get politicians and policymakers to pay attention to this kind of research, as opposed to the ideologically-biased stuff that dominants the American conversation? Other entries I have posted above Hattie: Like this: Like Loading...
24 Ed-Tech Terms You Should Know If you’re a teacher or administrator who has been to an educational conference or sat in on a product demo featuring the latest classroom innovation, you know that the intersection of schools and technology is littered with buzzwords. From mLearning to mobile apps to asynchronous instruction, the ed-tech landscape is equal parts high-gloss marketing and roll-up-your-sleeves instruction. In the face of increased pressure to improve student performance, how can K–12 educators cut through the promotional hyperbole and put the focus where it should be — on classroom improvements? It helps if you speak the language. Are there any other terms you’d like to see on this list? Big Thinkers: Judy Willis on the Science of Learning Judy Willis: Hi, I'm Judy Willis and I am a neurologist. I've been a neurologist for 15 years and after the 15 years my patient practice really changed. I started getting so many referrals for kids whose teachers thought they had ADD, obsessive compulsive disorder, staring spells, seizures petit mal epilepsy, and the increase was huge and yet the kids had no greater incidence of it. And I saw the notes were coming from the school so I visited the schools. I'd look in the classrooms and I saw kids who indeed were playing with everything they could find, staring out the window, coloring on someone's chair or book. The problem was that the way they were being taught was lectured. There's a part of the brain that is an emotional filter. So if a person is in a state of stress, the amygdala gets highly active. So we need to keep that switching station in a state of low stress. So how do you get students to focus their attention? The other one I'll use is color. What else does a videogame do?