Five-Minute Film Festival: Genius Hour Imagine if you were allowed to use a whole workday every week to explore any project you wanted. With no restrictions on your time or what you could do, think of the ideas you could come up with and the things you could learn about! In the workplace, this practice is called 20 percent time. It first gained widespread notice at Google, but many companies have allowed employees to work on side projects as a way of fostering innovation. Since it's not often possible for teachers to sacrifice an entire day of schooling to allow for individual creative pursuits, the idea has been reinterpreted in many schools as a "Genius Hour," where students get one hour per day or week to focus on a project of their choice. The practice combines well with classroom pedagogies such as project-based learning and inquiry-based learning. Video Playlist: 20 Percent Time in the Classroom Watch the player below to see the whole playlist, or view it on YouTube. More Resources for Using Genius Hour in the Classroom
35 Educational Resources to Encourage Inquiry & Inventive Thinking This is a sponsored post. I’ve scoured the internet, including all of my favourite social media sites, to bring you a fantastic collection of online inquiry and inventive thinking resources that I know will inspire and motivate both you and your students. The collection includes Lego, science, practical activity ideas, engineering, videos, animation, technology and a tonne of fun facts – so there is sure to be something for everyone! Sean Kenney Lego Certified Master Builder’s YouTube Channel: Best-selling author and artist, Sean Kenney, uses LEGO toys to build anything and everything you can imagine. CSIRO Crest: CREativity in Science and Technology (CREST) is an Australian non-competitive awards program supporting students to design and carry out their own open-ended science investigation or technology project. Pinterest is a veritable smorgasbord of great ideas across all grades and subject areas. What are your favourite online resources for inspiring kids to think? You may also like:
The Pedagogy Project We are so proud and excited to announce the Pedagogy Project! This project started when several professors asked for specific suggestions on digital or collaborative projects they could do with their students. We asked the HASTAC Scholars to provide specific assignments, in-class exercises and other projects. The response was awesome - over 80 specific and proven suggestions to shake up your syllabus! The Pedagogy Project is organized into nine sections, with numerous examples of projects, assignments and concepts in each area. How to use the Pedagogy Project: Are you currently planning a syllabus? How to contribute to the Pedagogy Project: Register on the HASTAC websitePost your own blog on HASTAC. Thank you to the following HASTAC Scholars who helped me to organize the Pedagogy Project: Staci Stutsman, Syracuse UniversityAmanda Starling Gould, Duke UniversityKalle Westerling, The Graduate Center, CUNY, and HASTAC Scholars Co-Director
How Can Your Librarian Help Bolster Brain-Based Teaching Practices? Flickr/Kevin Harber Inquiry-based learning has been around in education circles for a long time, but many teachers and schools gradually moved away from it during the heyday of No Child Left Behind. The pendulum is beginning to swing back towards an inquiry-based approach to instruction thanks to standards such as Common Core State Standards for math and English Language Arts, the Next Generation Science Standards and the College, Career and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards. “This is so new for teachers, whereas librarians have been doing this for ten years,” said Paige Jaeger, a school librarian turned administrator and co-author of Think Tank Library: Brain-Based Learning Plans for New Standards. As grade level and content-specific teachers begin to incorporate inquiry-based approaches into their classrooms, they should look to collaborate on lesson planning with their librarian, Jaeger said. “We have a limited capacity for short term recall,” Ratzen said.
Social Media for Teachers: Guides, Resources, and Ideas Although students are evermore connected to the social web, many of these networks remain out-of-class digital playgrounds where students congregate. In a 2014 survey of 1,000 teachers, just one in five said they use social media regularly with students. Of course, it can be a challenge to incorporate social media into lessons. There are many gray areas for teachers to navigate, like setting guidelines, accessibility at school, and student safety. More Great Reads From Edutopia In addition to those great guides, there is a lot of useful information right here on Edutopia. Multicultural, Anti-bias, & Diversity Activities & Exercises Jump to: Strategies and Preparation | Icebreakers | Introspectives Strategies and Preparation: Strategies for Choosing and Using Activities and Exercises for Intergroup LearningYou're developing a diversity workshop or facilitating an intergroup dialogue and looking for ways to engage your participants. This document lays out eight strategies for effectively selecting and incorporating activities and exercises into your programming efforts. A Guide to Setting Ground RulesGround rules or community norms can help your program or class run more smoothly. This guide describes commonly used ground rules and strategies for naming and enforcing them. Icebreakers: Knowing the Community: Ethnicity ExerciseContinues community building. Name StoriesWorks toward bringing the stories of individuals to the fore in the multicultural experience. Introspectives: Understanding Prejudice and DiscriminationIntroduces concepts of prejudice and discrimination through self-reflection.
Film language | MediaEd When you’re making a film you should use the camera and editing to help your audience know what’s happening and what your characters are doing, thinking and feeling. You need to make sure that you have a variety of shots, usually including * long shots * mid shots * closeups Things you can use to help you plan are * a script * a storyboard * a shot list Camera movements Camera movements should be used for a purpose, not just to avoid editing! Shot duration When you’re filming, each shot should last longer than you want it to appear in the finished film: editing longer shots down is much easier then refilming missing footage if the shots are too short to use. Continuity editing In continuity editing everything is filmed so that the viewer thinks they are seeing continuous action. Shot/reverse/shot If you’re shooting two characters talking to each other, here’s how to do it. You can film an interview in the same way with just one camera: Rules for continuity editing 180 degree rule 30 degree rule
Teaching | YouthLearn Regardless of what topic you're teaching or the age of the kids you're working with, you'll want to make certain teaching techniques a standard part of your routine. By internalizing these fundamentals until you don't even have to think about them, you'll become a better coach, leader and teacher. Perhaps most important is that you understand and master sound modeling techniques. Kids learn much more by watching you than from anything you say. Good teaching is intentional, and it should be reflected in every thing you say and do. Some other techniques described in this section include activities to do every day to reinforce learning objectives and create continuity; pointers for reading aloud and sharing ideas; and advice on using journals, a tool we find extremely helpful for kids of all ages. Entire books have been written about classroom management, but a few simple steps can make a big difference in maintaining an energetic environment and keeping kids focused.
Mindset | How can you change from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset? Step1. Learn to hear your fixed mindset “voice.” As you approach a challenge, that voice might say to you “Are you sure you can do it? Maybe you don’t have the talent.” As you hit a setback, the voice might say, “This would have been a snap if you really had talent.” As you face criticism, you might hear yourself say, “It’s not my fault. Step 2. How you interpret challenges, setbacks, and criticism is your choice. So as you face challenges, setbacks, and criticism, listen to the fixed mindset voice and... Step 3. As you approach a challenge: THE FIXED-MINDSET says “Are you sure you can do it? THE GROWTH-MINDSET answers, “I’m not sure I can do it now, but I think I can learn to with time and effort.” FIXED MINDSET: “What if you fail—you’ll be a failure” GROWTH MINDSET: “Most successful people had failures along the way.” FIXED MINDSET: “If you don’t try, you can protect yourself and keep your dignity.” GROWTH MINDSET: “If I don’t try, I automatically fail. As you hit a setback: Then... Step 4.
RAFT Papers TO: Personnel Director FROM: William Dollar DATE: April xx, 19xx RE: Request for Vacation My name is Dollar, Bill Dollar. I've been on the job for the last twelve months without a break, and I am writing to request a two-week vacation. In considering my request, I think it's essential that you understand exactly how much work we dollar bills have to do during our time of service for the United States Treasury. My journey through the many hands that hold me begins after I leave the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and get sent out to a Federal Reserve Bank. In my case, I went out of our bank with a whole lot of other bills to become part of the day-laborer payroll of a construction company. I went into this very nice woman's purse, but I didn't stay there long. It is true that in some ways my life is easier than it was for dollar bills that came before me, because people use checks, credit cards, debit cards, and other electronic transfers more and more all the time. Sincerely,