Archive for May, 2012
How Open Education is Changing the Texture of Content
By Frank Catalano Schools are moving from creamy to chunky — but not in relation to cafeteria peanut butter. The change in texture is happening with content. Instruction that was structured linearly, captured in books that were all-inclusive monoliths with a predetermined progression for a uniform, somewhat “creamy” consistency, is shifting to newer forms of [...]
How to Identify Mysterious Images Online
Can’t figure out the source of an image you found online? There’s an easy trick you might not know about — and it’s an essential tool for citing sources. Students who find images they want to use in projects need to follow the appropriate rules of citation: state the title and the original source. But [...]
For Young Readers, Print or Digital Books?
Thinkstock Print or digital? Adults grapple with which is the best way to read — not only for themselves, but especially when it comes to their kids. Whether or not parents prefer print books over interactive e-books for their kids, the question is, what’s actually better for them? Depends on what you’re trying to achieve. [...]
How Do You Spark a Love of Math in Kids?
What is it about middle school and mathematics? Decades of educational research demonstrate that during the years between elementary school and high school, many students disengage from math and don’t regain their interest—to the detriment of their later schooling, and even their adult careers. A study that followed 273 students over the course of their [...]
Adam Savage: Permission to Make
MythBusters host Adam Savage has a thing or two to say about the importance of tinkering — even if that means it gets messy. “If you don’t get a chance to fail, if you don’t get a chance to try things and not get them right the first time, and you keep on doing it [...]
Quick Look: Video Games to Train Middle-Schoolers’ Mindfulness, Empathy
If it’s true that by the time Americans turn 21, they will have spent 10,000 hours playing online video games, then this news should be welcome. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will design two educational games aimed at helping eighth-graders develop the opposite of what video games are criticized of developing: empathy, cooperation, mental [...]
Building a Bridge to Summer with Projects
By Matt Levinson The month of May can be a tough time for schools. The end of the year brings mixed emotions for students, teachers and parents, as they prepare for transition into the summer months. Keeping the same routines can be reassuring for some, but recasting school in terms of time and space can [...]
Innovative Ideas from Across the Globe
http://youtu.be/HhTCQwmgDC8 From the good folks at the Infinite Thinking Machine, here’s another fun episode highlighting innovative ideas from across the globe, from the Hole-in-the-Wall experiment in India to the Design for Giving Contest at the Riverside School, to the progressive teaching and learning in San Francisco’s Urban School.
Can TED Talks Really Work in a Classroom?
By Katrina Schwartz There’s been a lot of excitement around TED’s foray into education, bringing its inspirational video model to the classroom. TED-Ed launched the YouTube Channel with produced and animated videos about two months ago and now includes a free service that lets teachers upload any YouTube video to its polished platform. Teachers can [...]
Schools and Students Clash Over Use of Technology
By Katrina Schwartz When it comes to using technology in school, the tension between what students and parents want and what schools allow is becoming more apparent — and more divisive. Students want more control over how they use technology in school, but many classrooms are still making it difficult. That’s according to the most [...]
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