Archive for 2012
Good Read: What Does the Art of Teaching Have to Do With Ed Tech?
“Without a trace of sarcasm or cynicism, I tell you honestly that I don’t think we’ve even begun to scratch the surface when it comes to education in the era of the Internet,” writes educator Shelly Blake-Plock, who also wrote the memorable post 21 Things That Will Be Obsolete in 2020 and If School is [...]
Earn Facebook Time By Practicing Math
One of parents’ and teachers’ biggest concerns about kids’ use of technology is the issue of distraction. As much as being wired can help kids with school work, it can also lead to temptations for goofing off. Pew Research Center study, “How Teens Do Research in the Digital World” recently reported that 87% of Advanced Placement [...]
Going Retro: Reading Apps for Real Books
Reading Rainbow app YouTube clips. Texting. Twitter. Facebook status updates. The prevalence of short-attention-span media — easily scanned or consumed — has led to much hand-wringing over how students will develop that lifelong love of reading perceived to be so critical to lifelong learning. One answer (in addition to “it’s not as bad as you [...]
Physics in the Hands of a Seven-Year-Old
Seven-year-old Audri wants to study robotics at MIT and become a theoretical physicist someday. Until then, he’s keeping busy making things like this awesome Rube Goldberg machine, as he describes it, “a machine that creates a complicated chain reaction to do a simple task.” He was inspired to make this video after seeing OK GO’s [...]
What’s It Like to Be a Molecule? Science Meets Embodied Learning
By Andrew Miller “Embodied learning” is a new initiative in the field of interactive and game-based learning, in which learning content is combined with physical movement. Among one of the leading organizations in bringing this movement to the classroom is SMALLab, based in Los Angeles. The company has created activities — check out their different [...]
Beyond Talent and Smarts: Why Even Geniuses Struggle
Flickr:Bunchesandbits “The struggle with writing is over.” That message, written on a Post-It note and affixed to his computer, brings the novelist Philip Roth great relief and contentment these days, according to a profile published earlier this week in the New York Times. At the age of 79, the author of more than 31 acclaimed [...]
Good Read: What’s Different About the New Generation of College Students
Fascinating takeaways from this interview with researcher Arthur Levine, who’s been exploring the psyche of college students for 40 years. 1. They’re optimistic, but perhaps unjustifiably so: “Two out of five students have a grade-point average of A- or better, almost six times as many as in 1969, and 60 percent of them nonetheless say [...]
For Holiday Travel, Apps to Keep Kids Busy
Flickr: GoodNCrazy By Bill Chappell Thanksgiving is Thursday, and that means more than 43 million Americans will be on the road, driving to family gatherings. For many parents, the crowded roads can bring another challenge: Keeping a 9-year-old entertained along the way. And sometimes, DVDs are not enough. These days, kids love to tinker with [...]
Four Fun Videos That Explain Complex Language Arts Ideas
For educators looking for new ways to introduce ideas to students, videos can be a great way to spark interest. Catlin Tucker, an English teacher in Windsor, Calif, curated her top video picks for an English classroom, which help explain complex ideas in different ways. This TED-Ed video, The Art of the Metaphor, narrated by Jane [...]
5 Ways to Inspire Students Through Global Collaboration
Flickr:rwkvisual The Internet has made the world smaller. Teachers can now collaborate with classrooms around the world to expose different culture to students. Two educators listed just a few of the advantages of investing in a globally connected classroom during a recent webinar hosted by EdWeb. Working with students from a different culture motivates students. [...]
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