Recent articles
Blogging to meet CCSS and ISTE Standards
07/11/2014
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Technology enters our classrooms at a sometimes head-spinning pace. As educators, we want technology to inspire student learning and creativity. That's what led us — an instructional coach and English teacher at Kirkwood High School in Missouri — to design a rigorous learning experience…
Design an engaging virtual learning experience in 5 steps
07/21/2014
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What does an engaging learning experience look like? You probably know it when you see it. Most likely, you'll find teachers,…
Build an awesome class website with Google Apps
07/23/2014
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Let's face it: Teachers can use all the help we can get. To have the most impact, we need to form partnerships with those other educators who spend even more time with our students than we do — their parents.
Parents haven't always been welcome in schools as partners. In the past,…
Teach physics with Angry Birds
09/04/2014
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Many students think physics is too hard for them to grasp. And many physics teachers reinforce this notion by using a lot of linear instruction techniques, demanding that they take notes and memorize, and focusing on drill and practice for standardized tests.
To make matters worse,…
A book report your students will love
12/08/2014
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How many times have students written mundane, uninspired book reports that were handed in, read by the teacher and handed back to the student, never to be seen again? I wrote so many boring book reports as a kid that it nearly turned me off to reading altogether. That is, until my sixth…
Turn Twitter into a learning tool
03/25/2015
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Michele Haiken's eighth grade English language arts students are required to read an outside book every quarter. She who are eager to earn an " "A" " can read two outside books per quarter. For the students, that might mean a lot of extra reading and homework time, but for Haiken, a teacher…
5 virtual worlds for engaged learning
05/04/2015
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Maybe you’ve heard of Minecraft. Or World of Warcraft, or Second Life. Maybe you’ve even heard that there are a few brave educators who are using them in their classrooms, with — gasp! — students. These educators know that 3D virtual learning environments are far more than mere games and that…
8 ways to prevent cheating in the digital age
05/05/2015
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For as long as there has been school, there has been cheating. And in many ways, the advent of the digital age has made plagiarism and stealing answers even easier. Some teachers will tell you that trying to prevent cheating is an exercise in futility. While it’s true that you can’t police all…
Create learning environments that drive engagement
05/11/2015
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There’s a Golden Rule when it comes to creating or reinventing a learning environment: The environment’s design must support student engagement.
Sounds easy enough, but educators must be aware of the pitfalls – like incorporating technology into the environment and then focusing…
A sketchy approach to learning
08/05/2015
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Adult coloring books are the latest fad for a stressed out workforce looking to zone out with some easy creativity. Before that, it was smashbooking, or the craft of randomly layering photos, mementos and memories into a notebook on the spot. The recent Bible journaling trend isn’t as messy…