January 2013
35 posts
Library Services in the Digital Age →
thelifeguardlibrarian:
Latest from Pew Internet:
Online research services allowing patrons to pose questions and get answers from librarians: 37% of Americans ages 16 and older would “very likely” use an “ask a librarian” type of service, and another 36% say they would be “somewhat likely” to do so.
Apps-based access to library materials and programs: 35% of Americans ages 16 and older would...
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Col. Chris Hadfield →
Arguably the coolest blog ever… an astronaut posts from space. Awesome stuff!
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Teacher vs. CEO Accountability →
Critics like to point to the difference between how teachers in public schools and chief executive officers in the private sector are treated as prima facie evidence of the hopelessness of reform. Their argument is that when CEOs don’t perform, they are fired. In contrast, when teachers don’t perform, there are no consequences. I’d like to examine this assertion more closely.
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How Stress Hampers Learning →
Students’ ability to learn depends not just on the quality of their textbooks and teachers, but also on the comfort and safety they feel at school and the strength of their relationships with adults and peers there.
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We Need To Think Differently About “Non-Cognitive”... →
Thanks to the success of Paul Tough’s book How Children Succeed, the conversation in education circles has turned to so-called “non-cognitive” skills, such as perseverance, self-monitoring, and flexibility. As much as or more than the cognitive, the argument goes, these are the qualities that account for success in school and life, and we need to promote them through some form of “character...
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Past Lives Blog →
If you are interested in learning more about graveyards and cemeteries, may I recommend Lorna’s blog about her adventures.
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Fraser's Place: PopCorn - Create "live" web... →
A free, online, live video maker. I tried it. It’s pretty easy to use. I think my daughter will enjoy making videos this way to share. Could be really neat for collaborative projects too!
fraserbaker:
The idea that Mozilla have tried to create with PopCorn, is to enable people to produce live video which can change depending on the information put into it. Twitter feeds, google maps and...
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The 2012 Readers' Photo Contest Winners →
Wouldn’t this be a neat art project for kids? A tremendous number of similar items put together in a collection, a completed puzzle.
Lots of great photos in this collection…
Rob Roy, a friend of the photographer, has been collecting these scissors for 20 years. Sourced from all over the world, “they tell the tale of trades in which they have been plied,” Jim Golden says. The...
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The Shape of Life →
Great website to accompany the PBS series. Tons of resources.
A revolutionary eight-part television series that reveals the dramatic rise of the animal kingdom through the breakthroughs of scientific discovery.
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Harnessing The Maker Movement For Student Learning →
Can the creative impulse behind the “maker” movement also be tapped for student learning? A new project funded by the National Science Foundation and co-directed by Kimberly Sheridan aims to find out:
“Kimberly Sheridan, an assistant professor at George Mason University’s College of Education and Human Development, and her colleague Erica Halverson from the University of Wisconsin-Madison,...
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Who wants to use bananas as a computer keyboard?
This takes the old potato battery project to a whole new place. How cool would this be for students to explore?
From Wired By Tom Cheshire 12 November 12
Typing on a standard qwerty keyboard can be boring. Typing on a ripe mango, however — now that’s infinitely more interesting. MaKey MaKey is a kit that can make such surrealist dreams come true by turning conductive objects...
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3 characteristics of a people builder →
These are great qualities to focus on when teaching. Great blogpost about how to use them.
challenging
encouraging
honest
Posted by Vicki Davis
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Using digital media to enhance educational... →
Educational transfer is the point of education, right? If students can’t use what we’ve taught them in new, real-life situations, then we end up with students who are good at school and bad at life.
Recent research from National Academies Press reminds us that one of the best ways to promote transfer is to balance students’ cognitive load while they consume or create multimedia.
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WatchThe Bug Chicks present Millipedia — an educational video about centipedes and millipedes that was created by elementary school students.
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Create Ice Art →
Besides cold weather (or a freezer), to create ice art you’ll need some bits of nature (leaves, berries, seeds, acorns, etc), a plastic plate, ice cube tray or other baking molds, and ribbon or string.
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Ask a Scientist →
Ask a Scientist connects you to some of the top scientists in the country, and each of them is connected to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. If you’ve got a question about medicine, human biology, animals, biochemistry, microbiology, genetics, or evolution, then please, Ask a Scientist!
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Science for all
STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — makes careers blossom
By Nancy McGuire / January 9, 2013 Science News for Kids
John Holdren shares his insights into science with President Barack Obama as his science advisor. Credit: Pete Souza
Quick, what does a real scientist, engineer or mathematician look like? If someone from the cast of television’s The Big Bang Theory pops into your...
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Complementary Color Studies →
From Child Art Retrospective…
While this project is a continuation of our color explorations, it is a great “I need something now” kind of project. It is simple, all you need is paper and paint, and can be completed in two paint sessions. It is also gives teachers a quick check-in assessment for how children are understanding and using concepts about color (science of...
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Five Awesome Virtual Field Trips for Students of...
March 13, 2012 | 11:32 AM | By MindShift
By Stephen Chupaska
One of the best things living in the digital age is being able to connect across the globe to other students, professionals, and cultural organizations who can show unique perspectives from their corner of the world. Nothing beats the real-life experience of going on actual field trips, but savvy schools and teachers have long been...
June 2012
26 posts
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KLCNJ Blogpost: Silkworms →
Caitie is tutored by a lovely woman, Lorna Wooldridge. She’s kind, caring, and understanding while mixing in a good dose of appropriate motivation and discipline. In addition to all the great work she’s done with Caitie on reading, Lorna also has a variety of other interests including butterflies and moths. Each year Lorna raises monarchs and other butterflies. Thanks to her,...
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There's More Than One Way to Flip a Classroom →
Defining what “flipping your classroom” meant was the first topic of conversation, which proved to be somewhat more difficult than you might expect. In fact, the reason the panel consisted of nine educators, instead of two or three, was precisely to demonstrate that there were many different ways to effectively flip a classroom.
The flipped classroom has become somewhat synonymous...
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Encouraging STEM Students Is in the National... →
By S. James Gates Jr. and Chad Mirkin
This year a report issued by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, on which we serve, concluded that if the United States is to maintain its historic pre-eminence in the STEM fields—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—and gain the social, economic, and national-security benefits that come with such pre-eminence,...
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Summer Travel Journals →
Today we have Kayte Ghaffar, who is sharing some wonderful tips for summer journaling with children. I have had the opportunity to work with Kayte over the last year and love of her innovative ideas and knack for creating engaging learning experiences.
Read more…
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The Educational Value of Creative Disobedience →
By Andrea Kuszewski | Jun 23, 2012
Synopsis
In this age of innovation, even more important than being an effective problem solver, is being a problem finder. It’s one thing to look at a problem and be able to generate a solution; it is another thing to be able to look at an ambiguous situation, and decide if there is a problem that needs to be solved. That’s a skill that isn’t really targeted...
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KLC Bog: A Confession →
A Confession
Recently, I was cruising Facebook, as I too often do, when I came across the following meme. It featured Neil deGrasse Tyson, so naturally I stopped in my tracks and read it. Because he is just THAT cool.
Anyway, I confused. I mean, the sun is yellow, right. That’s what the textbook told me. And that’s what I taught. The sun is a yellow star. It was at this point...
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Book Study Blog Party on "Teaching in the Digital... →
Interesting material, interesting opinions and commentary. Love the idea of a book study blog party too.
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10 Tips for Effective Digital Instructional Design →
Good tips…
via world-shaker:
Here are two:
1. Consider the potential of downloadable lesson ‘kits’ rather than lessons spread across web pages. The Internet and LMSs don’t always work as well as they should, but material that can be stored in a hard drive is only at risk in the case of power blackouts.
2. Master PDF creation and formatting for accessibility, presentation, control,...
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Bubbles: Art, Science & Mentos →
About a week ago I decided that bubbles would be my theme for the Blairstown Farmers Market. I mean, bubbles are a clear winner on a lovely spring day at the market. How could I resist?
First things first: the bubble mix. You can buy some, sure. That’s quick and easy, but a bit expensive, especially for large quantities. So I made my own using dish soap, water and bit of vegetable...
