Eighteen years after earning a master's degree, I reached out to Danny East, my first grad school teacher, to learn about his best practices as a teacher. He taught for ten years at Indiana Wesleyan...Continue Reading »

Although they makeup a fraction of the teaching population in the College of Adult and Professional Studies, full-time faculty devote all of their energies to the many aspects of teaching.  Andragogy, curriculum, and Scholarship of...Continue Reading »

Being still. It is increasingly becoming a challenge in our hectic world. The world cries out for us to be busy - to fill our hours with watching television or movies, reading magazines, playing video...Continue Reading »

Envision a community where there is a perpetual open-air banquet. No matter where you are in the community, the banquet is a short walk away. The food is arrayed on an ornate wooden table, draped...Continue Reading »

:: University Learning: Improve Undergraduate Science Education Excerpt: "It is time to use evidence-based teaching practices at all levels by providing incentives and effective evaluations, urge Stephen E. Bradforth, Emily R. Miller and colleagues." Read more :: Online College Students 2015: Comprehensive Data on Demands and Preferences Excerpt: "These data reveal both bad news and good news about the current state of online higher education. The bad news is that the overall college population has shrunk in recent years. Given the declining national unemployment rate and the rebounding economy, more people are choosing to remain at their jobs than to pursue further education. Data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (2015) show that college enrollments declined by close to 2%, yielding 18.6 million college students today. About 5.5 million of these students are studying partially or fully online. At the same time, competition for these online students is increasing. Between 2012 and 2013, 421 institutions launched online programs for the first time, an increase of 23% to 2,250 institutions." Read more :: Tactile Art Click to play video A fascinating research project at the University of Michigan designed to address the issues faced by children with autism spectrum disorder. Excerpt: "An inability to perceive how much pressure one is putting on a certain object is but one of the many unique issues that children with autism spectrum disorder can have. Researchers David Chesney, Sean Ahlquist, and their respective students have taken aim at enabling treatment for this disability by way of a new device that acts as a touch sensitive coloring book. A large screen of spring loaded fabric is stretched over a frame with a projector and a Microsoft Kinect placed behind it. The projector projects the image onto the screen and as the patient pushes in the screen is colored, meanwhile the Kinect sensor measures the depth of pressure that they’re applying to the screen changing the hue of the color they’re applying. This device could be the key to collaborative play for many children with autism and with more testing and validation could see widespread use in treatment centers around the world." Watch the video demonstrating the project :: World’s University ‘Oligopoly’ Accused of Blocking OECD Bid to Judge Learning Quality Ahelo academic and funder blame research elite for thwarting international graduate tests, but criticisms also levelled at multimillion-dollar ‘failure’. Excerpt: "Attempts to measure what students learn at different universities around the world are being thwarted by the "established oligopoly" of institutions seeking to "prevent new information about education coming to light", according to an academic who worked on plans for a standardised test. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development appears to have hit the buffers in its bid to persuade member states to support the introduction of its Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes tests for graduates, seen as the university-level equivalent of its Programme for International Assessment tests in school education." Read more :: Texas Wants 60 percent of Young Adults to Hold College Degrees by 2030 Excerpt: "In order to stay competitive regionally and globally, states have been pushing for more residents to earn a college degree or certificate. It’s an initiative that has been picking up steam across the country, as free-two-year college programs grow and colleges work on closing achievement gaps — all in an effort to get more college credentials into the hands of America’s workers. Texas has become the latest state to join the college completion agenda. Last month the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board adopted a new goal for 60 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds in the state to hold a postsecondary degree or certificate by 2030. Currently, only 38 percent of Texans between those ages have a degree. The initiative matches a similar law that was passed in the state in 2013." Read more :: Treasury Plan Seeks to Put ‘Competitive Pressures’ on Universities Excerpt: "That the Treasury sets the course of higher education policy these days is no longer news. But in its recent Productivity Plan was another important, possibly transformative, announcement. Alongside changes to the planning system and more talk of the "northern powerhouse" were plans on "opening the market" in English higher education "to new and alternative providers". The overall aim of the changes, says the Treasury in the document, is to bring in new providers who "stimulate competition and innovation, increase choice for students, and deliver better value for money". The government plans to "introduce a clearer and faster route to degree-awarding powers for those assessed to offer the best quality education", as well as to "explore options to allow the best providers to offer degrees independently of existing institutions before they obtain degree-awarding powers", according to the document." Read more

To help Ottobock establish a more efficient training process, ShareKnowledge partner SYCOR, implemented a company-wide Learning Management System (LMS) based on Microsoft SharePoint. Around the world, the name Ottobock stands for high-quality, technologically outstanding products and services. With over 5,200 employees based in Germany, their business revolves around restoring customer mobility and protecting any remaining functions. Ottobock chose to implement ShareKnowledge to specifically help with training and learning processes for after-sales service employees.

There is no better way to find out whether an LMS solution will be a good fit for your company than by asking questions to current customers. We are so confident in ShareKnowledge and the value we provide, that we are disclosing a Q&A that went on between a potential client and current customer. These are real questions that extend beyond the standard sales and marketing jargon you'll find on a website - the crucial info you'll want and need before making a big purchase.

An Every Classroom Matters Episode with Josh Stumpenhorst Wish your school would remember what teachers are supposed to be? Sick of the buzzword bandwagon? This is THE episode to share about how we need to reinvent teaching today. Josh Stumpenhorst will get you motivated to teach. We can get kids excited about learning! You can be a better teacher. Here’s how. Important Takeaways for Listeners What does a modern teacher look like? Josh exposes the shows why "teaching the way we were taught" kills learning. Why buzzwords get us off track. The one question about technology we must answer. If we can’t, get rid of it. How some teachers have been shamed into using technology (and slowing down learning). What we should say instead of "21st Century Skills" and "Digital Citizenship." Kids are different today. Josh gives 2 forgotten motivators. If you want to get motivated about teaching and get past the buzzwords, this is it. Scroll down for an awesome sketch note from listener Lyndsay Buehler. Educator Resources Josh’s resignation letter that I mentioned at the beginning of the show. (You’ve got to hear his response of how it is going. Yes, he’s still teaching.) Excerpt of Josh’s ISTE 2015 Keynote The New Teacher Revolution by Josh Stumpenhorst we discussed in the show. Interview Links @stumpteacher Sponsor Staples. Staples has everything a teacher needs for Back to School. Remember to check out the Teacher Rewards Program. Join theTeacher Rewards program and check out my Top 10 School Suppliesto buy at Staples. Remember that the week of August 2 - 9, there is a massive Teacher Appreciation Event ! See Staples Back to School Deals What Teachers Say Listener Clara Maxcy says Excellent post. This is exactly how I feel about what I want to do in my classroom this year. I want to encourage student conversations; let students develop and take ownership of how they learn. It is truly about knowing my students, who they are, what they need (and don’t need - I’ll have to remember that sometimes I just need to get out of the way!) and the best ways to facilitate learning. Thanks, Josh! Then, I got this amazing sketch note from listener Lyndsay Buehler. (You’ll want to read her blog post with reflections about sketchnoting!) @coolcatteacher First try with #Sketchnoting : your Aug 4 podcast! Will blog later. pic.twitter.com/0UPnSaKQLh — Lyndsay Buehler (@apples4theteach) August 5, 2015 You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or elsewhere, get the RSS feed, or listen via the media player above. You’re invited! Join the Every Classroom Matters Awesome Educators Network on Facebook.   The post These 5 Things Won’t Make You a Better Teacher, This One Will appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

August 5, 2015 Preparing your curriculum materials for next semester? Updating what you already have? Revising lesson plans from someone else to fit your class? Here are some tools that may help in... ....read more

August 5, 2015 Game-based learning is a learning trend with an increasing attraction in today’s classrooms. At its core, game-based learning deploys learning principles incorporated in the gaming... ....read more

August 6, 2015 In today’s post we are revisiting some excellent websites and mobile apps  you can use with your students to virtually explore some of the most reputed world museums. Most of... ....read more

August 6, 2015 As is the case once every week, we feature here a compilation of educational apps that are on sale. These deals are valid at least here in Canada and also the States. To keep track of... ....read more

Throughout the spring and summer I offered a five week course on using blogs and social media in schools. Over the last few weeks I've had requests to offer the course again. But school is starting soon and many of us are pressed for time so I decided to offer a three part version of the course. Classroom Blog Jumpstart is a three night event (August 17,18, and 19) in which I'll cover how to set-up a blog, features many people overlook in their blogs, picking the best blog platform for your situation, and share strategies for engaging students and parents through blogging. Does this sound like a course you could use? Click here to register or read on for more information. Whether you’ve never tried using a blog in your classroom or you’ve tried it before and it didn’t work out like you hoped, this course is for you. Blogging isn’t new and it isn’t as flashy as say iPads in the classroom, but it is a very valuable activity for students, teachers, and school leaders. In fact, I think that too often it is under-utilized by teachers. One cause that under-utilization is due in part to not having a clear strategy for implementation. Another reason for under-utilization of blogs is a lack of understanding of just how many ways blogs can be used by students, teachers, and school leaders. I developed this course to address all of those issues and help teachers develop a better understanding of the many ways they can use blogs in their classrooms. In this three night event you will learn:*How to use Blogger and KidBlog. Dive into features many people overlook.*Determine which blogging platform is best for you and your students.*Learn valuable strategies for engaging students and parents through blogging. When? This three night event is happening on August 17, 18, and 19 at 7pm Eastern Time. Click here to register today! ***********All sessions are recorded.************ Cost:I usually charge $97 for a course like this one. As a back-to-school promotion it costs only $65 if you register before August 10th. Use the discount code "backtoschool" to receive the discount. Space is limited. Click here to register today! About the costs and my decision to advertise these opportunities on my blog: Sometimes when I advertise one of these webinars I get messages from people who are upset that I am advertising it here and or that I am charging for it. I understand why some people feel that way. I thought long and hard about how to offer these opportunities. In fact, I thought about it and talked about it with trusted advisors for a year before offering the first webinar series. The purpose of this blog and my goal for years has always been to help people use free technology in their classrooms. The tools and strategies featured in my webinars and at the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp are free to use. However, my time for teaching isn't free. Further, I pay licensing fees to GoToTraining and to Wistia for hosting all of the media content of the courses. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesHow to Schedule Blog Posts on Blogger, Edublogs, and KidblogMove Your Body, Move Your MindSupporting Teachers With Four Blog Posts 

Seterra offers a large selection of free geography quizzes. The collection includes dozens of quizzes covering everything from country identification to identifying physical geographic features like mountains, rivers, and seas. There are seven categories of quizzes arranged by continent. Seterra's quizzes are available in sixteen languages. Seterra's quizzes available as a free download for Windows computers. The games can also be played in an online version. If you download the quizzes you can keep track of your scores on your computer. The online version of the games do not allow you to keep track of your scores. Applications for Education I downloaded Seterra and tried a couple of the quizzes on my desktop. The quizzes are very straight-forward in terms of how to use them. Your cursor will become highlighted with a prompt to identify a state, city, or geographic feature. You could easily have a whole classroom using Seterra in minutes. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesJohnnyAppl - Play Trivia Games and Plant Real TreesAn Easy Way to Create Your Own iPad & Android GamesMake Lesson Plans and Storyboards Pop With These New Guides 

Alphabet Organizer is a free resource produced by Read Write Think for the purpose of helping students learn the alphabet and learn new words. Alphabet Organizer is available as an iPad app, as an Android app, and as a web-based tool. When you first open the app you will be asked to create a user profile. Multiple profiles can be created on the same installation of the app. Creating a profile only asks for a first name and that name could be a pseudonym. Once you have created a profile or selected a profile on Alphabet Organizer you are ready to start building alphabet charts and books. In the first screen you will given the choice of making simple word lists or making word lists with pictures and definitions. Should you choose to use pictures you will have to find the pictures somewhere outside of the app and import them to the app. You can make lists for every letter of the alphabet or make lists for just a few letters at a time. After making your lists you can move on to having those lists used in printable charts or picture book pages. Applications for Education Read Write Think offers an extensive list of lesson plans that incorporate Alphabet Organizer. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesHow to Create a Picture Book Online With Jellybean WriterMay Flowers - A Writing LessonAn Easy Way to Create Your Own iPad & Android Games 

Parts of this post originally appeared on my other blog, iPadApps4School.com Penguin Jump Maths is a free iPad app that offers a fun game for students to play to practice their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills. Students play the game in the role of a penguin trying to jump from iceberg to iceberg. The object of the game is to be the first penguin to make it across all of the icebergs without falling into the water. In addition to measuring success by being the first to cross the icebergs players also earn points for speed and accuracy. Applications for Education Penguin Jump Maths isn’t a revolutionary app by any means. But if you’re looking for a fun and free app for your students to use to practice their basic math skills, the app could provide just what you need. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesAn Easy Way to Create Your Own iPad & Android GamesBest of the Web - Summer 2015 UpdateeduClipper Updates With New Tagging and Discovery Features 

A few weeks ago ClassDojo added a new feature for creating student groups within your ClassDojo classrooms. In that post I teased that more frequently requested features would be added to ClassDojo before summer's end. This week ClassDojo added another of those features in the form of what they're calling Class Story. ClassDojo's Class Story is a feature intended to help you keep parents informed about what's happening in your classroom. Class Story provides a wall onto which you can post text and image updates for parents. Only parents whose students are in your classroom can see the updates and they cannot share them outside of the ClassDojo environment. Parents can "like" your posts on the Class Story wall. As a teacher you can see which parents have read the Class Story updates and which ones have not read the updates. Applications for Education ClassDojo Class Story could be a good supplement to using ClassDojo's messenger service. The Class Story feature is good for sharing the highlights of a class project or field trip. The messenger app is good for one-on-one communication with parents. Class Story will be available in the ClassDojo iOS, Android, and web apps. Click here to register for access today. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesSimplyCircle Helps You Organize Communication With Parents5 Posts to Jumpstart Your Classroom BlogHow to Create Diigo Groups 

WhatsDue is a free service for sending due date reminders to students. The service sends push notifications to students' iOS and Android devices. I reviewed the service last spring and thought that it was good as it doesn't rely on SMS/ text messaging. Just in time for the new school year WhatsDue released some updates. There are three noticeable updates to WhatsDue on the administrative side of things. First, you can now define the type of assignment (homework, quiz, project, or custom description) and add a description to it. Second, the due date now defaults to "tomorrow" unless you change it. Third, you no longer have to specify a time for each assignment's due date. Instead of having to specify "August 14 at 9am" you can now just leave it as "August 14." Here's how WhatsDue works. First, the teacher registers for a free account on the WhatsDue website and creates a class or classes. Each class is assigned its own unique join code. Teachers then invite students and parents to join the class through the join code. Once students have joined the class they will begin receiving due date reminders on their mobile devices. Teachers can create multiple classes and schedule multiple reminders for each class from one dashboard on the WhatsDue website. Students opening WhatsDue on their iPhones or Android phones will see reminders of approaching due dates and past due dates. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesWhatsDue - Schedule and Send Reminders to StudentsSimplyCircle Helps You Organize Communication With ParentsLearn a New Language With the Help of Friends on HelloTalk 

Disclosure: SeeSaw is an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com Earlier this summer the popular digital portfolio service, SeeSaw, expanded to offer a Chrome app, Android app, and browser edition to go along with the popular iPad app. This week SeeSaw unveiled version 2.0. SeeSaw 2.0 keeps all of the great features that have made it popular including letting students join your class by scanning a QR code, taking pictures of physical work, and importing digital work. To those useful features SeeSaw 2.0 adds more tools for drawing, an option for teachers to enable "liking" and commenting on work, and an option to log-in with a Google Account. Applications for Education Of the new features in SeeSaw 2.0 the most significant is the option to enable "liking" and commenting. If you enable that option for your students, they can use likes and comments to give each other feedback on the work in their digital portfolios. One other new feature that you might find helpful is the option to archive old classes. If you're planning to use SeeSaw this fall, take a look at the free presentation resource that SeeSaw offers. The presentation will help you explain to parents how SeeSaw works and why you're using it. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesA Short Interview With the Founder of Shadow Puppet Edu & SeeSawAn Easy Way to Create Your Own iPad & Android GameseduClipper Updates With New Tagging and Discovery Features 

A wave of updates to ed tech products is a sure sign that the new school year isn't far away. Already today I've shared updates about SeeSaw, ClassDojo, and WhatsDue. Not to be left out, Versal has some updates for teachers too. Versal is a service for building online courses. (Click here to learn how to use it). Courses can be comprised of text, images, videos, quizzes, and what interactive elements that Versal calls gadgets. Many Versal gadgets are designed to help students see and model problems in geometry and algebra. You will also find some Versal gadgets that are interactive, explanatory images. All of the Versal gadgets can be found in their new marketplace section. The other update to Versal to note is their integration with Google Classroom. You can now create your online course with Versal and share it to your Google Classroom. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesHow to Create Diigo GroupsGoogle Apps Updates You Might Have Missed in JulyChemical Reactions in a Safe, Online Environment 

One of last week's most popular posts was about a new video highlighting tool called Vibby. Vibby allows you to highlight and comment on sections of YouTube videos. You can even break the videos to play only the sections that you highlight in the video's timeline. An email that I received today from Vibby gave me a good idea about how to use the service to help students analyze debates and presentations. Vibby is running a contest called Highlight the GOP Debate. In the contest they're asking people to highlight outrageous moments, exaggerated truths, and fluffy or meaningless statements. The contest is open to anyone who is a registered Vibby user. Applications for Education Reading about Vibby's Highlight the GOP Debate contest made me think about using Vibby to help students identify and understand key points in debates and presentations. You could ask students to watch videos and identify people who make consistent eye contact, who pace their presentations well, or any other characteristic that you want them to emulate when they deliver their own presentations. You could also have students use Vibby to identify and highlight examples of people using logical fallacies in debates, identify forms of advertising and manipulation, or highlight the best arguments made in a presentation. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesChemical Reactions in a Safe, Online EnvironmentHow to Create Diigo GroupsGoogle Apps Updates You Might Have Missed in July 

20 Classroom Setups That Promote Thinking by TeachThought Staff This is part 1 in our #iteachthought campaign. This is our equivalent to "back to school," and is intended to help you focus in the 2015-2016 school year on taking a thoughtful approach to your craft as a teacher. Among these shifts we’ll talk about is turning our focus from content and teaching to thinkers and thinking. This is a student-centered approach to pedagogy (and heautagogy), and will consist of four parts: Part 1: Classroom Setups That Promote Thinking Part 2: Learning Profiles: What Great Teachers Know About Their Students Part 3: 50 Questions To Ask Your Students On The First Day Of School Part 4: Getting The Best Work From Your Students Learning Is An Ecology Can how you setup your classroom impact how students think? If you design learning with physical space and interaction in mind, it absolutely can. Desks are a staple of the ‘modern’ classroom as we know it. Usually these learning spaces are simple, and simply arranged: places for students to sit and read and write, lined up neatly in rows. While progress has been in the design of schools and classrooms, it’s usually only in pockets of well-funded "future schools" with very little application for the rest of us. So what can we do? That’s the point of this post. If you think of the following ideas as exactly that-ideas-then you’ll realize that none of these are either good nor bad. They’re ideas. If they are used well to solve a problem or promote a characteristic, they are being used well; if they don’t, they’re not. Many of these aren’t immediately reproducible in your own classroom. They may not work for your grade level or furniture or budget or content area. But you can take it as an idea, learn from it, and use it (or not) accordingly. So, the bit about "classroom setups impacting thinking." Learning is an ecology. Classroom design impacts classroom management impacts curriculum needs impacts lesson and unit design impacts teacher personality impacts technology needs impacts literacy strategies and teaching strategies, and so on. Each one of these possibilities will only work as well as you are able to adapt the way you plan instruction and design learning experiences. Yes, you can design a classroom using a Fishbowl approach-and not just to host a Fishbowl discussion, but for longer periods of time. You can also setup a "Google Room" or "Maker Space" and not promote thinking at all, or have students performing stunning cognitive acrobatics sitting by themselves on a cold floor. The idea here is that new ways to setup your classroom can help you think differently about how and why you use certain arrangements, and then design more intentionally moving forward (even if you just stick to plain ol’ rows). In fact, if you think of rows and rows of desks as having pros and cons, causes and effects, you’ll see that these rows lend themselves well to certain things (organization, paper passing, etc.), while not so well to others (collaboration, movement). You’ve already (perhaps unwittingly) adapted your instruction to whatever design you normally use. You plan with it in mind. If you take a new approach, you’ll need to design with that in mind as well. And that’s where the actions and behaviors that promote thinking-interaction, movement, study, making, collaboration, thinking alone, and so on-become a factor. Note, we’ve placed an asterisk* beside those approaches that are more strongly suited to "thought" than others. With that preface, on to some of the possibilities (there are many more!). 20 Ways To Setup A Classroom To Help Your Students Think 1. Maker Spaces* How this is structured depends on your space, content area, grade level, etc. But any content area can use "making" as a primary teaching and learning strategy, and to do so, you’ll need to create the spaces for that to happen. A mix of the "Learning Labs" approach and the "Google Room" may work well. 2. Geometric Mix This approach takes a mix of forms-rows, groups, semi-circled tables. While the furniture in the pic above may be beyond your reach, you can produce a similar effect with a combination of tables and desks. 3. Differentiation Stations* This is physical grouping, but based on areas of differentiation-background knowledge, reading level, an individual skill, etc. If instruction is tailored for a student in this way-with their Zone of Proximal development-there is more opportunity for thinking, teaching, and learning that "fits." 4. Fishbowl* Also a teaching strategy, Fishbowls sees a group of students in the middle, and a group on the outside in a circle facing the group in the middle. You can also arrange your classroom this way permanently-or at least for an extended period of time. The "fish" in the middle have one function (e.g., reading roles from a play, solving a problem, analyzing art, etc.) while the group on the outside participates in a #backchannel twiiter chat with a love running log on a screen. Here, everyone can have a voice-and an opportunity for thought. 5. One Group + 4 Rows This one is what it sounds like it’d be-one group complimented by 4 rows. This setup could be useful if the majority of the class is often working on one activity-or part of an activity, while the bulk of the class works on something else. It obviously can be used collaboratively as well.  6. 2 Groups + 2 Rows Same as above, but more of the class is in a group this time, so the class is split more evenly. 7. Function Pods* This one is similar to Differentiation Stations, only the idea here is less about differentiation and more about a task. Think literature circles, for example, where everyone has a role. The difference here is that the whole classroom is setup that way. 8. A ‘Google Room’* Think colors. Lots of colors. Shapes and textures, too. Diverse lighting sources. A lot of natural light, if possible. Areas to work alone, in pairs, or in groups. Sitting. Standing. Openness. Collaboration. May not be possible to realize completely, but you could use it as inspiration. 9. Two Sides* You can also split the classroom into "two sides." This may be comprised of rows, but the room is setup in halves oftentimes facing one another. This can be especially effective for Social Studies classes, or other content areas that use Accountable Talk as a teaching strategy. You can also have the two sides comprised of angled rows. This isn’t a huge change from traditional rows, but it does offer a few advantages if you’ve got the room, namely that students are in the line of sight of one another more naturally. 10. Giant Oval Usually this is used for team-building activities, but it’s possible to run a classroom this way for a full unit if you plan for it effectively. Maybe a steady diet of agree/disagree, debate, Socratic Seminars, and Accountable Talk, for example. 11. Teacher In The Middle Picture a "regular classroom," but with the teacher (and their desk, if they have one) in the middle. Changes the dynamic of the classroom quite a bit. Whether that’s an effective teaching tool or not depends on how you use it (the same goes with all of these, I suppose). 12. Standing Desks They’re out there. Write a grant proposal, put your desk in the middle, and make it work. 13. Horseshoe An oval with one end missing. Kind of. Not sure this would be very effective long-term, but for a reading activity or a write-around (which are terribly underrated as teaching strategies), it’d work swimmingly. 14. Two Circles Circles allow students to face one another, and encourage conversation. It’s not ideal for small group work, but for direction instruction and literacy activities, it has potential. One giant circle may not work well for a daily setup, but two circles might. With two circles, the size is obviously reduced compared to one, giving you a bit more flexibility for classroom management. 15. Rotating Groups* This is less about the shape of the desks, and more about the workflow and lesson design. The idea here is to plan lessons and units that require students to work together with different groups for different reasons, and to keep them moving, whether within one class, one week, or the unit overall. 16. Middle Circle, Outer Square Putting a square on the outside and circle on the inside-or even vice-versa-is really just a ‘geometric variation’ of the fishbowl, but the size of the circle can be adapted for daily use by a large cluster of students. 17. Learning Labs* If you can recall back to the high school science lab-high desks, "things" to tinker with, students standing and moving around small areas of collaborative learning space-that’s the idea of learning labs. This can be used in any content area and any grade level, and doesn’t even necessarily require hands-on manipulatives. Students standing around a high desk solving physics or geometry problems while "mixing" isn’t a management nightmare if you’ve planned a lesson with this approach in mind. 18. A Learning Studio* This is a non-traditional learning environment-imagine a Starbucks mixed with a library mixed with a classroom mixed with a maker space mixed with a design studio. Probably wouldn’t work if you have 35 students, but if you have less than 20, this kind of approach could change the culture of learning in your classroom. 19. Open Square Similar to #10, this one came on twitter from @rmg178, "I do an open square with the open side facing the board & I put a table in the middle for my materials." 20. Fluid Change it up weekly. Let the learning goals dictate how you use your space-and how students use their individual spaces. A fixed learning space reflects a fixed mindset. It’s not "a lot of work," it’s adapting. 20 Ways To Setup A Classroom; 20 Classroom Setups That Promote Thinking; adapted image attribution Google, flickr user makerfestivaltoronto, bsfinhull  The post 20 Classroom Setups That Promote Thinking appeared first on TeachThought.

The other day we were looking at several different blogging platforms to be utilized with our students and teachers. The goto idea seems to be to find what is free and teacher-controllable. The problem with free is that it is often void of the ability to export data and this is such a critical feature to have…especially when we consider that each person should have ownership of their own. These are conversations that we will have with every platform that we roll out with our students and teachers. It is unacceptable for students to not have access to their own work, even after they leave our district. It’s equally as unacceptable for teachers to turn over ownership for the sake of free and it happens more often than we are often aware. It’s interesting to be in a position to make these decisions but even more interesting to have these conversations with others as they learn that data and privacy matters greatly. Passwords!! (The most forgotten thing during the school year) In my previous district, I used to despise the password reset process. After talking with several specialist from all over the country, the despise of password management is a huge commonality. A few thoughts uttered from around the web (with anonymity of course)… "If we don’t reset their passwords, how will teachers get into what they need?" "I want to limit password resets to less than ____ because I’m tired of teachers forgetting them" "I have teachers that forget their passwords over and over again…all year" "We have them make all passwords the same so that they won’t forget" "I spend hours and hours doing nothing but resetting passwords" Long sigh… I have two digital learning specialist in my department and their main focus will be on helping teachers to integrate technology into their lessons. We literally do not have hours and hours a day to reset passwords which means that we must have a way for teachers to handle this small task themselves. Yes, I know that as small as the task is…It will still be incredibly difficult for many…at least, for now. We have to empower them to click the "forgot password" button. WE just have to. When it comes to passwords, it seems that schools tend to take the "operationally easy" route in creating, distributing and syncing. (Think…all kids sharing a password) As someone who has had her online presence "hacked"…I cringe at not teaching password safety, protection and retrieval. Which age is this appropriate? Of course, I won’t get into how we do it for obvious reasons but I will say that regardless of how we initially begin the account creation process, our teachers do have the power to retrieve their own without waiting on someone to manage a list. Ironically, we didn’t really know that…until today which means that as of now, we will be free of the "Google Form" generated password retrieval/reset list. On another note, I am so guilty of forgetting my passwords and completely rely on the ability to quickly retrieve it…without being shamed for it. Think about that for a minute.  

My office runs a yearly NYC Schools Tech Conference with about one thousand attendees. This year we wanted to focus on getting the buzz going in social media. One measure success was if we could trend on Twitter that day and we did. Here are some things we did to make that happen.I want more »