100 FREE Tools to Make Your Teaching More Entertaining

Click here to see a list of 100 tools teachers can use in their classrooms for free. The tools cover topic such as:

• Wikis
• Blogs
• Open Courseware
• Twitter
• Comics
• Professional Networks

Puppet Pals App

I've seen a few kids make stories with this app. It's so cute and so fun because they use kids can use their own voices for the characters.

Winning! Google Science Fair

Google’s top three science fair winners by age category are:
• Lauren Hodge (left in photo) in the 13-14 age group.
• Naomi Shah (right in photo) in the 15-16 age group.
• Shree Bose (middle in photo) in the 17-18 age group.

For the science fair, Lauren studied “the effect of various marinades on the level of potentially harmful carcinogens in grilled chicken.” Naomi proved “that making changes to indoor environments that improve indoor air quality can reduce people’s reliance on asthma medications.” AND THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER, Shree Bose, “discovered a way to improve ovarian cancer treatment for patients when they have built up a resistance to certain chemotherapy drugs.”

These incredibly talented and motivated young women competed against 7,500 entries from greater than 10,000 applicants from more than 90 countries around the world.

Know someone interested in competing? Check out the Google Science Fair website.

Photo via the Official Google Blog

Not the Job of an Educator

I found myself outraged as I read the news that Alabama's new racist immigration law would effectively require educators to act as immigration officials and verify the legality of students as well as their parents and report to state authorities. Besides the impracticality of the law itself and the racial profiling that will inevitably occur, this is not the job of an educator. We talk a lot as teachers about equity in education and the fear is that this law will encourage parents to keep children home from school this fall rather than risk getting "caught." Our duty is to educate all children. What happened to "leaving no child behind?" Where is the justice?

Read this editorial and tell me what you think...

Preventing Teacher Burnout

A blog article by 5th-and 6th-grade teacher, Katy Farber, caught my attention, and I think many of you will relate. I LOVED teaching, but I didn’t always love working in a school. We all know teachers deserve more, and Katy explains how small improvements can lead to big changes.

Here’s a blurb from her article:
You know the feeling. It happens when you see other people out for walks during their lunch hour (and you just spent 10 minutes "eating" while emailing a passive aggressive parent). Or when you hear how you need to try this new teaching technique, even though you have been doing it for years. Or when you are up all night, sick, and have to crawl to the computer to write your sub plans. You think, "How much longer can I do this?"

Click here to read her list of 8 ideas that can help teachers stay positive, empowered, and connected to their school communities.

Baby We Were Born to Learn

It's growing closer and closer to that last day of school....I can feel it, see it and almost taste it...I struggle for continuity and normalcy so that we as a class don't slip right into chaos during our final days. I realize how important it is to keep up with our regular schedule so as not to tip off my very young and impressionable minds to just how close we are to freedom! Today I "stumbled upon" a website that I found very interesting and relevant. It's called Born to Learn and it really references what we as educators already know about child development, the importance of play and inquiry-based learning. I think that as teachers with text books, standardized tests and curriculum standards, we find it easy to forget about these important details. I highly recommend that everyone involved in education takes a good look at this and thinks about how it is that we are educating our children and building a love of learning....all the way up to the last day of school.

Compassion in Education

I post TED videos fairly often. TED is an international, digital conference community of individuals and organizations who believe in the power of spreading ideas through videotaped presentations shared freely online. I am a believer.


TEDx is a locally organized event that features individuals and innovation that present in a style similar to the TED videos you can find online. Think of the “x” as meaning “independently organized. Each of these TEDx events has a theme. Prospect Sierra andU.C. Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center have partnered to host a TEDx conference in Richmond, California. The theme of their event will be Compassion in Education.

If you live in California or have been meaning to make a trip out there, the conference is scheduled for June 11, 2011. Tickets are available online at: tedxgoldengateed.org.

(After the conference, I hope to find online videos that I can post for the rest of us to see.)


Click here to read more.

Education Runs Through Our Veins

How many educators are in your family?

In my family...
1 grandpa was a teacher, coach, and principal.
4 aunts are teachers.
2 uncles were teachers and 1 is now a principal.
At least 5 cousins are studying or have studied education.
And, my mom is a teacher.

After visiting one of my younger brother's blogs, I started thinking about how valuing education is a trait that runs in families just like our physical traits and our senses of humor. Tim's blog is LanguART. The objective of LanguART is to improve foreign language learning with the use of art. Harold Lorayne’s The Memory Book inspired Tim's idea. Tim's method uses sounds from the target language and relates them to English words or phrases in order to create memorable images; this helps foreign vocabulary retention. LanguART is a great site for visual learners.

Differentiated Instruction

     As I walked into the teacher's lounge today, I discovered a clipboard with a note from my principal scheduling (the dreaded!) classroom observations. Fortunately for me, I really don't dread these. I like to think of observations as a way to see my classroom from the outside. It is always wonderful to hear what someone else sees or thinks about what I'm doing, especially when it comes from a place of positive reinforcement as is always the case at my school. This year our observation lessons should have a focus on differentiated instruction. My school along with others in our district have been receiving training from ASCD for over 3 years in DI strategies. We have been working hard to implement these strategies and our recent attendance at the ASCD conference only helped to give us more understanding and ideas for our students. DI is the wave of the future for education because it focuses on teaching to each child's needs. A quote that hangs in our copy rooms says, "Differentiated Instruction is responsive teaching rather than one-size-fits-all teaching."I chose to have my observation done on Language Arts Centers which I believe are my most DI part of the day. Students have a checklist for the week of activities that they can do which are often leveled for ability. The centers are varied for learning styles and there is something that works for everyone. My students roam about the classroom independently choosing where they want to work while I take small reading groups.  It amazes me the ease with which they are able to do this. A lot of time at the start of the year was put into organizing and readying the students for this kind of independence in first grade but it sure is worth it!

My coworker who teaches fifth grade has become a leader at our school in DI strategies. One big project she implemented was a "mall project" in which students created stores and essentially built a mall in their classroom. The proceeds from the project helped to fund a smartboard for her classroom. As a result of this, ASCD elected to come and record her class and interview members of our faculty to spotlight DI in action. (Shameless plug for my school but it's worth a look! )

Like everything in learning, implementing DI strategies takes time and our school has really focused on taking it slow and making it happen in areas that you are already comfortable teaching. Seeing my students take control of the their learning, stay on task and still call Centers one of their favorite parts of the day is success in my book.

Skype Makes it Easier to Use in the Classroom

Skype in the classroom is a platform that connects teachers to other teachers that are interested in collaborating on classroom projects through Skype.

How does it work?

1. Make a profile that indicates your interests, expertise, and location.
2. Then, create a project. You’ll want to provide a brief summary, and then list the ages of students, subject area, and language. You can also add photos or videos. This information will be posted on the website for other teachers to see.
3. You can also search existing projects posted by other teachers. Click here to see some projects already posted.

The video below shows students in the U.S. working with students in Chile to learn about earthquakes. Very cool!

Show Me the Money!

My post on March 16th got me thinking about grants. I specifically looked into the grants provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation because I come across an article every couple months that tells the story of a group working to improve education systems using money from the Gates foundation to fund the group’s education strategy.

The Gates foundation is looking to provide grants to tax-exempt organizations that will benefit as many people as possible with a strategy that includes measureable results. Many of their grants benefit those in developing countries. They also provide grants through their United States Program whose mission is the following: Help ensure greater opportunity for all Americans through the attainment of secondary and postsecondary education with genuine economic value.

Click here to learn who is eligible for a grant, the types of projects the foundation supports, and how to apply.

The organizations that have already received grants:

Washington STEM, “a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing innovation, equity, and excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in Washington state.”




Inigral Inc., an organization that created an education-focused social media digital product, the Schools App, built on Facebook Platform.




Next Generation Learning Challenges invests in technologists, institutions, educators, and entrepreneurs with strong plans to create technology solutions for students.




(How can you not love the Gates??)

ASCD Does the Sanny Franny!

I had the unique opportunity this past weekend to attend ASCD's Annual Conference in my hometown of San Francisco! ASCD (formally the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development) has a motto and it's "Learn. Teach. Lead." These people know what they're talkin' bout. I must admit that I nerded out (teachers are allowed to use made up words right?) a little bit on education stuff while at this conference. I was truly surrounded by the leaders in our field and I even met educational celebrity Robert Marzano!!! (see my previous post for clarification). While I could go on and on about all the new things I learned, I won't overload you; not to mention that my head is kind of still spinning from the information.

Some highlights:
1. Saturday's General Session Speaker, Chip Heath. Chip is a Business Professor at Stanford. My immediate reaction was, "Why would they bring in a business man to talk to teachers?" Then I heard his incredibly captivating presentation about change and how difficult it is to make real changes. This is an education issue, but also a life issue. Take a look at the info that he and his brother are putting out there....good stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCtwPYeTwI0&feature=related

2. Green Light Classrooms: incredible, interactive ideas for engaging learners at every age. Among other things, presenter Rich Allen discussed the idea that students (and humans) remember, recognize and make connections visually better than with words. I learned about an amazing website that helps students use pictures to remember words and concepts, something I already implemented into my own classroom yesterday. The kids LOVED it.  www.wordtoons.com

3.  It's all about planning, people! This is for teachers who need to make lesson plans and curriculum maps, adhere to standards and explain how. Jane E. Pollock, co author with (the now infamous) Marzano gave a presentation on planning that was very helpful. Even more helpful was this link she provided of Rogers School District that's already done it all for you.....yipee! (teachers love stealing, I mean sharing!).

4. 'member how I talked about teacher's being overwhelmed with all that information out there?? ya well, good luck with this stuff.....

Oh, You're Smart? That's Great. Are You Creative?

An article I read by Laura Seargeant Richardson caught my attention because she pointed out that creativity and “thinking with our hands” is just as important as STEM education when it comes to keeping our country a competitive nation. I know teachers know this, but I enjoyed being reminded of the importance of practicing creativity. I often read and write about what is current in STEM, but STEM is nothing special without original thought. In The Creativity Crisis: Why American Schools Need Design - The Atlantic, Richardson explains that we need to focus on originality and design thinking as well as STEM because these skills will lead to the innovations that add value to our communities.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited.”
-Albert Einstein

WHY?!

In reading Ms. Murphy's post about professional development, I got to thinking about what it means to be an endless learner. Like I said last time, it is essential to the career of an educator. On Monday after a faculty meeting, I met with a coworker to discuss the research behind best practices in Education (and people say our job is easy, pshaaw!). She brought out a book about vocabulary development in English Language Learners, something very important for the community in which we teach. I started reading and got some interesting insight into strategies for teaching ELL. Then my coworker and I got to talking. We both expressed our frustration with all the information out there and all the different strategies that are being used in Education. We feel entirely overwhelmed by all that there is to learn. How are we supposed to learn all this in the midst of planning, creating, implementing and assessing a variety of activities that are differentiated for every learner? sigh.

The answer is what every veteran teacher will tell you, baby steps, my dear, baby steps. Oh and don't stop learning! So Robert Marzano is a leading researcher in the field with many books that are helpful to anyone involved in Education. One thing he discusses is the idea that teachers really do want the information about the research behind strategies that they use. They want to know why it works and why they should do it. They want this in addition to step by step instructions and strategies. I must agree. With all the information that is out there, we need an answer to the question, why?

While Marzano's website appears to be an amazon-esque layout simply prompting you to buy something, I actually found a few great links including webinars on some excellent topics. Browse the "Free Resources" and get to learnin' (in all that spare time of yours).

Image courtesy of http://media.photobucket.com/image/overwhelmed+/aalex221/overwhelmed.png

$1.5M Grant Allows Company to Create Professional Development Program

Melinda Gates and her hubby, Bill, must have faith in Tutor.com because their foundation recently (Nov. 2010) awarded the company a $1.5-million grant to expand their one-to-one online sessions. Instead of solely providing online support to students, Tutor.com is developing a program that digitally connects a teacher with a “master teacher” (aka professional development coach) for on-demand, one-to-one live help from Sunday through Thursday, 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. local time. According to the program’s plan, professional development coaches will be ready to provide live help within minutes of request from a teacher.
The service will begin September 2011.
Click here for more information about the PD program.

"Good Morning, Friends!"

"Good morning, Ms. Brennan," is what you're supposed to say. Instead you have a confused look and a twinge of worry in your stomach. "A substitute?! What does this mean for my day?" Worry not dear friends, I am a dear friend of your trusty endless learners blogger, Patricia Murphy. Apologies, my name is Erin Brennan and I teach first grade in San Francisco, California. I absolutely love my job despite the blood, sweat and (many) tears that I've offered up in the name of Education. I was quite honored when Trish (that's what we in the biz call her) asked me if I'd be interested in being a guest author on her blog. While I've wanted to create my own blog for sometime, I clearly lacked the dedication to follow through with it. Here's the next best thing; Trish does all the work and I'll add my 2 cents as needed. Perfect!

So the thing is, I've known Trish nearly my whole life. We are both spawned from teachers. Education and social justice are coursing through our veins. Trish and my collective knowledge about children, pedagogy, textbooks and timeouts really places us at the top of our field (I kid, I kid). In actuality, the theme of this blog encompasses what I believe to be one of the most important characteristics of a quality teacher, the desire to continue learning. It is with this in mind that I've already begun to consider the immense amount of topics that we can address in this venue. So come on in and enjoy the show.

I will leave you with a link to a powerful powerpoint that I was once shown called "If She Only Knew Me." As a teacher, we have a lot of power and influence in a child's life. It is a great responsibility that can't be taken lightly. It's not just about the desire to be a great teacher, it's about the repercussions if we are not.

http://www.edequity.com/PDFs/ASCD_Equity_Walks_Presentation.pdf

Top 10 Undergrad and Grad Programs in Video Game Design

Princeton Review and GamePro Media partnered to create the second annual list of colleges and universities with the best video game design programs.

TOP 10 UNDERGRAD PROGRAMS:
1. University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)

2. University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)

3. DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)

4. The Art Institute of Vancouver (Vancouver, BC, Canada)

5. Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)

6. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)

7. Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)

8. Champlain College (Burlington, VT)

9. Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)

10. Becker College (Worcester, MA)

Honorable Mentions: Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA), North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY), Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA) and Shawnee State University (Portsmouth, OH)

TOP 10 GRAD PROGRAMS:
1. University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)

2. University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL)

3. Southern Methodist University (Plano, TX)

4. Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)

5. Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)

6. University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT) 

7. University of California, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)

8. Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)

9. Parsons The New School for Design (New York, NY)

10. The University of Texas at Dallas (Dallas, TX)

Honorable Mentions: Academy of Art University (San Francisco, CA), DePaul University (Chicago, IL), DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA), Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)

The entire list of both undergraduate and graduate programs are available today in GamePro magazine (April issue).

Competition Among Tablets

Apple released its iPad 2 this past Wednesday. I know it can seem like Apple and other technology companies come out with a new and improved product before we have a chance to get sick of its last one. It can make people crazy when trying to stay on top with the latest trends, but it is good for competition. Competition among tablets is increasing which will assist in competitive pricing, and very possibly, more affordable tablets. I believe tablets will be extremely practical and useful devices for all students and teachers…once they’re affordable for the average person.

Whether or not you’re willing to spend the money on a tablet, it’s good to know their capabilities and improvements. So, I’ve summed those up below.

Apple’s iPad 2

Size: 1.3 lbs (3 oz lighter than original iPad); 9.7-in. screen; aluminum shell is 33% thinner




Resolution: 1024 by 768 pixels (same as original)




Storage Options and Respective Prices: 16 GB [$499], 32 GB [$599] and 64 GB [$699] (same as original)




Memory and Processor: 512 MB and new dual-core A5 processor(this lets you do more than one thing at a time)




Includes 2 cameras.




If you have the $39 dock-to-HDMI Digital AV Adapter, iPad 2 is capable of video mirroring which is a beneficial tool for presenters and teachers.




There are more than 65,000 apps available at the App Store.




Motorola's Xoom

Size: 1.76 lbs; 10.1-in. screen




Resolution: 1280 by 800 pixels (greater than iPads)




Storage: 32 GB

Price: $799

Memory and Processor: NVIDIA’s Tegra 2, 1GHz dual-core CPU and a 1GB RAM

Includes dual cameras.




Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Size: 1.76 lbs; 10.1-in. screen




Resolution: 1280 by 800 pixels (greater than iPads; same as Xoom)




Storage Options and Respective Prices: 16 GB and 32 GB (price could change due to release of iPad 2)




Memory and Processor: NVIDIA’s Tegra 2, 1GHz dual-core CPU and a 1GB RAM (same as Xoom)

Includes dual cameras.




Thinking Outside the Box to Expand Special Education Programs

The coffee shop run by students at Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Edison, NJ averages a profit of $100 a week. A class designed for children with autism or multiple learning disabilities runs a coffee shop every Friday morning in the home economics classroom. The teachers enjoy stopping in the coffee shop during their free period, and the students look forward to Fridays when they get to work.

Thomas Macchiaverna, who came up with the coffee shop idea, created the program to provide his students with opportunities to learn math skills, develop business sense, and practice social interaction. The profits have been used for field trips and classroom celebrations, which has been especially helpful since the Edison district recently eliminated money for field trips.

TED Talks in Written Form

TED is now creating e-books available through Kindle. The authors of these books were asked to cover a topic concisely within 10,000 to 20,000 words. TED is launching this idea with the following books:



• The Happiness Manifesto: How Nations and People Can Nurture Well-Being by Nic Marks



• Homo Evolutis Please Meet the Next Human Species by Juan Enriquez and Steve Gullans



• Beware Dangerism! Why We Worry About the Wrong Things, and What It’s Doing to Our Kids by Gever Tully

Can Math Teachers Rap..?

At Westerville South High School in Ohio, math teachers Dave Schultz, KC Murphy, and Tyler Winner created “Getting’ Triggy Wit It” a parody of Will Smith’s jiggy.


Lamar Queen, an 8th grade math teacher in Los Angeles, regularly performs songs to reinforce lessons.


Mrs. Lee, a teacher at Grafton Middle School in York County, Virginia, wrote this fraction rap.

History Lessons for Music Lovers

The videos below were created by two teachers from Honolulu, Hawaii. They change the words of popular songs to give the basics of some historical people and events. The teachers have reworked songs for almost 50 lessons, and you can find those at historyteacher’s YouTube Channel.

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Imagine Cup 2011

Registration for Microsoft’s 9th Imagine Cup
is now open. The competition is made up of passionate and creative young people that work to find solutions to our world’s social and environmental problems. This year a new program is added to the competition called “Imagine Cup Solve This”. The program will provide needs submitted by organizations that students will be challenged to solve creatively.

You can click here to see the winners of the Imagine Cup 2010. Below is a video for the 3rd place winner in the Digital Media category, Team Woolgathering.

Good Article for Ed Techs…

…and anyone else trying to get a group to shift towards more innovative technologies in a classroom or organization. This ZDNet Education article, “If I only knew then…” lists the top ten principles and knowledge Christopher Dawson believes Ed Techs should keep in mind. I agree with most of his advice, but I recommend disregarding the last paragraph. While I love coffee more than I should, SLEEP IS IMPORTANT.