The New Frontier

world-shaker: 6 Expert Tips for Flipping the Classroom A great...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:12:53 -0400

6 Expert Tips for Flipping the Classroom

A great list. Here’s one of my favorites:

3) Step aside and allow students to learn from each other. “Pre-class, my students access digital readings using a web-based, collaborative PDF annotation tool called NB, which was designed by MIT,” says Mazur. “I have been truly impressed by the energy with which my students dive into the readings. I thought I would need to give much more extrinsic motivation [for them] to do that, but the answer is no, not at all.

“Within a couple of weeks, my 35 students created 2,000 annotations in their text, discussing the readings asynchronously with each other. Their discussions were incredibly thorough, exciting, and in-depth. Yet, every time I participated in the NB annotations, I killed the discussion among the students, because I was seen as the authority. It stopped them from working it out on their own and finding the solution. [Now] I participate only if there is a situation where they are completely and utterly stuck.”

This is awesome.

lbjlibrary: April 7, 1965. LBJ delivers the speech called...

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 12:16:15 -0400

lbjlibrary:

April 7, 1965. LBJ delivers the speech called “Peace Without Conquest” at Johns Hopkins University. He compares the needs of the Vietnamese people to the needs of the people of rural America, specifically the Hill Country of Texas. As a young Congressman, LBJ had helped to bring electricity to his impoverished district.

“We often say how impressive power is. But I do not find it impressive at all. The guns and the bombs, the rockets and the warships, are all symbols of human failure. They are necessary symbols. They protect what we cherish. But they are witness to human folly.

“A dam built across a great river is impressive.

“In the countryside where I was born, and where I live, I have seen the night illuminated, and the kitchens warmed, and the homes heated, where once the cheerless night and the ceaseless cold held sway. And all this happened because electricity came to our area along the humming wires of the REA. Electrification of the countryside—yes, that, too, is impressive.

“A rich harvest in a hungry land is impressive. The sight of healthy children in a classroom is impressive. These—not mighty arms—are the achievements which the American Nation believes to be impressive.

“And, if we are steadfast, the time may come when all other nations will also find it so.”

Former President Eisenhower called LBJ to praise the speech the next day. Full speech text here.

Excellent source to use in a classroom.

good: A Library for the Subway- Adele Peters posted in Design,...

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 19:41:32 -0500

good:

A Library for the Subway
- Adele Peters posted in Design, Product Design and Technology

Let’s say you’re stuck on the F train, trying to ignore the person coughing on you, a screaming baby, and a someone staring creepily. (No, I’m not describing my morning). Wish you hadn’t forgotten a book? Here’s an interesting idea from a group of design students: using tech to bring you the first 10 pages of a popular book on your phone, and then telling you the nearest public library where you can go pick up the actual book. Nice way to possibly get more people back in libraries.

Awesome… And they could provide entire texts of books that are free for digital download.

"This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several..."

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:24:53 -0500

“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals—sounds that say listen to this, it is important.”

- Gary Provost (via qmsd)

This might be my favourite quote on writing ever.

(via bdoing)

I’ve lost count on how many times i have reblogged this. Still, I feel the need to do so everytime I see it.

(via choquefrontal)
This is awesome.

ourpresidents: One of FDR’s most famous State of the Union...

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:33:52 -0500

ourpresidents:

One of FDR’s most famous State of the Union Addresses: The “Four Freedoms” Speech

In his State of the Union Address on January 6, 1941, Franklin Roosevelt presented his reasons for continued aid to Great Britain and greater production of war industries at home. In helping Britain, President Roosevelt stated, the United States was fighting for the universal freedoms that all people possessed.

As America entered the war these “four freedoms” - the freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear - symbolized America’s goals.

The famous Four Freedoms paragraphs of the State of the Union did not appear in the speech until the fourth draft. Read More

Images: “Four Freedoms” posters by Norman Rockwell’.

-from the FDR Library

Great to give students the images to analyze before reading the text of the speech!

classroomcollective: Reading Notebook Insert

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:20:47 -0500

classroomcollective:

Reading Notebook Insert

Teachers and Policy Makers: Troubling Disconnect

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:33:19 -0500

Teachers and Policy Makers: Troubling Disconnect:

betheteacheryouloved:

How can teachers have more of a voice in these conversations?

Great read.

How To: Students Present with the iOS App “Keynote”

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:17:00 -0500

educationworld:

How To: Students Present with the iOS App “Keynote” — Enable students to create a five-minute class lesson using Keynote. (Continue behind the link.)

Love this.

betheteacheryouloved: holtthink: 10 Principles for Effective...

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:06:24 -0500

betheteacheryouloved:

holtthink:

10 Principles for Effective Vocabulary Development
Helpful and easy to follow tips on teaching vocabulary

Love these.

scholasticbookclubs: Of course Mr. Sagan would have amazing...

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 12:25:43 -0500

scholasticbookclubs:

Of course Mr. Sagan would have amazing things to say about books.

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities..."

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 21:27:35 -0500

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (via whiskeysoaked)

I forgot how much I love this quote.

betheteacheryouloved: charliecakehole: These are a great...

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 17:02:17 -0500

betheteacheryouloved:

charliecakehole:

These are a great idea!
Invite me to the party!

Hula hoop Venn diagram! What a great idea for kinesthetic learners!

scholasticbookclubs: skokielibrary: thecommonlibrarian: warb...

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:59:15 -0500

scholasticbookclubs:

skokielibrary:

thecommonlibrarian:

warbyparker:

Whoa. The MLA has officially devised a standard format to cite tweets in an academic paper. Sign of the times.

Ohh, this is interesting! Reading bibliographies could be quite fun if the entirety of all the cited tweets have to be replicated.

Here’s how to cite a tweet in an MLA formatted paper. Although, I wonder what professors/teachers are going to say about this.

With access to verified accounts of scientists and news organizations, or politicians and authors, this makes a lot of sense!

(Not to say that it isn’t still blowing my mind.)

I am surprised that they don’t ask for an HTML link to the entire tweet.

See Think Wonder

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:53:39 -0500

See Think Wonder:

To open my 10th grade civics classes this semester, I asked my students to walk around, examine the syllabus, and look at the things in my classroom. They had to write down 5 things they saw, 5 things they thought because of what they saw, and 5 things they were wondering because of what they thought. It was a great exercise to break up the monotony of reading through the syllabus and practicing classroom procedures. I highly recommend it! Here were some of the most entertaining wonders:

What’s your favorite superhero?
Did you ever meet Ty Lawson or Tyler Hansbrough?
How many examples of single person change have there been in history?
Can we hide it the cabinets?
Why isn’t there a poster of Thomas Paine?
Is time really linear or do we just process it that way?
What do a Tar Heel and a ram have to do with each other?
Why should we learn civics?
What is your favorite color?
What books have influenced you?
Is the trailer air conditioned, or will we bake in the spring?
What are some of the big flaws our government has?
Mrs. Jolley I think we have a lot in common. Do you?

The link in the title has Harvard’s Visible Thinking site with an explanation and other applications of See-Think-Wonder. What do you do on the first day of class?

The Art Guy: Dear App Developers: Here is an idea for you: Multiple Users

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 18:19:35 -0500

The Art Guy: Dear App Developers: Here is an idea for you: Multiple Users:

holtthink:

Dear App Developers,

I have a request for you, especially for you folks that are writing apps that save material to the cloud, like iCloud, or Google, or Evernote, or the new Documents:

I work in a school district that has a lot of iPads…I mean a lot. However, we…

This would be so great! It is a constant struggle to figure out how to manage this as a teacher.

betheteacheryouloved: student2teacher: Behaviour Management...

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 18:16:41 -0500

betheteacheryouloved:

student2teacher:

Behaviour Management Idea (Source given)

Cards are handed to children when they are doing the wrong thing in class. This avoids calling attention to the behaviour and minimises disruption.

I LOVE this idea! When you are always telling kids -and often the same ones- to be quiet or sit down etc. it becomes repetitive and they normally tune out until it gets to the discipline point. I can imagine these cards give the child a portion of control, and to also see something concrete to represent a warning, not just constant vocal reminders which blur together, would be great.

I have used physical presence before in a similar way such as coming up and standing beside a student while continuing to teach or quickly tapping their shoulder to let them know I am aware of what they are doing, but I this would also give a chance to talk to the student when they return the card at the end of class before it slips your mind. The main reason I posted this is so I can remember this for prac. I would feel comfortable implementing this without feeling like i was stepping on my host teachers toes.

Love this

Love Bey’s inauguration photos. #inaug2013

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 15:45:30 -0500

Love Bey’s inauguration photos. #inaug2013

Let's Build a Library - The Change Heroes

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 21:27:14 -0500

Let’s build a library for girls yall.

Beware I may be emailing you personally about this over the next couple weeks!

http://www.thechangeheroes.com/roomtoread/#.UGnE5PlES1w

Anyone want to volunteer to be on my team?

betheteacheryouloved: enclavia: A very interesting TED talk by...

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 19:33:07 -0500

betheteacheryouloved:

enclavia:

A very interesting TED talk by a very inspiring teacher, John Hunter, who invented the World Peace Game.

“There are four countries around the board. The kids make up the names of the countries—some are rich, some are poor. They have different assets, commercially and military. And each country has a cabinet. There’s a Prime Minister, Secretary of State, Minister of Defense and a CFO. […] There’s a World Bank, arm dealers and a United Nations.

There’s also a 13-page crisis document with 50 interlocking problems: ethnic and minority tensions, chemical and nuclear spills, nuclear proliferation. There’s oil spills, environmental disasters, water rights disputes, breakaway republics, famine, endangered species and global warming”.

Right, I almost forgot to mention his students are fourth-graders, nine years old.

Watch to believe.

This is incredible. Soooooooo incredible. Take 20 minutes to learn.

Absolutely love this.

scholasticbookclubs: harperperennial: buzzfeed: Wow, yeah,...

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 21:30:39 -0500

scholasticbookclubs:

harperperennial:

buzzfeed:

Wow, yeah, that totally checks out.

We’ve upgraded from book titles to entire books in emoji.

I have spent twenty minutes trying to figure out if I can do this with THE HUNGER GAMES but I am not nearly talented enough. Someone make it happen!

The second best thing I’ve seen.