Friday, August 31, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
Ed Tech "How To" videos
http://www.fractuslearning.com/
This young dude has made tech integration easier for teachers. Watch one of his "how to" videos and see if it will change your teaching.
This young dude has made tech integration easier for teachers. Watch one of his "how to" videos and see if it will change your teaching.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Facebook Page
Please connect my FB page for the same type of resource postings and hit "like".
https://www.facebook.com/TeacherTechKnow?ref=hl
Monday, August 20, 2012
Simple Techniques to Build Student Relationships
Some simple strategies that create better relationship with students. I have used all of these tools over the years and whether you use one in a week or a semester, it works!
smartblogs.com/education/2012/
smartblogs.com/education/2012/
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Need rubric for your class assignments or student project?
This tool will help you create one that can be customized and downloadable:
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
Monday, August 13, 2012
Outstanding Resource for Technology Integration with Pedagogy
http://www.tpack.org/
Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) attempts to identify the nature of knowledge required by teachers for technology integration in their teaching, while addressing the complex, multifaceted and situated nature of teacher knowledge. At the heart of the TPACK framework, is the complex interplay of three primary forms of knowledge: Content (CK), Pedagogy (PK), and Technology (TK). See Figure above. As must be clear, the TPACK framework builds on Shulman’s idea of Pedagogical Content Knowledge.
Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) attempts to identify the nature of knowledge required by teachers for technology integration in their teaching, while addressing the complex, multifaceted and situated nature of teacher knowledge. At the heart of the TPACK framework, is the complex interplay of three primary forms of knowledge: Content (CK), Pedagogy (PK), and Technology (TK). See Figure above. As must be clear, the TPACK framework builds on Shulman’s idea of Pedagogical Content Knowledge.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
For the College Bound
With two daughters college bound within two years, we spent this summer making road trips to different college campuses in the US, from our home state Texas (Baylor, UT, TAMU, Rice), nearby to Louisiana (LSU, Tulane, Southern, Xavier) and East to Berkeley and Stanford and North to Harvard and MIT. As a parent and an educator, I made a few notes along with way to plan, support, encourage and/or downright dictate the steps my girls will take to the college where they will have the best experience and in preparation for the "real" world. These are our experiences and here's my advice:
1. Learn to write. This includes literacy, language and grammar. Colleges want to know you are well-read and know that not only can you write in grammatically correct sentences but tell a logical story for life experiences. The schools that ask for an essay use it to differentiate you from all the thousands of other applicants. It is the obvious when you apply to the college of choice that you have the prerequisite SAT/ACT scores so what they are looking for those who can write narrative or the best life story.
2. Commitment. They want to see if you have been disciplined to stick to something, which is indicate of your commitment to a task, i.e. finishing/completion of a task, i.e a job. What have you done or what behavior has been the mainstay of your high school years? Did you do any extracurricular activities, volunteer at church, Girl or Boy Scouts? Or did you spend your summers doing ministry work or did you work a part-time job? Whatever it is, show it off as long as it is consistent. If you did played tennis one semester and play soccer another and then switched to debate team, better say you we engaged in team sports, than to indicate you can't stick to any one thing.
3. Creativity. Colleges sift through thousands of applicants every year and somehow your applicant has to stand out. Remember in Legally Blonde where she uses pink scented paper for her resume? Well, along the same ideas but with today's technology and use words. They want authenticity in your words but the imagination and vision that separates you from others. Colleges are interested what you are going to do with the education, not just be educated.
4. Confidence. At 17 or 18 when you are just identifying your adult self but go ahead, be assertive and show confidence. Nothing worse than clammy hands during interviews. Look into their eyes, show them what you want! Stand out! You don't have to be rude or obnoxious but what they want to know is if you can be a good leader and those who show confidence in themselves make for signs of a competent leader.
5. Cost. Anyone that says that cost is a barrier to college is full of crap. Unanimously, all colleges say that if you can get in, there is money. Having higher aspirations, like Harvard or MIT, well if you can get into those schools, in the words of the college admissions counselor "we have soooo much money", you don't have to worry about the cost (even though annual cost are $55k) . No one, I mean NO ONE, can use cost as an excuse.
6. Visit the school. You can't fully understand the campus culture unless you see it, talk to the people/students/teachers there, at least to get a snip-it of the place. Your college experience is much more than classrooms and tests. It's the community of people and resources that you need to succeed and success is defined not only in graduating but what kind of person you will be AFTER those four years. I had in mind one school when I was making college choices 30 years ago, never visited it and just had in my head that it's what I wanted. Although I got a wonderful education, if I had to go back, I would have made a better and more informed choice had visited more schools. As a parent, I learned from these trips that the grades at end of the junior year really determine early admissions as most applications open in early August of the senior year and your rank will mostly likely be the highest as dropouts are most frequent the end of junior year. Never would of figure that if I hadn't visited the colleges. Every school has it's own rules too and you get that feel when you go on a campus visit and how each school handles the visit. We had bus tour rides, walking tours, student led tours, free T-shirts, post surveys, that give you the uniqueness of each school and again, helps you determine which school is best for your child.
So that sums it up. If you are committed, creative, confident, college is in the horizon for you. College readiness is not only about the grades. It is a culmination of desire, some maturity, discipline and a whole lot of support, from family, friends and the college you will be attending. Don't let anything deter you!
Post script to teachers, as an educator, always teacher to the the college bound. I know there's that curriculum and state exams they have to pass and you are inundated with paperwork, but every student, child, should have the opportunity for college and it starts with YOU!
1. Learn to write. This includes literacy, language and grammar. Colleges want to know you are well-read and know that not only can you write in grammatically correct sentences but tell a logical story for life experiences. The schools that ask for an essay use it to differentiate you from all the thousands of other applicants. It is the obvious when you apply to the college of choice that you have the prerequisite SAT/ACT scores so what they are looking for those who can write narrative or the best life story.
2. Commitment. They want to see if you have been disciplined to stick to something, which is indicate of your commitment to a task, i.e. finishing/completion of a task, i.e a job. What have you done or what behavior has been the mainstay of your high school years? Did you do any extracurricular activities, volunteer at church, Girl or Boy Scouts? Or did you spend your summers doing ministry work or did you work a part-time job? Whatever it is, show it off as long as it is consistent. If you did played tennis one semester and play soccer another and then switched to debate team, better say you we engaged in team sports, than to indicate you can't stick to any one thing.
3. Creativity. Colleges sift through thousands of applicants every year and somehow your applicant has to stand out. Remember in Legally Blonde where she uses pink scented paper for her resume? Well, along the same ideas but with today's technology and use words. They want authenticity in your words but the imagination and vision that separates you from others. Colleges are interested what you are going to do with the education, not just be educated.
4. Confidence. At 17 or 18 when you are just identifying your adult self but go ahead, be assertive and show confidence. Nothing worse than clammy hands during interviews. Look into their eyes, show them what you want! Stand out! You don't have to be rude or obnoxious but what they want to know is if you can be a good leader and those who show confidence in themselves make for signs of a competent leader.
5. Cost. Anyone that says that cost is a barrier to college is full of crap. Unanimously, all colleges say that if you can get in, there is money. Having higher aspirations, like Harvard or MIT, well if you can get into those schools, in the words of the college admissions counselor "we have soooo much money", you don't have to worry about the cost (even though annual cost are $55k) . No one, I mean NO ONE, can use cost as an excuse.
6. Visit the school. You can't fully understand the campus culture unless you see it, talk to the people/students/teachers there, at least to get a snip-it of the place. Your college experience is much more than classrooms and tests. It's the community of people and resources that you need to succeed and success is defined not only in graduating but what kind of person you will be AFTER those four years. I had in mind one school when I was making college choices 30 years ago, never visited it and just had in my head that it's what I wanted. Although I got a wonderful education, if I had to go back, I would have made a better and more informed choice had visited more schools. As a parent, I learned from these trips that the grades at end of the junior year really determine early admissions as most applications open in early August of the senior year and your rank will mostly likely be the highest as dropouts are most frequent the end of junior year. Never would of figure that if I hadn't visited the colleges. Every school has it's own rules too and you get that feel when you go on a campus visit and how each school handles the visit. We had bus tour rides, walking tours, student led tours, free T-shirts, post surveys, that give you the uniqueness of each school and again, helps you determine which school is best for your child.
So that sums it up. If you are committed, creative, confident, college is in the horizon for you. College readiness is not only about the grades. It is a culmination of desire, some maturity, discipline and a whole lot of support, from family, friends and the college you will be attending. Don't let anything deter you!
Post script to teachers, as an educator, always teacher to the the college bound. I know there's that curriculum and state exams they have to pass and you are inundated with paperwork, but every student, child, should have the opportunity for college and it starts with YOU!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Thursday, August 2, 2012
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