Mr. B EdTech Blog

http://betterlesson.com/community/unit/10707/reading-short-stories-to-understand-plot-character-author-s-purpose?from=search This lesson includes one of my favorite stories, Flowers for Algeron, so I had to repost.

http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/9676 Video Tools for Formative Learning Educannon – Creating a classroom movie is always fun. This tool allows the placement of videos in a formative loop allowing the teacher to check for student understanding as videos are watched. Zaption – Link videos to this wonderful tool designed to place formative learning with in a video activity. Collect information on student progress as they access from home or school. Edpuzzle – Explore this formative video tool that allows the teacher to track and view student understanding. Use a video from just about any source on just about any device. Allows for important student metacognition during the course of the activity. Blubbr.tv – Now teachers and students can create their own video based trivia games. Allowing the trivia to be based on content standards can bring a whole new form to learning. I have used EduCannon and EduPuzzle. Both are great if properly used!

These interactive word clouds can help get you some great information on the latest news, trends, and tips. http://www.shellyterrell.com/edhashtags.html Here are a few that I found interesting. #Gafe (Google Apps for Education)  https://twitter.com/hashtag/gafe #Collabed  https://twitter.com/hashtag/CollabEd #iPaded  https://twitter.com/hashtag/ipaded #edtech  https://twitter.com/hashtag/edtech?src=hash

https://www.graphite.org/app/hopscotch-school-edition-programming-for-kids-make-games-stories-animations-and-more From: Graphite.org Grades 4-9 Price: $9.99 PROS - - Simple drag-and-drop coding blocks offer a powerful learning experience. CONS - - So many options and relatively little guidance may leave some kids feeling overwhelmed. BOTTOM LINE - - With a pinch of patience and a lot of passion, this introduction to computer science and its underlying principles is highly accessible.  

Google Hangouts , long since tied to Google+ (as most of Google's other features are including Gmail, YouTube, and Blogger). now has its own site. No google+ needed. hangouts.google.com This is a great tool for communicating with Chromebooks, and any device you have Chrome or Google's apps on.

I  My ! Teaching the Emoji Generation from Shelly Sanchez Terrell

http://teachlikeachampion.com/blog/dylan-wiliam-advises-forget-rubric-use-work-samples-instead/ In the book Embedding Formative Assessment , authors Dylan Wiliam and Siobhan Leahy suggest replacing rubrics with work samples. Citing reasoning such as, "Rubrics rarely have the same meaning for students that they do for teachers." I agree with this statement. I have seen plenty of rubrics as a student and as a teacher. Many are not specific enough for students. This forces students to guess what the teacher is looking for. Rubrics should be specific and layout exactly what is required to attain the rating listed. As for work samples, there are many good research studies that support using a student work sample to assess student learning. The problem is many teachers (in my experience) have evaluated student work samples with rubrics... May be worth investigating in the book mentioned in this article.

Here are some articles I have recently found that detail some updates to Windows 10 as well as some upcoming features. You can use Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 product keys to activate your version of Windows 10. http://betanews.com/2015/10/13/now-you-can-activate-windows-10-with-your-windows-7-or-windows-8-1-product-key/ Now you can use your old Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 product key to activate Windows 10. This is in response to activation errors users receive when upgrading to Windows 10. I personally like that you can use an old key, even on a fresh install instead of an upgrade. Windows 10 Updates may take down your Enterprise environment. http://betanews.com/2015/10/12/is-your-it-department-ready-for-continuous-windows-10-updates/ Windows has automatic updates on by default. Windows updates can create havoc with group policies and management tools in Windows. However, I feel that this is no different than what many schools are facing with managing Chromebooks in the Enter...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennchoi/2015/08/10/what-cutting-edge-looks-like-in-a-school-2015/?linkId=16194659 This article is from Forbes contributor Jenn Choi, a former worker from the New York University School of Medicine's public relations office. She makes some keen observations on what the "Cutting Edge" schools will look like this year. I believe that this article shows a growing philosophy that technology is only one tool that is utilized by the students and teachers. Technology is not the sole tool for learning. While looking through this article, I noticed that technology is only mentioned as one part of the "Cutting Edge" schools. " Teachers are resourceful and creative. They can turn anything into a tool for teaching." "The school invests in effective delivery (or effective learning ), not just quality content." " Technology is purchased wisely and efficiently." "You see kids actually playing at sch...

10+ Getting to Know You Activities for Kids from Shelly Sanchez Terrell

http://www.teachthought.com/technology/4-questions-every-teacher-should-ask-about-mobile-learning/ This post from "Teach Thought" raises some good questions for those using technology in the classroom. What can we do with a device that we couldn’t previously? This question raises a very important factor with education technology. Now that this device is part of the classroom, how is it going to change learning and instruction? There are many teachers that use technology for "Substituting" what was previously done without the technology, without changing the lesson. (See SAMR model) How will mobile increase learning gains for students? One of my favorite definitions of technology is that it "amplifies human forces". How is this going to amplify the student learning?  How will devices pair with our current class culture? What will be our key indicators of success? Many education technology programs in schools address these questions as a ...

There has been a great debate (good or bad) about the value of homework. This is an interesting case from an elementary school. http://www.naeyc.org/blogs/what-happened-when-our-school-stopped-assigning-nightly-homework What will dogs eat now?

This is an article that came to my attention recently. 3 Ways the De-Clutter Students' Brains Engage without distraction --> Organize the chaos Analyze sensory input --> How does your classroom look affect your students? Be unpredictable --> Don't let routines allow your students to disenage. I have now found another great source for information "Brilliant or Insane" Education on the Edge . This same author has contributed many other great posts to this site. See all of his posts here,  http://www.brilliant-insane.com/author/mark Here is a sample of some of the articles I liked. 5 Amazing Tips for New Teachers Can your Students Write the Opposing Argument to this Gun Control Essay? 7 Things the Best Teachers will Regret this School Year 14 Social Media Tips for Teachers 14 Things Teachers should never do on the First Day of School 4 Crucial Lessons Teachers Never Learned 8 Questions parents ask Progressive Teachers and How to...

Great tips!