Why Edify

Grabbing Students' Attention

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Fri, 06 May 2011 20:48:00 +0000

I have been getting the attention of my students for years simply by saying, "Can I have your attention please?" In the past it worked quite well.

Not so much the last few years.

I'm looking for a change. What are some great ways to get students' attention. I've thought about using a call and response. The think is, what can I use for the call and response that isn't too cheesy, and the kids will buy into.

Any thoughts? How do you do it?

Education Book Review: The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education by Diane Ravitch

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 21:40:00 +0000

5 Reasons to give this book a look:

1. Diane Ravitch does a great job looking at the research and analyzing what it all truly means.

2. The book is for anyone with an interest in education. It does not matter what camp you are in. Information from this book can add to any great educational or political discussion.

3. Many of the reforms proposed in education will actually do more harm than good. This book explains how this is possible.

4. We are handing more and more of our educational system over to corporate interest at a significant cost to the education of our children.

5. Teacher-bashing, so in vogue among the "reformers" dominating the national discussion, is rejected by Dr. Ravitch. How could the unions be responsible for so much failure when, she asks, traditionally, the highest scores in the nation are posted by strong union states such as Massachusetts (best results in the nation) and the lowest scores in the south, where unions are weak or non-existent? I really like this last one.

The Death and Life of the Great American School System is definitely work a look.

The Future of Education

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:26:00 +0000

I thought this was a pretty interesting topic. Where will we be in a few years as change happens so rapidly around but not so much within us. Where will the ipad sit in the equation?

The Future of Education | Edutopia Group Discussions by and for Educators: "Just three years ago, Edutopia made some predictions for the future of education. We wrote about gaming in the classrooms, the power of wikis, and how grassroots community activism would kick into high gear."

Persistence In Teaching

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 22:21:00 +0000

Here's to all of the teachers that never give up even though it feels like they are banging their head against the wall.

Here's to all of the teachers with erasable memories that can completely forgive a kid over night.

Here's to all of the teachers that do what's best for kids even if it rocks the boat.

Teachers...perpetual change agents.

Lesson Learned From Oobleck

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 21:15:00 +0000

Green slime invaded my classroom today. We used it to talk about properties of matter. The kids had a great time and so did I.

During the investigation two beakers bit the dust through carelessness. The students weren't focused, were remorseful, and did a much better job after the accident. They learned the lesson that the Oobleck taught them.

The event today reminded me of a wise life lesson. "A mistake isn't so bad as long as you learn from it." Kids have an easier time with this. Adults are often more worried about messing up.

Be prepare to learn the lesson. Recover. Move on. Be better.

Thanks Oobleck

The Gummy Bears Attacked My iPad's Backchannel

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 21:18:00 +0000

Today's Gummy Bear Investigation was mostly a success. This is the first experiment I have tried where I used a backchannel to process some of the science ideas and communicate with lab groups. We had the iPads sharing a page in Chatzy, and the whole thing projected on the big screen.

It took some time to get going, but I was really pleased with how Chatzy worked on the iPads. I was able to print out each period's chat and then clear the room for a new group. We have a ways to go as far as how we respond to and communicate science, but the process rocked.

Now we will see what those gummy bears look like tomorrow.

If you're reading this....thank you.

My name is Jeremy and I am proud to be a teacher. Who are you? Has anything attacked your iPad lately? What's the best thing that happened to you in or out of the classroom today?

Teaching, Education, Technology, and Learning Links 09/13/2010

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:34:00 +0000

daretodifferentiate - Other Differentiation Strategies

tags: education differentiation wiki

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Reflections On Teaching: iPad Test Run

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 21:14:00 +0000

Yesterday the iPads worked and students were able to work on their interactive study guide. I wrestled on how many of the questions I would have them complete, and eventually settled on twelve.

They were asked to complete the work in their interactive science notebook. We'll see what happens today.

Most of the students were able to complete what was left of their work, and we had a good discussion today. As expected students were able to learn the navigation quite easily. I prepared a Google Doc with information, questions, and links and had them use the iPad along with their text book.

The main drawback was the fact that many of my students do not have access to the internet, so it was hard for them to return to using the book when they were at their home.

All in all, I am excited to incorporate some of the apps into instruction. I am also interested in finding unique ways to incorporate them into project based learning.

Anyone have any cool ideas for me to try?

Teaching, Education, Technology, and Learning Links 08/27/2010

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:34:00 +0000

Kids more likely to do homework if they see it as investment, not chore

tags: kids homework education

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Preparing To Return: The Birth Of The Peaceful Teacher

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:07:00 +0000

Many teachers are back at it as I begin to write this. I will be starting school with in-service days next week. I was talking with with my wife about the upcoming gear and I already started to get an anxious feeling in my stomach.

I love teaching. I love students. I don't like getting caught up in the stress, conflict, and chaos that a school year entails.

Thus the renaming of this blog. The new name of this online mish-mash will be THE WAY OF THE PEACEFUL TEACHER. Is this because I am a peaceful teacher. Not yet. I simply aspire to be. The title is a take off from one of my favorite books by Dan Millman entitled, "
The Way Of The Peaceful Warrior".

Some Goals For This Year

Don't take negative work thoughts home with me to my family
Reflect more often
Promote authentic learning and assessment
Positively affect teachers/learners in my school and this online environment
Continue to ask for dialogue from the readers of this blog, and to create more a community where thoughts and ideas can be exchanged

Thank You to everyone who has visited this site. If you come across this post please introduce yourself, say hello, and share some of your goals for the new year.

Here's to your Moment of Ed

Teaching, Education, Technology, and Learning Links 08/20/2010

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:34:00 +0000

Teachers urged to foster creativity in classroom | thetowntalk.com | The Town Talk
"Jones said the education system has been moving from what was a more competitive model to a collaborative model, from developing more knowledge into developing more skills, and from direct instruction into an interactive exchange.

Jones also said education has been too focused on testing and instruction and not enough on creativeness."

Please let the pendulum swing. If we can start working more to foster creativity and the achievement of dreams and spend less time on the bubble tests, my smile just got a whole lot bigger.

tags: education creativity

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Moment Of Education: Do Good

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 03:28:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

It is by doing good that we become good. - Jean Jacques Rousseau, Emile

Public servants are a priceless American commodity. We are what are actions lead us to be. To all educators who are getting ready to go back to work, please remember the quote stated above. Education is under attack because is frees people from the stagnate pool of the status-quo.

Teachers...please challenge your students to think. Buck the idea that a test determines success. Promote the idea that a student who makes progress, no matter how small, is a blessing to us all. We cannot control the conditions in which our students live, but we can do good.

Bless the teachers of the world, public servants, and the altruistic spirit.

Teaching, Education, Technology, and Learning Links 07/29/2010

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:34:00 +0000

Economic Scene - Study Rethinks Importance of Kindergarten Teachers - NYTimes.com
"Mr. Chetty and his colleagues — one of whom, Emmanuel Saez, recently won the prize for the top research economist under the age of 40 — estimate that a standout kindergarten teacher is worth about $320,000 a year. That’s the present value of the additional money that a full class of students can expect to earn over their careers. This estimate doesn’t take into account social gains, like better health and less crime. "

tags: education study teachers economic kindergarten
Never-Ending Drawing Machine: MIT's Collaborative Creativity Station | Design for Good | Big Think
Let the creativity grow like a magnificent weed. When can we ditch the standardized tests?

"Whether or not there is a creativity crisis may be up for debate, but one thing is clear: Our current education system is failing to create an environment that truly fosters creativity and engages the various components of its making – play, collaboration, flexibility, multi-modal stimulation. Now, a new application out of MIT Media Lab is aiming to address some of these issues.

The Never-Ending Drawing Machine is a collaborative creativity station, aimed primarily at kids, that allows users to digitally edit each other's analog, paper sketchbooks. Collaboration can take place either locally or remotely, as the system lives on the cloud. Designed by MIT grad student David Robert and colleagues, NEDM offers a promising platform for virtual co-creation not only within the classroom but also between classrooms around the world, offering yet another tool in our ever-growing arsenal for global, cross-cultural collaboration."

tags: never drawing ending education fatchomper
My Unusual $100,000 Birthday Present (Plus: Free Round-Trip Anywhere in the World)
I can't help to like this guy. Let's help send some kids on a field trip.

"My Unusual $100,000 Birthday Present (Plus: Free Round-Trip Anywhere in the World) 325 Comments

Written by Tim Ferriss Topics: Filling the Void

burning man 08
Soon 33 years young. I’ll be back on the playa in August for Burning Man.

33. I’ll turn a glorious 33 this weekend.

It’s going to be a great natal year–I can already feel it. Repeating numbers (born in ‘77) are good luck. Perhaps it will be good luck for you, too: in this post, I’m giving away a round-trip ticket anywhere in the world and more.

But back to that strange birthday gift…

Much to the chagrin of my momma-san, I’ve become quite difficult to buy presents for. Some friends even think I’m impossible to find presents for.

It’s not entirely true. I love handwritten letters, home-made brownies (like Fred Wilson), girlfriends dressed in next to nothing, and–most of all–when people do something nice.

Before we move on (wait for it, wait for it), please watch this super-short movie trailer:

In lieu of gifts this year, my birthday wish is to help high-need kids in public schools take field trips.

Can you imagine never having the chance to go to the aquarium or natural history museum? “Never” as in, literally, never in your life?

That’s unacceptable.

Since I am turning 33 this year, please help choose a field trip to support here with a tax-deductible $33 donation (or any other amount). Feel free to give from $10-$10,000 in the “Give to the most urgent project” field, whatever you can afford.

If we run out of field trips (which would be awesome), we’ll focus on reading projects. Literacy = the most fundamental path out of poverty.

Beyond the good karma and thank-you letters you’ll receive from the kids:"

tags: Tim Ferriss education compassion charity fatchomper

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Teaching, Education, Technology, and Learning Links 07/26/2010

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:34:00 +0000

Beat A Bully With Kindness
This is so simple and powerful. Maybe we spend too much time teaching facts and not enough teaching what is really important to success in life.

"But our research on child development makes it clear that there is only one way to truly combat bullying. As an essential part of the school curriculum, we have to teach children how to be good to one another, how to cooperate, how to defend someone who is being picked on and how to stand up for what is right."

tags: positivity fatchomper kindness education

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Teaching, Education, Technology, and Learning Links 07/23/2010

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:34:00 +0000

15 Essential Tips for Harnessing Your Creativity
Great list of 15 tips to being more creative. I must say from a teacher's standpoint kids do have a harder time being creative lately. I think we are short on innovators, both as students and teachers.

tags: 15 tips essential education fatchomper

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Teaching, Education, Technology, and Learning Links 07/19/2010

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:34:00 +0000

Mashpedia - Newtons laws
I just used this to check out Newton's Laws. It's awesome. I am a little worried about something inappropriate when working with students.

tags: newtons mashpedia laws education
BackChannel.us - interactive with your audience.

tags: backchannel twitter education
Digital Storytelling with the iPad
I have 12 iPads on the way this year. I am looking forward to learning ways to best use them.

"Digital Storytelling can transform your students' writing into a visual masterpiece that is filled with voice and emotion, while enhancing critical thinking skills. The iPad takes digital storytelling to a new level by making the process easier, and even more engaging for students of all grade levels as well as for their teachers. "

tags: digital storytelling ipad digital education digitalstorytelling
- Ski Samoens | Holiday Samoens | Ski Chalet Samoens - post by Ski SamoenS
Technology and Education | Box of Tricks
Nice list of useful links. Worth a moment of your time.

"Latest update 2nd July 2010 – These are some of the best free internet resources for education. This page is constantly updated; every time I come across a new piece of software or an exciting website, I list it here. You might also want to take a look at my Diigo or Delicious accounts for more links. This list is not exhaustive in any way. In fact, if you think there is a tool or application for use in education that should be added to this list, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and suggest it!"

tags: resources web2.0 tools education
- Ali record student - post by Tango Milonga
- Ali record books - post by Tango Milonga

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Teaching, Education, Technology, and Learning Links 07/17/2010

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:34:00 +0000

Learning Quotes and Sayings
Nice list of quotations about learning. Never to old.

"Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life. ~Henry L. Doherty"

tags: quotes learning education fatchomper

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Blog Your Best Self: 12 Examples of Blogs That Do So

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:44:00 +0000

It has taken me 36 years to come to the conclusion that there is enough negativity in the world.

O.K., that's a bold faced lie. It has taken me thirty six years to find a great avenue to do something about it. I admit I am not there yet, but the direction is now being set.

It is time to be positive, self directed, disciplined, and create.

We are taught to consume.

Time could be better spent taking care of the impression that we are leaving on the world. We live in a world of complaining and throwing away things that don't work. Take a moment and fix something. Be the anti of what you dislike.

I am foolish and silly. I get things wrong more than I get them right. I want to do better and I want you to do better too. After all we live in this same place and connected in so may ways.

If you are a blogger I challenge you to blog your best self. Blog the person that your wife, children, and parents would be proud of. Blog in a way that will make the world better, create something wonderful, and send someone a smile. Today anyone can publish their work online. Look around and you will see in less than five seconds that many people are not putting forth the best of themselves.

If you are a teacher, be the person you want your students to become.

Husbands, embrace the one chore you hate, learn to love it, do it with passion, and then see what happens.

You get the idea.

"Blog Your Best Self" is a wake up call to me and you. A call to create more than you consume. A call to be positive when being negative can be more lucrative. I dare you to share this with your online learning community. Start a movement. Better yet, start a revolution.

What Do You Think?

What is success?
What will it take to achieve your version of success?
Are you a creator or consumer?
What's the chore you hate the most.

Below you will find some links to blogs that I think put that are authored by creators who put the "best" of people out there for all to read. These are blogs that I find myself going back to read again and again.

Teaching and Education Blogs

Cool Cat Teacher Blog
2 Cents Worth
Classroom 2.0
Teach Paperless
Edutopia - offers many blogs to choose from. A great resource.

Diving into Self Directed Learning Professional Development

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 19:39:00 +0000

I just started reading two books on Self Directed Learning for a course that I am taking. I absolutely love the idea of students taking ownership of what they learn. I am not sure how to get them ready to do this, but I am sure that's what the class is for. I am curious as to how this fits into our current standards based approach.

The idea that currently resonates with me is to help students develop the ability to produce rather than spit back information. They need to be encouraged to be creators and thinkers. The teacher is encourage to become a modern manager rather than the holder of all information.

More to come later.

For now the two books are:

The Self Directed Learning Handbook by Maurice Gibbons
Assessment Strategies For Self Directed Learning by Arthur Costa and Bena Kallick

ScribD Current Science Template

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 17:55:00 +0000

I am doing a little experimenting with Scribd and thought I would a Current Science template I use with students in an attempt to help them make connections to what we are learning. Feel free to use as long as you give credit to the creator.

Science Current Events Template

Teaching, Education, Technology, and Learning Links 06/22/2010

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:35:00 +0000

Beyond the classroom walls: Informal teaching is need of the hour-Education-Services-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times
I think there is some truth to this article. I am not sure as to how I can accomplish this "informal" manner of teaching. What will the future hold?

"This is where the teachers can play a major role and they have to. The four walls of the classroom are not the temples of learning alone. Today a student is more interested in studying beyond the classroom and not just in the physical sense. Teachers have to make sure that in order to keep the interest of a student alive in studies, they have to teach them the way students would want to learn.

An informal manner of teaching is the need of the hour, beyond the classroom walls. They need to figure out a unique way of teaching that would hold their students' attention. They need to innovate, they need to think how they can make sure their students get to learn and grow. To teach something new to a generation that already knows a lot and already has access to information, it is a challenging situation, but it is not an impossible task. "
tags: teaching, classroom, education
What’s the Most Challenging Assignment You’ve Ever Had? - The Learning Network Blog - NYTimes.com
What's the most challenging assignment you ever had? For me it was proofs in geometry before my mind was ready for proofs. It taught me to hang in there, buckle down, and things will turn out alright.

"An essay on the Op-Ed page tells the story of a program at Bell in the 1950s in which young executives were plunged into “what amounted to a complete liberal arts education” in 10 months. Many of the students – most of whom had backgrounds in technical fields like engineering – found some of the advanced material quite challenging. yet in the end they got a lot out of it. What are the hardest tasks you have had to tackle in school? How did the experience affect you?"
tags: education, challenge, assignment

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Teaching, Education, Technology, and Learning Links 06/21/2010

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:34:00 +0000

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Rennovating this Blog: Seven Goals as I Re-look at my Blogging
I happen to be reading a book that quotes Vicki Davis. I have learned much from her blog and dig her new look. Looks good.

"Also doing some things to improve the speed and improve my statistics on the back end. When I do this, I dissect many of my favorite blogs and emulate some of the tips and tricks "under the hood." When I see if these things work for me, I'll be sure to clue you in. For now, just wanted you to know I'm working on things and if you have any feedback, thoughts, or suggestions, I'm all ears!"
tags: teacher, technology, education, Vick, Davis
Is Exercise the Best Drug for Depression? - TIME
I just returned form a great bike ride. My wife helped me out with some adventure time for Father's Day. I wasn't depressed, but I know that exercise puts me a great mood.

"The result is that exercise primes the brain to show less stress in response to new stimuli. In the case of lab rats and mice, that stimuli include being plunged into very cold water or being suspended by the tail. And while those are not exactly problems that most people face, the thinking is that the human neurochemical response may well react similarly, with exercise leaving our brain less susceptible to stress in the face of harmless but unexpected events, like a missed appointment or getting a parking ticket. A little bit of mental strain and excess stimulation from exercise, in other words, may help us to keep day-to-day problems in perspective.

Researchers also wonder whether this interaction between body and brain may, evolutionarily speaking, be hard-wired. "It occurs to us that exercise is the more normal or natural condition, and that being sedentary is really the abnormal situation," Holmes says."
tags: exercise, education, fatchomper

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Education Links 06/09/2010

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:35:00 +0000

Web 2.0 Tools for Kids
Great educational resource.
tags: web2.0, tools, web, kids, education
Education World ® Technology Center: Larry Ferlazzo’s Best: The Best Web 2.0 Applications for Education
tags: education, web2.0, technology, world
Worldmapper: The world as you've never seen it before
A new way of looking at the world.

"Worldmapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest.
There are now nearly 700 maps. Maps 1-366 are also available as PDF posters. Use the menu above to find a map of interest. "
tags: education, maps, geography, statistics, visualization, world, politics, map, reference
10 Websites To Make You Think | The Online Learning Blog from Study2U
Make yourself think. They make you say hmmmmm.
tags: learning, websites, fatchomper, education

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Education Links 06/08/2010

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:35:00 +0000

John Wooden on true success | Video on TED.com
tags: success, wooden, basketball, john, teaching, education, manzone, fatchomper

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Our Cluttered Minds

noreply@blogger.com (J. J.) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 18:13:00 +0000

Might our synapses be out of control? See you later, I have to check
my email.

From The New York Times:

Our Cluttered Minds
A technology writer maintains we're trading away the seriousness of
sustained attention for the Web's frantic superficiality.
http://nyti.ms/cA4hFG

Sent from my iPod

Why Edify

Grabbing Students' Attention

Education Book Review: The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education by Diane Ravitch

Related articles

The Future of Education

Persistence In Teaching

Lesson Learned From Oobleck

The Gummy Bears Attacked My iPad's Backchannel

Teaching, Education, Technology, and Learning Links 09/13/2010

Reflections On Teaching: iPad Test Run

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Teaching, Education, Technology, and Learning Links 08/27/2010

Preparing To Return: The Birth Of The Peaceful Teacher

Teaching, Education, Technology, and Learning Links 08/20/2010

Moment Of Education: Do Good

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Teaching, Education, Technology, and Learning Links 07/17/2010

Blog Your Best Self: 12 Examples of Blogs That Do So

Diving into Self Directed Learning Professional Development

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Our Cluttered Minds