CLASS CHAOS

You Tube - How a video goes viral

2012-03-17T03:09:00.001-07:00

Cool video on how a video goes viral.

Interestingly one of the keys is 'Participation'. Something that is vital for a successful classroom.

The best end of year class activity

2011-12-03T11:30:00.001-08:00

As the school year winds to a end here is an excellent little activity for your class. This activity can be used for students from 5 years old up to university age, is easy to organise and will keep your class quiet for hours.

Stop school cheats

2011-11-18T23:58:00.001-08:00

When it comes educational discipline, and in particularly preventing cheating at school, the Chinese seem to be in a world of their own.
The principal of this middle school in Wuhan, Hubei province, ordered the students to sit their exam outdoors on the playground in order to prevent cheating from taking place. If you don't think these measures go far enough what about this way of Chinese way to prevent cheating at schools. It is probably the most effective and cost efficient in the world. This device is placed on the head of the student in a way that the student can only see their own work. Teachers of the world, take a note!

16 signs your classroom is behind the times

2011-11-17T11:13:00.001-08:00

I saw this today on the I love Edtech website. Thought it was a very good list about the way education is heading and if we as teachers are keeping up.

17 Signs Your Classroom is Behind the Times

1.) Your students turn in their homework on printed paper...instead of digitally.

2.) For poster assignments, your students need glue, construction paper, and scissors... instead of using an online tool like Glogster.

3.) You still have chalk. Or a Dry Eraser.

4.) You try to pull up a web resource on your computer to show the class and you receive a "This website has been blocked" message.

5.) You cross your fingers every time you try to connect to the network to access the internet.

6.) You don't get interrupted by a cell phone ring, text message, or tweet alert at some point during the school year.

7.) You spend most of your class time lecturing students... rather than getting them collaborating and learning from each other.

8.) You have a set of Encyclopedias.

9.) You consider using a PowerPoint presentation as satisfying the need to integrate technology in the classroom.

10.) You create more content than your students do.

11.) Your students aren't teaching you something new (likely about technology) at least once a day.

12.) You don't have a classroom website or blog to post class information, homework assignments, and parent information online.

13.) You don't have a classroom set of computers, netbooks, ipads or other device for group work.

14.) You don't find at least one thing to call the IT department about every week.

15.) A student has never requested to complete a project using a new digital tool you've never heard of.

16.) You've never used or heard of: Collaborize Classroom, Prezi, Evernote, Glogster, MyFakeWall, Typewith.me, Storybird, JayCut, Wordle, or Tiki-Toci.

The state of digital education - are you prepared?

2011-11-12T15:33:00.001-08:00

This is an interesting infographic on the current state of e-learning. There are some sobering statistics below and while they refer to USA I am sure that the rations are similar to New Zealand.
Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

Graeme Aitken: Innovation - Lamborghini or Lemon?

2011-11-08T00:47:00.000-08:00

Interesting talk from Graeme Aitken, Dean of Education at the University of Auckland, arguing that we need criteria to assess both the likely and the actual value of innovation in teaching.

He talks about a variety of innovations that haven't worked and in this talk he shares his belief that educators need to look at effective teaching and teachers work when assessing the value of innovations in the classroom.

I love his short story about Mathletics and the way he used it with his Grand child and the reason for it failing. i am a fan of Mathletics but it is a tool that needs to be used effectively in the class. He also talks about the 3 things that effective teachers do - provide great interest, increase student achievement and develop greater confidence. These three pillars are highlighted through a video of a class in Auckland.

Ulearn notes - click here

Online students vs Traditional students

2011-11-06T15:04:00.000-08:00

Is online education the way of the future? Twenty years ago we would have thought the chances of people getting a good education were based on their ability to get to a physical school or meeting place of some sort.
The internet has changed that and has meant that learning can occur everywhere and at anytime.

Below is an interesting pictorial graph comparing online students with traditional students. I wonder how this will look in 20 years time. It is interesting to look at the costs involved at the bottom of this page.

Via: Online PhD Programs Blog

Technophobes - Do you have them in your school?

2011-11-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

Do you have people like this on your staff?

You know the ones. Not interested in anything technological and if they do manage to get things going they have the resilience of jelly cake.

Simon Breakspear Ulearn 2011

2011-11-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

Simon Breakspear is recognised as a expert leader on educational futures, innovation and change leadership. He was one of the keynote speakers at Ulearn 2011.
Below is the video of his talk where he says that for too long technology has been the driving force of change rather than the pedagogy. He encourages teachers to become creative innovators. He asks whose future are we educating students for – theirs or ours, and are we preparing students for a future that no longer exists?

Google Docs - 34 brilliant ideas

2011-10-31T13:58:00.000-07:00

I am just starting to experiment with Google docs in my classroom. I am excited by what a collaborative document can do for students learning.
So far the engagement, enjoyment levels and learning have been great. Does anyone else have any other ideas?

Below is a cool doc I found which highlights 34 interesting ways of using Google Docs in your class. Thanks to Tom Barrett - https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhn2vcv5_8323t58h3ft

Twitter as Professional Development

2011-10-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

Cool article in the Guardian newspaper about the way Twitter can be used by teachers.
For me Twitter is probably the best source of PD a teacher can have. This article gives detailed instructios on how to use twitter better and connect with the best people in Education.

For me the key to effective PD with Twitter is making sure you follow the right people. I cant be bothered with too many 'I'm eating salad for lunch' tweets so I quickly delete any people I follow who get on my nerves.

How English language teachers can go with the Twitter flow | Education | Guardian Weekly

Kiwi Kids News

2011-10-25T01:43:00.003-07:00

Kiwi Kids News is a news website designed for New Zealand students and teachers.
Article are updated daily with items selected under the headings National, World, Sport and Odd Stuff.
As well as news article there is a students section of writing, weekly polls and internet links to webpage sand other information.

Welcome to Class Chaos

2011-10-25T01:43:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Class Chaos. I hope that you enjoy and get some benefit from this site.