Are You in Information Overload?

The leaders of the Texas Computer Educators Association (TCEA) know about information overload, and in their technotes, they offer suggestions for keeping current without being overwhelmed. To help you “relax and recharge” after a busy school year, you might want to take time to try Spigot, Zite, and Flipboard. Spigot is a free site that offers snippets of current information for teachers and media specialists. Zite, called a personalized magazine, finds out what you are interested in and brings stories you want to your mobile device (Android, iOS, Windows). With Flipboard, an iOS and Android app, you create your own publications filled with what you want to know. Both Zite and Flipboard can gather content from Websites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

MacMeekin’s Creative “Posters”

Mia MacMeekin, at “An Ethical Island,” provides a chart that gives ideas for what to do if students are not paying attention. The suggestions are what most master teachers already know, but putting them together in one place is a good way to remind us what to do whether, as MacMeekin says, “it is the students who are bored” or “the instructor who is boring.” While visiting the site, take a look at some of the other poster-like summaries of good teaching that MacMeekin offers. There’s a “what if” about online learning, a “Did They Learn Anything?” about teaching techniques, Moodle help, and more.

GenYES Learning Inspires Tech Support System

Debbie Kovesdy’s GenYES class at Shadow Mountain High School in Arizona teaches students how to problem solve when it comes to tech. Her students have designed an online support system not only to help everyone in their school, but in other schools, as well. Kovesdy uses the GenYES curriculum in her technology classes, and says that with students helping, tech support costs are reduced. Programs such as Kovesdy’s empower students not only because they are learning skills that will help prepare them for the future but also because its curriculum (Grades 4-12) is relevant to today’s students.

AllerMates & Medimates: Safeguarding Children

The AllerMates & MediMates site features information, puzzles, and activities to help children understand allergies and medical conditions. There’s the N’Silin Brothers to target childhood diabetes, Prefessor Wheatly to discuss gluten free options, Puffer who takes on asthma, N.Nutty for peanut allergies, Bizzy for bee stings, and more.  There’s also a store with wristbands, dogtags, and other products that alert others to children’s medical conditions.

7th Grade Technology Curriculum

Structured Learning has published 7^th Grade Technology, a tech learning teaching guide. It’s available in print for $30.99 and digitally for $25.99. The work includes lessons aligned with Common Core Standards and National Technology Standards.  Written by a group of teachers, who call themselves “Ask a Tech Teacher”, the book is another in the series of technology books published by Structured Learning.  The other books, for the most part, address Common Core Standards in the elementary grades.  The 8^th Grade Technology book will be out soon.

Critter Corral for Math Understanding

Stanford Research Associate Kristen Blair was the leader of a team that developed the early learning app, Critter Corral. What makes Critter Corral special is that it is designed to help students understand math. Using this app, children aren’t just counting; they are connecting ideas about quantity and developing a basis for math learning in the future. The numbers in Critter Corral are presented in different ways, and children learn to “fix” answers that aren’t exactly right. In addition to being a great game for young students, Critter Corral is helping Stanford researchers learn more about how children solve problems. You can download Critter Corral free at the iTunes store.

Do You & Your Students Suffer from Functional Fixedness?

You, according to Andy Zynga in the Harvard Business Review, are more likely to suffer from Functional Fixedness than your students—especially if they are in the preschool or primary grades. Maybe, that’s because you are so used to how things are that “thinking outside the box” is difficult. Consider the creativity of a preschooler -- young children have minds open to innovation, but as we get older, we tend to see things as we are used to seeing them. One way to get you and your older students out of a creativity slump is to collaborate with others from other disciplines and perhaps even other age groups to “unearth some dramatically different ways to tackle problems....”  Try to step away from your knowledge and experiences as you guide yourself and your students to, as the Apple Slogan went: “Think Different”. According to Zynga, “minds begin to expand” as we step out of the box and into innovation.

Grammar Gorillas: Parts of Speech—Still Important

Practice in reading, speaking, and writing is essential for today’s students, but have we forgotten to include the rules of grammar and word use in Grades 1-5? Often, when I review Reading and Language Arts programs for software awards, I find great practice in reading and writing, but almost never in grammar.  Students who come from families who speak correct English, start steps ahead of others, but all students seem to profit from elementary school lessons targeting parts of speech and sentence structure.  If you are looking for digital material emphasizing grammar for young students, you might want to try searching for links at 19pencils.com and learni.st.com. Funbrain includes Grammar Gorillas games for beginners (nouns and verbs) and advanced students of grammar (all parts of speech). The Texas Computer Education Association provides an iPad list of grammar and vocabulary apps for all grade levels. A few other places you may want to look for grammar lessons for your students are Thinkonline, Softschools, Appfinder, Funeducationalapps, and LearnEnglish Grammar.

Doodlecast Pro – Creativity

Doodlecast Pro ($2.99) is a fun iPad digital tool for teachers and students. With it, you can create learning media, such as this lesson genetics assignment by Grades 7 and 9 science teacher Jenn Corron. With the program, you and your students can share ideas, review curricular content, and create reports and projects. The app records automatically what you draw and what you say. It comes with a variety of backgrounds, but you can add your own photos and illustrations and put them where you want on your screen. Your Keynote files can be added to your Doodlecast videos, and Doodle pages can be saved within the program and/or shared in email, on YouTube or through your Dropbox. Watch the video to learn more about this easy-to-use tool.

Game: A Difficult Path

Game: A Difficult Path lets you follow in the school path of an At-Risk student. The “Game” is part of the report Diplomas Count 2013, Second Chances: Turning Dropouts into Graduates. According to the report, “By high school, it can be easy for . . . risk factors to create a self-feeding cycle.”  As you make your way through the game, you’ll feel the pressures of the cycle that most At-Risk students face. Take all the paths and think about the courage of At-Risk students who make it to graduation.