TED-ED clubs give students a platform for sharing ideas

The clubs are fashioning the next generation of TED speakers one big idea at a time

One of Mitzi Stover’s biggest challenges as a teacher is convincing her students they have a voice. Stover teaches speech and English at North Torrance High School in a working-class area of Los Angeles where kids seldom travel or even leave the neighborhood.

“Their world is very small geographically,” Stover said during a recent presentation at the CUE 2016 national conference in Palm Springs. “And teenagers are already so dismissed most of the time.”

From her years of teaching, Stover knew that having students delve into their interests and personal experiences was one of the best ways to develop their passions — and in turn their public speaking. But presenting to the same classmates they saw every day was decidedly low-stakes and hardly helped her convince students they had a voice, let alone a global reach.…Read More

Watch 14 thought leadership presentations from a recent ed-tech symposium

New library of thought leadership resources will support creation of dynamic digital learning environments

In July 2015, Discovery Education, provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms and CUE, the California-based organization inspiring innovative learners and advocating educational opportunities for all, partnered with the California State Parks to host a unique leadership symposium.

Designed specifically for California superintendents interested in creating dynamic digital learning environments that meet the needs of today’s learners, this event featured a series of brief, thought-provoking talks that surfaced actionable strategies for improving teaching and learning.

Now, Discovery Education and CUE are sharing with educators nationwide the library of presentations from this event. These presentations explore a variety of critical topics, including using professional development to support device deployment, communicating with stakeholders, improving attendance and discipline during the digital transition, and more, and were delivered by school leaders from across California as well as nationally recognized Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Dallas Dance.…Read More

Watch 5,000 educators take a big risk to make 1 important point

Would you stand up and try a dance you’ve never done in front of 5,000 strangers? These educators did to show that risk taking and learning go hand-in-hand

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magiera-risks“It’s going to probably be a hot mess,” confided digital learning coordinator Jennie Magiera at the close of her keynote speech in front of nearly 5,000 educators at the Annual CUE 2015 conference in Palm Springs last month, seconds before she got everyone on their feet. But she did it to make one important point.

After showing the Uptown Funk dance popularized by Ellen, Magiera welcomed a handful of brave teachers on stage to dance, and then asked the entire audience to “get up with us and take a risk” to show that sometimes educators, like students, have to take risks and even fail in order to succeed in the end. (Watch the amazing video above).…Read More

Everything you never knew about using Google in the classroom

Google Certified Teachers share tips and secrets for using Chrome, Docs, and more

google-tipsDid you know you can see all your copy/paste history in Chrome in a click? Bookmark all your browser tabs at once? Create choose your own adventures in Google Slides?

More than half a dozen Google Certified Teachers recently descended on Palm Springs to share their favorite tips, tricks, add-ons, and extensions during a packed session at the Annual CUE 2015 conference. Each presenter shared a micro-presentation honing in on their top ways for teachers and students to make the most out of the Google ecosystem.

The session’s presenters included: Alice Chen, Jen Roberts, Catina Haugen, Lisa Nowakowski, JR Ginex-Orinion, Kevin Fairchild, Scott Moss, Jo-Ann Fox, and Jason Seliskar.…Read More

Google Apps spur rise of new ed-tech market segment

Many companies now sell products aimed at making Google Apps even more useful for schools

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Some of these companies were on hand at CUE’s annual conference to demonstrate their products.

Student use of Google Apps is on the rise, and Google Chromebooks have exploded in popularity within K-12 education. In response to these trends, a new niche market has emerged in ed tech, as many companies now sell products aimed at making these tools even more useful for schools.

Some of these companies were on hand at CUE’s annual conference in Palm Springs, Calif., last week to demonstrate their products.

The Toronto-based company Synergyse offers what it calls an “interactive training system” for Google Apps. The product gives schools an easy way to improve the productivity of staff and students by delivering user-friendly, guided instruction in how to use these tools, said Synergyse founder and CEO Varun Malhotra.…Read More

Khan Academy now Common Core aligned

Free website includes thousands of exercises for helping students prepare for the new standards at their own pace, founder Sal Khan announced

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Each student will get his or her own learning dashboard to show progress toward mastery of the standards.

Over the last few years, Sal Khan’s free Khan Academy website has become a go-to resource for teaching and learning math skills. During the annual CUE conference in Palm Springs, Calif., on March 22, Khan announced a major expansion of the website that will help prepare students for Common Core math testing.

“While the standards may be common, we know that students are not—they each have their own learning journey,” Khan said. “This is why we are committed to personalized learning that lets students practice what they most need help on, at their own pace, at absolutely no cost.”

Khan Academy now includes thousands of new, interactive math problems fully aligned to every Common Core math standard in grades K-12. Created and reviewed by 40 math educators, these exercises focus on conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and real-world applications of math.…Read More