These are “accessible” math tasks for all students
Math can be made accessible to all students using lessons that start at a low level and finish at a much higher level.
Month: September 2017
5 ways to apply Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to edtech for better outcomes
According to American psychologist Abraham Maslow, all humans have the same fundamental needs (food, clothing and shelter), and these needs must be met before an individual is motivated…
3 winning characteristics of a school STEAM program
What makes Shipley’s STEAM program so great? Access to cutting-edge technology and the integration of the STEAM curriculum across the School have been integral to success, but above…
8 steps to effective K-12 assessments
Developing quality assessments can be challenging for a number of reasons. And, because assessments are essential in so many student-focused decisions, it’s important to get them right. Here…
Revolutionary MOOC-Ed puts teachers in students’ shoes for learning success
In this video, Constance Seibert shares how the Learning Differences MOOC-Ed hosted by the Friday Institute helped her better understand the different ways her students learn. The course…
District Technology Specialist: These are the critical success factors for 1:1
At Banks County Schools, a rural school district in the mountains of northeast Georgia, it feels like we’re at the end and also the beginning of a very…
These are the 10 best and 10 worst states for teachers
New York and New Jersey are among the 10 best states for teachers, according to a new analysis that ranks states in terms of teacher friendliness. The new…
Trending: This style of learning has teachers and students re-imagining Future-Ready
While most classrooms have realized the benefit of hands-on activities and real-life applications, this idea can be taken even further by giving students genuine control over what they…
Behind the scenes of unclaimed FAFSAs: Why it’s happening and how ed staff can help
According to NerdWallet.com, as much as $2.7 billion in free federal grant money went unclaimed in 2015 due to incomplete or unsubmitted Free Application for Federal Student Aid…
Social media’s classroom Catch-22
In a somewhat paradoxical situation, a large majority of teachers (73 percent) said they believe social media and texting are bad for students' grammar and spelling, but 50…
5 ways to enrich communication at the start of the school year-and why it’s essential
Good communication is essential in any relationship, whether it is employer to employee, spouse to spouse, or teacher to student (or student’s parents). In my time as an…
App of the Week: Emojis to fun-ify coding
Ed. note: App of the Week picks are now being curated by the editors of Common Sense Education, which helps educators find ... Read more
How to make math a key part of your ELL curriculum
Historically, English language learner (ELL) instruction has primarily focused on reading and writing. The reasons for this are twofold: 1) Reading and writing are the most obvious, immediate…
Empower Students, Inspire Ideas, and Create Change
Enter the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest to empower students, inspire ideas, and create change by incorporating STEAM into projects ... Read more
Build a Brighter Future With STEAM
Enter the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest to empower students, inspire ideas, and create change by incorporating STEAM into projects ... Read more
Inspiring students to build a better tomorrow using STEAM
Enter the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest to empower students, inspire ideas, and create change by incorporating STEAM into projects ... Read more
5 ways to use AV to prepare students for 21st-century jobs
Critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity—these are the “Four Cs” that P21 has identified as critical skills for 21st century learning. As educators rethink their lesson plans to…
Student: How a virtual education prepared me for higher ed
For home-schooled students like me, the process of earning a high school diploma is a bit more complicated than it is for “traditional” pupils. Those complications extend into…
4 reasons data is crucial for personalized learning
Data provides a fuller picture of students’ performance with information such as participation, assessments, and growth on skills over time. Having this greater understanding of students’ strengths and…
For PD, the days of one-and-done are dead and gone!
According to research from the Center for Public Education, “one-and-done” professional development sessions for teachers simply don't work. With new standards rolling out every year, a one-class-covers-all approach…
Think 21st-century learning is digital-only? Think again
Every year, educational technology companies introduce new platforms, devices, and apps, all of which bring exciting new possibilities for teaching and learning. It is difficult—perhaps impossible—to find a…
4 considerations for your first makerspace
This past June, the exhibitor floor at the 2017 ISTE Conference provided an inspiring snapshot for the rise of skills-based learning options and environments across the American educational…
4 ways schools can combat Trump’s ed budget cuts
The Trump Administration’s 2017 and 2018 education budget proposes some drastic cuts, most notably, the elimination of the $2.3 billion Title II-A (ESEA) funding and $1.2 billion 21st…
Putting the “A” in STEAM education this school year
To keep creativity at the forefront of the educational spectrum, while also fostering “hard skills” like STEM, it is important to emphasize the arts – the “A” in…
School leaders reveal the common sense keys to ELL success
English language learners (ELLs) are not a monolithic population. They come from different countries, have different levels of English exposure at home, and have widely different educational needs.…
5 questions to ask when rethinking accountability systems
I have a very interesting job. As an education correspondent, I conduct interviews with many of the leading voices in ... Read more
App of the Week: Helping students with Autism
Ed. note: App of the Week picks are now being curated by the editors of Common Sense Education, which helps educators find ... Read more
3 critical things to know about boosting student engagement
Engaging high school students in learning and breaking away from the typical boredom that seems to plague so many students is a challenge--one that could be addressed differently…
Do you know about the “Trump Effect” on public education?
The 2017 Education Next annual survey of American public opinion on education shows public support for charter schools has dropped, even as opposition to school vouchers and tax…
How to assess your district’s digital readiness
How do you know if your school system is high performing in its use of technology? What are your strengths ... Read more
This law could help states prioritize science education
States have a new opportunity to emphasize science education and achievement--once largely ignored during the NCLB era--under new federal policies. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) gives states…
Do education policy makers believe in science?
John Hattie is an education researcher who changed the way we think about what works in the classroom. His meta-study, Visible Learning (2009), analyzed 50,000 studies of more…
8 truths about K-12 IT systems management
Interoperability is a multi-headed issue for any IT professional, but in the K-12 education world it is especially complex. These unique complexities can be distilled down to eight…
18 edtech developments set to impact schools
Coding as a literacy and the rise of STEAM learning are two key trends driving K-12 technology adoption for the next 1-2 years, according to the latest New…
Infographic: 6 uses for K-12 classroom AR
By now, most educators are familiar with augmented reality (AR) and its application in the classroom. And as it grows in popularity, its potential in the classroom grows,…
Why we need to change the teacher vs. tech narrative
A recent chart from Bloomberg on the future of artificial intelligence and employment lends evidence to a point I have been making for years: teachers will not be…
App of the Week: Go virtual for NGSS
Ed. note: App of the Week picks are now being curated by the editors of Common Sense Education, which helps educators find ... Read more
3 ways to build community in a multi-cultural school
As more and more ELL students enter the U.S. public school system, teachers are facing the twofold challenge of communicating not only with these students, but with their…
Where’s the buy-in for performance pay?
As more states across the nation look for ways to recognize and reward excellent teachers, a new study reveals at least one large pocket of resistance for providing…
Teacher specializing in differentiated learning: These are “My Tech Essentials”
At Long Elementary in Harlingen, TX, where I teach 4th grade, more than 72 percent of our students are considered economically disadvantaged, while nearly 10 percent are English…
