Know what you want, but not sure how...

You may know that you "want" to integrate technology, but are unsure how to go about it - if this is where you find yourself, then you will really enjoy these two videos. Both videos show "real schools" integrating technology and 21st century teaching and learning into the curriculum. These are great guides to help get you started.... and from there, the skies the limit!

It's all in the presentation

Who says our kids can't learn the states and capitals, presidents past and present, countries, and more.... Maybe they are able, but you just aren't presenting the content in an appealing way.

The same kids that "can't" learn the info listed above are able to learn the stats of their favorite sports players/teams, Pokemon info (for 100s of cards) and can show you every funny website/video they've ever come across on the web - so we know they have the ability - now it's up to us to "do our job" and make them want to learn our content. Take a lesson from Ron Clark -

Do you SYMBALOO?

Do you have a Symbaloo account? If not, you are totally missing out on a really cool bookmarking program, so be sure and check it out! And once again, its FREE!!!

One of the great features of Symbaloo is that you can make it your home page - and once you add all of your frequently visited sites and RSS feeds, that's just what you're going to want to do! Symbaloo places everything in one location and its visually appealing - much more aesthetic than the drop down list of "favorites" or "bookmarks" that you have in your regular browser.

Some cool things you can do with your Symbaloo account:

1. Make it your home page (already mentioned, nuff said)
2. View the gallery for shared web mixes 
3. Create your own web mixes, by content type

For how to info, watch this video:

What the future holds.... 3 trends

A great article, Three trends that define the future of teaching and learning, was recently published at Mindshift. This article alludes to the fact that the following 3 trends are a huge part of the future of education - so be sure you are preparing in a way that will embrace each of these:

1. Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate! Need I say more? Whether it's through social media outlets, in class projects or other technology venues, the future of education includes collaboration!
2. Tech-Powered - A 21st century classroom finds ways to successfully integrate technology into student teaching and learning. That doesn't mean sticking a PowerPoint presentation here and there, it means that educators will find inventive and purposeful ways to incorporate the digital world into the classroom environment. 
3. Blended - What a wonderful opportunity for educators. With the emergence of digital technology, the teacher will be free for more one-on-one student attention. Providing blended education allows the student to access classroom lessons and materials 24/7. This is great news for both the teacher and the students!

Check out this article - and take away from it a new mission for finding ways to incorporate these 3 practices into your curriculum!

SCRATCH

Check out this totally cool FREE tech tool - SCRATCH - that can be used to create and share your own interactive stories, games, music and art. As young people create and share Scratch projects, they learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.


SCRATCH was designed with educators in mind and includes "educator specific" information. As young people create and share projects in Scratch, they develop important design and problem-solving skills, learning how to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.




ScratchEd from Karen Brennan on Vimeo.

Are you preparing today's children?

Mindshift recently reran some of their most popular articles from the previous year - included in this rerun is an article titled How do we prepare our children for what's next. This article discusses the ever-changing face of education and addresses the fact that education has not caught up with these changes, thus students are being failed. In the article 3 suggestions for parents to help prepare their children are given:

1. Experiment with SCRATCH - which is a really cool and easy to use, and it provides great technology experience for children.
2. Embark on a meaningful project - if you've heard it once, you've heard it a hundred times "Project-based learning" helps prepare today's children for tomorrow's world. When 65% of today's grade school kids may end up doing jobs that haven't been invented today, teaching methodologies such as project based learning teach children skills that be carried into any/all careers that they may one day hold. 
3. Learn how to be a responsible digital citizen - The digital world is here to stay - instead of sticking our hands in the sand and pretending that it doesn't exist, it's time that we embraced it and all that it has to offer... with the good comes the bad. Teach digital citizenship and all of the responsibilities needed by today's digital youth.

This article also addresses the culture of fear, 21st century classrooms and more! Read, learn and DO!

Need help getting "Fueled"?

Check out Nike's newest gadget for helping motivate movement, and get WIRED! Within the next couple of months Nike will be releasing their "high-tech wristband that fuels your workouts". The wristband tracks your daily activities, from walking up the stairs to chasing the dog to emptying the dishwasher, and rewards your effort with "Nike Fuel". The more active you are the more fuel you can earn!

While the price is a little high, approximately $150 in the United States, the potential motivation may be worth it. And, hopefully as the "newness" wears off the wristband will be replicated by other manufacturers... and hopefully result in a lower price, making it affordable for physical education classrooms!

Check it out, and get moving!!!

Are you 21st century teaching IT?

Need some help getting current or just plain ol' help updating your lessons? A great resource is "Janet Benincosa's 21st Century Tools" website. This site provides lots of great information and links to information about teaching strategies that promote active, inquiry, problem-based and project-based learning.

Check the site out and be sure to share it with your teacher friends!

Have you joined Edutopia?

Hello,

If you are following the Pf.T. (philosophical foundations & technology) dept on Twitter (@ASU_Pf_T) or Facebook (Pf.T. Dept.) then you have probably already received this info - but for those of you who aren't...

Be sure to join Edutopia (www.edutopia.org)- they provide lots of free teacher resources, videos and downloadable e-books. They are truly one of educations best friends!!!

Speaking of downloadable e-books, a really great one that I just downloaded from Edutopia is Top Ten Tips for Teaching with News Media. Other free downloads include Six Tips for Brain-Based Learning, Ten Tips for Classroom Management and more! Here's the direct link to the downloadable guides.

I receive no compensation for encouraging you to sign up for this great resource - but I'm a true appreciator of "free educational resources" and believe we should support organizations that provide such great support!

Enjoy!

Education is changing, are you?

Are you ready? Will your future students say "Wow, what a great teacher!" or "You call that a teacher?".

Education is changing - are you reading, learning and preparing for those changes? If not, you should be, because if predictions are true, the education of tomorrow is quite different from today! Check out this great article 21 Things That Will Be Obsolete by 2020.