Latest News and Comment from Education

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Cool Cat Teacher Blog The "James Brown" of Internet Teachers - Vicki Davis

Cool Cat Teacher Blog:

Learning about Learning: Research and Edreform News and Views 04/22/2012

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 15 minutes ago
- 6 Q's About the News | Teenage Drivers and A.D.H.D. - NYTimes.com This is a fascinating lesson and student opinion question about teenagers with ADHD and their driving. I think this is one that all drivers ed teachers should read but also that should be part of discussions with students of driving age. (You could combine with a mock trial idea.) tags: education learning teaching lessonplans adhd - Teaching Resources, Classroom Resources & Lesson Plans - TES Resources Here is an interesting point as I research inquiry based lea... more »

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/22/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 6 hours ago
- When You Are the Only Person in the Room - Holt Think: Ed, Creativity, Tech, Administration Great questions by Tim Holt questioning the anecdotes used by many speakers. here was my response, but these are questions needing to be asked. ". I think those that know how to build a PLN , relationships, and use hashtags have an advantage for sure, but I don't think ou have to have an incredibly large network. I have a student doing a great project @Apps_for_Autism with almost 300 followers since January and she is building momentum. The point ... more »

Elearning and global competency #flatclass #globaled 04/22/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 15 hours ago
- Animoto - My Animoto Video Love watching this classroom make applesauce for the K-2 flatclassroom project. They are showing others about food in their region. tags: Flatclass globaled - Educational Blog Recommendations | Sine of the Times Love this post by Karen Greenhaus about building her own PLN. buildimg and sharing your pln are both part of modern teaching and pofessional development. tags: education flatclass pln connection - Facts about St George's Day 2010 - England's National Day St. George ... more »

How to watch the Lyrid meteor shower this weekend! (April 21-22)

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 20 hours ago
[image: Bolide] Bolide (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Been reading about the Lyrid meteor shower which is to peak tonight (Saturday, April 21) and tomorrow (Sunday, April 22). Saturday is supposed to be the Scientists say: "Typically, about 10 to 15 meteors or meteorites are visible per hour," said Renner. "However, this year, we have a 'new' moon, which means dark skies and conditions favorable for seeing more meteors. Incidentally, the peak of the Lyrid shower is actually Saturday evening/early Sunday morning. That's when I plan to look for some." io9 has a great guide for how to ... more »

Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock #teaching 04/21/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 21 hours ago
- US Department of Energy Lesson Plans A set of US department of energy lesson plans about energy, and many science topics. (72 lesson plans). There are many activities you can use organized by age. tags: education teaching lessonplans stem science - Thermodynamics Teacher and Student Guides - Resources - TES This is a hands-on laboratory unit from the U.S. Department of Energy exploring the concepts of heat and movement. Teachers set up six laboratory stations that will introduce students to the basic concepts of thermo... more »

A rattlesnake double take and taking responsibility for my classroom

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 21 hours ago
This morning's daily challenge on Twitter was to walk outside. I try to do the challenges I give all of you (they are real, I write them as much for myself as for you to work on the things that are important), so this morning, I decided to walk with Mom, Dad and the dogs on the farm. I admit that I didn't go barefooted because it was a 2 mile walk, although in a bit,I am going to walk outside barefooted back here at home. Just about 10 minutes after I took the photo of the five dogs that chose to accompany us, as I was watching for the rattlesnake that my Aunt Nan killed this ... more »

Elearning and global competency #flatclass #globaled 04/21/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 1 day ago
- The flip: Classwork at home, homework in class Reading: The flip: Classwork at home, homework in class - The Washington Post http://t.co/dCgRXbNt #flatclass tags: flatclass twitter Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock #teaching 04/20/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 1 day ago
- Autobiographical Writing - Resources - TES An autobiographical writing skills powerpoint and activity including a differentiated lesson plan and more traditional one. I like having different options. This is for older (high school) students. tags: education autobiography writing lessonplans engchat teaching literature - Jacobean England presentation - Resources - TES If you're teaching Shakespeare or Webster, this Jacobean England presentation will be a nice introduction for you. tags: education engchat literature s... more »

Edu app news: apps, ebooks, and sites for your classroom #mlearning 04/20/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 1 day ago
- The 101 Best Chrome Extensions An excellent list of Chrome extensions. I'm such a productivity fanatic, I've found that the lightning fast Google chrome and a FEW extensions are all I need to get everything done. Firefox's last few builds have just been laggy and very slow for me, not sure why, but I now prefer Chrome. tags: eduapp edapp productivity chrome Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Think about what you really want today

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 2 days ago
Now that I have my first book and into writing my second one and have spoken at Harvard (two things that were admittedly dreams for me, don't criticize, just go with me here) I realized this morning during my quiet time that *what I really want is a good relationship with my children.* My oldest graduates next year and my middle will be a junior. What if I worked all of this time and hadn't published my first book, would I have missed out on things with my oldest because of some dream? Books are like children: you want them to change the world and sometimes they don't but they cos... more »

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/20/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 2 days ago
- Steampunk Emporium -- Steampunk Clothing from Gentleman's Emporium I have to bookmark this site just for me. This Steampunk emporium has such great period clothing (had to buy some for a project for my child) that I just had to bookmark and share it. It took a good 30 minutes of searching before I found it. Great costumes and cool things to use if you're talking pioneer or early 1900's. tags: news costumes steampunk history history_teacher drama - Will Cell Phones Be Able to See Through Walls? New Research Says Yes Cell ph... more »

Elearning and global competency #flatclass #globaled 04/20/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 2 days ago
- Termly planning - Swahili Interesting. Here is a set of lessons in Swahili for middle school students including hyperlinks for those teachers who need some global competency ideas. tags: education flatclass language swahilit Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock #teaching 04/19/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 2 days ago
- TES iboard: Hundreds of interactive resources ideal for whiteboards Tes iboard used to be free, but you can get a 30 day trial. It is a minimal cost, but something worth trying as it includes iboard activities and lesson plans. tags: education teaching lessonplans Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Laugh and Love but don't lament: Teach well until the last day.

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 3 days ago
At the end of the day, I feel about like the middle school track meet where I ran too fast and hyperventilated and passed out. I woke up on the ground with a bag over my mouth wondering about all those people looking at me. Every good teacher I know is completely stressed to the hilt. Desks are missing pens and pencils from those who have snitched them and refuse to ask Mom and Dad to buy more. We're all overflowing with papers that we're trying to grade. We read newspapers blaming every ill of education upon teachers. I don't know about you, but my email is full and so is my lis... more »

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/19/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 3 days ago
- Will · Opting Out Will Richardson is opting out. Here is why. tags: News edreform - Celebrating the Google Photography Prize Finalists | Official Google Blog There are some great photographs in the Google Photography prize finalists. They had over 20,000 students who submitted. There are 100 in the gallery and some of them are incredible. If you love photos and enjoy students, you'll like looking at these. Here are the winners: "Our judging panel of seven leading photography experts chose the 10 finalists whose ... more »

Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock #teaching 04/18/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 3 days ago
- Earth Day - Resources - TES Earth Day is April 22. Here are lesson plans for Earth Day that you can then use to tie into Arbor Day the next week. Environment, sustainability are both important topics that should be discussed in every school. tags: education lessonplans teaching april science - Medium Term Plans - London Olympics 2012 - Resources - TES Here is a plan of how this teacher is going to incorporate the Olympics into the lesson plans for this 8 weeks. tags: education olympics teaching lessonplans - ... more »

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/18/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 4 days ago
- A GeekyMomma's Blog: Dear Will Richardson This gutsy post from Lee Kolbert deserves to make the rounds. tags: Edreform education news - The flip: Classwork at home, homework in class - The Washington Post Jonathan Bergmann from "flipped classroom" spoke last week in Harvard. This week, there is a Washington Post article on the concept which is certainly gaining momentum. I had a great conversation with Jonathan about the things that people mistakenly think about the flipped classroom. He insists that it is "NOT" ... more »

Elearning and global competency #flatclass #globaled 04/18/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 4 days ago
- Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog: Langwitches' Video of the Mystery Skype Call I love the concept of the "Myster Skype Call" - here are some videos and information on how this works. The concept is that students are skyping with a mystery person and must collaboratively determine where the person they are skyping with is located. This is so much fun and a great way to add authentic learning, problem solving, and many types of knowledge including geography into your classroom. Great concept! tags: lessonplans activities skype flatclass - ... more »

Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock #teaching 04/17/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 4 days ago
- The flip: Classwork at home, homework in class - The Washington Post Jonathan Bergmann from "flipped classroom" spoke last week in Harvard. This week, there is a Washington Post article on the concept which is certainly gaining momentum. I had a great conversation with Jonathan about the things that people mistakenly think about the flipped classroom. He insists that it is "NOT" about just video but about UDL and reaching every learner. He also says that students really like videos made in their own teacher's voice. (Which would cou... more »

Learning about Learning: Research and Edreform News and Views 04/17/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) at Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 5 days ago
- Why Don’t We Make Learning A Computer Language A Requirement In High School? Languages are important. We teach them to children. But we ignore computer programming languages - perhaps some of the most important fluencies anyone can acquire. Instead, we black box them and hope they MIGHT look at doing this in college, when in fact, many of the best jobs and opportunities lie in languages: both "foreign" languages and computer languages. Thought provoking blog post about a conversation: "Many interesting and stimulating things were s... more »