aira26soonas

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Standards-Based Grading: How to Start the Journey

Nicole Naditz on episode 478

Standards-based grading — where students are assessed by specific standards — is being discussed or implemented in many districts. Today we talk to an award-winning French teacher turned Instructional Technology Program Manager who can help us understand the pitfalls and possibilities of successful implementation. Nicole Naditz will also give us advice for getting started with standards-based grading as well.

Listen to Nicole Naditz talk about Standards-Based Grading

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

 Nicole Naditz – Bio as Submitted

Nicole has been a Program Specialist in Instructional Technology at San Juan Unified School District since 2018. Prior to that, she taught French for 25 years, winning numerous awards for her work designing authentic relevant learning experiences for her students. Her most notable awards include finalist for California State Teacher of the Year, 2012 and ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year, 2015.

Nicole is a sought after speaker and facilitator of professional learning on the topics of literacy, student voice, social justice, standards-based grading and more. You can see her 2015 acclaimed “TOY Talk” on standards-based grading here: https://youtu.be/UYQpqWwStCw.

Blog: http://www.3rs4teachers.wordpress.com

Twitter: @NicoleNaditz

  from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/standards-based-grading-how-to-start-the-journey/

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11 Essential Chrome Extensions (And a New Browser)

Vicki Davis on Episode 477 of the 10-Minute Teacher

Extensions can be useful, helpful tools for parents and teachers. There are pitfalls and pluses from each extension and ways to use them in the classroom. In this show, I’ll share eleven essential chrome extensions and information on the new web browser, Brave, and why people are using it. In the show notes, I share the links. Enjoy!

Learn about the 11 Chrome Extensions Recommended in the Show

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

 Chrome Extensions and Software Mentioned In This Show

Extensity

Read Write Toolbar

Grammarly

3 Ways to ScreenGrab

Evernote

Google Keep

One Note

Notion (didn’t make it in time for press but I’m testing this one!)

LastPass

Color Pic Eyedropper

Tip: Use with Coolors.co

Gmail Notifier

Sending Screens to the board (3 ways)

Lightcast Sender

Airplay (no extension – part of Native iOS)

Miracast (no extension – part of Droid OS)

Screencastify

Too Many Tabs for chrome

Link Clump

The Brave Browser

If you find this helpful, sign up for my newsletter.

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/11-essential-chrome-extensions-and-a-new-browser/

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5 Tips to Help Students Feel Valued in the Classroom

Crystal Willis on episode 476 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

Students need to feel valued. Today’s featured educator Crystal Willis from Instagram and TpT as “SunflowersandSped” shares five important tips to help students feel valued. From noticing strengths to not making a simple mistake that makes people feel dumb — Crystal has practical tips to help all of us better make children feel loved.

Listen to Crystal Willis talk about promoting student value

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

 Crystal Willis Bio As Submitted

Crystal from SunflowersandSped is an educator with more than ten years of special education classroom experience. Her credential is in mild to moderate special education with a certification in ELA. She has taught in both public and private school settings for elementary, middle, and high school grades, and is currently helping to oversee the implementation of a special ed program at a private school in Southern California. Crystal uses her IG account to connect with other sped teachers, parents, and students. She has a passion for making sure all special ed students feel seen, valued, and loved. As a student who struggled with dyslexia herself, she shares her story to build connections and community with her students and their families.

What’s next? Crystal is releasing her very own SunflowersandSped podcast in May. The podcast will give multiple perspectives on special education from the students, teachers, parents, and community. She’ll be interviewing people representing each perspective, as well as sharing stories, strategies, and resources. The goal of the podcast is to inspire hope and community building.

Blog: https://sunflowersandsped.com/

Instagram: @sunflowersandSped

Glimpses from Crystal’s Classroom

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/5-tips-to-help-students-feel-valued-in-the-classroom/

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What Happened When I Deleted All My Social Media Apps

Productivity and Living an Epic Life

When is the last time you watched the sunrise? It is such an amazing experience to watch the Master Artisan spray His graffiti of joy upon the sky and reveal to our heart His vast horizon of hope! How about you?

Today we seem to be in such a rush as we accelerate our lives to stay ahead of the avalanche of duties and responsibilities.

When do we take the time to watch the rain drip into a puddle or to walk outside and listen to the creek bubble on its way?

Savoring the Sip

Notifications hang like a fishbone in our coffee-coated throats as we attempt to swallow life whole without taking time to savor the sip.

We eagerly engage with our online audience while ignoring the children sitting at our feet watching us laugh at the likes and emojis spinning past our stream. Their eyes eagerly gleam for the day they can have their own “precious” to which they can sacrifice everything of worth like a modern Gollum.

Recently, I watched the sunrise. If you look closely enough in this picture in the Smoky Mountains, you can see that the trees are budding. We sat on the back porch and watched the bud burst as some trees torpedoed their leaves and blooms into the sunshine. You could see it happening.

For me, nature seems to be the opposite of social media. It restores. It refills. It renews. And we reconnect as a family when we turn off social media and head outside.

No-tificiations

But it takes more than nature these days. It means saying “no” to everybody “out there” so you can successfully savor the relationships “in here.”

So, this spring break, I removed every social media app and email off my “smartphone” and made it go dumb and mute.

Lately, I’m not finding my phone to be smart at all. It interrupts me for the most pointless of reasons. So, recently, I’ve been grounding it to a place deep in my pocketbook so I can get meaningful work done. Staying glued to my “smart phone” is actually pretty dumb, in my experience.

Note: In case you didn’t know, when you delete an app, this is not the same as deleting an account.  The only problem I’ve seen with this approach is for those who forget their password and inadvertently set up a new account as if they re-download the app and set it up again.

Avoiding the Excesses That Can Ruin You

As I stumbled through our cabin at 5 am, instead of opening Facebook as I awoke, I faced “the Book” – my new chronological-archaeological Bible and realized that truly there is nothing new under the sun. Intrigued by Ecclesiastes 7:16,

“So don’t be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself? “

Kip, my husband, and I started discussing and digging.

Too good? This verse doesn’t mean not to be good. Some other translations say “Be not righteous over much” or “Don’t destroy yourself by being too good or acting too smart.”

I believe that this is talking about excess. Not truly “being” good but acting “too good” – for your own good and that of others.

I know of some people who try to tell their friends what shows or movies they can and can’t watch.

Some people are overly “good” about the food they eat and are quite demanding that others agree with them. Others are overly “good” about their workout schedule and if you don’t work out an hour a day, you’re no good to them. You can be overly good with your religiosity, athleticism, or any other area of life, I suppose. I just watched an old Alan Alda movie called “the White Mile” where he is an adult bully who runs an ad agency and pushes these grown men to go rafting even when they don’t want to — and quite a few of them die. These “good” people exist trying to take their decisions and make them yours. Don’t fall for it.

I’m not sure I’d know but I’m sure in my life I’ve acted like a goody-goody. Most of us have.

Nowadays, I don’t feel overly good at anything except just looking at life and being thankful God put me here and uses me sometimes to do good.

I’d rather do something good than think I’m too good for something.

Too wise? Some people are so incredibly knowledgeable! And yes, we need knowledgeable people. But I think the verse is talking about the person who may know a lot but perhaps thinks they know it ALL.

Some people think because they know one subject so deeply that they are somehow an authority on everything else. This is why we have actors trying to tell everyone how to vote and we have business people trying to fix education.

Money in the bank does not always translate to sense in the head.

Fame does not always mean you deserve it.

This statement of being “too wise” is true particularly if you’re moving out of your field of expertise. (Listen to Harvard Business Review’s recent podcast on “Avoiding the Expertise Trap” for information on the research supporting this argument.)

Too connected?

Why would I quote these verses? Well, I think just as you could be “too righteous” or “too smart” perhaps there is such a thing as being “TOO CONNECTED.”

For example, I know some folks who always email back within seconds seem like some sort of Pavlovian inbox watcher salivating for the next email they need to answer. While some people have a job to answer email, most of us have a job to which email is our form of “correspondence.”

Just as the great authors would read their correspondence once or twice a day – a twice-daily amount of email checking suits me. (Note that I have set up that if my husband, children, or a family member or my headmaster messages me that it notifies me on my watch – some folks are worth the interruption!)

Did I miss social media during spring break?

So, I spent a few days with no social media.

My eyes ah-googling the elegant sunrise, ears enjoying the auditory delight of avian chirrups, nose discovering the delight of aromatic espresso, my feet ambulating through antique stores, and my arms rowing my river raft down the Nantahala.

You know what? I didn’t miss social media. Not one tweet.

What did we find unto these hills as we nestled away from the online barrage of likes, shares, and tags?

Laughter. Music. Books. Conversation.

Each other.

Back in social media but with limits.

I don’t plan to go back to my old ways. Now, I’m reading Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport. (On my trip home, I had read his book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World and it has changed how I work.) I’m also reading Productivity for Indie Authors and several other books that talk about using social media instead of letting it use us.

Add to all of this conversation the spread of bad things. Right now our “local” news media is sharing stories of abuse, harm, evil, and sick things from around the country via their Facebook feed as if it is local news. I unfollowed. As a parent told me the other day on an unrelated matter, “I ain’t got time for that.” If you want to get sick, go to the doctor’s office. If you want to feel sick, go on social media and see what the news or political pundits are sharing. I’d rather read my news another way!

So, after going app-less for a week. Here’s where I stand.

Sharing on social media. Yes.

Engaging with real people on social media. Yes.

Do I want to be notified of everything? No.

Likes or ❤️ . No.

Retweets. No.

Direct messages. Yes.

Shares. No.

Comments and conversations. Only when I go in the app.

Social media should make us better, stronger, more informed, more stable, encouraged, and give us what we need to be a better person if it is worth the time we spend. But if my screentime report is truly right, I’ve got a whole lot of time I could use for other things that will bring more meaning to life.

 The question is — do you?

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/what-happened-when-i-deleted-all-my-social-media-apps/

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5 Ideas for Helping Parents Read with their Kids (No Matter Their Age)

Amy Mascott on episode 475

Frederick Douglass said, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” Reading is important. Today, the show features reading expert, Amy Mascott, about how parents and teachers can help older children develop a love of reading.

Advancement Courses

Sponsor: Advancement Courses, a 30-year leader in teacher PD, is kicking off their Spring Sale! Use the code COOL 20 to save 20% off each course.

Advancement Courses has over 240 graduate-level courses in 19 different subject areas. Topics include teaching foundational topics and emerging trends in K-12. The courses are all online and self-paced. Graduate credit is available with an official transcript from their CAEP and regionally accredited university partners. Thousands of teachers across the country become better at Advancement Courses.

My favorite thing is that you can work at your own pace, create things for use in your classroom today, and you can have six months to complete the courses. Right now, my listeners can save 20% off each course with code COOL20 at Advancement Courses.

Listen to Amy Mascott talking about Reading

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

Amy Mascott – Bio As Submitted

Amy Mascott @teachmama is the creator of teachmama.com <https://teachmama.com/>, where since 2008, she has shared tools and resources parents can use to become the best teachers they can be for their children. A reading teacher, author, and influencer, Amy has truly expanded the walls of her classroom, lending her expertise at local and national events all around the country. Amy resides in the DC Metro with her three crazy-cool kids, a dog, a bird, and a hamster.

Book Releasing June 1:

Setting the Stage for Rock-Star Readers: Help Young Children Develop a Lifelong Love of Reading

Raising a Rock Star Reader

  Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/5-ideas-for-helping-parents-read-with-their-kids-no-matter-their-age/

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Girls and STEM: The Google 20% Project That Encourages Girls to go Into STEM

Komal Singh on episode 474 on the 10-Minute Teacher

Girls and people of color need role models who look like them. Today’s show is a team of people at Google who have done just that. Komal Singh is a Google Engineer and recruited other Google employees to participate in a powerful 20% time project that encourages girls to go into STEM. Learn about the project, the vision, and how you can share it with girls in.

Advancement Courses

Sponsor: Advancement Courses, a 30-year leader in teacher PD, is kicking off their Spring Sale! Use the code COOL 20 to save 20% off each course.

Advancement Courses has over 240 graduate-level courses in 19 different subject areas. Topics include teaching foundational topics and emerging trends in K-12. The courses are all online and self-paced. Graduate credit is available with an official transcript from their CAEP and regionally accredited university partners. Thousands of teachers across the country become better at Advancement Courses.

My favorite thing is that you can work at your own pace, create things for use in your classroom today, and you can have six months to complete the courses. Right now, my listeners can save 20% off each course with code COOL20 at Advancement Courses.

Listen to the Show

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

 Komal Singh Bio as Submitted

Komal Singh is an Engineering Program Manager at Google, and creator of kids’ STEM bestseller ‘Ara The Star Engineer’. She has been featured on Globe & Mail, Forbes, Financial Post, CTV, BuzzFeed, Google, The Social, The Record, Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls, Geena Davis Institute, and more.

Her journey in tech. spans over 14 years. As a software engineer and tech manager at Accenture, she lead teams to design and launch systems for many Fortune 500 clients. She currently works at Google as an Eng. Program Manager working on ‘cool products and infrastructure’ that impact billions of people around the globe.  

Singh is also a keynote speaker, a mentor, a mother to two mini droids, a ceramicist, diversity & inclusion advocate [mango lover, zen seeker, globetrotter, overall good human].

Komal grew up in India and studied Computer Science at Delhi University and later moved to Canada to complete her Masters’ in Com. Sci. from Simon Fraser University. A globetrotter at heart, she has traveled to over a dozen countries, and currently lives in Waterloo, Canada with her husband and two little kids.

Singh debuted as an author with the release of her empowering STEM book “Ara The Star Engineer” (her 20% passion project at Google) that was a bestseller on launch day. The book is being translated to more than 10 languages and has been converted to many immersive experiences. The book series sets to inspire children (esp. minorities) to explore the magic of STEM by featuring real-life women engineering leaders of diverse backgrounds, with a storyline inspired by fantastical innovation lands (e.g. Googleplex) and engineering problem solving (e.g. code a robot to count stars).

Email: singh [dot] [email protected]

Twitter: think_oid@ & arastarengineer@

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/komals1/

Book Website: www.arastarenginer.com

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/5-ideas-for-getting-parents-to-read-with-their-kids-no-matter-their-age/

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Restorative Justice and Consequences that Actually Improve Behavior

Brad Weinstein and Nathan Maynard on episode 473

Desmond Tutu says, “Restorative justice says “No, the offense affected a relationship” and what you are seeking for is to restore the relationship, to heal the relationship.” Today, Brad Weinstein and Nathan Maynard, authors of Hacking School Discipline: 9 Ways to Create a Culture of Empathy and Responsibility Using Restorative Justice help us understand how restorative justice should work and some examples that will help us understand the successful implementation.

Sponsor: Advancement Courses, a 30-year leader in teacher PD, is kicking off their Spring Sale! Use the code COOL 20 to save 20% off each course. Advancement Courses has over 240 graduate-level courses in 19 different subject areas. Topics include teaching foundational topics and emerging trends in K-12. The courses are all online and self-paced. Graduate credit is available with an official transcript from their CAEP and regionally accredited university partners. Thousands of teachers across the country become better at Advancement Courses.My favorite thing is that you can work at your own pace, create things for use in your classroom today, and you can have six months to complete the courses. Right now, my listeners can save 20% off each course with code COOL20 at Advancement Courses.

Listen to the Conversation about Restorative Justice

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

Bios as Submitted

Brad Weinstein

Brad Weinstein works as an administrator at the Purdue Polytechnic High School Network in Indianapolis, Indiana as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction. He is a co-author of Hacking School Discipline: 9 Ways to Create a Culture of Empathy and Responsibility Using Restorative Justice. Brad is a co-founder of BehaviorFlip, a restorative behavior management system that helps build empathy and responsibility in students. He is the creator of @teachergoals, one of the most popular educational accounts in the world on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Brad served as principal for two years at Irvington Preparatory Academy on the eastside of Indianapolis. Brad taught for 11 years, including roles as a coach and STEM department chair. He won Teacher of the Year in 2016 at Zionsville West Middle School in Whitestown, Indiana. Brad holds a B.A. in Education from Purdue University, an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Indiana Wesleyan University, and completed a Principal Licensure Program from Indiana Wesleyan University. Connect with him on Twitter @WeinsteinEdu

Nathan Maynard

Nathan Maynard works as an administrator at Purdue Polytechnic High School in Indianapolis, as the Dean of Culture. He also is the Co-Founder of BehaviorFlip, a restorative behavior management system that helps build a culture of empathy and responsibility. Nathan studied Behavioral Neuroscience at Purdue University and has been in the field for over ten years working with at-risk populations. He was awarded “Youth Worker of the Year” through dedicating his time with helping underserved and underprivileged youth involved with the juvenile justice system.

He has been facilitating restorative practices for over ten years in a wide range of educational settings. Nathan is passionate about addressing the school-to-prison pipeline crisis and closing the achievement gap by implementing trauma-informed behavioral practices. Nathan has expertise in Dialectical Behavioral Coaching, Motivational Interviewing, Positive Youth Development, Restorative Justice, and Trauma-Informed building practices to assist with creating positive school climates. Connect with him on Twitter @NmaynardEdu.

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/restorative-justice-and-consequences-that-actually-improve-behavior/

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Will AI Ruin Education or Help It? The Pitfalls and Possibilities of AI

Joe Fatheree on episode 472 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is only as moral and as good as those who create it. Today, AI ethics thought-leader Joe Fatheree and I discuss this topic.

Without discussing the ethics of AI and its algorithms, we risk opening the ultimate Pandora’s box of technology problems when we should instead work to get hope out of the AI box and keep the demons that could misuse and abuse us locked away. I’m not too sure we currently have the moral capacity and knowledge of right and wrong to wisely use AI. Either way, AI is here and we can be part of the conversation or we can sit in the corner and say “Nah Nah Nah I can’t hear you” until AI hears us and builds a cage around our little corner from which we cannot escape because ultimately, the key to any technology is crafted by those who make themselves part of the conversation.

Sponsor: Advancement Courses, a 30-year leader in teacher PD, is kicking off their Spring Sale! Use the code COOL 20 to save 20% off each course. Advancement Courses has over 240 graduate-level courses in 19 different subject areas. Topics include teaching foundational topics and emerging trends in K-12. The courses are all online and self-paced. Graduate credit is available with an official transcript from their CAEP and regionally accredited university partners. Thousands of teachers across the country become better at Advancement Courses.My favorite thing is that you can work at your own pace, create things for use in your classroom today, and you can have six months to complete the courses. Right now, my listeners can save 20% off each course with code COOL20 at Advancement Courses.

Listen to the Conversation about Artificial Intelligence in Education

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

Joe Fatheree’s Bio as Submitted

Joe Fatheree is an award-winning author, educator, and filmmaker. He has received numerous educational awards, including Illinois Teacher of the Year and the NEA’s National Award for Teaching Excellence. He was recently named one of the Top 10 Teachers in the World by the Varkey Foundation. He has served as the Director of Strategic Projects for the National Network of State Teachers of the Year in Washington, D.C. and is the instructor of creativity and innovation at Effingham High School in Illinois.

Fatheree’s television work has aired nationally on PBS, The Documentary Channel, Hulu, and the MLB Network. He is the recipient of 3 Mid America Emmy Awards and a Telly.

Twitter: @josephfatheree

 Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/will-ai-ruin-education-or-help-it-the-pitfalls-and-possibilities-of-ai/

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The Times UK: Tech-free schools for children of Silicon Valley

From: The Times UK

The Waldorf School of the Peninsula is small, exclusive and packed with the children of Silicon Valley executives who love the role that technology plays in the pupils’ education there. That is, it plays no role whatsoever.

Instead, children at the $25,000-a-year elementary school in Los Altos, California, are learning to explore the world through physical experiences and tasks that are designed to nurture their imagination, problem-solving ability and collaborative skills.

Pencils, paper, blackboards and craft materials abound while tablets, smartphones and other personal electronic devices are banned from the classrooms until they are teenagers studying at the middle and high school campus nearby. Even then technology is only introduced slowly and used sparingly.

Alumni and present pupils include the children of Alan Eagle, a director of communications at Google, who helped to write the New York Times bestseller How Google Works, as well as those of a chief technology officer at eBay and senior executives at Apple and Yahoo. Their outlook is in line with some of the most powerful figures in the industry. Last month Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, said he did not want his nephew, who is about 12, to use social media. Last year Sean Parker, the billionaire and an early Facebook investor, admitted that he and the other creators of the publishing site had deliberately made it as addictive as possible. “God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains,” he said.

Beverly Amico, leader of outreach and development at the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, said that the emphasis on “experiential” learning meant that 13-year-olds studying the Renaissance at a typical Waldorf school might, “in addition to learning stories about the history, reproduce a Renaissance masterpiece. Eighth-graders [14-year-olds] all do a Shakespeare play. Our high school science pupils do blacksmithing with a 1,500 degree forge to learn about chemistry and heat energy.”

There are 130 US schools in the association, which follows the century-old teachings of the philosopher Rudolf Steiner. Many of them are concentrated in the Bay Area technology hub around San Francisco and Silicon Valley.

Ms. Amico sees no contradiction. “It’s a very attractive option for people in the tech world for their children,” she said. “All employers, tech world or not, are looking for graduates these days that can think independently, take initiative, are capable of collaborating, have curiosity and creativity.”

The approach contrasts starkly with the new classroom orthodoxy in most American schools where children are spending more and more time staring at screens in lessons. There too, however, a grassroots movement is beginning to build against the relentless march of technology, supported by research illuminating the harmful effects of smartphone use on young brains and new shareholder pressure on the IT giants that make them.

“It seems like the US is the last place in the world to catch on that this is something that might be bad for kids,” said Joe Clement, a high school teacher in Virginia and co-author of the book Screen Schooled: Two Veteran Teachers Expose How Technology Overuse is Making Our Kids Dumber. “A lot of people are saying at the very least let’s pump the breaks before we turn our kids’ brains over to Apple, Microsoft, Google and HP.”

He said he had been appalled by the declining standards in his classroom in the past decade. He had observed “a significant difference in the ability of kids to focus, to interact socially, to think critically, to solve problems. They have all taken a noticeable dive over the past five to ten years.” After sharing his frustration with a colleague, Matt Miles, in the lunch canteen, the pair began to research the problem. They found an “overwhelming” consensus in the scientific community about the damage inflicted on children who overused screen time, but discovered that it had been largely ignored by most schools in their drive to invest heavily in tablets and other technology.

The book that emerged from their investigation, culled from their experiences over a combined 35 years in teaching, from interviews with teachers, parents and neuroscientists around the world and from published research, came out in the United States last year and in the UK this week.

Mr Clement said that he had been quietly encouraged by the number of desperate parents and determined groups that had contacted him and Mr Miles, concerned about the march of Ed-Tech, or educational technology. “They have said we need to link up and start to mobilise together,” he said. “That gives me a little bit of hope that maybe this thing has got legs.”

The ILAC Zero-Tech Pilot Project was launched last year in response to the growing number of young students addicted to their screens – who were missing out on direct communication and connection with their teachers and other students in the classroom.  To learn more about the program, see https://www.ilac.com/ilac-zero-tech/

Read the article here: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tech-free-schools-for-children-of-silicon-valley-jbh637vwp

The post The Times UK: Tech-free schools for children of Silicon Valley appeared first on ILAC.

from Blog – ILAC https://www.ilac.com/tech-free-schools-for-children-of-silicon-valley/

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Improve Student Behavior Now!

Darrian Tanner on Episode 471 of the 10-Minute Teacher

I talked to my son, and he says that when a teacher has excellent classroom management, it means he can learn, and when they don’t, it means chaos and stress for everybody. Today Darrian Tanner, the Florida State High Impact Teacher award winner for 2016-2017 and 2018-2019 talks about how to help teachers improve their classroom management skills.

Sponsor: Advancement Courses, a 30-year leader in teacher PD, is kicking off their Spring Sale! Use the code COOL 20 to save 20% off each course.Advancement Courses has over 240 graduate-level courses in 19 different subject areas. Topics include teaching foundational topics and emerging trends in K-12. The courses are all online and self-paced. Graduate credit is available with an official transcript from their CAEP and regionally accredited university partners. Thousands of teachers across the country become better at Advancement Courses.

My favorite thing is that you can work at your own pace, create things for use in your classroom today, and you can have six months to complete the courses. Right now, my listeners can save 20% off each course with code COOL20 at Advancement Courses.

Listen to Darrian Tanner talk about how we can improve our classroom management

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

 Darrian Tanner’s Bio as Submitted

Ms. Tanner is currently a 10th grade ELA teacher in Kissimmee, FL. This school year will mark ten years of teaching secondary ed ELA. She has been awarded the Florida State High Impact Teacher Award for 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school year. She has taken upon a new and second position as a TSL mentor on her school campus where she mentors seven first year teachers. She is a proud graduate of Michigan State University College of Ed. Her passion will always be the classroom, but she has ventured out into the Professional Development arena where she does training for educators on the topics of Student Behavior/Teacher Authority and Literacy.

She also published her first ebook Finally Some Answers: 50 Classroom Solutions for the Secondary Ed Teacher in 2016.

Twitter: @teachmstanner

     Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/improve-student-behavior-now/

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5 Writing Strategies and Tools to Reach Every Learner

Michele Haiken on Episode 470 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

Do your students hate to write? If you need quick ideas to help reach reluctant and struggling writers, Michele Haiken will help us learn more!

Listen to Michele Haiken talk about engaging students in writing

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

Michele Haiken – Bio as Submitted

Michele Haiken, Ed.D. is an educator and ISTE author. She has taught middle school English for the past 20 years and an adjunct professor of literacy for the past twelve years. She is the author of Personalized Learning (ISTE, 2018) and forthcoming New Realms for Writing (ISTE, 2019). Connect with her at @teachingfactor

Blog: http://theteachingfactor.com

Twitter: @teachingfactor

   from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/5-writing-strategies-and-tools-to-reach-every-learner/

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Unconventional Project Based Learning That Engages Students

Noa Daniel in Episode 469 of the 10-Minute Teacher

Noa Daniel talks about how unconventional project-based learning and how we can engage students with learning. If you’re struggling with student engagement, this is for you.

Listen to Noa Daniel Talk about Unconventional PBL

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

Noa Daniel’s Bio as Submitted

Noa is a passionate educator and an enthusiastic learner. She is a classroom teacher, podcaster, blogger. She is also a coach, consultant and Chief Building Officer at Building Outside the Blocks, creating projects and initiatives for students and educators that build skill, autonomy, community, and connection. https://buildingoutsidetheblocks.com/

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/unconventional-project-based-learning-that-engages-students/

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My Kids Hate Their Desks! (And What I Did About It!)

Brooke Markle on episode 468 of the 10-Minute Teacher

Brooke Markle, a veteran middle-level English educator, realized that her kids hated their desks. They wiggled. They moved. They struggled to pay attention. So, with a limited budget, she decided to change her classroom to give students a choice. The results are exciting.

Listen to Brooke talk about Flexible Seating

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

Pictures of Brooke’s Room

Brooke Markle – Bio as Submitted

Brooke Markle is a veteran middle-level English educator at Mechanicsburg Middle School in Mechanicsburg, PA. She holds a B.A. in English writing, 6-12 English certification, an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Assessment, and K-12 Pennsylvania Principal certification.

In addition to teaching seventh grade English, Brooke serves as Team Leader of the Trailblazers Team and as a new teacher induction trainer specializing in backward design. She utilizes her expertise in lesson planning and classroom management to mentor new teachers. Brooke enjoys being a part of district committees to impact student academic, social, and emotional well being, and implemented the first fully flexible seating classroom in her middle school two years ago. She is a winner of the Shippensburg University School Study Council Outstanding Teacher Award.

Outside of the classroom, Brooke is an auditor for Pennsylvania Higher Level Education programs and serves as a member of the Pennsylvania State program guidelines committee for English Language Arts and reading.

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/my-kids-hate-their-desks-and-what-i-did-about-it/

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Columbine’s Frank DeAngelis – The Story of Columbine’s Heart, Resilience, and Recovery

Frank DeAngelis in episode 466 of the 10-Minute Teacher

Frank DeAngelis was principal of Columbine high school in 1999 and remained the principal until 2015 when all of the students who were in PreK at the time of the shooting graduated. His story of resilience and leadership is one that will inspire you to be there for your students even when times are tough. He tells his story in “They Call Me ‘Mr. De'” The Story of Columbine’s Heart, Resilience, and Recovery.”

This is a two-part interview. The second part will be added to this blog post on Monday night, April 8th.

Part 1 with Frank DeAngelis

 Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

Bio of Frank DeAngelis

Colorado native Frank DeAngelis was the former principal after thirty-five years of service at Columbine High School. After the tragic shootings on April 20, 1999, DeAngelis mourned with the Columbine community.

He vowed to never forget those who were murdered, those who were injured, and all who were impacted by the tragedy.

He dedicated his life and career to helping his students—his kids—recover.

He currently serves as a consultant for safety and emergency management for the Jeffco School District in Colorado and continues to deliver speeches in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

DeAngelis was named the Colorado High School Principal of the year and was one of three finalists for the National Principal of the Year.

He has also received the Jefferson Country Lifetime Achievement Award and the Gandhi, King, Ikeda Community Builders Award.

Frank has just launched his book, They Call Me Mr. De, which is the story of the heart, resiliency and recovery of Columbine.

 Disclosure of Material Connection: This episode includes an affiliate link. This means that if you choose to buy I will be paid a commission on the affiliate program. However, this is at no additional cost to you.

Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/columbines-frank-deangelis-the-story-of-columbines-heart-resilience-and-recovery/

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“Better English and Income Go Hand in Hand”, Harvard Business Review

What if a language could change the livelihood of a whole country?

When we look at an economy, we usually pay attention to investments, jobs or products, but very scarcely do we look at languages being spoken there.

The education gap between students of high- and low-income families starts in their first year of education, and only widens as they grow older. This case is even more apparent between countries that do not put any effort toward including the teaching of ESL in their curriculum, and countries which include it as a mandatory subject.

The GDP of a country is determined by the market value of all goods and services produced by a nation in a year. The correlation between a nation’s proficiency in English and their GDP has been widely tested by economists year after year. Having a common language for business, such as English, is the main tool that citizens will have to compete and communicate with the world.

The Harvard Business Review conducted a study called: “Better English and Income Go Hand in Hand” (HBR, 2013), and in it we observe that countries that tried to incorporate the teaching of English saw an increase in overall international investment revenue. The salary impact had an average increase of 30-50% per person, and the living conditions and life expectancy were widely impacted.

The improvement in conditions is not only for the country but affects every individual in their personal life.

In retrospect, why should global business leaders care about people learning English in their part of the world? Think of it as an upper-hand advantage to other countries, an ‘in’ into a competitive, but lucrative global marketplace. Not only that, but it also presents an opportunity to really bring the world together into unison.

At ILAC we are happy to be a part of the change we want to see in the world, and to help boost worldwide economies in a positive way!

Resources

McCormick, C. (2013) “Countries with Better English Have Better Economies”, Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2013/11/countries-with-better-english-have-better-economies Accessed April 2nd, 2019.

    The post “Better English and Income Go Hand in Hand”, Harvard Business Review appeared first on ILAC.

from Blog – ILAC https://www.ilac.com/better-english-and-income-go-hand-in-hand/

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Neuroscience Research: 5 Ways to Superior Teaching

Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath on episode 465 of the 10-Minute Teacher

Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, author of Stop Talking, Start Influencing:12 Insights from Brain Science to Make Your Message Stick gives us five ways that recent neuroscience research can help us improve our classroom teaching.

Today’s show is sponsored by NetRef. See the webinar I co-hosted with NetRef How to Help Teachers Progress in Their Use of Technology. NetRef offers powerful Internet monitoring software that I recommend for schools.

Listen

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

 Bio as submitted

Jared Cooney Horvath (Ph.D., MEd) is an expert in the field of Educational Neuroscience. He has conducted research and lectured at Harvard University, Harvard Medical School, the University of Melbourne, and over 150 schools internationally.

Jared’s work has been featured in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Economist, and NOVA. He currently serves as Director of LME Global: a team dedicated to bringing the latest brain and behavioral research to teachers, students, and parents.  

His latest book is Stop Talking, Start Influencing: 12 Insights from Brain Science to Make Your Message Stick.

 Blog: https://www.lmeglobal.net/

Twitter: @jchorvath

 Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.

  from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/neuroscience-research-5-ways-to-superior-teaching/

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How a Little Graphic Novel is Inspiring Teachers to Think

Josh Stumpenhorst on Episode 464 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

Josh Stumpenhorst has written a graphic novel, Drawn to Teach. Illustrated by, Trevor Guthke, these two educators have worked to simply explain some of the problems and challenges of teaching. As for me, I’m finding this book an easy and powerful read, perfect for my spring break reading. 😉

Today’s show is sponsored by NetRef. View the webinar “5 Ways to Help Teachers Progress in Their Use of Technology” that I hosted recently with NetRef. NetRef offers powerful Internet monitoring software that I recommend for schools.

Listen to the Show

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

 About Josh Stumpenhorst (Bio as Submitted)

Josh is a Learning Commons Director at Lincoln Junior High in Naperville, IL. He oversees the library, video production lab, makerspace, wood shop, and digital fabrication lab.

 Blog: joshstumpenhorst.com

Twitter: @stumpteacher

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/how-a-little-graphic-novel-is-inspiring-teachers-to-think/