for a great range of K-12 classroom resources including:
The School templates section has sections on the following:
Embracing Challenges
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Look beneath the surface for so much more from Microsoft Office.
So many teachers have access to Microsoft Office but are unaware of the depth of the resources available.
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Hurrah! Quest Atlantis 5.1. is up and running!
Quest Atlantis is an international learning and teaching project that uses a 3D multi-user environment to immerse children, ages 9-15, in educational tasks.
At the core of student activity with QA is the completion of Quests. A Quest is an engaging curricular task designed to be educational and entertaining.
Students and teachers conduct rich inquiry-based explorations through which they learn particular standards-based content, and at the same time develop pro-social attitudes regarding significant environmental and social issues.
And now we can welcome Quest Atlantis 5.1. The QA upgrade is now completed!
This was their first upgrade in over two years as well as their first server transfer!
If any minor issues come up they ask that you fill out one of their support tickets (http://atlantisremixed.org/#59)
as soon as possible so that they can address it, and you can get on your way!
The Teacher PD has also been upgraded to include new information and experiences so that teachers are better prepared to support the curriculum for students.
They have redesigned the Teacher Training Unit for new teachers and created a shorter, "refresher" version of this unit that is available for any experienced QA teachers who would like to see the changes we've implemented in pedagogy and research.
The QA team believes that all of their returning teachers will find something new and fascinating in this refresher course.
Completion of this new "refresher" version is not required in order to continue assigning and supporting the QA content as you've always done. These new trajectories will be activated if you click on the teleport link to Teacherville and/or attempt to teleport through the the hub arch to the right of the bridge. Once you've teleported, talk with Cam, and depending upon your experience with QA, he will help direct you in correct trajectory!
Have fun in QA!!
If you would like to learn more about the Quest Atlantis program, visit their website,www.QuestAtlantis.org.
At the core of student activity with QA is the completion of Quests. A Quest is an engaging curricular task designed to be educational and entertaining.
Students and teachers conduct rich inquiry-based explorations through which they learn particular standards-based content, and at the same time develop pro-social attitudes regarding significant environmental and social issues.
And now we can welcome Quest Atlantis 5.1. The QA upgrade is now completed!
This was their first upgrade in over two years as well as their first server transfer!
If any minor issues come up they ask that you fill out one of their support tickets (http://atlantisremixed.org/#59)
as soon as possible so that they can address it, and you can get on your way!
The Teacher PD has also been upgraded to include new information and experiences so that teachers are better prepared to support the curriculum for students.
They have redesigned the Teacher Training Unit for new teachers and created a shorter, "refresher" version of this unit that is available for any experienced QA teachers who would like to see the changes we've implemented in pedagogy and research.
The QA team believes that all of their returning teachers will find something new and fascinating in this refresher course.
Completion of this new "refresher" version is not required in order to continue assigning and supporting the QA content as you've always done. These new trajectories will be activated if you click on the teleport link to Teacherville and/or attempt to teleport through the the hub arch to the right of the bridge. Once you've teleported, talk with Cam, and depending upon your experience with QA, he will help direct you in correct trajectory!
Have fun in QA!!
If you would like to learn more about the Quest Atlantis program, visit their website,www.QuestAtlantis.org.
Monday, 21 November 2011
Through your eyes.....what do you see?
What do you see?, from the Connected Principals, is one of those posts that needs to be revisited regularly by today's educators.
Well worth being reposted....again and again
Posted by Justin Tarte on 11/20/11 • Categorized as Best Educational Practices,Leadership Essentials,School Culture
- This post is also posted at “Life of an Educator.” – Follow Justin Tarte on Twitter at @justintarte
Posted by Justin Tarte on 11/20/11 • Categorized as Best Educational Practices,Leadership Essentials,School Culture
- This post is also posted at “Life of an Educator.” – Follow Justin Tarte on Twitter at @justintarte
Sunday, 13 November 2011
Wonderful World of Wequests
Barbara Braxton explains : "For those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept of a webquest, this explanation might assist. I wrote it some time ago (have been a webquest/Tom March fan for over a decade) ...
Webquests were originally developed by Bernie Dodge and Tom March about 1995 as a way of showing how the Internet could be used productively and the currency of the info posted on it could be exploited. In the words of Tom March (who gave my definition the big thumbs up when I sent it to him after marking dozens of uni papers about webquests that were not) "Every car is not a Chevrolet, every flower is not a rose". Since the concept first came into being, the name has been watered down to mean almost anything that requires web-based research.
A webquest is a strategy which allows a group of students to investigate a real-life issue from a number of different perspectives. The issue is multi-faceted with a number of possible solutions, each dependent on the purpose and opinion of the stakeholders. After acquainting themselves with the background of the topic, each student assumes the persona of one of the stakeholders and uses the facilities of the World Wide Web to explore the issue from that particular perspective. Using the WWW exploits the breadth or resources available, and because the issues are often topical and local, there is access to material not yet in print format - if indeed it ever is.
Students use their new knowledge and understanding to argue their case from the perspective of their persona and attempt to negotiate a solution to the issue that allows as much of a win-win situation for all as possible. These requirements to argue from an unfamiliar point of view and to achieve consensus and their subsequent demand to use higher order thinking skills that sets the webquest apart from other online strategies such as hotlists and treasure hunts. It also means that it is really suitable for those in year 6+ who have developed the ability to step aside from their own beliefs and argue objectively.
Critical elements include
· the real-life nature of the issue being explored,
· its multi-faceted nature that means there are a number of ways that it can be perceived and a number of feasible solutions
· the need for students to co-operate and collaborate to solve the problem
· the need for students to step beyond their own knowledge and beliefs to examine issues from a different perspective
· the need for negotiation and consensus so that there is a solution which is acceptable to all
· the need for resources, in whichever format, to be almost tailor-made for the situation so students can access and use it quickly, easily and efficiently
· its capacity "to facilitate the transformation of information into a newly constructed, assimilated understanding" (March, 2006)
A webquest enables students to
· explore real-life issues
· understand there can be several sides to every story
· access a broad range of current resources
· understand perception, opinion and bias
· work together to negotiate a solution that works for the majority
· work at a higher level of thinking than we currently often demand
That doesn't mean that things like hotlists and scavenger hunts are valuable activities, it just means they are not webquests.
In my opinion, webquests are not really suitable for younger students because they lack the ability to be able to set aside their own point of view and see an issue from a different perspective.
Tom March has also written about webquests in a Web 2.0 world at http://greav.ub.edu/iem/index.php?journal=iem&page=article&op=view&path%5b%5d=122and has now re-branded his Web-and-Flow site, which guides you step–by-step through the creation of a number of online activities at http://edge-ucator.com/ "
Reflections to ponder at report time.....
Let's really THINK about these gems:
If a child learns something but no one is there to test them, did they learn anything? @RobBower
“Children should be given a voice not only about the means of learning but also the ends, the why as well as the what.” — Alfie Kohn
"It is not how much material we cover, it is how much we uncover that matters."
@ToddWhitacker
Are you ready to be the “Guide on the Side” and not the “Sage on the Stage”?
STUDENT CENTERED CLASSROOMS and Student-Led Conferences @Cybraryman
and last but not least:
If a child learns something but no one is there to test them, did they learn anything? @RobBower
“Children should be given a voice not only about the means of learning but also the ends, the why as well as the what.” — Alfie Kohn
"It is not how much material we cover, it is how much we uncover that matters."
@ToddWhitacker
Are you ready to be the “Guide on the Side” and not the “Sage on the Stage”?
STUDENT CENTERED CLASSROOMS and Student-Led Conferences @Cybraryman
 |
| Correction to above: "I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand."-Confucius |
If education was really about learning
Are your students "learning"?
or
are they just "being taught"?