Useful links

   by  rhondda.p 

• Building Teamwork Skills Lesson Plan – Create a Newspaper TowerAustralian Curriculum Lessons “An engaging, co-operative learning task/lesson plan for the beginning of the school year. This particular activity and lesson plan allows students to practise their teamwork skills by putting them into specific actions. It breakdowns teamwork language into actions, provides teamwork opportunities and allows students to reflect on the effectiveness of their team.  “

• How To Collaborate on Docs Like a Pro – Work in Progress – Education Week Teacher We need to teach our students how to collaborate safely and constructively. Collaboration is a real-world skill that students will need to understand and use in their lives beyond school. They may create professional learning networks and share resources. The technology available make this easy for us if we know how to use it well.

• Embracing the 9 Themes of Digital Citizenship | EdTech Magazine “Digital citizenship, not to be confused with digital literacy, is defined by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) as: “Students understand human, cultural and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.””

• Hey School Leaders, 92% of teachers believe classroom design has an impact on student learning – A.J. Juliani Interesting discussion about the physical environment in classrooms and other school spaces.Backed up with some research too. “In a 2012 pilot study by the University of Salford and architects, Nightingale Associates, it was found that the classroom environment can affect a child’s academic progress over a year by as much as 25%. “

• Cybersafety for School staff “QLD Ed Dept. The Digital footprint resources assist schools to promote discussions about the importance of positive online behaviours and protecting your digital footprint. Several areas: Cybersafety resources provide a range of resources for use by school staff from Prep to upper secondary. Cybersafety policy provides information for schools about developing school policies regarding the use of technology. Managing incidents. BECTA (UK government) resources”

• Digital footprint resources “Qld govt resources designed to assist primary and secondary schools to promote discussions about the importance and power of positive online behaviours and protecting your digital footprint, the department has designed eye-catching poster resources.”

• What’s so great about Google Drive? And why should my students use it? | Cult of Pedagogy A detailed description about how to get the most out of Google Drive.

• TED-Ed Blog» Blog Archive » 25 awesome apps for teachers, recommended by teachers An annotated list of 25 awesome apps recommended for teachers, by teachers. Created after TED-Ed Innovative Educators and the TED-Ed community were asked for their ideas.

• Bibliotech: It’s not too late to promote Banned Books Week! Idea fleshed out. Links to resources and some shared docs for others to add ideas/titles.

• Reflect & Refine: Building a Learning Community: DigiLit Sunday: Google Keep — It’s a Keeper! Google Keep is an organizational tool that allows you take pictures, record audio, color code, add tags, sort, and view your lists in different ways. It is easy to use and could be a good tool for students to get themselves organized.

• Coding for kids makes sense — but it’s going to take more than just classrooms to make it work – The Washington Post “Clearly, any nation or municipality that lines up behind coding for kids hopes to be able to position itself as progressive, tech-friendly and start-up-friendly. How it all plays out over the long-term, however, will be about more than slogans (“Computer science is literacy for the 21st century”), but about ways that schools and educators bring to bear all the digital tools available at their disposal that make coding more than just the typical, humdrum classroom experience we’ve had for decades.”

• How to Get Over Your Fear of Coding “Coding is one of the most practical skills to have these days, and even if you’re not going to use it for professional purposes, having basic knowledge of coding is useful for navigating the 21st century.”

• Best Apps for Teaching & Learning 2015 | American Association of School Librarians (AASL) “Best Apps for Teaching & Learning are of great value to inquiry-based teaching and learning as embodied in the AASL’s Standards for the 21st-Century Learner. The apps foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration and are user-friendly to encourage a community of learners to explore and discover.” There are some great apps for primary and secondary learning and teaching. Some have costs associated but offer value for money.Whilst all have iOS versions, a fair number are also offered as an android version as well.

• Online Archives, Collections, and Exhibitions – Research – Moving Image Source “The Moving Image Source Research Guide is a gateway to the best online resources related to film, television, and digital media.”

• Download Free Nature Sounds Cricket, Waterfall, And Wave Sounds You can download free sound files from JetCityOrange . There are different sounds available but on this page you find those from nature including the sound of crickets, waterfalls, waves, storms, and waves.

• Five reasons your school’s NOT transforming | LEARNING & IPADS

• The 9 essential elements of digital citizenship | eSchool News | eSchool News “As a baseline, Mike Ribble also outlines nine essential elements of digital citizenship that every student should know”

• NEA – Can Tweeting Help Your Teaching? An article that looks at how some clever educators are using twitter to enrich their classrooms and forge informal professional networks.

• 8 Excellent Blended Learning Tools for Teachers ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning “A basic and simple definition of blended learning – an instructional methodology, a teaching and learning approach that combines face-to-face classroom methods with computer mediated activities to deliver instruction. The strengths of this instructional approach is its combination of both face to face and online teaching methods into one integrated instructional approach. This post discusses a set of useful web tools you can use for blended learning: “

• Editing Guide for Student Writers (and others) part 1 – Just Keep Reiding “This guide was designed for an elective subject where we had a lot more time than the usual English class, but it may be helpful for those running writing clubs, Extension II, or to modify for classroom use. It’s in 4 parts: Plot, Voice & POV, Descriptions, and Polishing & Feedback.”

• The Best Ways To Use “3-2-1″ As An Instructional Strategy | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… “Creating lessons and assignments using a “three-two-one” strategy is fairly common among classrooms. One advantage is that using that framework makes it easier for both students and teacher to remember what everybody is supposed to do! The post here offers some variations that I’ve previously shared, used and/or written about — feel free to contribute your own in the comments section:”

• 6 Models of Blended Learning – DreamBox Learning “According to a 2010 study from the U.S. Department of Education, blended learning classes produce statistically better results than their face-to-face, non-hybrid equivalents. This may be partly due to the fact that this rapidly growing model not only increases the flexibility and individualization of student learning experiences, but also allows teachers to expand the time they spend as facilitators of learning. Schools make the switch to blended learning for a variety of reasons. In addition to considering the age of the students, the reasons for choosing a blended model generally dictate which of the six models they choose to implement”

• The Difference Between Technology Use And Technology Integration “There is a difference, claims this graphic from teachbytes, between using technology and integrating it deeply into the learning experiences of students. This is, of course, what models like the SAMR model are based on-that idea of mere use to automate, to redefining what’s possible.”

• The Battle of Britain: a brilliant triumph that involved far more than just the chosen few | History Extra “The Battle of Britain has long been hailed as the triumph of the plucky underdog over the Nazi goliath. Yet, says James Holland, when rival fighters clashed over England in 1940, it was the RAF that held all the aces”

• Days of Destiny: 5 key moments of the battle of Britain | History Extra Seventy-five years ago a group of Allied pilots were engaged in desperate battles with their German foes, hoping to secure control of the skies and prevent a Nazi invasion of Britain. Kate Moore picks out five key moments from that fateful summer.

• Fun Projects and Increased Digital Literacy With GoAnimate for Schools — Emerging Education Technologies “Today, digital literacy is a requirement, not only in the workplace, but also in the classroom. By incorporating a variety of tools into their lesson plans, teachers like Lynn Weeks can better prepare students to use digital devices in everyday life, and eventually, in their chosen professions. When Bourne Middle School, where Weeks teaches, introduced a new digital literacy program in 2013, she was able to use and evaluate her students’ understanding of digital literacy with the help of GoAnimate for Schools.”

• Teaching digital citizenship across the whole curriculum | eSchool News | eSchool News “Digital citizenship is not just about teaching students what not to do, but also what they should be doing, to create a positive online impression. It can not be taught in a one-off lesson but needs to be embedded into lessons and “lived” or owned by everyone going about their daily lives “

• ISTE | Digital citizenship is more important than ever “In the first edition, coauthor Gerald Bailey and I outlined nine key elements that help define how to best use technology in every school, home and community. In the latest edition, I’ve categorized those nine elements into three groups I call REP: respect, educate and protect. Here’s how they break down.” Discussion follows about these elements

• FE Snapshot Case Studies | Jisc Digital Student “The case studies were written in the summer of 2015 and are indicative of the good work that is being done around the country.  They are part of the recently updated Jisc guide, ‘Enhancing the student digital experience: a strategic approach‘ which aims to support institutions to develop digital environments which meet students’ expectations and help them to progress to higher study and employment. They are grouped around the following themes; : 1. Deliver a relevant digital curriculum  2. Deliver an inclusive digital experience  3. Deliver a robust, flexible digital environment 4. Empower 5. BYO (Bring your own) 6. Support  7. Strategic approach”

• Books Origami Sculptures – Fubiz Media “English artist Nicola Nobo creates particular origami artworks. In fact he curves book pages to make impressive sculptures when we look it in front. The precision of foldings is offering creations that seem to be cut or sculpted. But this work didn’t need any paper transformation, except the folding.”

• 10 Educational Web Tools That Support Inquiry-based Learning ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning “As a learning strategy, inquiry-based learning is all about learners constructing their own understanding and knowledge through asking questions. Inquiry-based learning is essentially student-centered. It starts with posing questions and directly involves students in challenging hands-on activities that drive students to ask more questions and explore different learning paths. This post has assembled a collection of some useful web tools and apps that support the ethos of inquiry-based learning.  Using these tools will enable students to engage in a wide range of learning tasks that are all driven by a sense of inquiry and questioning.”

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.