Ganelle Claxton

30 Open Wikis Every Educator Should Know About

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 03:00:25 -0400

30 Open Wikis Every Educator Should Know About:

Here are three (click through for the rest):

http://palmbeachschooltalk.com/groups/ipadpilot/
iPad in Education

http://21stcenturyskillsnmteachercourse.wikispaces.com/home
21st Century Skills for Teachers

http://edcamp.wikispaces.com/
Ed Camp

55 Interesting Ways and Tips to Support Writing in the Classroom

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 19:51:05 -0400

55 Interesting Ways and Tips to Support Writing in the Classroom:

revolutionizeed:

Found some interesting things in here…might be worth digging through once for all of you to get some ideas!

25 Uses for Index Cards

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 19:49:46 -0400

25 Uses for Index Cards:

kateann6:

Not all of these ideas are directly related to education, but several of them are and those that aren’t seem like great ways to help you organize your life outside of school.

I really like the idea of using index cards as a way to help students arrange papers or stories. They can write down the various parts of their stories on different cards and then rearrange them until they’re happy with the story line (or until it makes the most sense). The idea of creating a life size board game is also very intriguing.

How to get enough space to save all your teacher stuff, lessons, etc!

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 19:48:21 -0400

revolutionizeed:

Three things! Download them and you will have a free 14 gigabytes and possibly more if you get others to sign up.

Dropbox - 2gb+ (up to 18 gbs possible free)

Google Drive - 5 gb

SkyDrive - 7 gb

I’m thinking that this will be extremely useful this school year! I’m saving different things in each program to ensure I can keep it all organized never lose anything!

Teachers are overworked and exhausted - according to new UK study from TES

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:04:46 -0400

Teachers are overworked and exhausted - according to new UK study from TES:

coolcatteacher:

This survey out of the UK reflects with what we see here in the US:

“Eight out of 10 teachers are concerned about the effect that the “hidden hours” spent working behind the scenes are having on their health. Research conducted for TES found that over two-thirds of the primary and secondary school teachers surveyed had sacrificed at least one night’s sleep over the past three months in order to complete all their tasks.”

We do need efficient ways to do things. This page has some great ideas about how to handle teaching furstrations, mental health as a teacher, and the collections that you can use to plan your lessons.

4 Unique Ways That 1:1 Technology Can Transform Student Writing

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 22:02:23 -0400

4 Unique Ways That 1:1 Technology Can Transform Student Writing :

revolutionizeed:

Writing for real audiences: 1:1 technology also allows students to write for an audience that extends beyond the walls of the classroom. As a result, it forces students to think critically about reeling in a potential reader. Catchy titles, accurate post tags/categories, and well-crafted introductory hooks are essential in gaining a larger audience for one’s digital writing. There’s simply no way to fully replicate this when writing on paper for a captive, limited audience of just your teacher or even your classmates.

I’m excited for this aspect when our school becomes 1:1 next year! I tried this out a little this year with a blogging project and the students were amazed when people around the world were reading them!

gjmueller: Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy: The interlocking of...

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 22:00:02 -0400

gjmueller:

Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy: The interlocking of cognitive processes

This great new diagram show the interlocking gears of cognitive thought and every cog-word links directly to an iPad app that supports it! AWESOME - bookmark this!

I’m going to post this in my classroom

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 21:44:49 -0400

I’m going to post this in my classroom

a little lamb: 12 Questioning Strategies that Minimize Classroom Management Problems.

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 22:19:36 -0400

a little lamb: 12 Questioning Strategies that Minimize Classroom Management Problems.:

toseealambatschool:

Teachers know from their training and experience that questioning plays an important role in today’s instruction. Modern lessons are fast-paced and interactive, with teachers asking a lot of questions. Questions account for [about] 80 percent of classroom talk and that some teachers ask more than…

Photo

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:17:48 -0400

10 Tips to Help Master Prezi

Mon, 28 May 2012 15:22:30 -0400

10 Tips to Help Master Prezi:

itssnix:

Since this blog basically devolves into a personal blog [no teaching stories, etc] over the summer, I want to add some useful educational content and links. I’ll be using the tag #professional development if it’s articles or resources that are more general knowledge rather than specific ideas [track #teaching ideas if you are not!].

If you haven’t explored Prezi yet, please do so this summer. This link is some tips on how to make your Prezis even better. :)

4 Free Tools for Sharing Files with Students

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:29:38 -0400

4 Free Tools for Sharing Files with Students :

revolutionizeed:

This article has some really great options for sharing files with students. Two alternatives for you though.

You may create a classroom website using Weebly or Google Sites and just post files as links to share.

If using a Mac, you could use Airdrop to drop files on computers near you!

Good Ideas

WeTxt - free group text messaging, great for messaging students

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:27:55 -0400

WeTxt - free group text messaging, great for messaging students:

revolutionizeed:

WeTxt is a free, group text messaging service that allows you to send free group text messages from your phone or from the web. It also includes free reply-to-all messages, 2-way text messaging between cell, email, and the web, a mobile calendar with text reminders and text message only games.

Click through for more details on how you could use it in your classroom!@

I might try this out…But I would only use it for e-mail not text

classroomcollective: Great way to motivate students to read or...

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:25:41 -0400

classroomcollective:

Great way to motivate students to read or read 10 books by the end of the year.

Good Idea!

wincherella: Good things to remember. I agree!

Mon, 21 May 2012 00:03:02 -0400

wincherella:

Good things to remember.

I agree!

5 Tips to Avoid Teacher Burnout

Sat, 19 May 2012 19:27:16 -0400

5 Tips to Avoid Teacher Burnout :

revolutionizeed:

1) Push Out Content in Different Ways

You know what’s exhausting? Preparing PowerPoints, presentations and other lectures! Guess what? You don’t have to do this all the time. Yes, there is a time and a place for a lecture or direct instruction, but there is also a place for a variety of strategies to have students take ownership of content learning. Use jigsaw techniques, games that teach, reciprocal teaching and other effective strategies that put students in the driver’s seat of learning. Move from sage of the stage to guide on the side. While all lessons require preparation and planning, a variety of lesson types can not only keep your students interested, but also keep you energized to try new ways of teaching.

I gave out a research project this week and one of my students said, “teachers don’t even teach these days.” I just ignore it.

How do you see to avoid teacher burnout? What advice do you have for others?

How to be an organized teacher

Tue, 15 May 2012 21:40:34 -0400

How to be an organized teacher:

Good Ideas!

chalkdust-n-apples: This is something a lot of my students need...

Wed, 09 May 2012 19:58:35 -0400

chalkdust-n-apples:

This is something a lot of my students need to learn. I should put this quote on my classroom wall.

Tutorspree Blog: Stickers, Sandwiches, and Success: Teaching Strategies and Tips

Wed, 09 May 2012 19:57:26 -0400

Tutorspree Blog: Stickers, Sandwiches, and Success: Teaching Strategies and Tips:

tutorblog:

The following post first appeared in School Improvement Network as a guideline for student achievement best practices.

Teachers face a wide number of challenges both in and out of the classroom. Below, two amazing teachers share student achievement best practices and strategies and steps that…

wincherella: These are my Fickle Sticks of Fate. The students...

Wed, 09 May 2012 19:52:06 -0400

wincherella:

These are my Fickle Sticks of Fate. The students pick their colour and put their name on it at the beginning of the year. I use them for creating groups, choosing the order for presentations or answering questions. The students accept this as being a fairly unbiased way of choosing people to participate.