-
From Steven Anderson – This is a great resource where educators can find and share all the digital resources they are curating. All of the resources found there are vetted by other educators so you can trust that what you are search for will be the best of the best.
-
Background on social media as public record
-
Great resources on Refugees from Larry Ferlazzo
-
Some tips on using Google Classroom for grading from Alice Keeler
-
A hands-on look at iOS 9 from MacRumors
-
A good overview of some of the features of iOS 9
-
Great resources from Larry Ferlazzo
-
More great ELL Resources from ELL
-
How school leaders can use a “not yet” approach to evaluations http://t.co/JTovyCqkZ8
-
Create positive reading attitudes with these 6 best practices from ‘Raising Kids Who Read’: http://t.co/ZiVls5P4wQ http://t.co/OzGqFDiT6H
-
What Motivates A Student’s Interest in Reading and Writing #edchat http://t.co/juCKhy7t1h http://t.co/z5Na93zafZ
-
Good information on the need for schools to embrace the teaching of digital literacy
-
Great summer reading list from college admissions officers via Valerie Strauss
-
Great list of social studies resources from Larry Ferlazzo
-
Interesting perspective from the students – Many students at Roosevelt felt the news media had mischaracterized their school and its students as criminals for figuring out how to get around the iPad’s security features, often to access educational information.
-
Amy Pace is a Presidential Award winning science teacher. She is using “free” OER textbooks for all her courses.
-
Good stats on social medias impact on student college and career plans
-
From Richard Byrne – Randy Krum wrote the book Cool Infographics and he maintains a blog of the same name. Today, his blog features an infographic about the process of creating an infographic.
-
Top 17 Accounts for #education! Worth following! @patrickmlarkin @WorldLillie @BurkheadBill http://t.co/97dTGxDr0F #edchat
-
iBooks has launched their “Summer Reading For Educators” campaign which will run June 1-July 13. (Link: https://t.co/046eS6hm4L)
Category: Uncategorized
My Weekly Diigo Bookmarks (June 7, 2015)
-
Standing Desks Are Coming To Schools, To Cure Obesity And Increase Attention Spans
Stand up desks In schools via @FastCompany schools http://t.co/tzhSbQM766 #bpschat #edchat
-
Take your place among the trailblazing leaders who
Take your place among the trailblazing leaders who are revolutionizing education. https://t.co/Pi6Krlkohp
-
Can Text Messages and Interventions Nudge Students Through School? | MindShift | KQED News
-
GIF YouTube | Make Animated GIFs from Youtube
Great site to easily crete GIFs
-
Drop Everything and Sail the World
From Tom Vander Ark “It’s time to expand your thinking about what you can accomplish and, in doing so, the life lessons you will model and create for your children.”
-
How Successful People Handle Stress
How successful people mentally prepare for change
-
Resources on Blogs as Digital Portfolios
Good resources on digital portfolios from George Couros
-
Watch how one principal uses “The Power of Nice” to train his frontline staff: http://t.co/buufpYKCvL #edadmin #cpchat #edleaders #edchat
-
Using Google Apps in a Math Classroom
Some best practices for using Google Apps in the math classroom.
-
How Twitter Users Can Generate Better Ideas |
From MIT’s Sloane Review – “New research suggests that employees with a diverse Twitter network — one that exposes them to people and ideas they don’t already know — tend to generate better ideas.”
-
More great thoughts on meaningful Professional Development
-
Enter “Designing Your Life,” a new and wildly popular course for Stanford juniors and seniors that is grounded in design thinking concepts and techniques. The course’s lessons gave him the perspective he needed to navigate decisions about life and work post graduation.
-
The science of why the comment section on just about anything is so awful
From Upworthy – The comment section. It’s where angry people go to express how angry they are at whatever they’re commenting on.
-
Interview with Charles Jennings – eLearning Interviews Magazine
Interesting research to consider surrounding workplace learning (professional development).
-
Why the American Dream is unraveling, in 4 charts
From Market Watch – The upper-middle-class families Putnam profiles separate themselves into affluent suburbs, with separate public schools and social spheres from those of their poorer counterparts. As a result, the poorer children not only face greater hardships, but they also lack good models of what is possible. They are effectively cut off from opportunity.
-
Useful Collection Of “Growth Mindset” Animations
Some good videos on Growth Mindset From Larry Ferlazzo
My Weekly Diigo Bookmarks (May 31, 2015)
-
Great thoughts for all teachers to remember
-
How GVSU Made Online Teacher Training a Possibility with Swivl
How Grand Valley State University Made Online Teacher Training a Possibility with Swivl – A case study: http://t.co/CpRFDint5R #edtech
-
Patrick Larkin’s Profile – Burlington Public Schools | Dunwello
What @patrickmlarkin is doing for @BurMASchools is pure awesome sauce. Can’t wait to see what ppl recommend about him http://t.co/aYT4pEG26v
-
New #digcitsummit Speaker Brings #stuvoice to Summit: Timmy Sullivan | Digital Citizenship Summit
New #digcitsummit speaker Timmy Sullivan brings #stuvoice to Summit: http://t.co/rQx6ulHHmV #digcit http://t.co/OQVQSIlXKG
-
The correlation between poverty and literacy.
-
What to Learn in College to Stay One Step Ahead of Computers
Some scholars are trying to discern what kinds of learning have survived technological replacement better than others.
-
My reply to Willingham, Part 2
Second part of Grant Wiggins reply to Daniel Willingham’s Washington Post Series
Thinking About My "College Bound" Children
As a parent of three children, one of whom is about to enter his senior year of high school, I continue to have concerns about what pathway is best for him to prepare for his life beyond the walls of an educational institution. While comments from people questioning the relevance of a college education are nothing new, there are more and more bleak stories highlighting the plight of college graduates who start their lives in tremendous debt.
Brittany Bronson touched upon this yesterday in an Op-Ed in the New York Times titled Long Odds in the Game of Life:
“…underemployment is a national phenomenon; as many as 22 million Americans fall into the category. Once considered a rite of passage, it now extends later into the average graduate’s working life, and the longer it lasts, the greater threat it poses. The more low-skill work we compile on our résumés, the less likely we are to convince employers we’re qualified for something else…For today’s college graduates, the path to underemployment begins early…”
Add in this from Seth Godin today:
“Does a college degree confer the ability to choose, to open the door to find a way to matter?…The education system continues to head in one direction, but each day, more of those it proclaims it seeks to serve (students, parents, taxpayers) are realizing that the system ought to be doing something quite different. And differently.
With two more children following my son down the traditional pathway, I am wondering what the realistic alternatives are. They have all grown up in a family where college is the expectation and older cousins have gone off and followed the “traditional” model. I am struggling to find a balance to explain the reality to my oldest child in regards to the changing landscape of employment without being a major downer. In the past, it seemed college acceptance was always a huge reason for jubilation that would lead a conscientious student to some solid career opportunities.
Now, who knows?
My Weekly Diigo Bookmarks (May 24, 2015)
-
Mobile phone bans ‘improve school exam results’ – BBC News
Another misleading story on technology in schools
-
From George Couros – “Here is how I usually set up my day for a “new” group, no matter what the objectives are for the day.”
-
Announcing the 2015 National Summer Reading Challenge
A good program to keep students reading during the summer.
-
Design Thinking comes to Nearpod!
-
Design Thinking comes to Nearpod!
– In Latest News – On May 20, 2015 – No commentsA new, project-based Nearpod le
-
-
How to Get a New Employee Up to Speed
Worth reading in regards to looking at new teacher programs
-
Using tablets to support learning in lessons: Some practical examples – Educate 1 to 1
-
Study: Banning Smartphones From Classrooms Boosts Test Scores | Big Think
More fodder for those who want to ban the use of mobile devices in classrooms
-
How to Use Siri on iPhone and iPad
Great overview of how to use Siri
-
Data tools – Download your data
Site to download data from Google
-
Mr. Ferlazzo’s U.S. History Classes Blog –
US History Blog from Larry Ferlazzo
-
Mr. Ferlazzo’s World History Class
Great World History Blog created by Larry Ferlazzo
-
EdSurge Gets Crafty: Connecting With Educators on Pinterest | EdSurge News
Don’t Miss The BEF Road Race on Sunday, May 31
On Sunday, May 31, 2015 the Burlington Education Foundation (BEF) is holding their 11th Annual “Exercise for Education” 5K Road Race and ½ Mile Family Fun Run at Burlington High School . Check-in for the event begins at 8:00am with the Family Fun Run beginning at 9:00am, followed by the start of the 5k which begins promptly at 9:30am.
Please visit BEF’s website for more information on the activities as well as online registration. All pre-registered participants are guaranteed a free t-shirt. NEW This Year – Chip Timing! – with instant results.
Run, Walk, Volunteer or join us as a spectator! Don’t miss out on this great community event or the chance to win a Grand Prize Raffle!!
BEF’s Mission is to channel donations from businesses and individuals to provide Burlington educators with an additional source of funding for creative and innovative curriculum enrichment programs. Help us make a difference in the Burlington Public Schools!
Burlington Public Schools Co-Hosting EdSurge – Learn Launch Tech For Schools Summit June 12 and 13
Burlington Public Schools is happy to join Boston, Revere, Natick, and Cambridge as one of the hosts of the first EdSurge-Learn Launch Tech For Schools Summit in June. We are looking forward to connecting with educators from around the region at this FREE event. Please check out the details below and share the information with other educators and educational leaders! You can register for the conference at EdSurge.com.
 |
| Add caption |
My Weekly Diigo Bookmarks (May 17, 2015)
-
From – Seth Godin – “You don’t need a consultant or a lot of money to radically improve your speed to market. You will speed up once you’re comfortable going faster.”
-
From Richard Byrne – “Canva has added more lesson plans and more design tutorials to their education page.”
-
Great post from Carl Hooker
-
From Richard Byrne
-
Great list of Pros and Cons of standardized testing from Th Onion. It is funny in a sad but true kind of way 😦
-
While open classrooms and offices seem to be a fad, this is an important read regarding the needs of introverts
-
-
Guidelines for Induction and Mentoring Programs—April 20156Key Updates and Background Information
-
-
New article on the positive aspects of kids connecting and sharing on #socialmedia – http://t.co/T7hAM4Wl1w http://t.co/UGV0Ls7H7A
-
The NFL rulebook says a nominal fine would be the appropriate punishment for Tom Brady: http://t.co/TucmSu0oxp
-
How to handle ‘Delusional Parent Disorder’ http://t.co/XCfSWkShXD
-
From Chris Tienken – “Colleagues and I used US Census data to predict state test results in mathematics and language arts as part of various research projects we have been conducting over the last three years. Specifically, we predicted the percentage of students at the district and school levels who score proficient or above on their state’s mandated standardized tests, without using any school-specific information such as length of school day, teacher mobility, computer-to-student ratio, etc.”
-
From Wired
-
data from the 13 million students who took PISA tests showed that the lowest achieving students worldwide were those who used a memorization strategy
-
Reacting to teachers’ feedback, the EdTechTeacher team wanted to find a way to archive and present all of the great ideas and resources that they came across. This would be a central resource, written by teachers – for teachers.
-
From Andrew Miller on Edutopia
As We Await His Suspension, Thoughts On The Vilification of Tom Brady
 |
| New England Patriots at Washington Redskins 08/28/09 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Have I mentioned that I was a sportswriter before I was a teacher? While I am very happy to have changed paths, I have an urge to share some #deflategate thoughts. I guess I’ll file it in the area of local history…
We learn a lot about a person when they are under fire so it has been interesting to see how Tom Brady has handled himself during this time where his reputation is being called into question. I believe his silence since the Wells Report went public is the only response that makes sense. There is nothing he could say that would sway his critics or his supporters.
My opinion is that this has little to do with Tom Brady and more to do with the NFL and the public perception of the league and Commissioner Roger Goodell. Both Goodell and the NFL have been lambasted for the handling of the Ray Rice domestic abuse situation and other domestic issues since. There were even those who thought the handling of the situation would cost the Commissioner his job.
There is nothing that would earn Commissioner Goodell a bigger PR boost in every NFL city outside of New England than a harsh penalty for Tom Brady and the Patriots. In a day and age where nothing is more important than the court of public opinion, Patriots fans should brace themselves for the worst.
The excerpts below From ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss outline exactly why the only possible motive that makes sense for the NFL is that they are in search of a much-needed PR Boost:
“I truly can’t believe what the commissioner has done to the legacy and reputation of one of the greatest quarterbacks and ambassadors in the history of the game — all over air pressure in a football and without definitive proof he had anything to do with it.”
Other similar situations regarding the handling of footballs by other NFL teams from Reiss:
- “I go back to the Vikings-Panthers game from November, with teams illegally heating footballs on the sideline and simply getting a warning from the NFL”
- “I go back to the Chargers using an illegal sticky substance on towels in 2012 and getting fined $25,000, and likewise wonder how we got to this point with the Patriots and underinflated footballs”
The conclusion from Reiss is exactly where I am at:
“Put the three situations together and only one requires a full-fledged investigation that will cost owners millions of dollars? In the interest of fairness, what am I missing?”
Why Are We Always Looking For A Disclaimer?
Great stuff from Seth Godin’s Blog today!
“When someone asks, “Do you have any case studies and rules of thumb from my industry about how someone in precisely the same circumstances did x and got y,” it’s pretty clear that they seek reassurance and a promise of certainty.
But all the good stuff comes from leaping. From doing the things that might not work.”
I think of so many instances where this applies… Of course, the one thing that sticks out to me here is that no one is in “precisely the same circumstance” as we are. All we can do is take all of the information available to us and make a well-informed decision. Isn’t doing our due diligence enough? Why do we worry so much about failure instead of relishing what we will learn from taking a leap?
My Un-Learning Journey 