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One of the first technology integration frameworks that I came into contact with was TPACK. It was my first year as a tech coach, and I was looking for information on how to do my job. I had been hired under a new initiative, and all of the tech coaches in the district were new … read more »
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After the VSTE annual conference, I’ve done a lot of thinking about frameworks. One of the Keynote presentations introduced a framework that was new to me and then questioned the continued use of structures like SAMR. I had to do some reflection, because here at TeachersFirst we use the SAMR model a lot. I … read more »
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Today is Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day. Those arranging and participating in “Girl’s Day” activities are helping us to close the science gap. SheHeroes (reviewed here) is an organization that believes young girls should be encouraged to pursue non-traditional STEM based careers. Be sure to check out their resources as you plan for participating … read more »
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The science specialists in my old school division were all about Project Based Learning. They went to special training and then gave workshops. They wanted everyone to convert to this great way of inspiring students through authentic learning. It was a real struggle for the specialists though. We had low performing schools in a number … read more »
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As teachers and schools gear up for The Hour of Code (December 4-10), I think it’s really important to remind our students that coding isn’t an end to itself. It is a means to solve a problem. One way to help students understand that that is to explain where coding would fit in the a … read more »
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It’s hard to believe that Google just turned 19. In that time, the name of the search engine has become a household term as well as an entry in the dictionary. There is a generation of students who have always had access to the search engine and don’t know what life was like before you could … read more »
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In the current political climate, we’ve learned a number of new expressions. New definitions have been applied to terms that many thought were well defined already. Since a number of concepts seem to be relative, it is even more important now to ensure that there is a common understanding of a phrase amongst those with … read more »
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Sometimes, when thinking about educational buzzwords, we only think about student applications. As a coach, I realize that I need to apply the same concept when working with adults. Active Learning is a concept that applies when working with adults as well as with children. As educators, we pick up and use buzzwords all the … read more »
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When ISTE unveiled the refreshed ISTE Standards for Students in June, there were a number significant changes. The addition of “Computational Thinking” was one of them. I’ve overheard some teachers trying to understand the concept and have come to realize that we’re not all as clear on the concept as we should be. Some have … read more »
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Differentiation is one of those terms that teachers have heard a lot about over the years, but I still hear confusion over the term when I talk to other educators. Depending on their teaching situation, educators can get stuck on a single dimension of differentiation. Some think it means catering to a student’s learning profile … read more »