Free Photo Resources, Social Media, and Parent Teacher Conferences... in Education Today

Some interesting ideas I discovered recently about free photos, using social media in a school district, and improving parent teacher conferences...

People, Woman, Coffee... Meeting / Pexels / CC0 1.0

20 Free Stock Photo Resources
http://www.picmonkey.com/blog/free-stock-photos/
from the PicMonkey blog at http://www.picmonkey.com/blog/

PicMonkey--my favorite photo-editing tool--recently shared 20 Free Stock Photo Resources. Some of the sites you probably already know (Flickr, Pixabay, Unsplash, ...), but others are new (to me, at least).

• Albumarium

• Magdeleine

• Negative Space

• Pexels

• Free Food Photos

• KaboomPics

• and more

(Be sure to read the licensing notes.)

Social Media Explained (with Donuts) / Chris Lott / CC BY 2.0

4 Steps to Mastering Social Media
http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/10/05/master-social-media-753/
from eSchool News at http://www.eschoolnews.com/

A school district superintendent shares how his district successfully uses social media to improve community engagement.

Read about the strategies he uses:

• Develop a plan

• Tell your story

• Encourage dialogue

• Avoid pitfalls

Parent Teacher Conference / Innovation_School / CC BY-NC 2.0

5 Resources for Parent-Teacher Conferences
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/parent-teacher-conference-resources-matt-davis
from Edutopia at http://www.edutopia.org/

Are you pleased with how your parent-teacher conferences went this Fall? Would you like to modify your approach a bit? Check out the resources gathered by Matt Davis at Edutopia.

The tips include ideas for principals, teachers, and parents. Topics include measuring student progress, questions parents should ask, conference forms, and much more. I think you may likely find some good ideas here.

Exit Tickets, Math Centers, Parent-Teacher Communications, and Tools for Student-Centered Classrooms... in Education Today

Some interesting ideas I discovered recently about exit tickets, math centers, parent-teacher communications, and tools for student-centered classrooms...

Exit Ticket / Phil and Jo Schiffbauer / CC BY 2.0

Back to School: Put Exit Ticket Strategies to Good Use
http://edblog.smarttech.com/2015/08/back-to-school-put-exit-ticket-strategies-to-good-use/
by Heather Lamb
http://edblog.smarttech.com/author/heather-lamb/
August 18, 2015

Do you use an exit ticket strategy in your classroom? Or have you thought about trying the idea? Do you ask your students to write reflections about what they learned in class that day? Some teachers ask for answers to particular questions. Others use clicker systems to gather their exit ticket data.

Why do we use exit tickets? They help us to learn what our students have learned. And they ensure that we hear from all our students.

In this article Heather Lamb discusses exit ticket strategies. She also provides examples.

Math Partners / WoodleyWonderWorks / CC BY 2.0

6 Ideas for Creating Math Centers
http://dailygenius.com/math-centers/
by Beth Holland
http://dailygenius.com/author/bethholland/
August 17, 2015

Learning centers are useful in classrooms. They give students opportunities to work independently or in groups. Centers can be used when students need to review skills. Teachers can differentiate the content and skills their students are practicing. Learning centers are often a good way to help students use technology as they explore, review, and solve problems.

View the video provided with this article to see math centers in action. Read how teachers create math centers using technology (SMARTBoards, screencasting, Explain Everything, Book Creator, Padlet, Popplet, ...) I think you will find some useful tips from Beth Holland.

Communication is the Key / Sebastien Wiertz / CC BY 2.0

Successful Parent Teacher Communication Tips: 3 Important Times We Have to Talk
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/parent-teacher-communication/
by Vicki Davis
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/bio/
August 19, 2015

Vicki Davis shares ideas to help parent-teacher communications be more effective. Read her tips for communication at the beginning of parent-teacher relationships, ongoing through the school year, and when problems arise.

Emma High Fives at In and Out / Julie Jordan Scott / CC BY 2.0

5 Fabulous Tools That Will Make Your Class Immediately Student Centered
http://blogush.edublogs.org/2015/08/24/5-fabulous-tools-that-will-make-your-class-immediately-student-centered/
by Paul Bogush
http://blogush.edublogs.org/about/
August 24, 2015

Paul Bogush share 5 tools to help your classroom become student-centered. He tells how to use these tools and why to use them. No reveals here! This is an article I suggest you read... and it is worth the read!