Lots of Good Information for Educators This Month

It's fun to stop at a Starbucks and discover that folks in the car ahead of you (who you don't know) have paid for your coffee! Random acts of kindness.  :)  Connected educators, however, help each other in a bit more organized manner. I know that I can find many--even more than usual--articles and tweets online this month about being connected. Many teachers and other educators share good news about new tools and other teaching resources via blogs and tweets. And the K12 Online Conference 2014 this month is free and asynchronous. What a bargain that is!

Be Connected! / Phil and Jo Schiffbauer / CC BY 2.0

Connected Educator Month:
Are you finding articles to help you work with your students and with other educators in addition to helping you boost your own professional development? If you are a new teacher or if you mentor new teachers you will find some good ideas at Teaching with Soul. Especially check Five Tips for New Teachers to Become Connected Educators.

New Tools:
Are you looking for a good way to share resources with students? Read BlendSpace: Awesome Review Idea! at Teaching with Technology. See how Bethany Petty created a review activity for her students' Constitution tests. In addition, she shares other ideas for using Blendspace with your students.

Mathematics, Technology, and Women:

In the early years of my career it seemed that only male mathematicians showed up in textbooks and elsewhere. I was delighted when I later began teaching technology education to find references to Lady Ada Lovelace and Dr. Grace Murray Hopper and their work in the field. Today I enjoy reading Roots of Unity, the mathematics blog of Evelyn Lamb in Scientific American. In Beyond Emmy and Sophie: Resources for Learning about Women in Math Lamb shares resources for several female mathematicians. She also provides access to her Twitter list of Mathy Ladies (students, teachers, other women) who tweet about mathematics.

K12 Online Conference 2014:

Last week we viewed presentations for two strands (Stories for Learning and Games and Gamification) of this year's conference. Beginning tomorrow (Monday, October 27) we will view presentations for the Passion-Driven Learning and STEAM strands plus the keynotes for those two strands. Check the schedule for the presentations.

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Have you connected with other educators this month to share your good ideas and experiences?

Two K12 Online Conference 2014 Keynotes Today

Are you following the K12 Online Conference 2014?

Wes Fryer took us across the country as we met educators who (virtually) joined him in his pre-conference keynote, Igniting Innovation in Teaching and Learning, a week ago (Monday, October 13).

Conversation / Sharon Mollerus / CC BY 2.0

Today (Monday, October 20) Ben Wilkoff's keynote for Stories for Learning and Kevin Hodgson's keynote for Games and Gamification are scheduled to begin those two strands.

Do you need information about this excellent online conference? Go to last week's blog post to learn more.

Are You Ready for the K12 Online Conference 2014?

Are you ready? The K12 Online Conference 2014 begins in just about 8 hours with Wes Fryer's pre-conference keynote!

k12onlineconference.org

Read about the conference here:

K12 Online Conference 2014. Igniting Innovation. Free. Online. 

http://teachinginadigitalworld.blogspot.com/2014/08/k12-online-conference-2014-igniting.html

Note the presentations and when they will be presented here:

2014 Schedule

http://k12onlineconference.org/?page_id=2480

You do not want to miss this!

Connected Educators Benefit From and Inspire Others

Old School Room / Catherine Snodgrass / CC BY 2.0

A leftover photo of a student. A few papers. More than 30 desks nailed to the floor in neat rows. Empty shelves. This was the classroom I walked into the summer before my first year of teaching. The textbooks were the curriculum. No professional development was offered for new teachers. I met a few experienced teachers and a kind principal. They were my support for my first year of teaching. That was the extent of my being connected when I began teaching. Of course, this was before technology played a role in education.

Today new teachers have so many more options for connecting with other educators and finding support as they begin their teaching careers. My responsibilities and opportunities have changed throughout my career. And so have the ways that I connect with other educators.

Local, state, and national organizations and their conferences have provided many opportunities for me to meet others and learn from outstanding educators. I have had the chance to grow as I have shared my experiences with others. And technology tools such as blogs and Twitter have added more ways we can connect and grow today.

http://bit.ly/connectededucatormonth

How are you connected with other educators? Are you benefiting from being involved with a PLN (personal learning network)? Have you searched for #ce14 on Twitter to find what today's educators are sharing during Connected Educator Month? Have you shared how you are connected? My PLN is such a rich source of ideas and experiences from educators who strive to teach and learn and help both students and other educators. I am so very thankful for them. No teacher today--new or experienced--needs to teach without the extensive support of other educators who are passionate about their mission and willing to share!

Resources for Mathematics, Science, English Language Arts, and Social Studies

The ORC (or Ohio Resource Center) is located physically in Columbus, Ohio and online at http://ohiorc.org/. On its About page, the ORC states that, “ORC enhances teaching and learning by promoting standards-based best practices in mathematics, science, English language arts, and social studies for Ohio schools and universities. ORC serves as a trusted source of easily accessible, peer-reviewed, high-quality, and effective resources.”

This site is a valuable source of materials to help teachers of mathematics, science, English language arts, and social studies. Resources are available specifically for educators in Ohio and the standards specific to Ohio. However, many valuable resources are available that are helpful to all teachers of mathematics, science, English language arts, and social studies… whether they teach in Ohio or elsewhere in the USA or the world.

The ORC site is worth exploring to locate resources to help educators teach and learn in the areas of mathematics, science, English language arts, and social studies.

Math Partners / WoodleyWonderWorks / CC BY 2.0

Mathematics educators can find projects and resources such as:

• Mathematics Standards (PK-12)… resources aligned to Common Core, Ohio Academic Content Standards, and NCTM’s Principles and Standards for School Mathematics
• Stella’s Stunners (6-12)… non-routine mathematics problems
• Problem Corner (3-12)… inquiry-oriented mathematics problems with solutions and classroom suggestions
• Common Core Toolkit (K-12)… resources to help with Common Core
• Mathematics Bookshelf (K-12)… books to support mathematics instruction in the classroom
• Mathematics Mini-Collections (PK-12)… lessons and resources on specific mathematics topics

Science! / Todd Dailey / CC BY-SA 2.0

Projects and resources available for science educators include:

• Science Standards (K-12)… resources aligned to Ohio’s New Learning Standards, newly adopted state standards, Ohio Academic Content Standards, and National Research Council’s National Science Education Standards
• Science Window (Professional)… science issues, practices, news, and discoveries with resources and ideas for incorporating them into lessons
• ORC•On (K-12)… e-publications focusing on a specific topic and spotlighting resources and ideas for the classroom
• Science Bookshelf (PK-5)… books for science instruction in the classroom
• New-Teacher Survival Guide (K-12)… resources for the classroom podcasts and books helpful for new and experienced science teachers
• Science Safety Resources (K-12)… resources for safety in the science classroom
• The ORC PROMISE for High School Science (9-12)… pacing guides with links to resources for the 9-12 courses in ODE’s Science Program Models
• Science Mini-Collections (PK-12)… lessons and resources on specific science topics
• Resources for Early Childhood (REC) (Birth-5)… science resources for children

Thought-provoking Reads for Junior High Students / Enokson / CC BY 2.0

Educators in English language arts can access these projects and resources:

• ELA Standards (PK-12)… resources aligned to Common Core and Ohio Academic Content Standards
• Language Arts Blog (K-12)… current news, issues, and practices in ELA and discussions about topics in the online literacy magazine In Perspective
• Literacy (K-5)… virtual bookshelves, resources and reading strategies
• AdLIT (6-12)… resources for professional learning and lessons including In Perspective
• ORC•On (PK-12)… e-publications that focus on topics, resources, and ideas for the classroom
• ELA Mini-Collections (6-12)… lessons and resources for specific topics
• Resources for Early Childhood (Birth-5)… resources to help plan lessons, support professional learning, and implement Ohio’s Early Learning Standards

Owain Playing a History Game in School / Bryan Alexander / CC BY 2.0

Social studies educators have these projects and resources available:

• Social Studies Standards (K-12)… resources aligned to Ohio’s New Learning Standards
• Social Studies Mini-Collections (PK-12)… lessons and resources for specific topics
• ORC•On (K-12)… e-publications that focus on topics, resources, and ideas for the classroom
• Social Studies Bookshelf, K-8 (K-8)… books for young people recommended by NCSS and aligned to Ohio’s New Learning Standards
• Social Studies High School Bookshelf (9-12)… books for young people recommended by NCSS and aligned to Ohio’s New Learning Standards
• Social Studies Professional Bookshelf (Professional)… reviews of books for professional development
• Social Studies Around Ohio (K-12)… sites outside the classroom that provide looks at social studies in the real world
• Resources for Early Childhood (REC) (Birth-5)… resources to help plan lessons, support professional learning, and implement Ohio’s Early Learning Standards

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Additional resources available include:

Professional Development… F2F, online, or blended options

ilearnohio… online learning platform for Ohio schools

REC: Resources for Early Childhood… (Birth - 5)… online materials

• Learning Experiences… lessons, activities open explorations, learning games
• Inclusive Classroom… learning experiences, planning options, articles, websites, professional books, terminology, assistive technology
• Inquiry Projects
• Bookshelf… books for educators, parents, and young children (infant-toddler, preschool, transition to K)
• Research/Reference… articles, organizational websites, sample chapters from books, briefs
• Assessment… articles, screening tools, kindergarten readiness resources, learning experiences that include ideas for assessment

Literacy K-5

• Third Grade Reading Guarantee (3)… toolkit and policy practice briefs
• K-2 Bookshelf (K-2)… standards-aligned books for classroom and home
• 3-5 Bookshelf (3-5)… books about literacy skills and thematic units
• Reading Strategies (K-5)… guides for teaching literacy with supports for instruction and assessment
• Reading Resource Collections… lesson plans, resources, assessments, videos, professional readings
• Writing Resource Collections… lesson plans and supplemental resources for teaching writing

Adolescent Literacy (AdLIT)

• In Perspective
• Webcasts
• Video Clips
• Reading Strategies
• Professional Development Modules
• Differentiated Instruction
• Sample Unit Plans

and ORC•ON… online publications on English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.

3 Act Tasks in the Classroom

Wooden Chest / Brenda Clarke / CC BY 2.0

Do you know the formula for the volume of a rectangular prism? As a mathematics teacher I was not concerned with my students’ memorizing the formula because we could just figure it out when we needed it. But it has been a few years (OK… it’s been a long time!) since I taught volume in my classroom. So, I decided to check out a video that I found on Twitter. The video was created by Kyle Pearce, a mathematics teacher in Ontario.

Pearce uses Keynote presentation software with animations to illustrate why the volume of a rectangular prism is determined with the formula V = lwh. His use of animations is not fluff but instead it enhances the explanation. The result is a video that is professional in style, simple to follow, and—most importantly—effective in helping students to understand the concept.

I explored his site a bit and then followed a link to his video about the volume of a cylinder. It’s interesting and useful… just as the first video is.  While there I found a link to Dan Meyer’s Hot Coffee 3 Act Math Task. This task is interesting to me… and it would be interesting to students. Is it a word problem? Yes. But this task is real. And it will seem so to students.

It's Easy As... / Mike Kniec / CC BY 2.0

I definitely needed to learn more about 3 Act Math Tasks, so I visited Meyer’s website to look for a good explanation of 3 Act Math Tasks. I found his description of The Three Acts of a Mathematical Story. And Teaching with Three-Act Tasks… with links to all three acts. He also publishes his task bank of 3 Act Math Tasks on his site. Lots of good resources to learn about and to use while you start experimenting with creating your own 3 Act Math Tasks.

When I returned to Pearce’s site I discovered that he also shares a list of 3 Act Tasks that he has created.

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So what lessons can be learned from my explorations at these sites?

1. Rich teaching resources can be found through Twitter,
2. Many members of your PLN may freely share excellent ideas and resources,
3. Storytelling can be effectively used in classrooms,
4. Keynote (and other presentation software) can be used to create helpful videos for students, and--most importantly--
5. The lesson plans from Pearce and Mayer are designed for mathematics classrooms; however, these ideas are not limited to mathematics education. The 3 Act Math Tasks storytelling strategy could be effectively used in history, language arts, science, and many other classes.
6. And, of course, Twitter, your PLN, and presentation software can all be used well in other classes.

Have you tried creating a 3 Act History Task or a 3 Act Language Arts Task? Or something similar in your classroom?

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Resources from this post...

Kyle Pearce
@MathletePearce
https://twitter.com/MathletePearce
http://tapintoteenminds.com/
tapintoteenminds.com/2014/09/05/visualizing-the-volume-of-a-rectangular-prism-formula/
 
Dan Meyer
@ddmeyer
https://twitter.com/ddmeyer
http://blog.mrmeyer.com/
http://blog.mrmeyer.com/2011/the-three-acts-of-a-mathematical-story/

A New Wiki Application is in Alpha

Scribbleton is a personal wiki application that is stored on your own computer rather than on a vendor’s server in the cloud.

This standalone software can be downloaded in alpha version for Mac, Windows, and Linux. A wiki created on one of the platforms can be accessed from any of the platforms.

A Scribbleton wiki can be used on your own computer or it can be put on a shared drive and accessed from any computer on the network.

The description on Scribbleton’s website (http://scribbleton.com/) emphasizes text functions, features, and benefits. Many basic text functions are available in this alpha version of the software…

Formatting options are available for:

• font style… (bold, italic, underline, strikethrough)
• font size… (smaller, larger)
• alignment… (left, center, right, justify)

A toolbar at the top of the page gives access to:

• navigate pages… (back, forward, link/unlink (to link pages))
• modify pages… (rename)
• edit content on pages… (format)
• delete pages… (trash can)

A left sidebar lists (clickable) the pages in the wiki and provides a button to create new pages.

Both individual pages and the whole wiki can be exported as HTML or TEXT. Each page is individually exported when you choose to export the whole wiki.

Additional needed text functions (e.g., page reordering, bullets, text color changing) are in the developers’ plans.

But, can text stand on its own? Web writing today is visual and interactive. I am interested to see how this application develops in those directions.

I like using wikis for multiple reasons, one of which is to help me organize tasks and content. And normally I like working in the cloud because I can have access to my information anywhere I have Internet access. But, sometimes my work is more localized and could be served by a good—and versatile—tool on my computer.

The Scribbleton personal wiki application has been released early (alpha) in the development process. The developers (on their website) encourage Scribbleton users to send feedback as the product is being created.

I do not know yet if the Scribbleton personal wiki application is a tool that will work well to help me organize tasks and content. But I do know that it is easy to use and appears to be heading in a good direction. And I plan to follow along to see if it becomes a tool I would like to use.