December 2011 Blog Posts (16)

This is a good resource for lesson plans to teach students for safe technology use and to prevent cyber bullying. In this resource there are lesson plans for elementary, middle and secondary level students.

http://www.adl.org/education/curriculum_connections/cyberbullying/

What do you get when you combine a 5^th grade class, a home-bound teacher, and exciting new technology?  A virtual teaching initiative! 

When I went to my doctor last week for a routine check-up, I was sent straight to the hospital.  Thank G-d, my unborn child is perfectly healthy, but is in a rush to join the world well before it's due…

As part of my course I explored various techologies devices that can support project based learning, and I read the following article

http://voicethread.com/support/resources/publications/languagelearning/

Augustsso, G. Web 2.0, pedagogical support for reflexive and emotional social interaction…

In this week's reading, there was much emphasis on developing cultural understanding with students. There are many ways to evaluate students cultural preferences, both with technology, and with good old paper and pen. While some North American schools I've conducted distance learning sessions in are rather homogeneous, others have very different students from very different backgrounds. But an experience in the Frisch School in Paramus, NJ, took this to a whole other level. I think authors…

Given the plethora of information available online, teachers are constantly faced with the challenge of finding meaningful assignments that force students to think for themselves rather than just retrieve and spit back information from the internet.  Many assignments that used to require a great deal of time and effort, are now easily researched online.  Students no longer have to write their assignments by hand and can cut, paste and rearrange information with the click of a…

It is the second year that we have had the opportunity to have a Talmud teacher who teaches for us from Israel.  The first year we had a lot of technology glitches, but even with those more than 75% of the students wanted to have this teacher again and all of the students said they had learned at least as much if not more Talmud with this teacher than previous teachers.  In our second year of this program we have had less technology issues and we have also realized that not only is this…

(This is a followup to a post in YU e-learning that can be found here)

Our school has been using Khan Academy for the past 3 months and it continues to be a compelling tool for all of our classes.

We have learned a great deal, both good and bad, but as a whole, the experience has been enlightening.

We started Khan Academy for the 3rd Graders on a 3 times per week…

There is a new addiction among teachers.  Many students are getting the feeling that their teachers love their cell phones more than them.  People choose to become educators, because they are passionate about the subject they teach.  They want to impart their love of learning to the next generation.  Students sometimes feel that their teacher is closer with their technology device.   The kids notice that teachers are more interested in texting than teaching.  Even though it is…

So, I was recently introduced to Twitter (still just learning) and as I began using it, it occurred to me that with the advent of the internet, plagiarism issues became that much more complicated. And yet, when I look at something like Twitter I cannot even begin to imagine how to address plagiarism with regards to such a technology. Is there even such a thing as plagiarizing on Twitter? If you only get X numbers of characters to Tweat, what happens if you quote someone but don't have room…

While the value of collaboration among faculty has been discussed and documented in many places, developing a culture that supports sharing and discussion may be extremely difficult. Especially in a high school setting, with multiple disciplines and busy schedules, it can be hard to find time for teachers to share ideas. 

In an effort to move things forward in my school, here are three small steps I took at the beginning of this year that seem to be helping already. Would love to hear…

As I watch the children in front of me in my classroom and my home I have noticed a trend.  The children that we teach are receiving information and stimulation at an alarming rate.  There is no time for real face time and discussions.  It is all on the computer, texting, and IM’ing each other.  When I ask why not talk to the person they are trying to communicate with they shut down and can’t even fathom talking with words to anyone.  I feel that the world is a place that we have to…

Through my PLN, specifically, through New Milford High School's tech trailblazing principal Eric Sheninger, I came across this news feature from CBS 2 New York on NMHS' success at integrating mobile learning devices into the classroom. They have a policy they call BYOT (Bring…

As teachers and educators, we encourage our students to participate in sports, go to recess, the gym – just move. 

At the same time people talk about being sedentary, there is a discussion about the/ computer’s affect on eye sight.  However, unlike the cardio or weight training that is so frequently discussed, rarely do you hear people talk about exercising their eyes?

Though I haven’t had decent vision for years, over the past year I really learned to…

Check out this blog post, entitled 4 Ways to Maximize Your Flipped Classroom Videos. 

While some of the suggestions may seem obvious, I think it is important for us to recognize that the simple act of putting content in video form (or audio, for that matter), is not enough for it to be something that students will utilize and be excited…

After reading chapter 8 in the book I wanted to learn more about practical podcast use in the classroom. I found a website that had some practical ideas and real life examples. I hope to implement at least some of the ideas in my classroom in the future.

http://blog.simplek12.com/education/5-classroom-uses-for-podcasts-plus-real-life-examples/