Halloween learning

It's late October, and kids' minds are turning to costuming and candy, marauding and merriment -- yes, this is Halloween time! While parents get mired in guilt over fair-trade candy and childhood obesity issues and some schools ban Halloween celebrations altogether, many teachers take advantage of the excitement in the crisp autumn air and brew up some activities related to All Hallow's Eve. (Amy Erin Borovoy at Edutopia)

To learn more and to watch some Halloween-related video that could be used for learning, click the above hyperlinked text.

A primer on copyright and Creative Commons

Copyright and Creative Commons Explained by Common Craft can be very useful in helping students understand why they cannot simply copy and paste whatever images they like that they find online. (from Free Technology for Teachers)

What can and cannot be used and how....Creative Commons licenses describe just how material an individual creates can be used by others. And there's some interesting and important information on this topic at Free Technology for Teachers.

Getting students engaged

If you're looking for ways to increase student engagement, you can find resources at Edutopia. These resources include a number of blog posts in which teachers describe ways they've gotten students in their classrooms more engaged. To learn more, click the hyperlinked text below.

Student Engagement

Get advice from educators on how to build a positive climate for learning, improve student curiosity, and enhance classroom collaboration.

How to participate in TED-Ed

Get Involved

The most meaningful TED-Ed videos are collaborations between the TED-Ed team and at least one of the following: a curious learner, an exceptional educator, or a talented visualization artist. If you are one of these types of people, or if you know someone who is, please help guide our effort to create a library of lessons worth sharing by acting on one of the options below.

To learn more, click the above hyperlinked text. 

Science searching

Symbolab is a new search engine designed for mathematicians and scientists. The search engine is a semantic search engine which means that rather than just searching the text of your query Symabolab attempts to interpret and search for the meaning of your query. What this means is that when you type in an equation you will get results as links and get results as graphs when appropriate. Think of it Symbolab as a cross between Google and Wolfram Alpha. (from Free Technology for Teachers)

A reminder about Edutopia

Edutopia is dedicated to transforming the learning process by helping educators implement the strategies below. These strategies -- and the educators who implement them -- are empowering students to think critically, access and analyze information, creatively problem solve, work collaboratively, and communicate with clarity and impact. Discover the resources, research, experts, and fellow Edutopia members who are changing our schools. Join us in reinventing the learning process! (from Edutopia)

Click the above hyperlinked text to learn more

Why teachers should write with their students

Particularly, the “workshop” classrooms are “writers’ workshops” geared toward increasing awareness of and exposure to the power of writing for students. One of the core ideas at play in these workshops is the idea of the teacher as a writer, as a model for students in a professional context. When they write, she writes. What they write, she attempts too.

When I consider the effect this has on students, it is nothing short of transformative. When students understand the purpose for something outside of an assignment, they tend to remember it better. When they see an adult attempting what they ask others to do, they are motivated to join in. Teachers of writing (and teachers who use writing, for that matter) have an obligation to consider themselves as writers and act as such in the classroom. ( Steve J More at Edutopia)