21 Things Every 21st Century Teacher Should Do This Year
21 Things Every 21st Century Teacher Should Do This Year
A new school year always brings about new ideas and hopeful ambition for teachers. However, it’s almost 2015. Gone are the days when we can use the excuse that “we don’t do technology”. Part of being a teacher in the 21st century is being creative in integrating academics and learning into student’s digital lives. With access to content being ubiquitous and instant in student’s out of school lives, we can either reject their world for our more traditional one, or embrace it.
Read MoreReport Finds Teachers Underutilize Resources for Digital Games in the Classroom
While more teachers are using digital games in the classroom, how they decide which games to use and why is less standardized, according to a teacher survey of 694 K-8 teachers by the Games and Learning Publishing Council called Level Up Learning: A National Survey on Teaching with Digital Games. (…)
Read MoreDigital Learning Games Used by Majority of Teachers, Survey Finds
Digital learning games have officially gone mainstream, with nearly three-quarters of K-8 teachers saying they use the games for classroom instruction, according to a new national survey.
But the rise of digital gaming within schools still pales in comparison to the advances seen in the commercial gaming sector, according to a comprehensive, 67-page report issued by the Games and Learning Publishing Council, a project of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, a New York-based nonprofit that studies digital media use and children. (…)
The Most Powerful Tool in the Classroom
Historically, the teacher has been the omniscient presence in just about every classroom in the world. They were the only ones who possessed the all-mighty knowledge which was passed on to their yearning students. Traditionally, pupils were placed in rows directed towards the maestro perched at the front of the room spouting facts that the students madly scribbled in their notebooks. The aforementioned students would then, at a later time, pour over their notebooks attempting to commit these facts to their short-term memory for long enough to get a decent grade on the corresponding test. Then, they would promptly forget most everything they “supposedly” learned. Sound familiar? (…)
Read MoreA Guide to Game-Based Learning
You want students to learn. Shall we play a game? Absolutely! But what is a game? Game: a form of play or sport, especially a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck. (…)
Read MoreQuantifying the Impact: An Interview with Dan Norton
iCivics Teacher Council Member Joe Schmidt interviewed Dan Norton a founding partner and CCO at Filament Games who specializes in crafting educational game design documents and storyboards that originate from learning objectives.(…)
Read MoreCoding with the Kindergarten Crowd
Introducing coding to kindergarten students helps them reflect on their own learning as they develop 21st-century skills such as problem solving and creativity, experts say.
Coding has emerged as one of the most popular learning trends in recent years, and when it comes to programming, young students are proving just as capable as older students. (…)
Read MoreWhat’s Wrong With the Teenage Mind?
“What was he thinking?” It’s the familiar cry of bewildered parents trying to understand why their teenagers act the way they do.
How does the boy who can thoughtfully explain the reasons never to drink and drive end up in a drunken crash? Why does the girl who knows all about birth control find herself pregnant by a boy she doesn’t even like? What happened to the gifted, imaginative child who excelled through high school but then dropped out of college, drifted from job to job and now lives in his parents’ basement?
Read More10 Steps for Avoiding Teacher Burnout
“Why did I want to be a teacher?” We all face burnout, sometimes on a daily basis, and in my case, especially after fourth period. Most of the time, we can pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off, and go back to the drawing board to try another strategy to find success with student learning. I have to admit that it is getting more and more difficult to make that transition back to a willingness to try again.”Why did I want to be a teacher?” We all face burnout, sometimes on a daily basis, and in my case, especially after fourth period. Most of the time, we can pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off, and go back to the drawing board to try another strategy to find success with student learning. I have to admit that it is getting more and more difficult to make that transition back to a willingness to try again.
Read More20 Google Tools Teachers Should Try – And How To Use Them In Classrooms
There’s a reason teachers like Google tools. They’re free, easy to use, and you already have an account on basically all of them. Add in the fact that Google is making a huge push into the world of teacher tools and you quickly realize it’s a good time to be a teacher.
There are a ton of Google tools that you should try out. But not all of them are relevant to your classroom. What’s a teacher to do? Well, leave it to the Daily Genius team who had waaay too much fun making this graphic and list. We experimented with every single one of these tools to make sure they’re highly useful.
Read More
