Here are some terrific finds for the end of the school year. 1. A fabulous listing of fake web sites, hoax photos, etc. The best being a site warning of the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide (also known as water). 2. Snag Films Can’t remember where I found this but you can watch documentaries on this …
Author: Mathew Needleman
Mathew Needleman, Apple Distinguished Educator and Google Certified Innovator has been pioneering the use of instructional technology for over two decades. He has been a classroom teacher, literacy coach, conference keynoter, and he currently serves as an elementary school principal in Los Angeles, California. He is the founder of the independent education studio, Needleworks Pictures.
iSchool Video
Here’s a great film that makes the case for using the iPod Touch in the classroom. Hat tip to Cheryl Lee.
An Ideal Language Arts Curriculum
Kevin Hodgson lays out what he considers to be an ideal language arts curriculum. Please read the entire post. However, the tenets he puts forth are: Writing to Learn Including listening and speaking (as well as reading and writing) A “Stakes Approach” (Moving from low-stakes like journal writing to high stakes like publishing and performance) …
It’s Not the Curriculum, It’s Us
Scott McLeod suggests that we might be the problem with education. Blaming the problem of low-level “kill and drill” education on the test is no excuse: Our prevalent instructional model that emphasizes low-level, decontextualized, factual recall was dominant long before ‘the tests.’ Our challenges of providing higher-order thinking experiences, opportunities for authentic collaboration, and real-world …
Copyright for Teachers: Persistent Myths
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV. My thinking has been shaped by a number of sources, mostly notably the Barely Legal Radio Podcast. Our Rights Fair Use allows us to use portions of copyrighted work for educational purposes in our classrooms. I’m of the belief that you can …
Navigating Social Networks: You Can Pick Your Friends
How do you decide who to befriend on a social network? I was planning on writing this even before my mother befriended me on Facebook. This is not a how-to guide for students using social networks. This is about how I use them as a teacher. I preface this by saying that there are no …
Video in the Classroom Carnival #4
Video in the Classroom Carnival #4 comes a month early. There were just too many good tips and examples to hold off another month. Video Production Examples from the Trenches Mr. Moses’s middle schoolers’ productions. I particularly enjoyed The Clumsy Ninja for its dry sense of humor and well thought out shot selection. Los Angeles …
So Long Teachertube
So Long Teachertube I’ve been a loyal user of Teachertube for the last 2+ years. I’ve been hosting the movies from Video in the Classroom on their site. Unfortunately, I have received several complaints over the past year about the movies not playing all the way through and/or not playing at all. The first time …
Open House Parent Engagement Tips
It’s that time of year again for Open House in my district. I’ve always taught at schools where parent engagement is a “problem.” Getting parents to come to school is often difficult and it’s not unusual for some classrooms to have only one or two parents. Here are my tips for the night. Do • …
iMovie ’09: Curriculum in Action
Here are handouts and resources for the iMovie ’09 class at LACOE. This post is a work in progess. I will add additional resources as I find them. Technical Resources 12 Page Handout (iMovie Basics by Luis Perez) Apple Free Tutorials (Short How To Movies) for iMovie ’09 Additional Apple Free Tutorials How to Export …