30 August 2008

Spotlighting Innovative Strategies and Teachers

Technology, Cross Curriculum Learning
Such is life in Whyville, a Web-based virtual world that provides inquiry-based education for middle school students. Created by University of Texas professor Jim Bower -- a former professor at the California Institute of Technology and founder of CalTech's Pre-College Science Initiative -- Whyville looks and feels like a game to the kids who use it. For teachers, it is one more tool for delivering lessons in a package that delights their students.

The EAST Initiative: Students Use Technology to Promote Collaborative Learning
Students helping students and using technology with project based learning. Ready to be inspired? The read this article and watch the video. Yes, the teacher, Tim Stephenson, is to credit for his persistent initiative and commitment.

Kindergarten Goes Virtual
Here are two words I never thought would go together: kindergarten and virtual. The content being offered is across the curriculum and totally interactive. Check it out.

Teacher Magazine (requires free account sign up)
Cindi Rigsbee, North Carolina's 2008 teacher of the year, has spent most of her career working at disadvantaged middle schools and was used to poor teacher morale, but when she switched to a new school before classrooms were even finished, the teachers began to work together in a newly formed professional-learning community. The experience, she says, was transforming: instead of trading woeful classroom tales, educators collaborate to boost student achievement.

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