Bring reality to your classroom and having fun too

I have two gems to share with you today .....

1. Making math real: "How can four friends share six cookies equally?"
http://www.educationreporting.com/viewArticleDetails.php?id=817

2. Five star teacher blog: from toys to tools - how to use cell phones in class.
http://www.educationreporting.com/index.php#blogs

Jack

The invisible key is relevance .......

I'm displaying 15 links below to provide lesson relevance and skill building for K12 teachers...

..... no worries about your political party these days ..... seems everyone has gripes about the Feds "improving education" and what they do ... or don't do ..... been dat way ever since the Dept. of Ed got created.

..... with K12 ed our kids suffer the losses as nothing gets done to produce, enforce, and fund sutainable K12 improvements ..... as more and more double sided rhetoric gets stimulated.

... unfortunately our government - like any large corporation, or even school district, that's outta control - has become bloated with 1) powerful folks voting their own agendas instead of what serves a sensible solution, 2) domineering special interests groups wanting to take control, and 3) disturbing political agenda groups twisting facts and figures....it gonna be a while to see what's capitulated.

No doubt, there is a bumpy road ahead for K12 education while teachers are left to steer the course and dig the trenches. Well, the Los Angeles school district has taken matters - a link to that news is below - into their own hands ....let's see what they're gonna have articulated.

Click here to read the newsletter.

The project learning and service learning RSS feed is updated with new resources;
http://www.educationreporting.com/greenschool.xml

Jack

Teaching and innovation - the right mix - with evidence

I'm combing the web to bring you the nuggets that juice up teaching skills to electrify lesson and jolt critical thinkin' opportunities ....

.... no worries about your time .... it won't take hours to read thiese and grab some insights.

1. Segway inventor Dean Kamen highlights the flaws in American science education as he discusses how to use innovation in class rooms. Click Here.

2. The strong performance of Cleveland's schools using innovation schools are compared to other public schools citywide. Click Here.

3. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina four years ago brought with it many changes for this city, but perhaps its most enduring mark may be the new charter school system that came cascading in during the storm's aftermath. Click Here.

You can get thousands of free learning games resources here http://www.educationreporting.com/Education_Games.xml

Jack

Teachers keep workin' while everyone else is ....?

I've done the research - you save the time and reap the rewards.

.... the 15+ links below will surely blow some fresh breezes in a few classrooms across this world - no doubt.

I've had three of my own major myths revealed to me - so far this year .....

......one, robots can never replace teachers - I covered this in an earlier issue.

...... two, technology won't shift the shape of K12 classes too, too much.

....... three, no sustainable and equitable effort is .... or will be made..... to educate young people by public institutions - across the K12 curriculum.

Last week I discovered the Open Education Resources (OER) and the Open Language Learning Initiative (OLLI)........so much for the floor of my myth #3. You have a link to 'em both -and other FREE K12 courses, and higher education as well - below.

http://www.educationreporting.com/archive.php