Digital learning offers students the tools to become lifelong learners. As per the national centre for education statistics, 80% of 8th-graders reported using a computer for schoolwork in the recent past. 

Topics: Classroom Collaboration, collaborative learning, Educational Apps, Games, Project-Based Learning

I really enjoy my work. Part of what I do puts me in situations where I learn new things and more about topics I thought I already understood. It is the second part of that sentence that tends to humble me fairly often.

When I talk to kids about space, I often tell them we know about this much about space, as I hold my fingers close together, and that there is this much to know, as I spread my arms out as far as I can.

As I walked out of a recent meeting, I began to think about how it is easy to become impressed with what we think we know when the simple fact is that there is so very much more to understand. We are separated from our students’ level of understanding by a very thin margin.

Topics: STEM, Robotics

You may have seen media stories of the air being clearer since stay-at-home directives have been implemented in different areas of the world (Los Angeles, India). NASA satellite data actually shows a 30-percent decrease in air pollution over the northeast United States (click on the link to view slider image: Drop in Air Pollution). What does this all mean for our climate? How are your children and/or students reacting to the changes? Do they realize there are changes at all? This may be an opportune time to include climate change into your instructional plan, especially with the focus of Earth Day 2020 being climate action. So how can you do it? Here are 7 ideas to try:

Topics: Education Technology, Activities, Science Lessons, STEM Lessons, collaborative learning, Labdisc, STEM, STEAM, climate change

Now that most of you are finding your rhythm with distance learning, here are some reasons to start using Google Classroom*, if you’re not already.

Topics: Google Classroom, tips for teachers, edtech, technology, distance learning, G Suite for Education

We’re a couple of weeks into spring and most of us are hunkered down at home, trying to create fun learning experiences for our children and/or students. With limited access to science kits, labs, and high tech tools, what can be used at home to boost STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) learning? Here’s a list of our favorite 10:

Topics: STEM Lessons, recursos para directores de escuelas, STEM, STEAM, Parent resources, homeschooling, homeschool, distance learning, learning resources

It seems like Day 227 of forever of home learning and you and your children are at a loss – of education-related things to do, learning anything new and exciting, and the motivation to look for fresh ideas. Unlike many families you know, you don’t have the means – or desire – to purchase the latest and greatest in gaming consoles (so no one is creating a virtual school in Minecraft). There are game apps you and your children play on their devices, but not too many support learning in your view. So now what? How about adding a twist to games you already play? Or better yet, creating an original game? Before we start sharing a few ideas, let’s review why games are valuable for learning.

Topics: collaborative learning, Games, Project-Based Learning, Google Classroom, learning resources, gamification, learning games

There’s a popular idiom that is generally used to describe changes in weather – March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. It seems that no truer words have ever been said. This past month has felt like a roaring lion, the powerful sound vibrating around us in the forms of social distancing, shelter-in-place directives, changes in how we shop and travel, and school closures.  It seems unlikely that anyone has escaped the repercussions of COVID-19, and as we attempt to find balance in continuously changing circumstances, our children are also trying to make sense of the world they now live in.

Topics: Professional Development for Teachers, distance learning, learning resources, G Suite for Education, Boxlight Together, online courses, teacher resources, Office 365 Education

At this point in time, you are probably doing one of a few things: checking the news constantly for updates on COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders; trying to scour online stores for toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and disinfecting wipes; and, if you’re a parent of school-aged children, helping them complete assigned lessons while trying not to toss the laptop or tablet out the window. How can you get a “reboot”?

Topics: edtech, Parent resources, homeschooling, homeschool, social distancing, alternative learning, technology

 

Topics: Parent resources, Mindfulness techniques, Emotional health

 

Topics: Getting Parents Involved, Parent resources, homeschooling, homeschool, alternative learning