In this episode, Dr. Wendy Oliver delivers a high-level overview of digital safety, and how it supports parents’ ability to safeguard their children.
Get the Voices of Education Right in Your Inbox
In this episode, Dr. Wendy Oliver delivers a high-level overview of digital safety, and how it supports parents’ ability to safeguard their children.
This episode is part one of a two-part mini-series that includes information for creating and implementing a Digital Learning Communication Plan.
This episode describes strategies educators can share with parents and caregivers to initiate a successful school year.
“Building the Bridge” with Dr. Wendy Oliver explores ways to achieve successful learning in the current era of technology-based education.
John Churchville, a music teacher from Ann Arbor, Michigan, connected with Paul van der Heijden, a music teacher from the Netherlands on Twitter.
COVID-19 disrupted tradition but sparked transformation. Education’s future is brighter, bolder, and built on innovation, equity, and possibility.
Joseph Kerney discusses cross-curricular learning in STEAM, shares his experience using Osmo tools to increase students’ engagement in subjects
As back-to-school time begins across the U.S., many teachers are reflecting on instructional strategies and considering how they can sustain these practices.
Back to School Fears – how this year, students may experience more anxiety than usual after 18 months of either distance or hybrid learning.
If I told you there was a global network of passionate educators available to converse with you — on any subject and at any time — would you be interested? What if I told you this amazing worldwide network was also free? Would that peak your interest?by John PadulaIf you think such an environment can’t possibly exist, it can and it does — right on Now, I’m not talking about the “What did Kim Kardashian have for breakfast?” I’m talking about a facet of Twitter that doesn’t get enough exposure in the media. Every day, every minute, thousands of educators are conversing on Within those brief 140-character messages, lesson plans are being swapped, strategies are being discussed, issues are being raised, and passionate educators, mainly those in the trenches, are responding with expertise, thoughtfulness, and compassion.Let me share my Twitter story:Four years ago, I reached a crossroads in my teaching career. As I finished my fifth year in Boston teaching Social Studies, I was informed that next year I was going to be the only Social Studies teacher in our middle school. Up to this point, I had been solely responsible for seventh and eighth grade Social Studies. Now, I would be taking on grade six as well. In essence, I was going to be the entire middle school Social Studies “department” for the foreseeable future. I felt like I was being marooned on an island without a Friday to keep me company. In past years, I had tried connecting with other teachers in the district, but there was always something that prevented any sustained discussions on lessons, resources, or ideas. Now, with a third curriculum to teach, I was going to be that much more isolated from teachers who might help me plan and strategize.In the midst of this upheaval, I attended a two-day seminar on educational technology, which included a segment on We dutifully signed up for an account during the class and our instructor walked us through some simple activities within Twitter: We read messages, sent our first message (called a ‘Tweet”) and replied to each other — all in all, nothing very spectacular. Then, we were introduced to the concept of a hashtag, and my perspective on Twitter changed forever.For those that may have heard the word “hashtag” and wondered what all the fuss is about, let me explain. Twitter messages get sent out mainly as broadcasts. If you log into Twitter and just watch your incoming message window, you can see just about any message that gets sent. Twitter realized that this was way too much information to take in (and who would really want to see so much stuff?), so they allow users to label their messages by including a descriptive tag. This tag can be any combination of letters and numbers, but it has to be preceded by a “#” (or hash) symbol. The “#”, together with the tag that follows, is called a “hashtag” by Twitter users.So, why bother with a hashtag? It’s just a way to label your message so that other users know what it’s about. Consider the following messages that a history teacher might send on Twitter:“Anyone have a good explanation of the US Constitution’s fifth amendment for a third grader?”and“Anyone have a good explanation of the US Constitution’s fifth amendment for a third grader? #Civics”In both examples, the message is broadcast to the Twitter universe, and it asks the same question. However, the second message includes a “#Civics” hashtag to alert Twitter users that this message pertains to civics.Hashtags become powerful because users can filter the Twitter messages they see and one type of filter involves hashtags. As a civics teacher, I am always on the lookout for anything interesting related to civics. Rather than read every Twitter message and try to pick out the ones that involve civics, I simply ask Twitter to only show me messages that include the hashtag “#Civics”. I do this by entering “#Civics” in the Twitter search bar. This lets me skip so much of the social media-type messages that are flying around on Twitter and allows me to concentrate on just what interests me.When I searched on “#Civics” today, here’s just a sampling of what filled my screen in about 5 seconds:a link to an article on state-mandated civics testsa mention of civics requirements for third graders in Alabamaan exchange on what a ’filibuster’ isa link to a new online civics activitymention of a new study guide for the AP US Government examCan you imagine what you might find if you searched on “#ELA”, or “#Geometry”, or “#ESL”, or “#AmericanHistory”? Beyond the rich content that would certainly appear, the real magic of Twitter comes from coming into contact with educators who share your interests, who want to share their ideas, and who will often lend an ear to issues you might raise.From that one technology seminar, I began to devote 20-30 minutes a few evenings a week to exploring Twitter: Searching, reading and, over time, even responding to questions raised by other educators. I found hundreds of Social Studies teachers who were willing to share their knowledge, expertise and common sense with me. Over time, I built up a network of educators that I converse with — some from as far away as Australia. Their insights and ideas continue to make me a better teacher today.What can you do? If you’re not already on Twitter, consider creating an account today. Think about what topics are most important to you and come up with a few hashtags to explore. (If you want to see a list of about a thousand well-known educational hashtags, visit Jerry Blumengarten’s hashtag page.)Once you’ve found a few tags that resonate with you, try a few searches and see what appears. You will be amazed at how many of those Tweets — and those educators — are relevant to your teaching world. Reach out to them and get the full impact of When you share ideas with other passionate educator, your own drive and enthusiasm will be recharged, and we could all use a lot more of that!If you get stuck or need help, or would like to let me know what happens with your own adventures in Twitter – feel free to contact me at @PadulaJohn (on Twitter, of course!)The opinions expressed here are solely those of John Padula.John Padula is an Educational Technology Specialist in the Brookline Public Schools. He transitioned to EdTech after teaching middle school Social Studies for seven years in the Boston Public Schools. Prior to teaching, John spent over 20 years in a variety of positions in the software engineering industry.
Photo credit: Mosborne01by Annette BreauxMaster teachers—those who have figured out how to get students to do and be their best, how to simplify the complex, how to look forward to their jobs each day, and how to create lasting memories in the hearts and minds of students—once struggled as new teachers, too. The following 10 practices not only helped master teachers over the initial hump of inexperience but also sustained their ongoing success.Read the rest of the story from ASCD.
by Motoko RichROHNERT PARK, Calif. — In a stark about-face from just a few years ago, school districts have gone from handing out pink slips to scrambling to hire teachers.Read the rest of the story at The New York Times.
Margaret Searle, ASCD author and educator, spent time with Dr. Berger to discuss the field of education and the value the profession of teaching can bring to those young people looking for their career path to emerge.Searle specializes in consulting with districts and schools in the areas of curriculum alignment, differentiated instruction, inclusive education, leadership team development, and training teams to implement Response to Intervention (RTI). She is also as an adjunct professor for Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio.Her teaching experience covers every grade from preschool through 8th in both a general and special education capacity. Her administrative experience has been as a K–12 supervisor in Dayton City Schools as well as a middle school principal in Springfield, Ohio, and an elementary school principal in Toledo, Ohio. She served as an adviser to President George H. W. Bush on elementary and secondary education issues.Searle has also contributed her expertise as an author with the following books:Teacher Teamwork: How do we make it work? (2015)Causes and Cures in the Classroom: Getting to the Root of Academic and Behavior Problems (2013)What Every School Leader Needs to Know About RTI (2010)
Comedy Central’s viral “TeachingCenter” sketch imagines a world where teachers sign million-dollar contracts and students wear their jerseys.
Allison Rodman took time to discuss the personalization of PD for teachers with Dr. Berger.
Photo credit: David Hawgoodby Dr. Francis CollinsWhen children enter the first grade, their brains are primed for learning experiences, significantly more so, in fact, than adult brains. For instance, scientists have documented that musical training during grade school produces a signature set of benefits for the brain and for behavior—benefits that can last a lifetime, whether or not people continue to play music.Now, researchers at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, have some good news for teenagers who missed out on learning to play musical instruments as young kids. Even when musical training isn’t started until high school, it produces meaningful changes in how the brain processes sound. And those changes have positive benefits not only for a teen’s musical abilities, but also for skills related to reading and writing.Read the rest of the story on the National Institutes of Health Director’s Blog.
P ete Hall, ASCD Faculty member and author, talks about the role reflection plays in ones’ professional development and effectiveness in the classroom. Hall also reminisces about his path from educator to award winning administrator and the impact those experiences have had on his current efforts to support the field.Hall is the former principal of Shaw Middle School, a Title I school in Spokane (Washington) Public Schools. After a teaching career that spanned three states and included primary, intermediate, and middle school positions, Hall served as principal of Anderson Elementary School in Reno, Nevada.When he took over Anderson Elementary in 2002, it was one of the only schools in Nevada to have failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for four consecutive years. Two short years later, it was the only Title I school in the state of Nevada to earn a “high-achieving” designation.Hall teaches the capacity-building model of professional development. This emphasizes three things― identifying teachers’ strengths, maximizing their potential, and building their capacity―as a gateway to enhanced student achievement.Hall’s ASCD books, both co-authored with Alisa Simeral, are: Building Teachers’ Capacity for Success: A Collaborative Approach for Coaches and School Leaders (2008) and Teach, Reflect, Learn: Building Your Capacity for Success in the Classroom, released in April 2015.
Photo Credit: Max Klingensmithby Teresa WatanabeWhen Viviana Martin Del Campo walked into her sixth-period geometry class at Venice High School in March, she saw a group of boys huddled over a cellphone, laughing. The target of their attention turned out to be a sexually explicit photo of two classmates.Read the rest of the story at the L.A. Times.
