Dianne’s Daily Discoveries 08/03/2015

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  • KTI 2015 TeachMeet Projects and activities

    tags: KTI2015 KTI TeachMeet projects sharing

  • “Rubik’s cube is more than a puzzle- it’s a question waiting to be answered. And when the right person finds the right question, it can set them on a journey to change the world. We salute Ernő Rubik and everyone helping young minds find the questions that challenge, excite, and let them see the world in a new way.

    tags: questions inquiry questioning inspiration rubik’scube education technology

  • “Learn more about this film and download the free companion poster here: http://fablevisionlearning.com/blog/2…

    Peter H. Reynolds, creativity advocate and best-selling author and illustrator, and co-founder of FableVision Learning, has created a new animated short called The Testing Camera — a whimsical poke at high-stakes, standardized testing and a reminder that real assessment is as easy, and — at the same time — as challenging as getting to really know the gifts and talents of every child.

    “We’ve gone through a very test-centric decade which, in my opinion, has consumed a lot of time, energy, and resources,” Reynolds shares. “Many teachers have had to adhere to new mandates and measures that require a ‘teach to the test’ approach. Public schools redirected funding for art, music, theater, libraries, field trips, and more. It’s a discouraging picture for those trying to reach all children in creative, engaging ways.”

    Reynolds, who is known for his books encouraging creativity, The Dot, Ish, Sky Color and The North Star among many others, penned this whimsical and poignant story about a young girl named Daisy who, dismayed at her art class being canceled, nervously faces her turn with the “Testing Camera.” This huge apparatus snaps at her with a few blinding flashes of light. Weeks later, her father’s reaction to the test results surprises Daisy in a most wonderful way.

    “This is my gift to educators to remind them to follow their instincts and remember why they got into teaching in the first place: to see the potential in every child, to nurture those emerging gifts and talents, and to change lives,” Reynolds shared.

    The film was produced by FableVision, the transmedia studio in Boston founded by Peter and his twin brother, Paul Reynolds, author of Going Places and the Sydney & Simon series. The Testing Camera was directed by John Lechner with music by Tony Lechner, and animated by a team of young animators interning at FableVision for the summer. Broadway actor Chester Gregory lends his voice to the project.”

    tags: reynolds fablevision testing assessment The Testing Camera video inspirational

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Dianne’s Daily Discoveries 07/28/2015

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  • “Mystery Skype is a fun, teacher-invented learning game that builds students’ cultural awareness, critical thinking, and geography skills. And now this free OneNote notebook—packed with tips and how-tos—gives your classroom a single place to prep, track, and learn together. Get it today!”

    tags: skype mysteryskype onenote

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.


Dianne’s Daily Discoveries 07/26/2015

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Dianne’s Daily Discoveries 07/25/2015

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  • Mystery Skype is an educational game, invented by teachers, played by two classrooms on Skype. The aim of the game is to guess the location of the other classroom by asking each other questions.

    It’s suitable for all age groups and can be used to teach subjects like geography, history, languages, mathematics and science.

    Check our Mystery Skype OneNote to see all the wonderful things you and your class can do together to play Mystery Skype and organize your session.

    tags: skype MysterySkype geography

  • Sway Tutorial Videos

    tags: Sway Microsoft tutorial

  • I’ve gotten several emails after my last post and they all ended with the same line, “Where do I start?” It can be overwhelming to start by Googling “makerspace.” What do you most often see? That stark modern space with expensive 3d printers. But that? It’s not the reality of what making in the classroom can be. I know the constraints faced by many of us in education, and I’ve lived them before. You make do with what you have, get creative, and repurpose existing materials to MAKE making happen in your classroom. You gotta start somewhere, right?

    tags: makerspace STEM making

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.