With the start of a new school year you should do your best to create a visually appealing classroom. And these posters will go a long way to making that happen.
Today we have 10 new posters for your classroom including
Encourage your students to use your classroom iPads in a respectful and mature manner by printing out these posters and templates.
They are editable word documents and can be laminated and awarded to students as they show an understanding of using these devices effectively.
Organizing parent teacher interviews can be a frustrating and time consuming process. By using Google Docs and this tutorial you can completely simplify this complex task and concentrate on other issues of importance.
I have put together this video tutorial (above) and also I have prepared instructions and templates here that will make the process faster and simpler for everyone involved.
I consult with many schools who are seeking advice about switching to a 1 to 1 or BYOD environment using iPad’s, laptops or similar mobile devices.
In most cases, the school has given a great deal of thought about this process and consulted a range of people inside and beyond their school community to make an educated decision and formulate a process that will work for them.
On occasion this is not always the case, when schools have misplaced priorities around such a major decision.
Below are my top 5 reasons that could jeopardise a successful 1 to 1 program in schools, and how to avoid repeating them.
1: Poor Parental Consultation
When you are expecting parents to pay for resources that schools were previously providing free, you had better make sure they understand why you are doing this? How it will make their child’s educational opportunities better? And what support you are going to offer them in giving their child such a “Pandora’s Box.”
Give them at least 6 months notice before beginning. Run parent information evenings, and let them voice their concerns and hopes around the program. It won’t all be positive but they will thank you for remembering they are part of the process.
2: Always put curriculum before the device.
If you are simply getting iPads to type up stories and research information, you are not going to get any great benefit from it. You need to think about creating a curriculum that you simply could not have existed in the past without a device that records, text images, audio and can share content with the world.
You now have a tool that allows learning to happen beyond the school gates and need to plan a curriculum that embraces it.
Some teachers may need professional development and support to become more skilled in creating curriculum that supports 1 to 1, but it should not be overlooked or skimped on.
3: Too much consuming and not enough creating.
Phonics apps, spelling games, maths dictionaries and even ibooks can have a place on 1 to 1 devices but they do not challenge students to create content that displays what they have actually learned. Ensure your students devices are full of quality open ended creative apps such as these that allow for creation of content more so than consumption.
4: We forgot about cyber safety
Fact: If you put a full functional computer in the hands of children and teenagers, occasionally they are going to use them in an anti-social manner. This is human nature. Accept it.
Ensure your students are well informed about the pitfalls of sharing information on social media, they have been well schooled in online etiquette and you have real world ramifications for breaches of your student and user agreement. Yes you will need one of these to ensure students and parents have a clear understanding around 1 to 1 expectations at home and school.
Timetable dedicated cyber safety sessions as part of your curriculum and ensure parents are offered the opportunity to learn about this also.
5: Don’t make promises that you simply can’t keep.
There is no precedent for this. 4 years ago iPads didn’t even exist. You do not have all the answers for making this a clear success for your school.
Take confidence in the knowledge you are surrounded by thousands of schools in a very similar situation, and every day we are learning what to do more of, and what to avoid.
Make sure you seek feedback from students, parents and other schools and be prepared to evolve your program to best meet the needs of your students.
I currently work in a role in which I assist over 60 schools with technology and learning. The overwhelmingly most popular device for schools looking to purchase new equipment for either 1 to 1 teaching and learning or as class sets is the iPad.
This has not gone unnoticed by Apple as they intend to make the largest overhaul in iOS history when they release iOS 7 in September.
iOS 7 provides powerful new ways to configure and deploy devices across institutions and features to help schools purchase, distribute and manage apps with ease. App Store license management, seamless enrollment in mobile device management (MDM) and single sign on are just some of the capabilities in iOS 7 that make it ideal for education.
The App Store Volume Purchase Program now offers institutions the ability to assign apps to users while keeping full ownership and control over app licenses. Institutions purchase app licenses through the VPP website, and can use their MDM solution to assign apps to students, faculty, and staff over the air. Students can enroll with their personal Apple IDs without providing it to their institution, and apps are placed in their purchase history for self-service download, or are installed automatically via MDM. Apps can be revoked at any time and reassigned to other students. In addition to iOS apps, VPP now also supports the purchase of Mac apps and even books, so students can be provided all the tools they need to get their work done.
The MDM protocol in iOS 7 includes a number of new commands, queries, and configuration options that make third-party MDM solutions even more powerful. Wirelessly set up managed apps, control which accounts and apps can open certain documents, configure accessibility options and AirPrint printers, and restrict changes to accounts. Teachers can remotely lock or unlock iOS devices into a specific app, such as an assessment app, ensuring that all students are on the same activity at the same time.
With automatic device configuration, new devices purchased by a school can be wirelessly enrolled into their MDM system during setup. In addition, new devices can be placed wirelessly in supervised mode, which enables enhanced management options. With streamlined MDM enrollment, users can be up and running quickly without the need for manual configuration by IT.
Authenticating into your institution’s apps is now as simple as doing it once. Single sign on (SSO) means user credentials can be used across apps. Each new app configured with SSO is able to verify the user is allowed access to institutional resources and login without requiring them to enter their password again.
AirDrop allows users to transfer photos, videos, or documents between iOS devices making it easy for teachers and students to collaborate. Users just tap the Share icon within an app and select the person they want to share with. AirDrop does the rest using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Transfers are encrypted, so all their work is highly secure.
New management options aren’t just for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Now Apple TV can also be enrolled in MDM, allowing configuration of settings like Wi-Fi and default language. iOS devices can be pre-configured with AirPlay destinations using configuration profiles. And MDM can prompt a student to mirror their screen on a specific Apple TV, so teachers can easily put their work on the big screen.
Students with Apple ID can have an enhanced personal experience with access to great online services like iTunes U, iCloud backup, and the ability to receive licenses in the new Volume Purchase Program. And now schools will have a program to facilitate Apple obtaining verifiable parental consent for personal Apple IDs for students under age 13.
Caching Server 2 speeds the download and delivery of content through the App Store, Mac App Store, iTunes Store and iBooks Store. By caching purchased content on an institution’s OS X Mavericks Server, your students and faculty get faster downloads of all their content including software updates, directly to their iOS 7 devices.
A classroom website can be one of the best tools you can utilize to showcase the great things happening in your classroom.
Some teachers already have a great class website or blog and today we are going to look at what you need to do to build classroom website of your own.
So what’s the difference between a classroom website and a classroom blog?
A blog is like an online diary of articles and discussion topics that readers can subscribe and respond to. A traditional website is more so a repository of static content. Over the last few years these two areas have blurred into each other. Any web creation platform worth a pinch of salt will offer both of these options to you but a blog is probably going to be of far more use than a static site.
What is the purpose of a classroom Blog?
Always connected Learning: Your classroom website should allow students to contribute from home to a topic that has been discussed in the classroom. Alternately, you can include follow up content such as tutorial videos for students and parents who might need assistance in a specific area.
Communication: In its simplest form a classroom website should be a bulletin board of news and events that are relevant to your class.
A sense of pride: Your classroom website should be a great bragging point not only your students should feel proud of as it contains great examples of their work, but it should also serve as an excellent portfolio of your teaching craft should you apply for a promotion or another job.
What should it contain?
“For instance “Where have we seen natural disasters in the news this week?”
What it should not contain?
Of course if you are intending to share your classroom with the world you need to provide and adhere to some cyber safety guidelines about not sharing personal information and always ensure you have parental permission.
Never let your website become a platform for cyber bullying or criticism. Moderate it at least once a week.
What is the best platform for success?
There are literally hundreds of options here if you run a Google Search but here are my top three picks from personal experience.
Weebly: Probably the web’s easiest blogging and website creation tool for beginners through to novices. It is free to get started but you can buy a full featured premium package for a few dollars per month. The great thing about Weebly is that allows you to create simple password protected pages that your students can feel a little safer on.
Blogger. This is Google’s blogging platform tool and it is totally free. It will create a great classroom blog and that is about it. If you already have a Gmail account you are already registered. Simple drag and drop interface and can be integrated easily into your existing school website.
Edublogs: If you are a WordPress user this will seem like the easiest thing in the world to you. If you are not I would not recommend starting here. I really only included because of the massive user base Wordpress has. If you get stuck on Blogger or Edublogs there is no 24/7 support to help you out but there are millions of users on forums who can help.
High school students heading off to college have a multitude of decisions and considerations to make regarding their transition into adult life.
For many heading of to college will be a major point of consideration and discussion with parents and peers.
I hope these persuasive writing prompts for high school students heading off to college encourage them to put their ideas into an organised manner.
Prompt 1) Many other countries including: England, Australia and New Zealand, encourage students to take a year off to travel and explore the world before going to college. While not a mainstay in American culture, this "gap-year" movement is beginning to take hold. Do you feel that it is a good idea for students to take a year off between high school and college? Or should they go straight into college following high school?
Prompt 2) You have just gotten into your dream school, the problem is that your family was pushing you to go to a different school. Which school do you go to and why? Site specific examples.
Prompt 3) More and more students are planning on living off-campus their first year of college. Do you plan on living on or off campus for your freshman year of college? Why?
Prompt 4) A close friend of yours is interested in pursuing a career in a specific trade craft. Do you think they should go to a trade school that specializes in teaching that craft or should they go to a traditional college that offers that craft as a major? Write a letter to convince them to attend the school of your choice above.
Prompt 5) Your guidance counselor is asking for you to defend your choice of major. Write a detailed argument outlining why you are choosing to pursue that particular major. If you are still undecided in what major you are pursuing, write a detailed argument explaining why you haven't made that particular decision yet.
Please feel free to contribute more below.
The unjust russian invasion of ukraine has higlhighted the lies of a dictator and the suffering of his victims on both sides.
Is war ever justified? Has there ever been a successful war? Does war save or spend innocent lives?
War is certainly one of the most complex issues humanity has ever faced, but in saying that we have been pursuing it since we could raise a fist in anger.
We see images from all around the world every night that highlight man's injustice toward each other.
Your students will enjoy these five persuasive writing prompts about war in forming an educated opinion about an issue in which so many have laid down their lives for.
Prompt 1) In several counties, citizens are expected to serve in the national military. Even in America, we have only recently abandoned the draft and the ordinance of mandatory military service. Do you believe we should institute similar mandatory military service requirements for our citizenry? Why or why not?
Prompt 2) Do you believe the US should launch a preliminary strike against Iran? Why or why not?
Prompt 3) Many great philosophers have likened war to being a cowardly way to face a problem. Do you agree with these philosophers? Why or why not?
Prompt 4) One of your friends has been approached by a recruiter for the Army and has asked you for your advice on whether or not they should join. Do you tell him to enlist? Be sure to give them reasons why you feel they should/should not enlist.
Prompt 5) As America's capitalist system becomes more dependent on global markets for stability, many have stipulated that fewer wars will be fought. Do you agree or disagree with this assumption? Why or why not?
Please feel free to suggest some more below
Lesson Plans, Teaching Ideas, Classroom Posters, Educational Apps, Tech for Teachers & Students.
