Public schools in 'state of disrepair'

Many public high schools in Australia are in such a state of disrepair that they should be bulldozed or rebuilt, an education expert says. Read on ...

Feminised curriculum 'has thrown boy out with bathwater'

Schools are failing boys because lessons have become "feminised", says a leading academic who wants to see outdoor adventure given greater emphasis in the curriculum.

Tony Sewell, an author and director of The Learning Trust, will today a conference in London called Boys to Men: Teaching and Learning Masculinities in Schools and Colleges that boys fall behind in exams and the jobs market because teachers do not nurture male traits such as competitiveness and leadership.Read on …

EBD Blog is about emotional and behavioral disorders of children and youths.

In the US, this area of special education is often referred to as "emotional disturbance," but we're using the term EBD, as that one is more clearly discriptive and preferred by many leaders in the field. EBD Blog will also include content about related areas of disability, including autism, attention deficit disorder (ADD or ADHD), and other similar topics. John Wills Lloyd and James M. Kauffman are the primary authors of EBD Blog.

emotional disturbance, education,

Storytime online

This website uses online streaming video to feature Screen Actors Guild members reading childen's books aloud.

There are actiities to use and these can be downloaded.

Visit Storytime Online

reading aloud, stories, children's books

Improcving instruction through the use of weblogs

In preparation for her day at Kennesaw State University last week, Anne put together this great wiki resource site that should be on everyone’s resource list. (And check out her nifty use of Rock You on the language arts examples page. You go girl!) It’s chock full of reflection and links and thinking, and it’s just pure quality. Read on ...

blogging in education

E-learning trends according to Google

Google Trends was launched in May 2006. It's yet another highly addictive application from the google lab pushers. We spent some time using it to analyse the trends in e-learning (and, er, Big Brother).

Read on ...

e-Learning

Pupils get revision help by text

Pupils are able to send their queries to their teachers

Pupils at a school in Buckinghamshire have been getting extra help with GCSE revision by texting their teachers.

Far from banning mobile phones, Cottesloe School in Wing has decided to turn modern technology to its advantage in an attempt to improve results.

Read on ...

homework

Information Literacy Assessment

TRAILS is a self-guided, self-administered assessment tool designed for use by library media specialists and teachers to determine the information literacy competencies of their high school students.

Librarians and teachers at other grade levels may find it of use as well. Once an assessment is selected, the library media specialist or teacher can choose how to use it to serve local needs. These tips may provide helpful information to create an assessment experience most conducive to obtaining useful results. Visit TRAILS

information literacy

An Instructional Designer looks at Digital Games Based learning

The potential of digital game-based learning remains largely unrealized, in part because designers of "edutainment" games have never understood how and why games are effective and how to align curriculum with the game world without "sucking the fun out" of the games (according to Marc Prensky).

This has led some to believe that educators and instructional designers should never be allowed near a game.

The failures of the edutainment industry largely result from poorly understood theory and a lack of alignment between the worlds of education and games. Games succeed precisely because they employ sound pedagogical approaches such as situated cognition, cognitive disequilibrium, and scaffolding to teach what is needed to succeed in the game.

By examining the underlying principles of games and aligning them with educational theory and learning outcomes, it IS possible to create effective blended game-based learning. Instructional design is ideally positioned to guide this process. This presentation provides an overview of some of the theories that underlie games AND effective learning and explains how to align these two worlds.

Read on ...

education

Centering, connecting and creating_ transformations in blogging classrooms

The Presentation Abstract:

We’ve all heard stories about the remarkable outcomes teachers claim by bringing social software into the classroom.

But enhancing the learning experience for our students is not simply a matter of “handing out blogs” like notebooks and then standing by to watch the miracle; nor is it a matter of setting up series of strict rules and parameters and methods.

By thinking first about the nature of our learning community and our pedagogical framework, and how connecting students to themselves, one another, and the world makes sense in our classrooms, we can take powerful advantage of the connectivity and the transparency of the medium.

And once we’ve seen the effects of blogging on our students, we’ll find ourselves blogging alongside them, and adding podcasting, skype, RSS, and digital storytelling into the blogging as ways to make learning exciting and effective for every student.

Read on ...
blogging in classrooms

Technology aids Health education

Schools use videos, internet to engage students and drive home the need for healthy choices Educators and school leaders across the country are taking steps to curb childhood obesity by stepping up their health education programs--and many are using technology to better engage kids and get the message across. Read on ...

technology in education

Toontalk

From Bill Kerr...,

Weblabs runs a WebReports plone site which has developed some game type programs using ToonTalk for creating new ways of representing and expressing mathematical and scientific knowledge. They have developed reports on representing infinity, sequences, collisions, lunar lander and randomness.Bill goes on to explain Toontalk

Addressing the Literacy Needs of Emergent and Early Readers

ISSUE: Literacy development begins in the very early stages of childhood, even though the activities of young children may not seem related to reading and writing. Early behaviors such as "reading" from pictures and "writing" with scribbles are examples of emergent literacy and are an important part of children's literacy development.

With the support of parents, caregivers, early childhood educators, and teachers, as well as exposure to a literacy-rich environment, children successfully progress from emergent to conventional reading. The theoretical and research-based knowledge of child development in general and of literacy development in particular provides an understanding of the literacy acquisition of young children and suggests strategies that can help children become successful, confident readers and writers. Read on ...

literacy

Schools lose bid to spam filter

Cobb County filter blocks telco's eMail

A telecommunications executive claims a Cobb County School District spam filter cost the district the chance to save $250,000 a year in telephone service. After the filter blocked Mike Russell's response to a request for more information about his bid for services, Russell was disqualified from consideration because he seemingly failed to respond in time. The incident highlights the imperfect nature of spam filters--and serves as a lesson to vendors and school leaders not to rely solely on eMail for important communications. Read on ...

education

Using Technology to Enhance Literacy Instruction

This Critical Issue was coauthored by Ann Holum, Ph.D., and Jan Gahala, M.A. Holum's doctoral work on the use of interactive media to improve children's story-understanding skills sparked her ongoing interest in integrating technologies in K-12 literacy settings; she currently is an independent educational consultant. Gahala is a technical specialist in NCREL's Communications department.

ISSUE: Educational technology is nudging literacy instruction beyond its oral and print-based tradition to embrace online and electronic texts as well as multimedia. Computers are creating new opportunities for writing and collaborating. The Internet is constructing global bridges for students to communicate, underscoring the need for rock-solid reading and writing skills. By changing the way that information is absorbed, processed, and used, technology is influencing how people read, write, listen, and communicate.

Although technology promises new ways to promote literacy, educators' reactions to it have been mixed. Some have embraced technology with unbridled enthusiasm while others have held it at arm's length with a healthy skepticism. Yet the growing influence of technology has caused many educators to acknowledge that they need information on teaching literacy skills in the Digital Age. To serve that need, this Critical Issue offers research, best practices, and resources that support integration of new technologies into literacy instruction.

Read on ...

literacy, education

States resist push for standard year 12 certificate

State and territory education ministers have refused to agree to a federal push for a uniform year 12.

The Federal Government wants to standardise year 12 content across Australia.

Read on ...

Education in Australia

Critical Issue:Using Technology to Enhance Literacy Instruction

This Critical Issue was coauthored by Ann Holum, Ph.D., and Jan Gahala, M.A. Holum's doctoral work on the use of interactive media to improve children's story-understanding skills sparked her ongoing interest in integrating technologies in K-12 literacy settings; she currently is an independent educational consultant. Gahala is a technical specialist in NCREL's Communications department.



ISSUE: Educational technology is nudging literacy instruction beyond its oral and print-based tradition to embrace online and electronic texts as well as multimedia. Computers are creating new opportunities for writing and collaborating. The Internet is constructing global bridges for students to communicate, underscoring the need for rock-solid reading and writing skills.

By changing the way that information is absorbed, processed, and used, technology is influencing how people read, write, listen, and communicate.

Although technology promises new ways to promote literacy, educators' reactions to it have been mixed. Some have embraced technology with unbridled enthusiasm while others have held it at arm's length with a healthy skepticism. Yet the growing influence of technology has caused many educators to acknowledge that they need information on teaching literacy skills in the Digital Age. To serve that need, this Critical Issue offers research, best practices, and resources that support integration of new technologies into literacy instruction. Read on ...

literacy

Creating crosswords - freeware

Creating Crossword Freeware

"Freeware crossword program intended for literacy educational purposes. Answers change colour when correct, allows direct typing to the crossword grid and multiple levels of hints (as well as answer) for each clue. Students can save partially filled crosswords for later use. Includes a free editor to create the crossword files."

Crosswords can be created around educational subjects including sciences, arts or languages. They can be used to reinforce knowledge of word lists in literacy courses.

crosswords, teaching

CREATE - energy

CREATE motivates and educates people in businesses, communities, and schools to achieve more sustainable uses of energy and reduce carbon emissions. Visit CREATE

sustainability, teaching, teachers