Cool Cat Teacher Blog is at coolcatteacher.com

3 Ideas That Will Not Transform Schools George Corous goes after BYOD, Flipping classrooms and student surveys in a thought-provocing post that would make good reading and discussion at your school as you return. tags: education teaching edreform Literature and Nonfiction: Common-Core Advocates Strike Back - Curriculum Matters - Education Week Nice article at edweek about the informational texts versus great works of literature debate and what Common Core will do to lit. The one important, practical issue that all parties to this discussion MUST recognize - the classroom time is FINITE. Teachers would love to cover EVERYTHING but it just isn't practical. So, if one thing is emphasized over another, it may push something out. Unintended consequences are happening as people "align" their...

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning: The Best Teacher Blogs of 2012 A list of the finalists for Best Teacher blog for 2012. I hate to say that the edublog award timing wasn't good for me, but school was so crazy and I had such workload, I didn't mention it. I'm still very honored to be on the list of finalists - thank you to those of you readers who mentioned me and included me on the list - I really do appreciate it.More than that, it helps me help my family with this blogging that I do on the side. Thanks! tags: education news teaching Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here .

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning: The Best Teacher Blogs of 2012 A list of the finalists for Best Teacher blog for 2012. I hate to say that the edublog award timing wasn't good for me, but school was so crazy and I had such workload, I didn't mention it. I'm still very honored to be on the list of finalists - thank you to those of you readers who mentioned me and included me on the list - I really do appreciate it.More than that, it helps me help my family with this blogging that I do on the side. Thanks! tags: education news teaching Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here .

Buying, streaming, and storing your music: One place to do it all? | ZDNet An interesting overview of the different cloud matching services - interestingly the Apple iTunes Match (the most expensive option) will UPGRADE the quality of the music it matches for you, even if you have a lower quality version. Otherwise, as you make up your mind what to do, you'll want to read this article. tags: news music amazon itunes google Get Started with the Amazon MP3 Store and Cloud Player The Amazon mp3 store and cloud player is another option for your music. If you've been buying music from Amazon, you already have some music in the cloud - I have to buy it on Amazon for the senior tribute movies I make for graduation because iTunes has so much DRM protection that it is hard to ...

To America from a Teacher « lisamyers.org In this must-read post, Lisa Myers says so many things right. So many of us teachers have shocked that people have seen into the heart of who we are but why did some teachers have to die for people to see it? "No, for most of us, our all does not include a sacrificial death, but it does include a sacrificial life. It means working a full day at school then continuing that work at home well into the evening as we grade papers and prepare materials that will lead to authentic learning in the classroom. That’s our surface work. At a deeper level, however, we also do the following:”" tags: news teaching inspiration Last Time for iPhone | iPhone Apps Finder I really like the idea of this app - it keeps up with the last time you did something (go to the...

To America from a Teacher « lisamyers.org In this must-read post, Lisa Myers says so many things right. So many of us teachers have shocked that people have seen into the heart of who we are but why did some teachers have to die for people to see it? "No, for most of us, our all does not include a sacrificial death, but it does include a sacrificial life. It means working a full day at school then continuing that work at home well into the evening as we grade papers and prepare materials that will lead to authentic learning in the classroom. That’s our surface work. At a deeper level, however, we also do the following:”" tags: news teaching inspiration TeachMeet @BETT 2013 - Eventbrite Teachmeets around the world are great opportunities for teachers to get together and share ideas. In the...

Poke! Facebook Launches New App For Sending 'Self-Destructing' Messages -- AppAdvice Facebook has launched its response to Snapchat, with Facebook Poke, the self destructing message deliverer? Why would you want a message to self destruct or delete itself if a person tried to do a screengrab on their phone? Well, so you can send goofy pics to your friends with no trace left behind! Never fear, however, teenagers are here. They've been talking to me about how they get around this - if you're snap chatting a friend and you have a friend with you - get the friend up close to be ready to take a picture with their camera phone and then post the pic on Facebook that was delivered with Snapchat. They think it is hilarious but admit that this app is also being used as a new way to "flash" others. How long will it take for everyone to learn that you can't ever really destroy anything any more? If it is done it is permanent - ...

Let’s kill technology journalism | Jamie Kelly Jamie Kelly does a nice job of dissecting much of what is wrong with technology journalism - going for the trending topic instead of saying "this topic is trending because of misinformation" (i.e. Instagram terms of service changes). I think these points are excellent and can also apply to much of what happens in the education circles as well -- if everybody is talking about ___, then everyone is searching about ____, then everyone is writing about ____ so they will be found. Sometimes it is good not to be everybody but to be somebody who is different and more importantly, who goes through the hype to be as accurate as possible. tags: news technology journalism tumblr writing blogging Remains of the Day: Facebook May Le...

Add your voice to a growing group of experts and advocates influencing our work.  Please help us with answers to 4 questions below and receive a cool infographic of what everyone shares! Survey The Ignite show is taking a survey about the #1 issue in education to help direct their planning for future shows and interviews. Will you fill out the survey with your opinion? tags: education news tumblr CandlesforConnecticut - home Donna Roman sent this to me. I know a lot of you are out, but could you pass this along? This wiki has more information. "Let's all show our support for them by placing 26 (or however many you can find) electric or battery operated candles in the window of our schools through the holiday season, and possibly beyond. This will be a painful holiday season for some, so to...

Front & Center with the BSO "Front & Center with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Photos, videos and stories from our artists. Interviews, articles and links from our staff. A new way to follow the music!" So many organizations are finding an audience on Tumblr and YouTube. Schools, arts, and more. The stage is no longer the only stage or the most important stage - and websites like tumblr can help struggling nonprofits attract more. In this series, the artists are talking about how they've created new artistry around the Nutcracker. Very cool. tags: news nonprofit tumblr video socialmedia Derek Powazek - I’m Not The Product, But I Play One On The Internet An excellent article about the recent INstagram outrage and comments that "you are the produ...

Photo by meaganpavey • Instagram Students in China and the US debated on Wednesday in the finals of the Eracism project for Bracket B. the students in China stayed until 9:30 pm and the students in the US came in at 7;30 am. The teacher in China documented the journey on Instagram. How cool is that? tags: education flatclass teaching debate eracismproject. Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here .

Apple TV: How to use AirPlay Mirroring The trick to sending content from your ipad 2 or or iPhone 4S or higher is to turn on mirroring. You double click and then slide backwards to click the airplay button - if you have no clue what I just said, you'll want to use this article from apple about how to do it. tags: news ipad airplay iphone apple tv AirPlay-Enabled Apps For Apple TV: iPad/iPhone Apps AppList App Advice is my favorite app for finding apps. This is their list of best apps for the Apple TV. The first one recommended is the REmote app. Just note that it is a bit tricky to learn to use the remote, but once you do, you may prefer it over the tiny apple remote that comes with the tv and keeps getting lost in the couch. tags: ...

The Christmas Tree Game - Play Christmas and Holiday games now at Coolmath-Games.com I was asked by a teacher if I could share some cool math games to be playing near the end of the period. This one is Christmas Tree Light up -- a game about connecting circuits - it does require flash. tags: education teaching mathchat math Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here .

Disability and Representation» Blog Archive » No, You Are Not Adam Lanza’s Mother and Yes, Your Kid’s Privacy Matters This is a very true post about how the mom who wrote the viral post about mental health didn't protect the privacy of her 13 year old son. I totally agree. She should have written it anonymously - she's forever harmed her own child. "I’m even more appalled that so very few adults seem to care about the potential impact on her son. She is either getting kudos all around for being so brave, so honest, so real, or she is being called out for being retrograde in her attitudes about mental illness and violence. But very few have commented about the effect on her son. It’s as though they’ve written him off. He’s just a talking point. A springboard for discussion. An avatar of people’s worst fears. But not a child struggling." tags: education news m...

Student Opinion | The Newtown School Shootings: A Place to Post Your Thoughts - NYTimes.com For those of you who are searching for some places where students can respond and some lesson plans, the New York Times' Learning Network has an open place for students to respond and share their thoughts along with some lesson plans for teachers. tags: news newtown lessonplans teaching Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here .

20 Great Infographics of 2012 | Visual.ly Blog While I don't endorse blindly sharing infographics because they look good, (A pig in a prom dress is still a pig, as I tweeted about infographics last week), this list from visual.ly of 20 great infographics of 2012 is worth a look. If your class designs infographics, these would be fascinating to dissect and share, both from a graphic design perspective and a data analysis approach. Very cool. tags: news infographic evernote Collaborative Writing and Technology: My Experience with Monmouth College's SOfIA Program | HASTAC I love this post over on HASTAC about a student's experience writing a grammar and writing website for his/her college before starting school there. While you might think that having an "expert" write such a gui...

The Anarchist Soccer Mom's post has gone viral. If you teach college psychology or in any profession dealing with public policy or mental health in the US, this is a post to share and discuss with your students. In a viral blog , a Mom of a mentally ill 13 year old stirs up conversations about mental health and how hard it is to get help for a child with anger problems. While I applaud the article, it saddens me - she changed her child's name, but still, I don't think it will be hard for those who follow her to figure out who she is -- or more importantly - her child. Her child will be labeled and that is sad. Even worse is this comment: "When I asked my son’s social worker about my options, he said that the only thing I could do was to get Michael charged with a crime. “If he’s back in the system, they’ll create a paper trail,” he said. “That’s the only way you’re ever going to get anything done. No one will pay attention to you unless you’ve got charges.” I don’t...

Angela Maiers is right, there is no lesson plan for this. There are children who will not open presents under the tree for them this year because of the senseless tragedy of the lone gunman in Connecticut at Sandy Hook Elementary school. This earth is neither heaven nor hell - but sometimes the face of both show up here. Friday, hell showed his face. Remember the noble fallen, teachers. You are a teacher. You are noble. Why does it take a dumb tragedy for people to realize how dedicated most of you are to your students? You make sacrifices every day and I know that many of you out there would do the same thing for your babies in your classroom. But you aren't called to die for your kids. You're called to live for them and show them how to live. We grieved as a nation when 9/11 happened, Columbine, Virginia Tech, and we grieve again now - whipped into even more of a frenzy by politicians and a media that are pulling on our heartstrings so that many can do little b...

Bang On Centralizes Mobile Search Billed as a mobile search engine - this allows for quick searching from a mobile device... "This new search app, which works universally on both iPhone and iPad, is built upon the independent search engine DuckDuckGo, which we also use to provide search through the MacStories archives. DuckDuckGo is a pretty innovative and ambitious search engine, which distinguishes itself from big competitors with accurate, plainly listed and pre-sorted search results, diversified search suggestions, and an extensive amount of useful shortcuts to quicken the search process. Bang On focuses on one specific of those syntax shortcuts: !bang. With this exclamation mark syntax, you can search specific sites like Google, Wikipedia or YouTube by entering for instance “!google” with you search. tags: app news productivity mlearning mobil...

Father Of Student With Disabilities Questions Son's High Grades Grade fabrication is worse than grade inflation. Which is worse - the fact that the education system is lying about a child who can't walk and can't say his parent's names -- by giving the child A's in higher level subjects like Algebra and science -- or the system that forces education to go down the road from failing to farce. Not every student is an A student. Period. We need age appropriate, fair measures. I think this article exposes a larger problem. I have a teacher friend that talked to me several years back - she was in a local public school system. The principal told her that her F's HAD to become C's and her C's needed to move up and thus on down the line. She said she wouldn't do it, that she'd give the principal her gradebook and he could lie, but she wouldn't. So, this doesn't surprise me. Honesty and character are what...

Everything has new meaning. With my oldest being a senior, every time we do something, I want it to last and wonder if it is the last time we'll do this or that. I want him to remember that I love him. As you build your life and legacy, you want it to last. You never know when you're putting in the last piece. Photo credit: Big Stock I have been berated by an anonymous commenter previously for sharing my thoughts about my oldest son on this blog. I was told I should just write him a letter and not share my thoughts on my blog. However, I have decided that This my blog and I do my best to share what I think will encourage and help others and  There are universal truths in these experiences. When I share my personal experiences, my posts have life and aren't the sanitized, generic plasti-posts on the blogs of the bots & spammers just trying to get traffic. While this post is inspired by my children, it is written for you -mostly adults and mostly educators...