Cool Cat Teacher Blog is at coolcatteacher.com

5 Tips for the New Facebook Timeline for Personal Profiles How to edit your Facebook Timeline to look more like you want. You can customize your clunky personal FAcebook page and you should. tags: news Facebook social media How to Create a QR to an iBook - Snapguide Here's a snapguide for how to create a QR code to an ibook. This would let you put a link in a slide or on a page that would immediately take one to an ibook. (You can do this for kindle books too but would just use the URL as you can't buy inside the Kindle app on the ipad because Amazon and Apple couldn't come to terms on Apple's cut. You can just go to the Amazon webpage for the kindle and when it opens in safari, a person can buy and download from there.) tags: ...

The Australian - Top 50 2013 education | The Australian The top 50 people to watch in education in Australia. I enjoy looking at these lists and also following those who are thought leaders / educators. (I don't really follow politicians in the movements.) We have a lot to learn from each other. tags: education news edreform australia. edu_news Why online education is mostly a fantasy NOTE: The linked article is NSFW - it has a word of profanity where the author quotes Good Will Hunting. But the points are right. Some teachers worry they will be outdated or not needed with the online education movement. This article has some great points that I agree with. I do think online learning is part of our future but perhaps not the savior some make it out to be. "The onlin...

Twitter (Photo credits: www.mysecuritysign.com ) Twitter is an interesting mix of people. As you join Twitter, you need to decide how you will follow and unfollow others. I thought it would be helpful if some of us can mutually share how we determine who we follow and unfollow people. If those who have been doing this a while can mutually cooperate to stimulate conversations about how we use Twitter, it can  help others. The scary thing about writing such a list is when you've been tweeting as long as I have, I've made many of the mistakes I mention myself. ;-) So, I submit this list as just guidelines knowing I'm not so perfect either. I follow people who: Talk with me about interesting things. I most often follow people on the spot who have interesting conversations with me that make me a better person. Replying to people or modifying the tweet (MT) instead of just retweeting are two quick ways to gain followers from most people. Demonstrate by their w...

iTunes - Podcasts - Every Classroom Matters With Cool Cat Teacher by BAM Radio Network - The Twitterati Channel Here's the iTunes podcast for Every Classroom matters, the new show I"m hosing on BAM radio network. I'll have one post a week go live from here on out as I interview the best, most exciting teachers I know. Let me know if you want to nominate someone.  IF you listen and like the show, it would help me out if you would rate it on the store. Thank you. tags: news ecmatters education edreform teaching all_teachers bestpractices 15+ Tips & Tricks to Use Evernote Like a Pro Excellent tips for using Evernote - I use all of these tips except the transcription and signature features. Evernote is so useful. I also like to embed docu...

Gearing Up for Common Core in Math Great conversation with Darren Burris about Common Core math in the classroom and how to adjust your curriculum. Another Every Classroom Matters show. tags: News common core math USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com The free tool, called Your Privacy Type, requires you to take a brief quiz. Microsoft uses your answers to categorize how much you may, or may not, be concerned about online privacy. The supporting website supplies guidance on how to more proactively gain some measure of privacy. tags: news education microsoft privacy techintegrator USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.c...

A Gratitude Journal can improve your well being more than winning a million dollars in the lottery. Why not start one today? (Photo credit: limevelyn ) Journaling is on my habit list every day. I keep 2 kinds of journals daily: Narrative journal. Observations on life. God's blessings. Questions I'm seeking to answer. Joy Journal . I aim to write 20 things a day I'm thankful for. Research studies have shown that keeping a 5 minute a day gratitude journal will "increase your long term well being" more than winning a million dollars in the lottery. I started my joy journal this spring break as my eye was bandaged from skin cancer surgery. (See 11 ways to be positive when spring break isn't all you planned .) At first I just kept a journal because I think I'm just made to write. It is what I do. But I've been journaling now for 37 years and have shelves of them and a notebook in Evernote and I'd like to share with you the ways that keepin...

LA Class 2013: Teaching An Old Student New Tricks? Do you want to know what a student thinks about genius learning? Read Melina's thoughts about this practice in 12th grad english. ""What are the projects on?"-you might ask. The topic and the project is completely up to us to decide. If we are interested in how to make a good documentary or how to play an instrument, teaching ourselves and researching that topic can be our project. This new way of learning is very peculiar to me, but also very intriguing. For so long I have been told what to know and taught how to know it, but never once did I really felt in control of my learning. It felt like the knowledge went into my brain, stayed their until after my exams, and then was thrown away like a smooth stone into a lake, out of my reach forever. But when you are passionate about something and can lear" tags: education ...

Faith, Trust and Chalk Dust: Spring is in the air I love how this teacher used both sides of the brain to engage her students in test review. They painted, wrote and reviewed. Here here! tags: education news testing elemchat all_teachers Big Data News Roundup: Correlation vs. Causation - Forbes The discussions about "big data" are receiving pushback who believe the conclusions are erroneous. Note that this is tied up in learning analytics as well. "Cuzzillo is joined by a growing chorus of critics that challenge some of the breathless pronouncements of big data enthusiasts. Specifically, it looks like the backlash theme-of-the-month is correlation vs. causation, possibly in reaction to the success of Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Kenneth Cukier’s recent big dat...

Habit Mastery: Creating the New Normal : zenhabits Leo Babauta gives great advice on forming new habits. As you think about the habits that need to change in your life, read this thought provoking post. "Here’s the process: Start small. What’s the smallest increment you can do? Do this for at least 3 days, preferably 4-5. Get started. Starting the change each day is the most important thing. Want to run? Just get out the door. Want to meditate? Just get on the cushion. Enjoy the change. Don’t look at this as a sacrifice. It’s fun, it’s learning, it’s a challenge. Stick to the change. Notice your urge to quit. Don’t act on it. Keep going. Adjust again. When the change becomes normal, make another small adjustment. This is the process of creating a new normal. It’s beautiful and simple." tags: education news habits mindfulness self ...

Every modern school should have at least 4 things in technology or take off the modern and just call yourself a school: a STEM Lab.   If you want to make it STEAM - Science Technology Engineering, Arts, and Math, then go right ahead! You've still got STEM and you can't have technology without the arts. Some are getting rid of their "computer" labs (which I think is a huge mistake). The argument is that every teacher should integrate technology. The problem is that every teacher doesn't, can't, won't or isn't. A STEM lab not only focuses on the technology but the Engineering, Math, and Science and critical thinking technology-app infused decision making required in our Higher Order thinking world. The best example is the interview with my friend Kevin Jarrett who removed his elementary computer lab and put in a STEM Lab. I'm all in, Kevin, you've convinced me. It stresses me out to think what I'm doing to myself but I'm in the proc...

Five Creative Uses for Google Alerts Google alerts is how we monitor our school brand. We use "Westwood Schools" +Camilla - this way it shows us everything for our school name and in our city. You can deliver to a feed or to email (many like email.) This way it will search and find things and email you when it finds it on the web. Lifehacker has an article on the creative uses for Google Alerts that you should read if it is your job to protect your brand for your business, school, or your own personal brand. tags: education news brandmanagement brand platform Welcome to the New Lifehacker Lifehacker has revamped its website - you log in. You can blog, etc. Platforms are becoming more participatory as they try to get you to create content. Meanwhile, I CAN'T FIND...

Unchaining Dreams A network about ending human trafficking. It is a project and students are joining in. If this is your passion (like mine) then you may want to look into this. Thanks to my friend Toni Olivieri-Barton for letting me know. tags: education teaching learning Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here .

High School Publishers’ Criteria for the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics Last week a 20 page document was issued from the Common Core Math standards writers to make "more clearly visible" where materials faithfully reflect both the letter and spirit of the math standards... I read in this... just because it SAYS it is common core math aligned, doesn't mean it is. Read this before buying and tread with caution. tags: education news common core math Common Core Essentials - Home Not sure where this blog will move, but if you're aligning with common core math, Darren Burris is your man. There are so many great resources on this website. tags: education common core news...