Cool Cat Teacher Blog is at coolcatteacher.com

Collaboration, Commenting, and a Global Audience From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Learning writing can be exciting! Kids can love writing. Now, students can easily join writing communities . After joining, students find that commenting on another student’s writing can be fun.  Teacher-librarian, Cynthia Alvarado , shows us how to make writing exciting for kids. Additionally, she’ll also teach us her tips and tricks for coaching kids to level up writing . Listen to this show: BAM Radio Network | iTunes   Today’s Sponsor: Write the World Write the World is a fantastic free tool to encourage writing in your classroom. Not only can teachers run writing contests but they can also assign classroom writing prompts. Also, students can join the monthly contests and global writing prompts with other students around the world. Furthermore, Write the World has a  schedule of their writing prompt s for the year so t...

Prepare for Back to School From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Prepare for back to school by getting the supplies (and the rewards) to help you and your classroom succeed. These tips and tricks will help you shop at my FAVORITE school supply shopping store — Staples! Get out your pencil. Follow these links and make your Staples shopping list now. Here we go. 1. Stock Up on Essential Supplies I’ve pictured supplies from the Staples “Less List.”   These are supplies I’m using for my Makerspace. Let’s look at some essential items. Check out Staples’ Less List Staples 1 subject notebook – 17 cents  and the Staples Composition Notebook – 50 cents – I keep these so students working on projects between multiple classrooms can have a group project notebook. They share notes and findings back and forth between them.  (The first notebook is only available in their store!) 12″ Wood Ruler – 25 cents – As students are making...

Keep Your Phone from Waking You Up From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Not sleeping? You might need to turn off blue light on your phone. This week, I was interviewing John Medina, author of Brain Rules, for a future episode of Every Classroom Matters. He made the offhand comment, “blue light wreaks havoc with your brain.” We’ve known this since 2006 , This Psychology Today article can help explain why your teenager may be awake ALL NIGHT. Thank goodness we can turn off blue light on Apple devices now. I recorded a quick video and am telling everyone I know to make sure they set their iPhones and iPads up this way — especially for kids. I turn off blue light in the evening until the morning so that if I have to look at my phone, it won’t wake me up so much. Note that after you follow these instructions, your iPhone or iPad will have a brownish twinge to it because the blue light is turned off. You want that. It took me two days...

How Model Teachers Model Digital Citizenship From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter A one time assembly about digital citizenship is not enough. So, Susan Bearden believes digital citizenship should be reinforced daily with kids. In light of how much work we have to do in schools, this whole-school approach brings out so many questions! How do you bring everyone together to understand digital citizenship? What is the role of schools, parents, and faculty?  In today’s show, digital citizenship expert, Susan Bearden tackles these questions and more. Moreover, she helps us figure out where to start if we’re not already doing this in our school today. Listen to this show: BAM Radio Network | iTunes | Stitcher Today’s Sponsor: NetSmartz Netsmartz is a free online training program from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This free course is designed to help you teach the latest in internet safety and digital citi...

How to Mix Problems, Passion, and Projects to Excite Kids From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Implementing a  STEAM Lab Program can be a challenge.   (STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.) Today’s guest, Alicia Roberts has navigated this process several times and gives us five steps to make it happen. If you’re ready to implement STEAM or if you’re doubtful, learn from someone who has successfully implemented STEAM. Listen to this show: BAM Radio Network | iTunes | Stitcher Thank you, Wonder Workshop, Today’s Sponsor Learn about Wonder Workshop Last year I judged a robotics competition for Wonder Workshop. I was amazed at the incredible things students could do with Dash and Dot. Wonder Workshop robots make a fantastic addition to any STEAM Lab. Their robotics clubs make a great addition to any school. Today’s Sponsor is  Wonder Workshop:  The Wonder Workshop robotics...

Truths for Future-Holders So We Can Hold a Brighter One From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter All software is useless if we don’t invest in the greatest software in the world… the human brain. The software within our children is the most important software being created. We can’t program it. We can’t carve it. But what we put into their minds, determines the future for all of us. But what should that be? Today’s Global Search for Education question from CathyRubin is: “What are the important skills, behaviors, and attitudes that students need to become contributing global citizens?” See all of the answers at the Global Search for Education   1. How to Seek and Tell the Truth Our future-holders should be savvy, skeptical citizens. They should be able to check out the truth. And be able to tell it. For a citizenry hell-bent on lying to itself has no hope of creating a peaceful paradise. In his book,   How Do You K...

Simple Updates to Your Classroom Procedures and Workflow sponsored by EdTech Software From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Technologies can transform; even simple technologies can make a significant impact. Here are eleven of the technologies that often affect classroom procedures and workflow. Use this checklist and infographic to make sure you’ve included the edtech essentials in your workflow this year. 1. Design Your Web Browser Your start page and bookmark bar are strategic for both you and your students. Why waste it with standard Google Start Page? Intentionally Select Your Start Page Choose one of the four choices of start pages. Be intentional! 4 Choices for Start Pages: A personal dashboard: Start.me is a service that has both free personal pages and a free start.me for your class. Netvibes will also do this. You can start with a glance at your email, your list, the news, blogs you like, and more. A minimali...