Cool Cat Teacher Blog is at coolcatteacher.com

As we consider how we move back into school, we need to think about neuroscience research about how students learn. Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath talks about stress, learning duration, homework, spaced repetition, and sleep as well as computers and technology. You can't just have a longer school day to improve learning. You also can't always expect every technology to improve learning either.  www.coolcatteacher.com/e731 Sponsor :  Advancement Courses’ Tournament of Teachers  bracket challenge is back again for the fourth year in a row and voting is now open from March 22 to March 31. This year’s  “Remember When. . . Edition”  features 32 scenarios that educators both miss and don’t miss about classroom life before 2020. Things like “taking students on field trips vs. hosting classroom parties” or “fire drills derailing your lesson vs. a broken air conditioner.” Vote for which scenarios you want to see advance in each round and see the winners announced on April 1....

If you need safe, fun ways for students to connect and learn while keeping their distance in the classroom then augmented reality apps might be for you. But there are best practices you can use to teach math, ELA and more using Augmented reality. In today's show Mitchell Weisburg, cofounder of the nonprofit Games4Ed, shares pedagogical best practices for using augmented reality in the classroom with 3D Bear and other tools. www.coolcatteacher.com/e730 Sponsor : Advancement Courses’ Tournament of Teachers bracket challenge is back again for the fourth year in a row and voting is now open from March 22 to March 31. This year’s “Remember When. . . Edition” features 32 scenarios that educators both miss and don’t miss about classroom life before 2020. Things like “taking students on field trips vs. hosting classroom parties” or “fire drills derailing your lesson vs. a broken air conditioner.” Vote for which scenarios you want to see advance in each round and see the winners announ...

We know that to teach students, we must relate to educate and one of the first things we must relate to is their emotions in that moment. In today's show, Robin Fox shares four techniques you can use in your face-to-face or distance classroom to connect with your student's social and emotional lives. She reminds us that student emotions are constantly in motion but we have to help them so we can unlock their ability to live better lives, listen, and learn. Let's tune in to our student's social-emotional learning and help them succeed. Sponsor:   Advancement Courses’ Tournament of Teachers  is here! Enter now for a chance to win prizes like a $1,000 Amazon gift card and more by submitting your bracket from now until March 21. This year’s is a fun “Remember When” edition which will feature 32 scenarios that we educators miss and don’t miss about classroom life before 2020. Things like “taking students on field trips vs. hosting classroom parties” or “fire drills deraili...

Did you know that you can play massive Kahoot games with many students as players? Today's guest, George Pearce, talks about how he streams Kahoot games, handles security and privacy, fights bots that allow cheating and attack his Kahoot games and also how he deals with lag to make game competitions more equitable even when hundreds of miles separate the learners. He also shares the software he uses and tips to get started. You'll be able to use what you learn for any multiplayer gaming you want to hold across your school, district, or even across the world. www.coolcatteacher.com/e728 Sponsor: Advancement Courses’ Tournament of Teachers is here! Enter now for a chance to win prizes like a $1,000 Amazon gift card and more by submitting your bracket from now until March 21. This year’s is a fun “Remember When” edition which will feature 32 scenarios that we educators miss and don’t miss about classroom life before 2020. Things like “taking students on field trips vs. hosti...

Some schools need to reset their relationships with parents. Others want to make it stronger as they transition to a different form of learning. At the forefront of all of this is the psychological health of students during this time. JT Taylor is helping schools connect with parents and support them and today he gives advice to schools and teachers who are ready to move to better relationships with parents. Check out the show notes and links at www.coolcatteacher.com/e727 Jahkari "JT" Taylor - Bio as Submitted Jahkari “JT” Taylor is an award-winning educator, author, researcher, and passionate speaker. JT is a 2016 Iota Phi Lambda Emerald Educator, the 2016 Teacher of the Year for Oscar F. Smith High School, and the 2017 Overall City-Wide Teacher of the Year for Chesapeake Public Schools. JT has presented at numerous K-12 schools, colleges/universities, and professional conferences across the nation. He has been featured in a WHRO commercial titled, “The Teaching Professi...

Teachers are stressing over so many things. Today, Dr. Desiree Alexander tackles three of those issues: distance learning, hybrid learning, and digital equity. She shares the WHO system for evaluating technology, tips for hybrid learning, and timeless principles for considering digital equity and relating to your students and colleagues in professional and respectful ways. Check out the show notes and links at www.coolcatteacher.com/e726 Today’s sponsor: Advancement Courses . Choose from over 280 online graduate-level PD courses in 20 subject areas that are self-paced with up to six months to complete. Go to advancementcourses.com/coolcat and save 20% off each course by using the code COOL20 . That’s just $120 per graduate credit hour or $160 for 50 clock hours. You can also receive graduate credit through CAEP and regionally accredited university partners for continuing education requirements. Never stop learning! Dr. Desiree Alexander - Bio as Submitted Dr. Desiree Alexander i...

Students are returning to school and teachers and administrators know a learning gap is there. What do we do about it? How do we close the gap without stressing everyone out? Turnaround principal Rachael George tells us how. Check out the show notes: www.coolcatteacher.com/e725/ Today’s sponsor: Advancement Courses . Choose from over 280 online graduate-level PD courses in 20 subject areas that are self-paced with up to six months to complete. Go to  advancementcourses.com/coolcat  and  save 20% off each course  by using the code  COOL20 . That’s just $120 per graduate credit hour or $160 for 50 clock hours. You can also receive graduate credit through CAEP and regionally accredited university partners for continuing education requirements. Never stop learning! Dr. Rachael George - Bio as Submitted From fighting wildland fires with the U.S. Forest Service to putting out fires in the classroom, education was the last place that Rachael thought she’d end up. I...