Cool Cat Teacher Blog is at coolcatteacher.com

acceln - home A learning network with some fantastic Google hangouts- Julie and I were on this week talking about how to connect your classroom globally. tags: flatclassroom flatclass education news globaled tumblr Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here .

Manitou Technology - Flat Classroom 12-2a 400 A fantastic example of how a teacher takes his students through the video creation process for Flat Classroom along with some wonderful handouts. If you teach video, you will get some ideas here. Students will also benefit from it. tags: education teaching flatclassroom Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here .

elevator (Photo credit: Jose R. Borras ) I listened to him talk for 10 or 20 minutes at least. Then, he asked me what I did and I was sharing a bit about Flat Classroom projects and the incredible things that kids are doing. He interrupts me 1 minute in smiling and says, "So this is your elevator pitch?" I said, "No, that implies I'm selling you something. I'm not. Either you get that students need to understand how to collaborate or you don't." and then quietly went to reading over my notes for my speech again. "I'm so sorry, did I interrupt you?" He says. "No problem, it isn't for everyone, but it is transformational in the classroom." We both went on reading and doing our own thing. But later, I pondered how often this happens. I was talking to a teacher who is doing FANTASTIC things in STEM while I was waiting for the plane in Tallahassee last Wednesday. (Hopefully he'll guest post here and...

A New Learning Legacy - Important Stories from the Flat Classroom - The Global Education Conference Network The Global Education Conference will be from November 11-16 - online - and runs 24 hours a day. Julie Lindsay and I will just do one session this year so that you can hear the many stories. This will be held on Monday November 12 at 10 pm EST -- (Julie will be in Qatar and it will be 6am Tuesday) You can check your time zone here - http://www.globaleducationconference.com/page/2012-sessions-and-schedule We want to share the most important stories from the Flat Classroom. This semester we have around 3,000 students from kindergarten through high school collaborating and merging classrooms - we've openly shared the pedagogies and best practices to make this sort of thing happen in our book Flalttening Classrooms, Engaging Minds but there is a need to tell up-to-the minute new stories that comes from a massively large project. So many pr...

The Wemo is a smart phone enabled motion sensor and/or switch to help you manage your life that can be controlled by iphone or some very cool ways using if this then that . Visual organizing and visual cues are becoming a powerful part of my own self-organization. When I was perusing If This Then That (ifttt.com) and saw something called the WeMo, I wanted one and tweeted about the coolness of this app. What is a WeMo? There are two “flavors” of WeMo which can work together or separately. One looks like an outlet and can provide power or turn off power to whatever is hooked into the device. Another looks like a white burrito with a purple center cut in half and senses motion. Both have added cool new enhancements to my life in different ways. My WeMo story I struggle with balance. Getting up at 5 am each day is important to me, but I often trip over things including the cats and whatever was left out the night before. I’ve set up my WeMo plug into the light in the den a...

The Future of Teaching? « Diane Ravitch's blog Diane Ravitch has a very balanced interesting article on the state of education in the nation based upon some current research. Half of the nation's teachers have now been teaching less than 10 years. "But a matter that should concern us all: Current “reform” policies are driving experienced teachers out of the nation’s classrooms. This cannot be good for anyone. It is certainly not good for the young teachers, who need senior teachers to help them improve. How can a profession become “great” by demoralizing and ousting those who know the most? Who would go to a hospital in an emergency and insist on being treated by an intern, not a senior physician? Who would want their legal affairs to be handled by a lawyer who just graduated law school if they could get a senior partner instead? When will President Obama, Secretary Duncan, Bill Gates, Eli Broad, and all the other people driving...

EVPD Google Sites & Global Collaboration! - YouTube In this YouTube video ( a recorded Google Hangout) Theresa Allen and Janet Barnstable talk to two teachers in Siberia about how they use Google Sites in education. If you're not doing it, you should listen to this, it is a great tutorial but will also wake you up. IF they doing this in Siberia, what is your excuse? Those of you caught in the storm might want to use this opportunity for some teacher PD. tags: education tumblr teaching google flatclass Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here .