Cool Cat Teacher Blog is at coolcatteacher.com

Every Classroom Matters with Dr. Linda H. Mason From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Improve reading skills by helping students learn how to set their own goals.  Dr. Linda Mason helps us understand how to help students become better readers with goal setting, self-regulating, and self-assessment strategies. Linda shares lots of practical research-based advice on helping struggling readers. I find her revelation about students with ED and the impact these strategies have on their reading and writing very exciting. We cover a lot of ground in today’s episode. Check out the Book Creator App Listen to this show: BAM Radio Network | iTunes | Stitcher Book Creator: The App that Lets Teachers and Students Publish Books Today’s sponsor, Book Creator is an app that lets students write, collaborate and publish books together. We’ve had guests on the show previously talking about how they’ve had students create books in the classroom who ...

Learn about planning and make your own planner From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter I’m sick and tired of doing “things.” ”Things” are what happened to me when I was a young Mom on a tight budget. I kept going to WalMart to buy “things.” I bought a little thing here and a little thing there. Then, I had to buy stuff to organize my “things” and take time to clean out my closet and give away lots of those “things.” I just didn’t need them or didn’t want them any more. Do What Matters comes out on Friday, July 15. When I release the book, the price will go up. You can preorder now. The book includes the ebook and over 30 of my favorite templates for planning in both Excel (for full customizability) and PDF (type on them). Order now.  Order now Forgive me if I hop on this bandwagon about “things.” The book Getting Things Done by David Allen is one of the best selling books of all time on time management. And I followed it religiousl...

Getting kids engaged and excited about learning in the STEM Classroom From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Dr. Robin Ellwood moved from lecture to hands-on STEM with her eighth graders and shows us how. Robin’s students designed a remote underwater vehicle (ROV) that  went to Antarctica. She was intimidated when she started thinking about it. But she learned it with the kids as she went. What blows my mind is that Robin has her PhD and yet she still learned how to make the ROV together with her students. Robin’s transparency encourages all of us to a new model of learning in the STEM classroom. Robin even shares her first “disaster” and how she turned it into a dream. Hands-on exploration is the way to go with kids and STEM!   Learn about a Wonder Workshop robotics club Listen to this show on: BAM Radio Network | iTunes | Stitcher Thank you, Wonder Workshop, Today’s Sponsor Last year I judged a robotics competition for Wo...

Assessment strategies that show what students have REALLY learned From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Assessments should cover what is taught and address important learning goals. Thomas Guskey reflects today on what makes a good assessment. He also shares the four kinds of data that are most valuable to teachers in year-end assessment. This is a must listen for any educator working with assessment. Listen to this show on: BAM Radio Network | iTunes Thomas shares the problems with many of today’s assessments. You’ll rethink how you look at assessments and data after listening to this thought-provoking show. Thank you, Fresh Grade, Today’s sponsor This episode is sponsored by Fresh Grade . They have a free tool that lets you create student portfolios. These portfolios can include video, sound, various kinds of media, text and more. You can even include student and parent comments! Use Fresh Grade for your student portfolios. Take t...

A live from #iste2016 update From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Bloomz is the free tool I currently use for communicating with parents.  Bloomz was one of my sponsors for ISTE 2016 this year, and I appreciate their support. So, I sat down with Bloomz and did an interview about the product and how it works. They have some cool new features including Bloomz for schools, video, and student timelines.  (Timelines are a portfolio-like tool to share student work with parents.) Listen to this show on BAM Radio Network | iTunes | Stitcher Recent awards:  Bloomz won the 2016 Edtech Digest Cool Tool Award for best new product or service. They also won the American Association of School Librarian’s Award for Best Websites for Teaching and Learning: Social Media 2016.  ISTE is one of the only times you’ll ever hear me do an interview about a particular product.  Bloomz is a great tool. I use it personally and highly reco...

Bloomz is the free tool I currently use for communicating with parents.  Bloomz was one of my sponsors for ISTE 2016 this year, and I appreciate their support. So, I sat down with Bloomz and did an interview about the product and how it works. They have some cool new features including Bloomz is my favorite app for communicating with parents. Bloomz for schools, video, and student timelines.  (Timelines are a portfolio-like tool to share student work with parents.) [callout]Listen to this show on BAM Radio Network | iTunes | Stitcher [/callout] Recent awards:  Bloomz won the 2016 Edtech Digest Cool Tool Award for best new product or service. They also won the American Association of School Librarian's Award for Best Websites for Teaching and Learning: Social Media 2016.  ISTE is one of the only times you'll ever hear me do an interview about a particular product.  Bloomz is a great tool. I use it personally and highly recommend it. Thank you to Bl...

Meet Oskar Cymerman, the science teacher on a quest to Starbucks his classroom From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Design your classroom to be intentional and inviting. Today’s guest, Oscar Cymerman, has decided to “Starbucks” his classroom. Oskar says, “Rows are for compliance but Starbucks is for collaboration.” Now, he’s reorganizing his science lecture area with Starbucks in mind. Yes, there’s still room for experiments, but you have to listen to the show to see what he’s done. Click to listen on: BAM Radio Network | iTunes | Stitcher Today’s Sponsor, Carson Dellosa Carson Dellosa has been helping teachers engage students with supplemental education products for 35 years. This year, they are offering funding to help you create your own dream classroom! Click here or “ dream classroom ” to see Carson Dellosa’s five funding opportunities. Register by July 20!  Enter the Carson Dellosa ‘Dream Classroom’ Shopping ...