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5 Ideas to Improve Rural Education in America

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Episode 40 of #10MT Interviews Daisy Dyer Duerr From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Today Daisy Dyer Duerr @DaisyDyerDuerr reimagines what rural education can be. Rural education has a significant majority of perpetually impoverished counties in America. Additionally, only 55% of rural America has broadband access versus 94% of urban America. This digital divide and poverty create unique challenges. Daisy gives us five ideas to address them. Listen Now Listen on iTunes Stream by clicking here . Download this episode to listen offline by right-clicking here and choosing “Save As.” In today’s show, we’ll discuss: Promoting more broadband access Helping schools no longer be engines of Exodus but places of opportunity The need for more rural education advocacy An example of a rural program from the Farm Bureau that is an exemplary idea we can use in education An idea for partnering with higher education to better underst...

Eric Sheninger Talks About Digital Pedagogy That Improves Learning

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Episode 39 of the 10-Minute Teacher Show From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Today Eric Sheninger @E_Sheninger challenges us to move to the next level with digital technologies. We can’t use tech because it is “cool and new.” It must improve learning. If it doesn’t improve learning, why are we spending the money? Listen Now Listen on iTunes Stream by clicking here . Download this episode to listen offline by right-clicking here and choosing “Save As.” Subscribe to the Show Thank you Eric for donating Digital Leadership as the give away contest for this show. You can enter here . “ Just because kids are engaged doesn’t necessarily equate to the fact that they’re actually learning. @E_Sheninger —ERIC SHENINGER In today’s show, we’ll discuss: Why we need evidence that learning is improving Shifting assessment strategies that help students show what they understand Arguments for student (and teacher...

Effective Student-Led Parent Conferences

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Laura Penrod Stock interviewed on Episode 38 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Help students share their work. Give them a voice. Students can lead parent conferences. They can share a year-long portfolio of work. Here’s how. Today Laura Penrod Stock @tweetmeego coaches students to create powerful student-led conferences with their parents. By creating unique year-long portfolios, Laura believes students connect with their parents to help plan their future work and share their learning. Listen Now Listen on iTunes Stream by  clicking here . Download this episode to listen offline by right-clicking here and choosing “Save As.”     In today’s show, Laura will talk about student-led conferencing and share: How to make student portfolios and conferences unique and not “cookie-cutter” What a student-led conference looks like Their structure for student-led conferencing as it r...

Teaching Morals and Ethics In a World of Gray

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A Cathy Rubin Global Education Discussion From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter The murderous mobster Jimmy Hoffa once said, “I may have my faults, but being wrong ain’t one of them.” If such an evil man – guilty of prostitution, gambling, corruption, murder and more — didn’t see his faults, what hope do we teachers have of teaching kids the difference between right and wrong? Cathy Rubin in her Global Search for Education has posed these questions in my inbox: How important is teaching ethics in the classroom? How do we instill a moral compass in every student? How can we work to consistently cultivate values of thoughtfulness and empathy without directly teaching it? What roles do teachers have to play in creating kind and compassionate citizens? I have to say, this particular post has caused me agony. I’ve wished I was GK Chesterton or CS lewis. But instead I’m just a small town teacher, albeit one who has worked with lots of k...

Formative Assessment Tools and Tips from Monica Burns #FormativeTech

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Episode 37 of The 10-Minute Teacher Podcast From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Monica Burns, author of #FormativeTech , shares essential tools and tips for effective formative assessment. Learn how to get results. Pick some tools. Accelerate learning. Monica’s book comes out today! Listen Now Listen on iTunes Stream by clicking here . Download this episode to listen offline by right-clicking here and choosing “Save As.”   In today’s show on formative assessment, Monica will discuss: What is successful formative assessment What are some of Monica’s favorite tools for formative assessment How should teachers select their formative assessment tool belt What is the biggest mistake teachers make when using formative assessment What you should do with the data from formative assessment so that it improves learning I hope you enjoy this episode with Monica! Want to hear another Tech Tool Tuesday? Hear Karen Lirenman an...

Give Kids What They Deserve #MondayMotivation #kidsdeserveit

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Adam Welcome on episode 36 of The 10-Minute Teacher From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Today Adam Welcome @awelcome inspires us to treat kids in positive ways. As co-author of Kids Deserve It , Adam gives us all a task to do at school today. He also shares the shocking mistak e he made when he started teaching. It was based on what he considers bad advice from a colleague. He discusses  home visits and more. Listen Now Listen on iTunes Stream by clicking here . Download this episode to listen offline by right-clicking here and choosing “Save As.” Enter the give away contest by clicking here . Subscribe Now   In today’s show, we’ll discuss: What Adam believes kids deserve and how to give it to them as educators What he hopes every teacher and principal will do today to start the week off right A shocking mistak e he made as a first year teacher and the bad advice he wished he hadn’t followed Something uni...

5 Ideas to Amp Up Chromebooks

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John Sowash shares ideas on the 10-Minute Teacher Episode 35 From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Today John Sowash @rsowash talks formative assessment, multimedia, and the must-have apps for Chromebooks. Today he gives us five ideas to amp up our Chromebook classroom. Many of these tools and tips will work for any device that can access the Web. Listen Now Listen on iTunes Stream by clicking here . Download this episode to listen offline by right-clicking here and choosing “Save As.” Subscribe now Today’s Giveaway Contest We’re giving away two copies of John’s book The Chromebook Classroom . Enter below. 10-Minute Teacher Giveaway: The Chromebook Classroom Book by John Sowash In today’s show, we’ll discuss: Formative assessment Multimedia Projects Station Learning Screencasting Ideas As he says, “Lectures that don’t suck” I hope you enjoy this episode with John! Want to hear more about edtech and apps? Listen...