Therapy dogs. Lunch bunch. Reading groups. These are just of a few ideas you can use to excite students about reading and writing. Writing can be fun. So can reading. Let’s discuss lots of creative ideas that work.
In today’s show, librarian Margo Janzi has a wealth of ideas. Additionally, she also talks about getting out of her comfort zone. Not only can you use robots, green screens, and iPads to excite kids, but you can use some more traditional ideas in new ways. Remember that there’s no match for the creative librarian and teacher. In conclusion, it is our job to inspire and encourage reading and writing. This inspiring show will get you started.
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 prompts for the year. So, when you’re planning, include these cool contests.
Write the World is a powerful, fun community for writing. Even more importantly, the site is easy it is to use.
Make writing exciting this year in your classroom. There’s no cost for teachers to join with their classrooms.
Do robots have a place in a library? (And how did she use them to celebrate Beverly Cleary’s birthday?)
How does Margo get students excited about writing?
What happened when they published books?
Who is Margo Jantzi?
Margo Jantzi is a teacher librarian at a Title I school with 630 students in PreK-Gd. 5. Her passion is to inspire students to read widely, think deeply and act kindly.
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or elsewhere, get the RSS feed, or listen via the media player above.
Make videos for students. They can watch them in class or for homework. Then, spend your time in class helping students. Reduce or almost eliminate lecture. Students can stop and start the videos as they wish. They go at their own pace. You help those who need it. Flipping your classroom (or in-flipping it as I do) can make a lot of sense if your conditions are right. Flipped classroom co-founder Jon Bergmann talks candidly about the flipped classroom model.
Prepare for criticisms. Understand challenges. Learn from the mistakes others have made. I love using videos to teach the point and click software lessons in my classroom. Whether you’re advanced or a beginner, this conversation brings you to the leading edge of instructional design.
Need a quick explainer video? Already have a PowerPoint? My Simple Show is a simple way to explain anything. My simple show is an easy to use video creation tool that makes it perfect for creating flipped learning videos.
You can start by typing in a script or do like I did and import a PowerPoint file. Then, after you get your script done, the POWER begins. With a click of a button, My Simple Show’s suggestion engine adds suggested pictures and graphics for the animation. You can change it or import your own photos. Then use their narrators or record your own narration!
What a great way to build an animated film to explain, introduce, or teach just about anything. Right now the tool is free. Get started now!
What are some common criticisms that students have about the flipped method of teaching?
What types of videos work best – those with the teacher’s voice or without?
Why don’t we need to get too upset about “hearing our own voice” on film?
How is the flipped classroom movement moving forward?
What are some common mistakes being made by those trying flipped learning?
How can teachers avoid those mistakes?
Who is Jon Bergmann?
Jon Bergmann co-wrote the book, Flipped Classroom, and is a co-founder of the Flipped Learning Network. Jon is a teacher, educational coach, and writer who has had the privilege of helping educators “turn learning on its head.” He is considered one of the pioneers in the flipped class movement.
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or elsewhere, get the RSS feed, or listen via the media player above.
Shelly Sanchez Terrell dives deep into the transformative program
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter
Don’t walk in the classroom defeated. Make professional development personal. Start tomorrow. It is easy in simple, small steps. For the last seven years, Shelly Terrell’s 30 Goals Challenge has ignited teacher learning. Today, we’ll learn how this “quick goal” technique can transform your teaching.
Shelly wants teachers to tackle small, short goals. They take just 45 minutes each. Small achievements within the day can build momentum in your classroom. These small goals can energize you. Listen to the show. Grab the book. Check out Sylvia Duckworth’s sketchnote. This technique is worth investigating.
Bloomz is your one-stop solution for parent-teacher communications. More than just connecting with their cell phones, you can send long or short messages. You can share pictures and links. You can even coordinate volunteer schedules, donations, and parent-teacher conferences. I’m using Bloomz in my classroom.
Shelly Sanchez Terrell @ShellTerrell is a teacher trainer, e-learning specialist, and the author of The 30 Goals Challenge for Teachers: Small Steps to Transform Your Teaching. She has trained teachers and taught language learners in over 20 countries and has been recognized by the ELTon Awards, Microsoft’s Heroes for Education, named Woman of the Year by Star Jone’s National Association of Professional Women, awarded a Bammy Award as a founder of #Edchat, and named as one of the Big 10: Most Influential People Transforming EdTech by Tech & Learning.
Sylvia Duckworth sketched Shelly Terrell’s 30 goals challenge. Get the book and learn more about making small, doable goals.
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or elsewhere, get the RSS feed, or listen via the media player above.
100+ Game Based Learning Resources to Get Started in Your Classroom
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter
Games are fun. We can use them to teach. It isn’t that hard. Game based learning excites learning in my classroom. It can ignite your classroom too. In this post, I’ll share what I’m doing in my classroom. Additionally, I’ll give you 100+ of my favorite game based learning resources. These links and ideas will jumpstart your journey.
This post is sponsored by Samsung. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Game Based Learning in My Classroom
Three houses are at war in my keyboarding classroom. Not only do they battle the monsters of ignorance in quiz battle-games but when they type faster, they earn gold coins to buy awesome outfits for their avatar. Ordinarily, each day begins with a random event of the day. While the whole class is a game, there’s serious learning happening.
And despite what some may think, the game is not required to motivate great behavior because I don’t even try to reward everything. In essence, I’ve entered the realm of Game Master and I’m never going back!
What are serious games?
Welcome to serious games. Despite what some may think about the games, serious games are designed for a purpose. In essence, serious games are not just for entertainment. As shown below, well-designed serious games can teach, educate, and inspire. In summary, serious games done right can engage students and help us become better teachers.
Not only do we want our students to be excited about learning but we also want them to be intrinsically motivated. Simply put, intrinsic motivation comes from within. In the final analysis, it is demotivating to “point-ify” everything students do. But in the long run, adding a game based layer to your classroom can get students hungry to win in the classroom and life.
Interestingly, as can be evidenced by the kids running to my keyboarding classroom each day, effective game-based learningdoes release dopamine(which activates the pleasure centers of the brain.) It can become a powerful and positive motivator for this reason.
Nevertheless, just because an activity has points and is called a game doesn’t make it an effective game-based learning tool any more than putting me in a Doritos bag makes me a chip.
Therefore, we educators need to educate ourselves on game based learning. We should learn how to do it right. We should also learn how to avoid the pitfalls of poorly implemented game based learning.
Let’s dig deep into the resources, research, and tools that will help you become start using game based learning in your classroom.
I’ve also included my Quicknotes that I use to reference the most important Game Based Learning information that I want at my fingertips.
Atlantis Remixed– this immersive 3D world was once called Quest Atlantis and is perhaps the most comprehensive tool used to teach students a variety of topics. It is fantastic! Bronwyn Stuckey is an expert in this area.
These are my notes on the essentials of Game Based Learning. I keep Quicknotes like these with me as I work to become better at implementing effective game based learning in my classroom. Also note that quite a few items from the Gamifi-ed project are also included in my quick notes because I find them a useful reference.
Gamifi-ed: Studying Series Games#51, Every Classroom Matters with Verena Roberts, Dr. Lee Graham, and Colin Osterhout, cofounders of Gamifi-ed with Vicki Davis.
How Simulation Games Can Teach Complex Subjects– Dr. Jeff Stanzler talks about the Arab-Israeli Conflict Simulation he runs out of the University of Michigan. This fantastic program is my favorite way to teach current events and the struggles in the Middle East.
Game Mechanics in the Classroom to Engage Learners– Michael Matera, author of Explore Like a Pirate about how he created a class-wide game he called theRealm of Nobles. Episode 204, Every Classroom Matters.
The Elements of a Great Educational Gameby Matthew Farber who explains Bartle’s player types (an essential concept to help you design effective games), game mechanics and how to effectively design great educational gaming experiences.
Tools to Help You Implement Game Based Learning in the Classroom
Websites
Games for Change– This website and organization sponsors contest to create games for change. You’ll find many ideas for game based learning for social good on this site.
Common Sense Education– formerly Graphite, this organization ranks and evaluations apps, games and activities for kids. I like that they recently added a feature to evaluate the privacy policies and COPPA compliance of websites. A great place to find games.
Gamifi-ed Website– 9th Graders in the classroom of Vicki Davis (author of this blog) and Masters students at the University of Alaska Southeast analyzed and tested more than 50 serious games. This website has many resources and an overview of what makes an excellent serious game.
Appolicious– This site pretty much evaluations iPhone/iPad games but has lots of them in the index.
Builder Bowls–Builder Bowls revolve around a wide range of immersive technologies, including Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), simulations, video games, caves and domes, 3D printing and robotics.
Game On– a WordPress plugin used by teacher Kevin Jarrett and others to make their whole classroom a game.
Classcraft– This is the game tool I use to turn my keyboarding class into a game.
Geocaching: Get Out Into Nature— Geocaching is a game-based nature exploration method. (Pokemon Go uses augmented reality and GPS coordinates, so it is related.)
Funbrain– This website has many math games. I’ve used them to help teach my own children math facts.
Cockroaches vs. Algebra – This games is one of the highest ranked by my students and educators on Gamifi-ed it is to teach basic algebra principles and graphing. Students like it as fun and educators say it teaches well.
Darfur is Dying– It is hard to call this a “game” because genocide is very serious. However, the goal of this 2006 game is to promote empathy and understanding for the situation. This is a game I’ve used to introduce the concept of serious games and hold class discussions about the appropriateness of games for difficult topics.
#minecraftedu– A hashtag about all things Minecraft
#Gamification – I’ve typically found more on gbl but sometimes people who don’t know the other hashtag will use this one and you can still find some good articles.
Game Based Learning Pinterest Boards
Emmy Gilliam has almost half a million followers onher Game Based Learning boardwith good reason. Her pins have lots of great practical classroom ideas for games. This is a great board to follow for inspiration (298 pins)
The Gamifi-ED Open Online Communitywas co-created by Verena Roberts, Dr. Lee Graham, Colin Osterhout and me. We spent three weeks digging up ever interview of every awesome Game Based Learning expert we could find. These 17 videos include many experts on the leading edge of game based learning.
Jane McGonigal: The Game That Can Give You 10 Extra Years of Life
Michael Matera – Realm of Nobles
This interview on the Gamifi-ED OOC forever changed my view of how we can use games in the classroom.
Yu-kai Chow: Gamification to Improve the World
Primary Years and Early Childhood Panel: Why Games?
Alice Keeler: Getting Started with Game Based Learning
Higher Education Panel: Why Games?
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to edit and post it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.)
Life Lessons from Hall of Fame Teacher Kim Bearden
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter
Broken. It happens. It hurts deeply. I have had days when I didn’t know how I would get out of bed and make it to school. Most teachers I respect have had periods of deep brokenness too. So has Hall of Fame Teacher Kim Bearden, co-founder of Ron Clark Academy. Today she tells all.
We need to lift one another up and encourage each other. Sometimes sharing the lessons we’ve learned on our hard-fought journey of teaching can help other teachers. I know it helps me to know I’m not alone in feeling this way sometimes.
Maybe you have a friend who needs to hear this. Share and help others in the journey. Teaching is hard but teaching is worth it, my friends! Let’s do this.
Parents and teachers need to be partners. Bring parents in the loop. Be intentional to help parents know how to support your classroom. That’s one of the things that caught my attention about a new app called ClassTag.
Class Tag’s primary focus is turning parents into partners. They’ve developed a tool for strengthening and deepening the support parents give teachers from home. At the heart of the tool is a system for effortlessly showing parents how to give you the support you and your student need. I’ll tell you more about this tool in the coming weeks. Check it out now.
Show Notes:
How do you mend a broken teacher?
What should a teacher do when he or she feels powerless?
How did Kim handle it when she felt hollow and didn’t know how she could make it?
How do you reconnect with your significance?
How do we need to see students?
How can you connect with students in more meaningful ways?
What do we do about the fear some teachers (and students) live in every day?
How do you help create a culture where students don’t just comply but want to do well because it is part of the school culture?
How do you help students make a commitment to your organization?
Who is Kim Bearden?
Kim Bearden @kimbeardenis the co-founder and executive director of the Ron Clark Academy, an innovative middle school and educator training facility. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Disney Outstanding MS Humanities Teacher, and she is the author of Crash Course: the Life Lessons My Students Taught Me.
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or elsewhere, get the RSS feed, or listen via the media player above.
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to edit and post it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.)