The Hottest Posts Everyone's Reading

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog.

Class Story continues to hold the lead as the hottest post.  Class Story is a new free tool which can be used to strengthen the home-school connection from Class Dojo. Next up is a post that addresses an important issue. Educators need to stop competing with social media and start integrating it.  Rounding out third place is a post about my takeaways from the World Maker Faire.

There are a few more posts to round out the top including one that explains a learning model with no tests, teachers, or curriculum and ideas for making your school more welcoming to the community.  I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. Share it with your networks. If you're inspired, leave a comment. 

Entry	Pageviews
Class Story (an Instagram for Parents) Helps Stren... Sep 6, 2015,	5054
Don't Compete with Social Media. Integrate It! Sep 27, 2015,	4451
My Makeaways from #makeEDU #makerED #MakerFaire Sep 26, 2015,	4255
6 Updates to Welcome Your School Community + Prepa... Sep 13, 2015,	3508
A Learning Model with No Tests, Teachers, or Curri... Sep 15, 2015,	3148
Tools, Practices, + Structures, to Guide Self-Dire... Sep 20, 2015,	2127

10 Tips For Teens Using Social Media #HavetheTalk #Being13 #BeingThirteen

Photo Credit: 10 Practices for Connected Students
CORWIN connect

...Kids these days. They don't know how to speak face-to-face anymore.  All they do is spend their days, heads glued to cell phones -- texting. They need to learn how to communicate in the real world. 

Adults who share these sentiments are missing the fact that digital communication is real. Kids aren't texting fake people. They're communicating with real-world friends in their real digital worlds.  

The problem is that, even though they know should be ensuring their children are using digital resources effectively, few adults feel prepared to do that. Given that, is it any wonder that on exposés such as #BeingThirteen / #Being13, young people are engaging in unsavory behavior?  

It's not that social media is causing teens to act in inappropriate ways, it simply brings their actions to light and magnifies what they are doing.  

The knee-jerk reaction of some adults is to require teens to abstain from using social media for short or long periods of time, when instead they should #HaveTheTalk. Social media has no intent. It is a tool and while it can be used for socially inappropriate behavior, it can also be used for social good, social justice, social learning, and in other positive ways. The role of adults in the lives of young people is to support them in engaging safely, responsibly and effectively, regardless of the medium in which they are communicating.  

These ten practices shared by CORWIN connect as part of Connected Educator month are a good start.  

I want more »

7 #BYOD Building Blocks for Success

As more and more schools make the decision to embrace student-owned devices for learning, it's important that they incorporate strategies for success. Lifting the ban on devices and inviting them into the school is a start, but it is also important to put building blocks for success in place. To follow are the seven building blocks you should put in place to ensure you attain success.

7 #BYOD Building Blocks for Success

1. Start with pioneers - Incorporating cell phones and other student devices into learning works best when teachers are on board. Find out if you have teachers in your building who want to pilot this work in your school.  Let them set the stage and support others when they are ready.  

I want more »

The Hottest Posts Everyone's Reading

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog.

Holding the lead for the past month is a, free tool called Class Story which can be used to strengthen the home-school connection from Class Dojo. Next up was an overview of the new Google for Ed Certification Exams.  Rounding out third place were ideas to welcome parents, students, and the community into your school. 

There are a few newer posts to round out the top including one that explains a learning model with no tests, teachers, or curriculum and another that explains why it's important that we stop competing with social media and start integrating it.  I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. Share it with your networks. If you're inspired, leave a comment.  

Entry	Pageviews
Class Story (an Instagram for Parents) Helps Stren... Sep 6, 2015,	5050
Google for Education Certification and Exams Sep 9, 2015,	4924
6 Updates to Welcome Your School Community + Prepa... Sep 13, 2015,	3487
A Learning Model with No Tests, Teachers, or Curri... Sep 15, 2015,	3352
Don't Compete with Social Media. Integrate It! Sep 27, 2015,	3123
Tools, Practices, + Structures, to Guide Self-Dire... Sep 20, 2015,	2753
10 Tips + 10 Resources that Use Tech to Keep Wande... Sep 2, 2015,	2362
My Makeaways from #makeEDU #makerED #MakerFaire Sep 26, 2015,	1921

New Screentime Recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. My Thoughts.

Finally! The American Academy of Pediatrics has updated their stance on screentime.  The new guidelines are better than the previously outdated ones which I critique here, here, and here, but there is still room for improvement. They continue to miss mark when it comes to the power of screens to make global connections, build learning networks, and bring people closer together.

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Here are some counter-points to consider.

Don’t Set Limits

The AAP suggests parents should set limits. While that might seem like good advice, it does little to empower young people to think about making good decisions for themselves. Rather than setting limits, talk to kids about what they care about and want to accomplish and help them figure out the best ways to do that.

Attentive Parenting Might Involve Screens

The AAP says attentive parenting requires face time away from screens. What it really means is that parents need to spend time with their kids. That might very well involve screens. Maybe you read a book aloud from a screen. Perhaps you recreate a building in Minecraft together. Perhaps you are a parent that travels and you facetime with your child (via a screen). Time away from screens is not the answer. Time being attentive to your child in their worlds with or away from screens is what is important.

I want more »

5 Free Digital Resources For #ELL #ESL #TESOL Students & Those Learning a Foreign Language

I took four years of Spanish during my school years, though you wouldn’t know it if you tried having a conversation with me in Spanish. My experience is not unusual. The way language is typically taught in the United States often does not result with language acquistion at the end. I wonder if things would have been different if I was a student today in a time when technology provides such terrific ways to learn languages.

Here are five free digital resources, that can support modern learners in language acquisition.

1) Duolingo

Has become a popular app to support the learning of another language. It’s gamification elements make it both fun and addictive. You can earn points for correct answers, race against the clock, and level up. The bite-sized lessons are effective and here is proof that it works. More than 100,000 classrooms are using Duolingo. Teachers can easily track their students’ progress, run in-class activities and assign homework. Here is the “How to use Duolingo in class: the guide.”

I want more »

The Hottest Posts Everyone's Reading

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog.

Taking the lead for another week is a new, free tool called Class Story which can be used to strengthen the home-school connection from Class Dojo. Next up was an overview of the new Google for Ed Certification Exams.  Rounding out third place were ideas to welcome parents, students, and the community into your school. I'm thrilled that post was the inspiration for last week's #Sunchat. 

There are a few more posts to round out the top including one that explains a learning model with no tests, teachers, or curriculum and an oldy about why we should allow students to use cell phones for learning.  I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. Share it with your networks. If you're inspired, leave a comment.  

Entry	Pageviews
Class Story (an Instagram for Parents) Helps Stren... Sep 6, 2015,	5050
Google for Education Certification and Exams Sep 9, 2015,	4911
6 Updates to Welcome Your School Community + Prepa... Sep 13, 2015,	3474
A Learning Model with No Tests, Teachers, or Curri... Sep 15, 2015,	3160
5 Reasons to Allow Students to Use Cell Phones in ... Jul 8, 2012,	3036
Winner! The 3 #BackToSchool Supplies Necessary to ... Aug 30, 2015,	2098
10 Tips + 10 Resources that Use Tech to Keep Wande... Sep 2, 2015,	2073
Tools, Practices, + Structures, to Guide Self-Dire... Sep 20, 2015,	2034