Every year people receive and send Christmas cards to family, friends, colleagues, and loved ones. Most of the Christmas cards contain traditional Christmas wishes, messages about the New Year, or happy holiday season sayings. If you were looking for something different than the traditional Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year message in your Christmas…
Google Chrome screenshot extensions allow users to take screenshots of a partial or full web page. It is a convenient tool for the classroom, business, or individual use. A screenshot of your desktop, a web page, a social media post, or a screen recording video help show or demonstrate to colleagues, peers, or students what…
It’s back to school, time to start using anchor charts as reading strategies to help students with their reading skills, and reading comprehension. Anchor charts are essential tools to support and re-iterate the lessons taught in the classroom. Although the acronym PIE (persuade, inform, entertain) are associated with an author’s purpose activity or anchor chart,…
Over 1.2 trillion Google searches are done per year; that’s more than 40,000 searches per second. It’s so easy to type in a few keywords or a question when searching the web. Despite the magnificence of Google and other search engines, they cover only 4% (about 8 billion pages) of the world wide web; the additional…
During the Roman Empire In the 3rd century, Porphyry from Tyre mapped Aristotle’s Categories in what became known as the Porphyrian Tree. The Porphyrian Tree was possibly the first mind map. (#1) Many famous philosophers and scholars throughout history used mind maps for notetaking: Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Madame Curie, Michelangelo, and Thomas Edison….
Technology progress influences the way kids learn, and it’s constantly changing. Internet, smartphones, and apps have connected people globally without caring about the distance. Within seconds you can communicate with anybody anywhere. Virtual reality has taken it a step further. Now it’s possible to visit these faraway places or go back in time without moving…
The secret about a newspaper is the articles are current and of interest to the reader. Some adults will read a newspaper from the front page to the back page. Others will go directly to a specific section, like sports or financial section, in the paper. There are those who like reading the obituaries. A…
Dreaming big dreams and desiring to achieve something worthwhile is natural to people. Setting the concrete goals to achieve these dreams is a skill that everybody of all ages needs to learn. It’s not natural for adults; neither is it natural for kids. A study done at Dominican University showed that people who had written…
If you haven’t heard of OneNote, it’s time you did. It’s often been described as a “digital 3-ring binder” because it’s a great resource for storing all your digital information. While that is true, it doesn’t capture just how full-featured OneNote has become over the years. When you add the capabilities of Office Lense to…
Using flash cards, including multiplication flash cards has long been accepted as a simple, yet effective way to teach children skills that require memorization. Flash cards use repetition to teach a skill and increase recall and therefore, confidence. The idea of flash cards is quite simple. Sit down with a child, show them the problem…
At 99 years of age, Doreetha Daniels graduated with an associate degree in social sciences from the College of the Canyons in California. Her goal was to better herself. Dr. Denise Parks published a study in the journal Psychological Science that proved that the challenge of learning improved memory skills in older people. When she followed…
Most evaluation tools and curricula arrange skills according to the way a typical child might acquire them. Essential for Living by Patrick McGreevy, PhD BCBA-D et al takes a different approach. They group skills into categories of “must-have,” “should-have,” “good-to-have,” and “nice-to have.” This instrument also identifies deficits in functional skills that might be the…
Sometimes it’s just quicker and easier to show someone an idea or concept rather than try to say it to them. Other situations demand that you present an idea in multiple formats. I know when I was in school (back in ancient, rotary-phone days), it would have been really helpful if my teacher could have sent…
I’m a big believer that everyone can benefit from practicing mindfulness. While there are some differences in what that means to different groups, all generally agree it involves taking time out of the day to calm the mind and concentrate on experiencing and living in the here and now – not the past, nor the…
Overview The Computer Science Education Week (December 4-10) is upon us, and with it comes one of the biggest education movements in history, Hour of Code. 475 million students have participated in an Hour of Code since it’s beginning and in just 60 minutes sparked a global movement to promote computer science and programming in our schools….
Oh summertime. Basking in the sun, putting my toes in the sand, water lapping at my feet. Well, that was just a dream this summer, but I did get to learn in some creative ways. Let me share them with you. 1. Teacher’s First Book Club How many of us have great intentions to go out…
The following is adapted from Episode 32 of the Word of the Day Podcast. Akin, an adjective, means “like or similar to,” and is perfectly suited for making comparisons between things. The etymology is pretty interesting. Akin contains within it the word “kin,” which means, “family or relatives.” If this reminds you of the word…
Ask almost any kid what their favorite part of the day was and they’re likely to tell you lunchtime and recess! Having a break in the middle of the school day helps students to socialize, spend some pent-up energy, and most importantly, refuel for the remainder of their lessons. Whether they’re ordering from the cafeteria…
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This week, my kids and I were very excited to try out our new water-testing kit. The older two (ages seven and five) love science, AND they drink a great deal of water, so this was the perfect experiment for us to work on together. The Product Test Assured’s 4-pack Kit for Schools and Science…
Within all of us, there lies a desire to explore. It can be as simple as trying a new cuisine or as complicated as diving into the depths of an ocean to see the vibrant colors of coral reefs. It drives us to push past our comfort zones and reach for the stars. Learning how…
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