Edulution

Last night I was roaming around the web - and started following a twitter chat on educational coaching. The topic for the night was "edulutions" - resolutions you make for your educational position.

http://storify.com/kathyperret/educoach-chat-wednesday-january-2-2013#publicize This is the archive of the chat.

It got me thinking.

I also read that 45% of all Americans make New Year's Resolutions and 45% of those resolutions last beyond the sixth month.

That got me thinking too. I know a lot of thinking for the night before school starts.

My edulution is to stop and to listen.  I have a tendancy to rush ahead and assume things.
I want to change that and listen first.

When I was a student teacher I worked with an amazing teacher who shared a story that has never left me. One morning when she was teaching 5th grade she was standing in the hall outside the classroom door talking to a staff member before school. A little boy came up to her and interrupted the conversation to share something that had happened that morning. She glanced at the boy, nodded her head and said something like - "That's nice," but her mind was on the conversation with her collegue.  His mouth dropped open, his shoulders drooped and he walked away. And then it soaked in what he had told her - his dog had been hit by a car that morning.
That was the moment that she vowed to listen first.
And it transformed her  - way beyond teaching...it impacted her entire life.

I try to listen - but this year it is my real focus!

And what would your edulution be???

I'd love to have comments from you about your edulutions.

Frank's Fantastic Find - Word Wizard

This week's Fantastic Find is the iPad app "Word Wizard - Talking Movable Alphabet & Spelling Test for Kids".  This app is great for those students working on their phonics skills. As students make words  the app sounds them out. It also allows teachers to enter spelling lists so students can practice their words using the app. The app would make a great center for beginning readers. Check out the screencast below to see a demo. If you think you might use this app please share in the comment box how you will utilize this app in your classroom.

Word Wizard $2.99

Kidblog On The iPad

Several teachers recently requested help to discover an easy way for students to upload pictures to their Kidblog. After a little research I discovered that there is actually an iPad app for Kidblog which makes it super easy for students to take pictures and upload them to their blog. Kidblog is such a great tool for building an authentic audience for their writing.

www.kidblog.org

Frank's Fantastic Find - Intel Educator Tools

I recently heard about Intel's Education Tools. One of my favorite tools is the assessing projects tool. This tool provides some examples of checklists, and rubrics for assessing things like critical thinking skills, presentations, creativity, and problem solving skills. It does require an account which is free.

Intel's Educator Tools Website - http://goo.gl/UUHWY

Frank's Fantastic Find - Trading Card Creator

Today's Fantastic Find is on Read, Write, Think's Trading Card Creator.  The website offers lesson ideas for various grade levels on how to use the Trading Card Creator. For those interested in trying this  activity on the iPad there is also a free app called Trading Cards.

Frank's Fantastic Find - Chrome Extenstions #3

This screencast is our third and final tutorial looking at Chrome and its extensions.

Frank's Fantastic Finds - Chrome #2

This is a continuation of my look at Chrome. This video is a start to some of the Chrome extensions I have found to be useful.