5 iPad Apps for Middle School Math Classes

Encouraging students to integrate education technology into the learning process is a key objective for today’s educators. When students use modern electronics, such as iPads, to learn core subject matter, they not only learn about the subject itself, but they also increase their technological skills.… Read the rest

Principal as Staff Developer: The Jigsaw and Its Alternatives, Part Two

By Terry Wilhelm

In the principal’s role as staff developer, using a variety of strategies for facilitating professional reading during staff meetings or PD sessions will prevent staff from getting bored with endless jigsaws, the most common approach to group professional reading.… Read the rest

Three Ways for Educators to Look Beyond Test Scores

By Brian Gatens

Everybody in education knows that standardized tests measure only a fraction of a school’s accomplishments. But how do we quantify things that do not produce test scores?

First, we have to get in the habit of challenging the thinking behind how we do things.… Read the rest

Teachers: Look Back, Catch Your Breath and Look Forward

Wait, what just happened?

Did a whole school year just pass? One-hundred and eighty days with children, lesson plans, parents, tests, quizzes, report cards and all the other busy-ness of the school year — did it just fly by?

Well, before you close up your educational shop for the season, I have a few suggestions to try before the long days of summer take over your daily routine.… Read the rest

Five Benefits of Adding Gamification to Classrooms

As educators look to new and inventive ways to engage students in the classroom, more and more teachers are looking to the gamification model for answers. For the uninitiated, gamification refers to a method of teaching that incorporates elements of video games, or a vast number of other types of games, into the teaching environment to help students learn.… Read the rest

Student Expectations in a Blended Classroom

 As blended classrooms become more common in schools across the country, students now have more control over how coursework is presented to them and student expectations have increased. Students who excel in the traditional classroom environment are now experiencing an enhanced learning environment, while students who struggled in the traditional setting are finally able to effectively learn.… Read the rest

5 Steps Needed for Student Success Strategies in a Blended Classroom

In an effort to improve student success strategies, many schools now offer a blended classroom option. Education technology has changed the pace of student learning, encouraging the blended learning environment where there is face-to-face learning as well as using computers as teaching tools.  Here are some important steps to incorporate into your blended classroom model:

 Welcome Tutorial from Technology Department

Knowing where to go to resolve technology issues is important.… Read the rest

Getting it Right With Educational Technology

The first step in solving a problem is admitting that the problem exists. OK, so I’ll say it out loud:

Schools have a technology problem.

Those five words sum up decades of schools’ misguided approach to technology in the classroom. Schools continually chase down the newest and shiniest technology of the moment in the hope that it will improve student performance, at the very least; or that it will help solve an entrenched problem, at the very most.… Read the rest

Advice on Adding Visual Literacy to Your Curriculum

Education is continuously changing, and so are the techniques. The visual literacy classroom is becoming a priority to keep up with digital technology trends in learning. The capacity, comprehension and communication of current students differ considerably from the student of five and even 10 years ago, and their techniques must be given adaptation within the learning environment.… Read the rest

4 Free Interactive eBooks for First Grade Reading Groups

It’s no secret that the world of primary education is changing. Technology has afforded teachers some of the most effective tools for engaging young learners both inside and outside the classroom. Now teachers can easily integrate interactive tools that help aid first grade readers down the path of better reading, writing and comprehension.… Read the rest

Resources for Social Skills Lesson Plans for Elementary Students

Elementary social skills for students in these early grades are tied in with their success in school. Socially awkward or shy elementary school students often struggle during these formative learning years, so teachers and school counselors would do well to include lesson plans that address social situations and the elementary social skills necessary to handle them.… Read the rest

You know you are a Teacher When...

By Pamela Moreland

Four years of college, probably more if you have a master’s degree.  You’ve successfully passed all mandatory tests and secured a teaching license. You impressed principals in those daunting job interviews and got that first job.

You would think with all of those achievements–and so many more–would validate anyone’s belief that they were a teacher.… Read the rest

4 Secrets for Staying In Love With Teaching

The other night I was driving in the car with my wife and three children. My two oldest, the twins, are getting ready to enter high school next year (a fact that I find terrifying, but that’s another topic) and I find that more and more of our conversations revolve around college and why getting that degree, and subsequent degrees, is important.… Read the rest

What is the Washington State STEM Lighthouse Program?

The Washington State Legislature designated the STEM Lighthouse school program in 2010 as part of an overall strategy to improve Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in the state (House Bill 2621). The Washington school program provides grants to high-performing STEM middle schools and high schools each year.… Read the rest

Principal as Staff Developer: The Jigsaw and its Alternatives

By Terry Wilhelm

Many principals use professional journal articles and books to help build their teachers’ shared knowledge about best practices and site-specific improvement initiatives. Perhaps the most common method for doing this is the jigsaw — dividing up the reading among the members of the staff, taking time for individual reading, then inviting each person to share out to the full group.… Read the rest

Four Blended Learning Models

Educators are constantly striving to find new and innovative ways to educate their students, and blended learning is the newest concept being adopted. Blended learning combines the traditional classroom model with other modes of learning, such as online and mobile learning.… Read the rest

Five Sample Lesson Plans for ELL Students

Designing lessons for English Language Learners (ELL) students presents teachers with a dual challenge: Students must gain the language skills they need to progress in school and in life, but they also must continue to learn the other lessons that their peers are mastering.… Read the rest

Four STEM Curriculum Resources for After-School Programs

The STEM curriculum should be a key feature in any school-related program. Helping children continue to grow and learn in their after-school programs can make a true difference in their overall education. STEM(science, technology, engineering, math) education programs focus on preparing students for the challenging, science-based fields that have increasing importance in the modern world.… Read the rest

5 Online Vocabulary Builders for Elementary Students

Whether you are working with kids learning English as a second language or looking to expand the vocabulary of native-speaking elementary students, online vocabulary builders are a great tool to have in your arsenal for the classroom. As you work to incorporate more technology into your classroom and look for options to improve your students’ vocabulary, consider these online tools.… Read the rest

Video Games vs. Classroom Gamification: What's the Difference?

When it comes to gamification in the classroom, many misconceptions exist. Some educators and parents view gamification as simply playing video games in the classroom, while others lump all educational games into the same category. Every time a new technological development comes on the scene, a new emphasis on using video games in the classroom hits educational circles.… Read the rest

3 Examples of Effective Classroom Management

There are few careers as challenging and rewarding as teaching, and as with any profession, there are tools of the trade that must be honed so teachers can perform effective classroom management. Classroom management is a necessary skill because without it, a teacher will have difficulty conveying what needs to be conveyed.… Read the rest

Teachers: Five Tips for Closing the School Year Right

OK, this is it. The school year, which started at the end of last summer, is drawing to a close. Since then you’ve had the privilege and opportunity to influence the lives of young people and now is the time to move them along  in their academic careers.… Read the rest

3 Smartboard Activities for Kindergarten Math

Because of its interactive and flexible nature, the Smartboard has become one of the most widely-used tools for educators in all subject areas. Smartboard activities are available for every age group, including very young children. Below are three effective Smartboard activities for kindergarten math.… Read the rest

5 iPad Apps for Middle School Science Classes

Science is a challenging subject for many middle school students, so teachers must use all of the tools at their disposal to help students master the concepts. When it comes to mathematics, education technology can be very beneficial to students. Using eLearning tools, such as an iPad, can help students visualize concepts and understand them more thoroughly.… Read the rest

Research Skills: Teaching Your Students the Fundamentals

It is ironic that in the era of the Internet anyone should have any issues concerning basic research skills. The Internet, after all, is the richest, most versatile, and most complete information repository in the history of mankind. While the Internet has greatly increased choices for and the quality of research tools, it has also brought with it some challenges and impediments.… Read the rest