Focused on implementing technology in the four core areas of learning—math, science, language arts, and social studies—this book covers topics like podcasting, blogging and digital diaries, building Web sites and Wikis, creating Web Quests, using Google Earth, using online programs like YouTube and social networking sites to connect to other classrooms, creating videos, and more.
Geared for teachers in grades 4–8, this essential book offers practical tools, tips for implementation, step-by-step instructions, and handy screen shots to give educators everything they need to create interesting, technology-based learning experiences in their classrooms.
------------------------------------------------------- Geared for teachers in grades 4–8, this essential book offers practical tools, tips for implementation, step-by-step instructions, and handy screen shots to give educators everything they need to create interesting, technology-based learning experiences in their classrooms.
- Features lessons developed by top educators covering Google Earth, YouTube, wikis, WebQuests, and much more
- Includes screen shots and easy-to-follow directions for using each technology tool
- Suggests innovative ways of implementing tools like website design, podcasts, social networking, and blogging
- Gives teachers an overview and advice on implementing the latest exciting technology tools
This book is aimed at educators (school administrators, teachers and support staff) who are situated at the entry or early adoption levels of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use in their schools and classrooms. The central premise of the material presented is easily stated: there is a range of mobile technologies and Web-based tools that have yet to gain widespread acceptance in mainstream education. But this proposition is little appreciated and often misrepresented and/or misunderstood. Fortunately, there is a technology-based revolution in teaching and learning just waiting for chances to occur and the author, Brooks-Young, positions herself on the frontier between ignorance, prejudice and enlightenment to play a part in bringing it about. The description of emerging technologies provided is well structured. Each of the substantive chapters features introductory/contextualizing and background remarks to selected hardware and tools, outlines of common objections and concerns relating to usage, numerous practical suggestions and discussion points.
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This book is an excellent transitional text that links instructional strategies that work (i.e., produce improved student achievement) with practical uses of available technology. Too often, technology is considered a separate subject in K12 education. This book shows how technology supports and enhances sound instructional practices.
What kinds of technology will support particular learning tasks and objectives? And how does a teacher ensure that technology se will enhance instruction and not be a distraction or a disconnected add-on? You'll find all the answers here.
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The America Public School System is in crisis, failing millions of students, producing almost as many drop-outs as graduates, and threatening our economic future. By 2020, the United States will have 123 million high-skill jobs to fill - and fewer than 50 million Americans qualified to fill them.
Educators, parents, political leaders, business people, and concerned citizens are determined to save our educational system. This book, which delves more deeply into the issues raised by the acclaimed documentary film, offers powerful insights from some of those at the leading edge of educational innovation.
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Worried about how much time your children spend playing video games? Don't be, advises Johnson—not only are they learning valuable problem-solving skills, they'd probably do better on an IQ test than you or your parents could at their age. Go ahead and let them watch more television, too, since even reality shows can function as "elaborately staged group psychology experiments" to stimulate rather than pacify the brain. With the same winning combination of personal revelation and friendly scientific explanation he displayed in last year's Mind Wide Open, Johnson shatters the conventional wisdom about pop culture as pabulum, showing how video games, television shows and movies have become increasingly complex. Furthermore, he says, consumers are drawn specifically to those products that require the most mental engagement, from small children who can't get enough of their favorite Disney DVDs to adults who find new layers of meaning with each repeated viewing of Seinfeld. Johnson lays out a strong case that what we do for fun is just as educational in its way as what we study in the classroom (although it's still worthwhile to encourage good reading habits, too). There's an important message here for every parent—one they should hear from the source before savvy kids (especially teens) try to take advantage of it.
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According to Pink (A Whole New Mind), everything we think we know about what motivates us is wrong. He pits the latest scientific discoveries about the mind against the outmoded wisdom that claims people can only be motivated by the hope of gain and the fear of loss. Pink cites a dizzying number of studies revealing that carrot and stick can actually significantly reduce the ability of workers to produce creative solutions to problems. What motivates us once our basic survival needs are met is the ability to grow and develop, to realize our fullest potential. Case studies of Google's 20 percent time (in which employees work on projects of their choosing one full day each week) and Best Buy's Results Only Work Environment (in which employees can work whenever and however they choose—as long as they meet specific goals) demonstrate growing endorsement for this approach. A series of appendixes include further reading and tips on applying this method to businesses, fitness and child-rearing. Drawing on research in psychology, economics and sociology, Pink's analysis—and new model—of motivation offers tremendous insight into our deepest nature.---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apple's iPad is the perfect personal media center. It lets you search the Web with WiFi, helps you stay in touch with its built-in email application, and allows you to read books, magazines, and newspapers in full color. You can also play games, listen to music, watch videos, view photos, and create documents, layouts, and slideshows with iPad's iWork suite.
With iPad: The Missing Manual, learning how to use this new device is a snap. The clear step-by-step instructions, undocumented shortcuts, workarounds, and lots of practical timesaving advice help you learn each feature and application -- presented with the renowned Missing Manual wit and easy-to-read format.
- Learn how to shop in the iPad's integrated, custom-designed bookstore
- Use its full-color, large-screen eBook and ePeriodical reader
- Create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with the iWork "lite" productivity suite
- Use iTunes to organize and manage media files
- Get connected to the Web with built-in WiFi and the Safari browser
- Orient yourself with the iPad's GPS and map technologies
- Locate and download custom-built games
- Use the iPad's built in email, calendar, and contact applications
- Run any and all iPhone apps on the iPad
In this insightful and entertaining book, which has been translated into 20 languages, Daniel H. Pink offers a fresh look at what it takes to excel. A Whole New Mind reveals the six essential aptitudes on which professional success and personal fulfillment now depend, and includes a series of hands-on exercises culled from experts around the world to help readers sharpen the necessary abilities. This book will change not only how we see the world but how we experience it as well.
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This resource examines how the digital landscape is transforming teaching and learning, why informed leadership is so critical, and how instruction can support traditional literacy skills alongside 21st-century fluencies.
