Peter West writes in the June 18 issue of eSchool News that personalized learning is about to change and possibly revolutionize education. West feels that adaptive/personalized learning is the future. He argues that the days of presenting the same material to all students at the same time, in the same sequence and in the same way Continue reading
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West Springfield Educator is 2014 PBS Digital Innovator
Mark Vasicek, a local teacher, has been named one of this year’s national PBS Digital Innovators. He left engineering to care for a child who was seriously ill and today teaches at West Springfield High School, where he can feel the impact he’s making in others’ lives. Continue reading
Technology No Substitute For Well-trained Teacher
While technology may be useful to monitor students with special needs, it cannot replace the effectiveness of a skilled educator in the classroom. So says contributing writer Nicole Survis in the March 27 edition of eSchool News. Continue reading
New PBS TeacherLine Spring Courses for Digital Classrooms
PBS TeacherLine spring courses begin March 26. As many of you know, these facilitated and self-paced online, professional development courses are offered in science, reading, STEM, social studies, math, and instructional strategies/technology. To better integrate technology and digital resources into your curriculum while earning PDPs or CEUs, you can also sign up for a new series of 1.5 hour online professional development courses focused on teaching and learning in the digital age. Continue reading
Five Trends Poised To Rock Education
In the February 17th issue of eSchoolNews, Managing Editor Laura Devaney reports that five trends are reaching maximum impact and are about to transform education. Educational futurist Jason Ohler identifies the 5 trends that are changing just about everything as: Big data, Immersion, The Semantic Web, Extreme BYOD and Transmedia Storytelling. Continue reading
NOVA: Alien Planets Revealed Plus Space & Flight Resources
On Wednesday, January 8, at 9pm, WGBY airs NOVA: Alien Planets Revealed where viewers explore strange worlds and possible creatures in the thousands of exotic new worlds far beyond our solar system that NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler Telescope has discovered. You can see a preview and find classroom resources at NOVA’s website and at PBS LearningMedia. Continue reading
Collection of Resources for Financial & Personal Responsibility
This vast collection of resources, including lesson plans and professional development, is from Thirteen/WNET in New York. It’s designed to engage students in financial awareness, economic empowerment and personal responsibility. The 25 resources for grades 7-12 that comprise Continue reading
Bilingual Site for Educators and Families — Colorin Colorado
Colorín Colorado, a bilingual site is filled with useful information, strategies, and resources whether for the ESL teacher or content area teacher with one or two English learners in class. Although many activities have been designed for PreK-3 children, most can be adapted for students through high school, with many strategies applicable to all students, regardless of their primary language. Continue reading
Studying the Poles: Polar Bears and Polar Regions
I have the sad memory of long ago watching the polar bear at Springfield’s Forest Park walking back and forth in his small cage, rubbing against its black bars Tragically, he lived far from his native land, the earth’s polar regions. While these regions may seem remote, they’re an integral part of the entire Earth system. Continue reading
The Art of Creative Coding
Programming plays a huge role in the world that surrounds us, and though its uses are often purely functional, there is a growing community of artists who use the language of code as their medium. Check out The Art of Creative Coding for grades 9-12 from PBS LearningMedia, which meets the Content Standard of Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines. Continue reading