For Rick, participating in something of so much significance provided a great teaching opportunity for him and a great learning opportunity for his two young children. Shortly after the march, Rick spoke with a reporter from the Boston Business Journal and they published the dialogue of the interview earlier this week.
It really didn’t take very long for us all to recognize (or remember) how fully equitable access to technology isn’t always guaranteed. While equity is the topic for this week’s Rising Resources blog, we’re stepping a bit back from talking about it in the sense that it’s been talked about over the last couple of months and introducing you to a tool called Equity Maps.
Cubelets and STEM education just kind of go together. Already awesome at exposing super young students to engineering and programming, the addition of the Cubelets Classroom Packs have added a renewed focus on collaboration! All their kits allow educators to combine coding and engineering in the classroom.
We know that everybody enjoys a good bargain—especially teachers trying to add technology to their classrooms. Our weekend-long sale launched early yesterday morning and is continuing until 11:59 pm ET on Cyber Monday! It even includes all day Saturday and Sunday, too! Let’s take a look at the EdTech products with special savings.
If there is one goal of contemporary education it’s to prepare students for the real world. They will enter a world that’s hands-on, in need of problem solvers, and rewarding to those who develop creative solutions. It’s not as kind to those who only possess book smarts. It’s a challenge, but teachers help when they facilitate learning that mirrors the real world.
So much of 21st century education often involves getting your students to unleash the creativity they did not even know they had. The challenge is getting them to access it on a daily basis. The solution might be to have them collaborate—daily, nightly, or pretty much whenever possible. Two heads are better than one and collaboration is a crucial 21st century skill.
Okay, it isn’t exactly the same as it always has been, but is today’s teacher PD keeping up with the times, especially when it comes to technology? We expect educators today to be willing to use tech tools to reach and engage each of their students, but how can they do that if they don’t know how to use the tools, themselves? So, finding time for PD is often really important.
Classroom design is one of those things we never really give our teachers enough credit for working on but there certainly is some strategy that goes into planning out all aspects of the school day and teachers certainly don’t overlook the value of creating these welcoming, accommodating, and even aesthetically pleasing classroom environments.
Could you type an essay blindfolded? Maybe, but even with all the hours you spend sitting on a swivel chair and punching keys, there’s almost no chance you could get through, say, a two-page paper scot free if you’re not looking at the text. What if you were asked to type the same two-page essay on your mobile phone? Could you do that?
With all the buzz surrounding STEM education, teaching students skills that will be vital to succeeding post-education is something that the best modern instructors seek to accomplish. What they could be doing, however, is not only teaching students the skills they will need, but also putting them to the test now right in the classroom.
