New Life for Boring Powerpoint

We all know that when Powerpoint first came out it was the most wonderful tool in giving "speeches" or presenting reports by students.  Now, however, there are many new cool enhancements that will give you and your students new ideas that certainly will not be boring.  Be sure not to miss this article that will tell you all about it.


4 Tips to Breathe New Life into Your PowerPoint Presentations.  Vicki Davis. 01.08.15.  EdTech Focus on K-12
http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2015/01/4-tips-powerpoint

Are Your Students Learning as if You Didn't Exist?

If you answered "Yes" to the title of this post, then you can skip this article.  Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD has conceived a wonderful framework for understanding what kids need to become self-sufficient and life-long learners.  Teachers, along with other caring adults can change lives.  Read this article and view her graphic of necessary pathways to achieve success.


8 Pathways to Every Student's Success. Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD.  01.07.15.  Edutopia
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-pathways-every-students-success-marilyn-price-Mitchell


We all try some or all of these pathways. How are they working for you.  Share your thoughts with other teachers in Comments below.

Use Technology to Collaborate with other Schools

Certainly it's not impossible to collaborate with others these days with technology to connect with students elsewhere.  Read how one class paired up with another class in another school district and learned both positives and negatives about the project. There were problems, of course, and the students agreed that problem-solving was part of the process.  They would do it again for sure.  An extra bonus for this class is that they got to meet their collaborative partners on a joint field trip.


West Stanley Middle School students team with Cabarrus class.  Shannon Beamon. 01.06.15. The Stanley News & Press.
http://www.thesnaponline.com/gallery/west-stanly-middle-students-team-with-cabarrus-class/article_6bd5ea98-95b0-11e4-a18f-fbd304118ddf.html

Got an Old Typewriter?

Yes, I certainly do remember typewriters.  My masters research paper was typed on one with carbon copies and countless other papers for school classes.   Here in 2015, what value are they if you still have any laying around?    This interesting story about a first grade teacher gathered enough old typewrites from garage sales and eBay for her class.  Why?  Guess I better let you read her story.  Could be you'll be looking in garage sales too.


Old school:  Kirkland first-graders are using typewriters every day.  Rachel Belle, Ron & Don Show Reporter. 01.08.15.  MYNorthwest.com.
http://mynorthwest.com/874/2682941/Old-school-Kirkland-firstgraders-are-using-typewriters-every-day

What Can Increase Student Reading?

As predicted, more and more students are opting out of reading for pleasure in favor of other pastimes - mostly digital distractions, games & TV.  But what can encourage them to read books for fun?  Turns out that reading aloud to children by teachers and parents interest children in reading books independently.  


Study Finds Reading to Children of All Ages Grooms Them to Read More on Their Own.  Motoko Rich.  01.08.15.  New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/08/us/study-finds-reading-to-children-of-all-ages-grooms-them-to-read-more-on-their-own.html

What Your Words Can Mean to Your Students

The author of this insightful article, says it all in her first sentence recalling a familiar saying, "Sticks and stones can hurt my bones, but names can never hurt me."  Because of her own experience in school,  Cheryl Mizerny is very aware  that the language she uses in class can either uplift or destroy.  Sometimes it takes only one teacher to acknowledge and support supports, even in casual conversations.  We'll never know how we truly affect our students in the long run but each day our words do make a difference in their lives.  Any stories you'd like to share with our readers?  Please use the Comments section below.


I am my words.  Cheryl Mizerny.  12.4.14.  SmartBlog on Education
http://smartblogs.com/education/2014/12/04/i-am-my-words/

IMPORTANT: Help Students Find Copyright-Free Images

Many students have no idea that many photos have copyrights that prevent them from using them in other contexts, such as school reports.  It is essential that this topic be taught in school.  Good news... There is a new way to find licensed images using search engines, Google and Flickr.  It is also important that students learn that images are not the only copyrighted items - so are music, video and other multimedia.  Creative Commons helps locate them on their website.....http://www.search.creativecommons.org.  Please read the following article for more explanation.


Finding Copyright-friendly photos for the Goggle Images generation. News Staff. 01.06.15 eClassroomNews
http://www.eclassroomnews.com/2015/01/06/finding-copyright-friendly-photos-for-the-google-images-generation/?