Educators from around the country share their favorite educational apps.
Technology is revolutionizing the world of education – replacing familiar classroom tools and changing the way we learn. MindShift explores the future of learning in all its dimensions – covering cultural and technology trends, groundbreaking research, education policy and more. Tina Barseghian is the editor.
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“Ideas can spark a movement. Ideas can spark opportunities and innovation.” This, from enterprising 13-year-old wondergirl Maya Penn, who at the tender age of eight, launched her own business, Maya’s Ideas for the Planet. Listen to her inspiring talk at the recent TEDWomen Conference and learn how this budding entrepreneur is going to help save the planet.
When we consider what kids need from school, we often revert to getting advice from experts – researchers, parents, teachers, principals, administrators. Rarely do we have the chance to hear from students about what they want from their school experience. While out reporting on different stories, NPR Education correspondent Eric Westervelt and I took the opportunity to capture students’ voices. Here’s what they said.
Depending on the context in which it is used, and the priorities of the educators (which includes those present in the classroom, lurking at home, or at their drawing boards or computer screens at an educational publisher), one can skew the same application toward app-dependent or app-enabling ends.
From Jackie Gerstein’s resource-rich site comes this sweet infographic depicting the skills we’d like to instill in our students. The post also includes a long, helpful list of resources for everything from how to help students develop hope, to encouraging empathy and social and emotional skills, to how to foster grit, tenacity and perseverance: an educator’s guide.
As media becomes more prevalent in kids’ lives, parents are grappling with the potential benefits and pitfalls of screen time — what’s just the right amount, what’s truly educational, what’s beneficial, and what’s detrimental. To get a better understanding of parents’ attitudes around kids’ educational media, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center surveyed 1,577 parents of kids ages 2 to 10 years old, including a representative group of African American and Latino parents.
This short and powerful video describes all the many reasons we crave sugar. It’s not only a great video to show science students (though older ones — drugs are mentioned too), it’s a fascinating look into how our bodies work for anyone who’s interested.
Questions arise about the conclusions drawn from the famous Marshmallow Study.
Lots of interesting fodder for conversation in this PBS Newshour piece, which attempts to put the evolution of the Common Core in context with current changes. Key points raised in the discussion include the role of standardized testing, teachers’ apprehension around Common Core assessments, and renewed attention and focus on teacher education programs.