Friday, June 24, 2011

5 Edu Videos to Make You Think This Weekend

YouTube Video of the Day: Forget Inception, This Will Destroy Your Mind [Mashable] - Great introduction to a lesson about reflection in Geometry, or to show for fun!

High School Doesn't Have to Suck - Chris Lehmann [The Innovative Educator]

Watch this great Carpe Diem video [edReformer] - An amazing peek into one of the most innovative charter schools out there.

Students Turn Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" Into Calculus Mnemonic [GOOD]

Teaching 4th Graders Statistics with a Nintendo Wii [Wired:GeekDad]

Friday, June 17, 2011

5 Thoughts & Ideas for Embracing Social Media in Education

Why #SocialMedia is Important for #Education [Schoology]

Why We Should Be Teaching Social Media [Philly Teacher]

How Our School Adopted Social Media, One Small Step at a Time [Huffington Post] - Written by Eric Sheninger, a forward-thinking New Jersey high school principal who has become an authority on social media as a force for good in schools.  You can follow on Twitter at @NMHS_Principal.

Using Social Media to Reach Your Community [Educational Leadership/ASCD]

Ideas for Using Facebook as a Tool to Increase School Attendance  [The Innovative Educator] - See also 10 Ways Facebook Strengthens the Student - Teacher Connection and Using Facebook in Education from the same blog.

Friday, June 10, 2011

5 More Consumer Math Ideas for Parents & Teachers

No matter what level of math you're teaching, showing your students examples of how they might apply their math skills in the real world is a great way to engage them.  Here are five quick examples you can use, but I hope that you use this as an inspiration to start seeking out your own.

Cheaper To Get Four 2-Slice Deals Than A Whole Pie [Consumerist] - I suggest searching for stories about Target on this site as well; that store seems to exist in it's own mathematical universe.

Is This A Macy's Ad, Or A Math Test? [Consumerist]

Laundry Costs Calculator Shows How Much You Spend Washing Clothes [Lifehacker] - Might not be applicable if many of your students don't have washing machines at home (like yours truly), but still interesting to consider.

Teaching Preschoolers About Money: An Interview With Beth Kobliner [Wise Bread] - Includes a video featuring Sesame Street's Elmo and discussion questions to try out with your young children/students.

Garden Math: How Many Tomatoes to Plant? [Wired: Geek Mom]