Friday, December 21, 2012

Key Insights on Education From Outside the Sphere

The Outsiders, circa mid-90s, have a perspective 
This Week In Education: Bruno: A Math Professor's Year Teaching High School [This Week In Education] - What happened when a college professor used a sabbatical to teach high school math?

No soft retirement for this former NFL QB [NBC Sports via This Week in Education] - After a long, successful career in football, Jon Kitna became a math teacher and football coach at his alma mater. It's a great story.

After a Year Teaching High School, Tony Danza Says We Owe Educators an Apology [GOOD] - The actor turned teacher (at least for one year) wrote a book about his experience in a Philadelphia high school entitled I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High. I felt this way after a couple of years in the classroom, and did go back and apologize to one of my high school teachers.

Use Tim Ferriss' Four-Step Process to Master New Skills [Lifehacker] - My love of Tim Ferriss and his methods is no secret; in 2007 I explained how to apply the lessons of his book The Four-Hour Workweek to teaching. I think there's still more to learn from him, specifically how to teach our students his method for learning new skills rapidly (and how to structure some of our lessons this way).

Why Nate Silver Can Save Math Education in America [KQED/MindShift] - Silver's rise to superstar nerd status through his use of statistics shines a light on what's fundamentally wrong with our approach to math in schools.

Friday, December 14, 2012

December 2012 Reader on Tablets & Apps in Education

6 Safety Apps Every Student Should Download [Mashable!] - A college-focused list, but most of the apps would be relevant for middle and high school students as well. See also Facebook and Google Help Launch Online Safety Platform For Teens.

Everything You Need to Know About iOS 6 in Under Three Minutes [Lifehacker] - In case you missed it.

Kindle Whispercast gives schools and teachers control over students' tablet browsing [Slate]

Periodic Table Wall Graphics from Yiying Lu. Plus FREE Periodic Table Design Downloads! [WALLS 360] - A free, printable interactive periodic table that uses QR Codes for each element. Your students could use one of any number of free QR Code reader apps to find more information.

Why Tablets Are Important for Educating Our Children [Wired:GeekDad]