100 Best YouTube Videos for TeachersSmart Teaching

 With the increasing use of technology in classrooms, it’s no wonder that teachers have a growing interest in using YouTube and other online media sharing sites to bring information into their classrooms. Here are 100 YouTube videos that can provide supplementary information for the class, give inspiration, help you keep control of class and even provide a few laughs here and there.

History

These videos can give your students a better insight into historical events.

1. Learn History: This YouTube channel provides loads of videos on historical events related to crime and punishment and the American west.
2. Animated Bayeux Tapestry: Students learning about European history can watch this video which takes the Bayeux Tapestry and brings it to life.
3. The Day the Music Died: This video can be a great introduction to pop culture in the 50’s and 60’s through the song American Pie.
4. Surviving the Holocaust: Teach students about the impact of the Holocaust by showing them how it impacted this individual.
5. Oliver Cromwell: Here you’ll find photos and text that tell about the life of Oliver Cromwell.
6. Elizabeth I: Let students learn about the history of England by watching this video presentation on Elizabeth I.
7. Computer History: Technology is a big deal these days, and students can learn about where it all started by watching this video.
8. Gettysburg Reenactment: Bring the American Civil War to life by showing students this reenactment of a battle.
9. The Assassination of JFK: This famous video is a huge part of American history, and you can let students watch it via YouTube.
10. Fall of the Berlin Wall: Classes studying modern history can learn about the impact of the fall of the Berlin Wall through this news report.
11. How to Make a Mummy: Created by teachers, this animated video shows how the ancient Egyptians created their mummies.
12. A Brief History of Mankind: This video sums up the history of mankind in just a few minutes, making it a good intro to history classes.

Science

Make science more fun and interactive by using these videos in class.

1. Rubber Hand Illusion: This video explores the strange phenomenon of the rubber hand illusion which can help get students interested in biology and psychology.
2. Theory of Everything: Here you’ll find an explanation of the Theory of Everything.
3. The World of Chemistry: This video gives a humorous take on several chemistry principles.
4. Physics of Superheroes: Take physics to another level by showing students how physics can help explain the abilities of superheroes.
5. The Physics of Baseball: Get students more interested in physics by relating them to sports with this video.
6. Meiosis: Explain the division of reproductive cells by using this video as an illustration.
7. Virtual Frog Dissection: If the idea of dissecting a real frog makes you cringe, consider showing your classes this virtual dissection instead.
8. How to Build a Simple Electric Motor: Science students can watch this video and complete this simple experiment to make class more interesting.
9. Chemistry Experiments: This series of videos covers a wide range of fun and interesting chemistry experiments.
10. DNA Replication Process: Show students this video to help illustrate just how DNA replicates.
11. Classification Rap: What better way to remember the categories of classification than to create a rap? Students will enjoy this catchy song.
12. Birth of the Solar System: Students may enjoy watching this video that shows how our solar system was formed.

Language

Get advice on improving your language class or use these videos as classroom supplements.

1. Improving Listening Skills for ESL Teachers: Those teaching students to speak English can help boost their listening skills with some advice from this video.
2. Language Learning and Web 2.0: Watch this to learn how you can use technology to improve your language classes.
3. Alphabet Road: Young children will enjoy watching this series of videos that shows them letters in relation to animals and machines on a farm.
4. Task Based Learning: See how task based learning can impact your language courses by watching this video.
5. Teach Your Children Spanish: Spanish teachers working with younger children can supplement their lessons with these helpful videos.
6. Tips on Teaching a Foreign Language: This video gives some valuable tips that can help improve your skills as a language teacher.
7. Teach Yourself Sign Language: Whether you’re working with deaf kids or just want to learn a new skill, this video can help you to learn to sign.
8. ESL Teaching Tips: Teaching ESL comes with its own set of challenges. This video can give you some pointers on being a better teacher.
9. Spanish for Gringos: Students young and old can benefit from these videos which help with pronunciation and grammar in Spanish.
10. How to Teach Latin: Latin may come off as boring to many students, so help jazz it up with some tips from this video.
11. Grammar Rock: Who doesn’t love those old Schoolhouse Rock videos? Play these for your kids when they’re learning about elements of grammar, including this one on verbs.

Arts

These videos provide great information on art and art education programs for you and your students.

1. ARTSplash!: This video can help you learn about the ARTSplash program, which can be a valuable addition to the arts education programs in your school.
2. Teaching Flute to the Remedial Band Student or Novice: Music teachers who are struggling with students working below the level they should be at can get some teaching pointers from this video.
3. The Dark Genius of Caravaggio: Show students the work of Italian artist Caravaggio in this video slide show.
4. A Tribute to Vincent Van Gogh: Students can enjoy the colorful and unique work of Van Gogh in this video.
5. Salvador Dali: Explore the eccentric genius of Salvador Dali by showing your students this video of his surrealist paintings and movies.
6. Pablo Picasso: One of the best known artists, students can learn to recognize numerous works by Picasso from watching this video.
7. Rijksmuseum: Take a virtual field trip through the Rijksmuseum and see great works by artists like Rembrandt, Vermeer and Van Gogh.
8. Art Education for the Blind: Learn to make art education valuable for even your blind students by watching this video.
9. Art In Secondary Education: Get some tips on using art education in high schools through this video created in part by several museums and high schools.
10. Art Education 2.0: This video gives educators an introduction to Art Education 2.0, an online community on ning.com.
11. Innovative Art Education: Take your creativity to the next level with suggestions from this video.
12. Cairo Museum: Take a virtual tour of numerous works of art in the Cairo Museum with this video.

Inspiration

Everyone has a hard day sometimes, and you can remind yourself why you became a teacher by checking out these videos.

1. Teachers Make a Difference: This video tells an inspirational story about how a teacher made a difference in a student’s life.
2. Teachers Are Like Mirrors: Here you’ll be encouraged to remember that teachers play a big role in building students’ self esteem.
3. What Teachers Make: Tyler Mali delivers his free form poem about what a difference teachers can make.
4. The Miracle Workers: Another Tyler Mali poem delivered in 2007, intended to inspire and build morale in teachers.
5. 100 Ways to Show Children You Care: While geared more towards parents, this video can give some good suggestions on showing your students how you care about them.
6. Teaching is Amazing: This video shows a series of inspirational quotes on teaching and can be just what you need to pick yourself up on a bad day.
7. Thank You, Teacher: Here you’ll hear the story of how a simple thank you from a student made a difference in a teacher’s life.
8. You Never Gave Up On Me: Listen to the story of this teacher who never gave up on a student who struggled to read.
9. Make a Difference: This story, while fictional, can still be a great inspiration to teachers everywhere.
10. Teachers Who Make a Difference: This series of videos documents teachers from all over who have made a difference in their students’ lives.

Classroom Management

Ensure your classroom stays a happy and organized learning environment with some help from these videos.

1. Diffusing Entitle or Helicopter Parents: Dealing with parents can be one of the biggest challenges of being a teacher. This video offers some advice on managing even the toughest parents.
2. Assertiveness Scenarios: Don’t let coworkers and students walk all over you. This video showcases several scenarios and how to act more assertive.
3. Education Techniques for Children With Autism: Working with children who have disabilities can be challenging, but this video gives some useful pointers to make it a little easier.
4. Maintaining Discipline: Watch this video for advice on keeping your classroom under control.
5. Classroom Management Ideas for At-Risk Students: Those dealing with students that are at a high risk can find out ways they can better work with them in this video.
6. Tips and Tricks for Classroom Management: Get some basic tips and tricks on keeping your classroom running smoothly in this video.
7. Positive Learning Places: Here you’ll get advice on several aspects of classroom management and how you can create an environment conducive to learning.
8. Teacher Training: This video gives teachers some ideas on how to better engage their students and improve their learning environment.
9. Creating Respectful Classrooms: This video can help give your students the tools they need to be respectful, responsible citizens in your classroom.
10. How to Maintain Classroom Discipline: Good and Bad Methods: Learn what works and what doesn’t when it comes to classroom discipline through the instruction of this video.
11. Positive Discipline in the Classroom: Here you’ll learn how to use positive reinforcement to discipline students in your classes.

How-Tos and Guides

These helpful guides and instructional videos can give you assistance with a variety of classroom issues.

1. Challenging Behavior in Young Children: Learn to modify the behavior of elementary age children with advice from this video.
2. Preschool Learning Ideas: Get some ideas on how to work with preschool age children through suggestions from this video.
3. How to Teach a Child Math: This basic video gives some pointers on the best way to teach kids math.
4. First Year Teachers: What Not to Do In the Computer Lab: While very tongue in cheek, this video does offer some helpful suggestions to engaging your students while they’re in the computer lab.
5. Teacher Interview Questions: Find out what kind of questions you can expect in interviews for teaching jobs in this helpful video.
6. How to Become a Teacher By Being a Substitute: This video can help those looking to work as full time teachers who are only substituting at the moment.
7. How to Be an Amazing Teacher: Want to be the best teacher you can be? Check out this video for ways you can go above and beyond.
8. How to Start a Class Successfully: Learn how to set the stage for your whole day by starting your class.
9. Exploring Diversity In Your Classroom: Engage children from all backgrounds in your classroom with some tips from this video.
10. Teacher Tips Organization: This video can help you learn to get and stay organized.
11. How to Get the Second Half of the School Year Off to a Great Start: It can sometimes be difficult to get back in the groove of learning and teaching after a lengthy winter break. This video gives advice on how to get back into the swing of things.

Technology

These videos can help you learn to use technology in the classroom and on your own time more effectively.

1. Podcasting for Teachers: Learn how to create your own podcast in this informative series. This video covers one of the first steps: getting your own blog.
2. What is Moodle?: Moodle can be a great classroom tool for students and teachers. This video can help you learn the basics of the program.
3. Google Docs Tutorial for Teachers: This tutorial will show you the basics of using Google Docs so you can save and edit documents online.
4. Microsoft Word Training for Teachers: Don’t let your students run circles around you using technology. Learn to use Word with this helpful video.
5. SMART Board Orientation: While not all teachers are so lucky to have a SMART Board, those that do can get help on using it from this orientation.
6. Pay Attention: Don’t think technology is important in your classroom? This video might change your mind.
7. Using PowerPoint(Or Not): This video explains ways you can use PowerPoint in the classroom and reasons why you may not want to.
8. A Vision of K-12 Students Today: Here you’ll learn why technology is so important to today’s children.
9. Using Technology in Education: Embrace the overall health of your students by watching this video which explains how to use technology to improve mental health.
10. ChitChat Basic Walkthrough: Learn to use the program ChitChat by watching this instructional video.
11. Shift Happens: Learn what you’ll need to do in order to prepare your classroom to meet the technological needs of your students.

Humor

If you need a good laugh, watch these over your lunch hour or after class.

1. Teachers Suck: While somewhat vulgar, this Tom Green rap can be entertaining to see how some students might view education.
2. History of the World: This simple revision of world history is a fun and creative video to watch.
3. Dramatic Chipmunk: This simple clip makes entertaining use of one very shocked looking chipmunk.
4. Brad Neely’s George Washington: Get a different take on the history of George Washington with this funny and quite catchy song.
5. Spiders on Drugs: Health teachers will find this parody video entertaining.
6. History of the USAEnjoy this funny take on the history of the United States. :
7. St Sanders Guitar Parody: These videos take some of the guitar greats and pair them with lame riffs, with hilarious results.
8. Welcome to My Home: Old videos have been paired with new commentary in this funny series.
9. Sneak Thief: Watch as this hungry gull robs a store owner blind.
10. Super Mole Brothers: Chemistry teachers can appreciate this video project which was made in honor of National Mole Day.

Aprendizagem Informal: A potencialidade da WebO Processo RVCC/Centros Novas Oportunidades

Encontrei este excelente esquema de resumo de um conjunto de instrumentos que a Web 2.0 permite a gestão e utilização a todos nós neste momento e lembrei-me das palavras ouvidas numa conferência...

«A aprendizagem informal, ou aprendizagem por experiência ou aprendizagem experiencial refere-se “às mudanças mais ou menos permanentes no comportamento, como resultado da experiência, a qual gera novos conhecimentos, decorrentes do movimento dos indivíduos e da sua participação, também em mudança, nos múltiplos contextos das suas vidas do dia-a-dia; é um processo de desenvolvimento experiencial, evolutivo e de construção de sentidos que corresponde a um processo social de adaptação dos indivíduos ao seu meio ambiente em mudança; aprendizagem realizada acidentalmente, não intencionalmente, não planeadamente, resultante de experiências de vida, de actividades as mais diversas. A aprendizagem informal pode ainda ser chamada de aprender-fazendo, quando as aquisições de aprendizagem resultam da repetição da prática de uma tarefa, ou de aprender-usando, quando as aquisições de aprendizagem resultam da repetição do uso de ferramentas ou habilidades, em ambos os casos, porém, sem instruções específicas”.» In: (RE)VALORIZAR A APRENDIZAGEM: PRÁTICAS E RESPOSTAS EUROPEIAS À VALIDAÇÃO DE APRENDIZAGENS NÃO FORMAIS E INFORMAIS; Lúis Imaginário

Agora que começam a "povoar" a Internet Blog's, Wiki's, Páginas e Redes Sociais em torno da Iniciativa Novas Oportunidades não será de perguntar se esta mesma aprendizagem informal não está já, neste contexto, a dar os seus frutos?

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Puzzle Your Way to IntelligenceSmart Teaching

Puzzles have been around for centuries, and – according to the 1989 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary – the term “puzzle” has been with us since the end of 16th century. Sometimes the domain of children, whilst list of some of the older varieties of puzzle, as well as their more common and contemporary counterparts.

Wood

One of the earliest construction materials knows to man, wood has been around forever. Since the earliest shelters were being built, we’ve continuously found alternative ways in which to use it, including the construction and manufacture of many varieties of wooden puzzle.

1. Jigsaw Puzzles: A British man by the name of John Spilsbury is accredited with having created the puzzling phenomenon by placing a map on a sheet of wood and then sawing around the individual countries. He used these “jigsaw puzzles” as a learning aid to help students with geography.
2. Soma Cube: Created by Danish author Piet Hein in 1936, after attending a quantum mechanics lecture by Werner Heisenberg. You could say this puzzle is the grandfather of all those wooden cube puzzles you see about today. You know, the ones you get for Christmas and no one seems to be able to do them? Yeah, those ones.
3. Kumiki Puzzles: The Japanese word “kumiki” means the process of wood joinery, and refers to how traditional Japanese craftsmen would never use nails to hammer wood together (due to their propensity to come apart during earthquakes) and instead would resort to complex methods of joining the wood together so that nails were not needed at all. These craftsmen then transferred the genius of interlocking wood joinery from houses to puzzles, and so kumiki were born!
4. Tower of Hanoi: Invented by French mathematician Edouard Lucas in 1883, this puzzle is, of course, that favored of classroom learning puzzles in which you have to move a stack of four (or more) discs to the last peg of three adjacent pegs, moving only one peg per move, with no larger disc being placed on a smaller one. The lower the disc number, obviously the easier to solve, but the higher disc puzzles certainly provide their fair share of complexity!

Paper

After wood came a multitude of paper variations, before finally settling on the smooth and occasionally sharp material we know today. Paper puzzles have been no stranger to us, as it was found that in early 20th century, newspapers could increase their audience – and therefore their sales – if they published some types of puzzle(s), or puzzle contests in along with the paper.

1. Sudoku: The bane of partners everywhere, as their other half gets wrapped up in this logic-based game and is confined to the sofa for the whole weekend as they attempt puzzle after puzzle. The objective here is to fill a grid made of up smaller 3×3 boxes with each column and row containing the numbers 1-9, which can appear only once in each row/column.
2. Crosswords: Here you get a grid of black and white squares, with parts of this grid totally blacked-out so as to provide spaces for words that will form either horizontally or vertically in the white boxes left on the grid. Clues are provided and the participant has to use language, and other mental skills in order to solve the clues and make sure the word will fit in the appropriate box.
3. Chess Problems: These are puzzles which are set up using a chess board with an assortment of pieces in various positions left on it. The solver is then given some sort of condition, like having to checkmate a color within so many moves, before the puzzle can be called “solved”.
4. Word search: The humble word search may – for some of us – recall memories of afternoons spent in class, idling away the minutes with a teacher-made word search related to whatever topic was being studied in class. But the truth is that the word search can help practice not only vocabulary skills, but word recognition and – to a slight degree – spatial awareness, and they’re also good ways to pass the time.

Electric

With the advent of electricity, puzzles have taken ever-different and increasingly varied forms. One of the major products of the electrical age is the computer, so here we have some of the classic puzzle games available on a computer format.

1. Tetris: This is a game that almost everyone will play at some point or anything in their lives. Its colorful falling blocks will forever haunt us and we’ll have visions of slotting blocks into place even when we’re not playing! Tetris has also been scientifically proven to increase the efficiency of brain activity.
2. Puzzle Bobble: A classic from the mid ‘90s arcade era. This was a game in which you fired colored bubbles from the bottom of the screen at other bubbles at the top of the screen in the hopes of creating a match of colors, which then caused the matched bubbles to pop and disappear.
3. Minesweeper: Another classic timewaster which comes preinstalled on most computers. This logic and number-based puzzle game was somewhat infuriating to the uninitiated, but soothing and rewarding to those able to understand how the numbers on the squares actually worked!
4. Brain Age: Known as “Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training” in the UK and Australia, this game was designed to be played a little each day in order to improved various aspects of mental functioning. Available on the Nintendo DS from ’06, this has proven to be popular with everyone, not just those that are into puzzle games. This is largely due to the fact that it requires no great period of commitment at any one time you play; you can simply pick it up and work it into your daily routine, stopping whenever you want to.

Reality

Alternate Reality Games, or ARGs for short, are games which use the real world as a setting for its multitude of puzzles and adventures. ARGs will likely make use of multiple media platforms in order to tell its story, making for an incredible experience that combines the efforts of many people from nations and cultures all around the world. Often tied into a viral marketing campaign for something else, ARGs are nevertheless gaining in popularity and are an interesting cultural phenomenon to observe.

1. I Love Bees: Serving as both a real-world experience and as a viral marketing campaign for the incredibly popular video game Halo 2, the main website received over 3,000,000 visitors over the course of the first three months of it being active in 2004.
2. Perplex City: This ARG had players racing to find an artifact of a fictional city (Perplex City) called the Receda Cube. It was started in April of 2005 and was finished in February of 2007, when the Cube was found in some woods in Northamptonshire, in the United Kingdom. Offering a real life reward of around $200,000, costs were offset by the developers – Mind Candy - as they released a series of collectable trading cards which contains puzzles and clues which would help out with the solving of the ARG as a whole.
3. The Lost Ring: Created by McDonald’s to help out with their marketing campaign for the Beijing Olympic games, this ARG saw people from around the world trying to solve the mystery of a fictional sport that disappeared roughly 2000 years ago.

Baptism by Fire: 100 Essential Tips and Resources for Student TeachersSmart Teaching

By Christina Laun

For those working their way towards teaching degree, the excitement that comes along with becoming a teacher can be tempered by the terror of actually having to manage a classroom full of kids. Student teaching, and the first few years of teaching that follow, can be valuable and rewarding experiences, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t be stressful and crazy as well as you get the hang of being in charge of a classroom. Here are some tips, shared experiences of other teachers, advice from the pros, and helpful information that can help make your student teaching experience the best it can be.

General Tips

Here are a few general tips to keep in mind when you start student teaching.

1. Be flexible. Even the best plans for lessons, projects and homework sometimes just don’t go as you expected. Try to keep things flexible so you won’t be completely derailed when students don’t respond the way you hope.
2. Prepare for the unexpected. Along those same lines, when the unexpected does happen, make sure you’re ready for it. Keep a few backup lessons on hand so you won’t be left out in the cold if you need something to keep your students busy.
3. Learn from other teachers. You’re student teaching in order to get an idea of how to teach, so what better way to supplement your experience than to ask questions and learn from those who are already in the field?
4. Talk to parents. Learning to work with parents can be difficult, but it’s a necessary component of being a teacher. Make sure to keep parents informed of their child’s progress.
5. Share your personal skills. Each person brings a different set of skills to the table when they start student teaching. For instance, if you’re a great artist, try incorporating art into your student’s lessons.
6. Watch what you say. Those just entering student teaching can have a hard time remembering that what they say and do must be closely monitored, both in front of students and other faculty members. You never know what could come back to bite you, so keep your comments to yourself when at school or in public.
7. Learn to prioritize. This can be a good rule for life in general, but it’s especially important when you’re teaching students. Figure out what parts of the lessons are most important and concentrate your energy on those.
8. Find out how your school is run. You’ll make things a lot easier on yourself by figuring out the little day to day operations of the school you’ll be working for. Speak with administrators and cooperating teachers to get the information you’ll need to keep things running smoothly.
9. Plan, plan, plan. When you’re starting out in teaching, you can’t ever plan too much. While it may seem tedious to spend hours planning out every detail of your classes, it can be a good way to keep you feeling confident until you really get the hang of teaching.
10. Create simple rules. The best rules are those that are easy for your students to remember. Keep things simple and lay out some simple guidelines for students to follow to keep them well-behaved and attentive during class.
11. Focus on what you do know. Student teachers and those just starting out in the field will sometimes feel like what they don’t know far outweighs what they do know. However true this may be, try focusing on what you do know instead. The rest will come in time.
12. Don’t try to do it all at once. Many student teachers go into their classrooms with a million ideas for lessons. However, you’ll give yourself a heart attack running around trying to do all the things you want to do at one time, so focus on fully exploring a few of your ideas at a time.
13. Ask questions. Don’t know something? Just ask. Those around you are there to help, so take advantage of their experience and knowledge as you work through your student teaching.
14. Learn about the experience. While reading doesn’t compare to real life experience, it can help prepare you and give an idea of what to expect. Read articles and books about student teaching to help prepare you for the months to come.
15. Enjoy it! At the end of the day, student teaching should be a fun and rewarding experience. Make sure you’re not so wrapped up in doing well that you aren’t taking the time to truly enjoy and appreciate it.

Blogs

Read the insights of both experienced and first year teachers in these blogs.

1. EdCompBlog: David Muir is a professor at the University of Strathclyde who teaches educational computing. Readers can learn about technology in education and get some helpful advice from an experienced educator as he guides his own teaching students.
2. On the Tenure Track: This new teacher explores the daily trials of dealing with administration, unruly students, and the process of finding and staying in a teaching position.
3. New Teacher Diaries: Follow the growth and experiences of these first year teachers in math, special ed and elementary education in these Edwize blogs.
4. First Year Teacher: Blogger Lisa shares her ideas, lessons and feelings on her first year working as a writing instructor in high school and college classrooms.
5. Bob’s Blog: Bob is a new college grad and a current high school social studies teacher in an economically challenged area of Georgia. This blog shares his thoughts on his teaching experience, everyday life and more.
6. Cool Cat Teacher Blog: New and experienced teachers alike can take advantage of this blog which provides news, ideas for lessons, and great links to Web resources for teachers.
7. My First Year: Follow several teachers through their first years working in classrooms in this blog.
8. New Teacher Assistance: Are you a new teacher? Do you need a little help? This blog can give you some ideas and advice on developing as a teacher.
9. So You Want to Teach?: Billed as "education for educators" this blog shares teaching experiences, ideas and more to help you along in learning to teach.
10. Life of Mike: Those entering an ESL teaching position may find information of interest in this blog about new teacher Mike’s experiences.

Guides and Tools

These guides, tools and resource lists can give you a little help in pulling it all together when you’re teaching.

1. Student Teacher Survival Guide: The National Education Association provides student teachers with this helpful guide to make the most of their experience.
2. Survival Guide for New Teachers: Get some advice from the US Department of Education on how to work with other teachers, parents and administrators as a student teacher.
3. What to Expect Your First Year of Teaching: Not sure what to expect after you graduate? Check out this information from the Department of Education to give you some ideas.
4. Simple Tips for Successful Teaching: Get some tips for managing your classroom and keeping things running smoothly from this Education World article.
5. How to Organize Paperwork: Teachers both new and veteran have to deal with loads of paperwork. Learn how to keep it all in order with some tips from this article.
6. Beginning Teacher’s Toolbox: This site contains resources like a survival kit, numerous tips and articles, mentors, inspiration and more.
7. A Beginning Teacher’s Diary: Here you can see and follow along as new teacher Sarah plans her classroom time, works with students and develops lessons.
8. How to Simplify the Grading Workload: Grading can take up a big chunk of your time, especially if you’re teaching the upper grades. This article can help you make grading a little easier and still effective.
9. Ways to Energize Your Students: Learn to give your classroom a little more pep with some ideas from this article.
10. How-tos for Teachers: Here you’ll find a collection of how-tos that can help you do everything from create lesson plans to professional portfolios.
11. How to Be the Best Student Teacher in History: Get a jump start on making a good impression as a student teacher with some help from this article.

Lesson Plans

Coming up with lesson plan ideas can sometimes be a challenge. Use these sites for inspiration.

1. Awesome Library: Find information and resources on just about every school topic on this comprehensive site.
2. Teaching Earth Science: Get some ideas on lessons about all the processes of the planet from this geology-focused lessons site.
3. Teacher’s Page of Lesson Plans: This site from the University of Alberta brings together links to dozens of great sources for lesson plans.
4. Read Write Think: These lessons are focused on helping students improve their reading and writing and can give you some great ideas to bring into the classroom.
5. Lesson Plans Page: Hot Chalk offers over 3,500 lesson plans to teachers of all grade levels and subjects.
6. Lesson Plans Library: The Discovery Channel provides teachers with these lesson plans that cover topics like physical science, math, history, health, fine arts and more.
7. Historic Maps in K-12 Classrooms: Make your history lessons a little more interesting by using some historic maps. This site can give you some ideas on how to do that effectively.
8. The Educator’s Reference Desk: Search through lesson plans by subject on this site which offers thousands of plans for almost every topic.
9. EDSITEment: The National Endowment for the Humanities sponsors this site which offers teachers lesson plans in art and culture, literature and language arts, foreign language and social studies.
10. CyberGuides: Find guides and lesson plans for teaching language arts on this State of California-based site.
11. Gateway to 21st Century Skills: Find loads of resources on this site from lesson plans to tools to help you improve your leadership skills.

Classroom Management

Not everyone has an easy time keeping their classrooms running smoothly, but you can get some advice from these sites.

1. 11 Techniques for Better Classroom Discipline: Try out these 11 techniques to see if you can better deal with behavior issues in your class.
2. What is Your Classroom Management Profile?: Take this quiz to see how you like to manage a class and what might work best for you.
3. Discipline and Classroom Management: This big list of resources can help you find information on dealing with any issue in your classroom.
4. Classroom Management Ideas for Elementary School Teachers: Get some advice on maintaining order in your classroom when you’re working with young children.
5. NEA Works4Me Tips Library: Get access to hundreds of tips on classroom management from the National Education Association.
6. Don’t Waste a Minute!: Learn how to manage every moment of your day, including the awkward ones, with some help from this article.
7. Managing Inappropriate Behavior in the Classroom: Every classroom will have children that act out from time to time. Learn to deal with them by reading this guide.
8. The Really Big List of Classroom Management Resources: Here you’ll find a huge repository of links to articles and tools on classroom management.
9. Creating a More Peaceful Classroom Community: Work with your students to create a more harmonious environment using the advice in this article.
10. Classroom Jobs: How and Why to Assign Them: Learn why it can be a good idea to assign your students jobs around the classroom from this article.
11. How to Create and Enforce Classroom Rules: Learn how to lay down the law in your classroom with a little guidance from Teachnet.
12. A List of Ways to Encourage Good Behavior: Bring out the best in your students by employing some of these tips in your classroom.

Forums

Chat with others in your situation and those who are more experienced in these forums.

1. Teachers.net Student Teacher Chatboard: Talk with others going through their student teaching experience on this chatboard and get support and advice.
2. A to Z Teacher Stuff Forums: Ask questions and talk with teachers new and experienced on this large teaching forum.
3. Teachnology New Teacher/Student Teacher Forums: Discuss all kinds of issues that relate to new and student teachers on this forum.
4. The Teacher’s Corner New Teachers Forum: New teachers can come together to talk on this forum, find answers to questions and get guidance from those with more experience.
5. The Education Forum Student Teacher Support: Student teachers looking for some support may be able to find it on this large education forum.

Advice from Others

Get a little advice from those who have gone before you from these sites.

1. Miss Draper: This site is full of teaching resources for student teachers, from projects and games to a daily journal.
2. Ten Tips for Student Teachers: Make sure to start your teaching experience off right by considering these tips beforehand.
3. Teachers Network: This site is home to loads of resources for new teachers to help make your student teaching and first year as a professional teacher as easy and rewarding as possible.
4. Advice for First Year Teachers From the Principals Who Hired Them: Many principals were once teachers first. This article provides some advice from these experienced educators for those just starting out.
5. New Teacher News: This site is entirely dedicated to providing resources and information to new teachers through articles, blogs and even online mentoring.
6. Advice for Student Teachers: Take some advice from a recent student teacher on how to make the most of the experience in this article.
7. 10 Pieces of Advice for a Student Teacher: Find some ideas to help you face your student teaching experience in this blog from the University of Florida.
8. Teaching Tips for Student Teachers and New Teachers: Need some resources and advice to make it through your first teaching experiences? This site can provide you with hundreds of resources.
9. Teaching With Passion: Advice for Young Educators: Jonathan Kozol has years of experience working with and teaching in inner city schools, and here he provides new teachers with some advice on getting started in teaching with enthusiasm.
10. Student Teaching Advice: A variety of veteran and new teachers have posted their advice for student teachers on this blog.

Professional Organizations

As a student teacher you’ll soon be entering the world of professional teaching. See what these professional organizations have to offer.

1. American Federation of Teachers: You can join millions of other teachers in this organization, plus read informative articles, and get advice on jobs, salary and more.
2. National Education Association: This organization provides teachers with all kinds of helpful resources to aid them in improving their classrooms and their students’ learning experiences.
3. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics: Math teachers can bond with others on this site or find links to the latest and best math resources, conferences, research and more.
4. National Council of Teachers of English: Find professional development help on this site dedicated to bringing together English teachers at all levels.
5. National Center for Learning Disabilities: Those working with special education children may find helpful resources and articles through this site.
6. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development: Get information on improving your lesson plans and curriculum through this professional organization.

Resume and Interview Help

One purpose of student teaching is to prepare you to get a job upon graduation. These resources can help make that process a little easier.

1. Resumes for Teachers: Here you’ll find sample resumes that can help you learn to better write your own.
2. Developing a Teaching Resume and Cover Letter: The guidelines laid out in this article can help you create a winning resume.
3. Writing a Teaching Resume: DePaul University provides teaching students with this site that gives sample resumes as well as advice on what to include and what to leave out.
4. How to Get Your Teacher Resume Noticed: Some schools receive hundreds of resumes each school year, so make sure yours stands out with some help from this article.
5. Teacher Resume and Interview Tips: Use these tips to ace your resume and interview for the teaching job you want.
6. An Elementary Lesson in Writing a Resume Cover Letter for a Teacher: This article covers the basics of writing a good teaching resume.
7. Elementary Teaching Portfolio: Many schools will want more than just a resume from you, they’ll want a portfolio as well. Learn how to construct a good one here.
8. Hard Copies: Writing Resumes That Work: Learn what makes a good resume and how to write your own with some help from the Washington Post.
9. The Teacher Interview: This article covers what you can expect to be asked when you go in for an interview for a teaching position.
10. 100 Teacher Interview Questions: Review these questions before going into your next teaching interview.

Books

Read up on teaching with these great resources.

1. The First Days of School : How to Be an Effective Teacher: This book is a great reference material to add to your bookshelf, as it covers many aspects of classroom management and lesson planning.
2. Rookie Teaching for Dummies: Here you’ll find essential information for the beginning teacher, including how to deal with paperwork, legal issues, administration and politics.
3. Learning to Teach…Not Just for Beginners (Grades K-8): Find forms, certificates, resource lists, and reproducible materials in this invaluable teaching resource.
4. First-Class Teacher: Success Strategies for New Teachers: First year teachers can find all kinds of useful advice and information in this book, as well as reproducible materials to use in class.
5. Your First Year of Teaching and Beyond: This book is designed to suit the needs of student and first year teachers and provides practical advice to deal with all kinds of challenges that come along with teaching.
6. Survival Kit for New Teachers: Learn to plan for the first day of school, get organized, create lesson plans, deal with discipline, and much more in this book.
7. Teach to Reach: Over 300 Strategies, Tips, and Helpful Hints for Teachers of All Grades: Enhance your teaching skills and your classroom environment with some helpful guidance from this book.
8. Teaching With Love and Logic: Taking Control of the Classroom: Teachers are bound to encounter many situations in the classroom they were never prepared for, and this book gives some advice on how to deal with the unexpected without losing your cool.
9. Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension to Enhance Understanding: This book gives teachers some help in teaching reading comprehension and helping students to understand and learn more effectively.
10. The More Ways You Teach the More Students You Reach: 86 Strategies for Differentiating Instruction: Learn to effectively teach students in dozens of different ways through the instruction provided in this book.

101 Free Learning Tools

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A medalha de ouro de Nelson Évora na Imprensa do dia

iPhones & iPods Grátis Para CaloirosMiúdos Seguros Na Net - Promover a Segurança de Crianças e Jovens na Internet

Segundo a edição online do New York Times de 20 de Agosto, algumas Universidades Americanas estão a oferecer iPhones e iPods aos seus caloiros. Segundo a notícia, entre algumas das razões apontadas para esta oferta está a possibilidade de saber onde os estudantes se reunem, o envio de mensagens relativas a aulas canceladas, autocarros atrasados, crises no campus, pesquisas online durante as aulas, sondagens instantâneas aos estudantes ou apenas para facilitar o acesso ao menu da cafeteria. Outra razão, não menos importante, tem a ver com a imagem do iPhone e do iPod junto dos estudantes e que poderia ajudar estas Universidades e cultivarem a reputação de tecnologicamente avançadas.

Se por um lado a iniciativa é acolhida de braços abertos pelo alunos, por outro lado, é também encarada com algumas reticências por alguns docentes. Aos receios de alguns docentes que a introdução destes dispositivos façam aumentar as distrações na sala de aula, alguns alunos reconhecem que poderão ser tentados a "sacar" dos seus dispositivos nas aulas mais "chatas", mas que a concorrência com estes dispositivos poderá também levar os professores a esforçarem-se mais por tornar as aulas mais interessantes.

O artigo refere que os especialistas denotam um movimento no sentido da utilização das tecnologias móveis na educação que está ainda na sua infância, mas que certamente alimentará o debate sobre o papel da tecnologia na educação superior.

O outro aspecto que também não é devidamente aprofundado no artigo é a forma como será medido o sucesso/insucesso desta iniciativa.

O artigo aborda ainda algumas aplicações educativas que alguns professores estão a desenvolver.

Interessante também é o debate que a notícia está a gerar entre os leitores no New York Times.

Mozilla Announces Best New Firefox 3 ExtensionsReadWriteWeb

Como identificar potenciais objetos de aprendizagem?Colaborativo.org

Sempre que você trabalhar com projetos relacionados com educação a distância, saiba que o uso dos objetos de aprendizagem será considerado como o auge em organização e criação de conteúdos, para meios eletrônicos de aprendizagem. Caso você não lembre, esses objetos são partes segmentadas dos cursos, que funcionam de maneira independente, que podem ser reaproveitadas dentro de vários cursos, compostas pelas mais diversas mídias, desde textos até vídeos. O grande desafio em elaborar objetos de aprendizagem é que o designer instrucional envolvido no projeto dos cursos precisa de amplo suporte de especialistas no assunto abordado, para identificar os potenciais objetos de aprendizagem.

Nesse final de semana mesmo, estava trabalhando no design de alguns cursos para o meu ambiente de educação a distância próprio, em que ofereço alguns cursos direcionados para a área de computação gráfica, quando comecei a analisar os projetos dos cursos. Em determinado momento, estava analisando alguns trechos de aulas e pensando já em futuros cursos, quando vislumbrava de imediato determinadas partes do curso, inseridas em futuras iniciativas. Naquele momento consegui identificar um objeto de aprendizagem em potencial, ao longo da tarde em que fiquei trabalhando no projeto, identifiquei mais 3 partes do curso que tem potencial para se transformar em objetos de aprendizagem.

Agora, a dúvida que fica é a seguinte; será que eu conseguiria identificar esse objeto de aprendizagem sem o conhecimento do assunto do curso, assim como de cursos futuros? Acredito que não.

Portanto, se você pretende trabalhar com objetos de aprendizagem, aqui vão algumas dicas para poder potencializar a identificação desses objetos, caso você não seja especialista na área do curso:

1. Sempre solicite a um especialista no assunto, projetos ou esboços de projetos para mais de um curso.
2. Os projetos dos cursos devem estar segmentados da melhor maneira possível, com objetivos bem definidos para cada parte.
3. Caso seja necessário um mínimo de conhecimento técnico, pergunte a um professor da área ou especialista.
4. Tente fazer prognósticos de cursos futuros, em que seja possível aproveitar partes introdutórias ou conceitos teóricos de alguma determinada área.
5. Na produção dos materiais dos cursos, não faça referências ao curso como um todo, apenas ao assunto que está sendo abordado. Isso é extremamente importante se o material for audiovisual. As referências para o curso atual podem ser feitas com pequenos elementos gráficos, colocados no material de estudo na pós-produção. Assim fica mais fácil reutilizar o conteúdo em vários cursos, sem precisar gravar ou produzir partes da aula novamente.

Com essas dicas fica mais fácil trabalhar com objetos de aprendizagem. Pensei nisso, depois de trabalhar no projeto dos cursos.

Agora que estou trabalhando no projeto de cursos para esse ambiente, que por sinal usa o Moodle estou tendo várias idéias interessantes de como organizar conteúdos. Assim que tiver mais alguma dica, publico aqui no Blog.

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Plano de aula em ambientes eletrônicos: O aluno deve ter o controle sobre o aprendizado?Colaborativo.org

Os cursos oferecidos por internet apresentam várias características que podem literalmente estimular ou criar um cenário de desastre, no que refere aos objetivos educacionais. Esse problema é mais evidente em cursos assíncronos, em que alguns sistemas LMS como o próprio Moodle permitem que o aluno tenha controle sobre a seqüência de aprendizagem. Mesmo essa não sendo uma característica única do Moodle, a maioria dos sistemas LMS apresentam seqüências de aprendizagem lineares, com os alunos tendo pouco ou nenhum controle sobre quais partes assistir ou pular dentro do plano de aula.

Nesse tipo de sistema as aulas são passadas como apresentações de slides, em que as pessoas só podem pressionar o botão “próximo” após alguns segundos de consulta ao slide atual, para garantir a consulta ao material. Isso é muito comum em treinamentos corporativos, mas é uma prática que começa a encontrar adeptos em ambientes acadêmicos.

A pergunta que temos que fazer é; qual o melhor método?

A resposta para essa pergunta é difícil, dependendo muito do público alvo e dos objetivos da disciplina. Quem trabalha com educação, sabe que existe uma grande parcela dos alunos que se pudesse, faria apenas as avaliações para tentar “se livrar” da disciplina. Isso tem reflexos nos ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem, com muita gente tentando fazer as atividades, sem consultar e assimilar os conteúdos.

Posso dizer por experiência própria, que o controle dos alunos sobre o aprendizado é bom apenas em níveis mais altos de educação, como cursos de pós-graduação em que a maturidade dos alunos para o processo é muito maior. Mesmo assim ainda é fácil encontrar dentro dos cursos a distância alunos que fazem apenas as atividades e não consultam os conteúdos.

A possibilidade de obrigar os alunos a consultar um determinado conteúdo em ambientes virtuais é tão importante, que está sendo desenvolvido um sistema de pré-requisitos para o Moodle 2.0. Hoje, isso ainda é um recurso que faz falta no Moodle, mas que pode ser contornado com critérios claros de participação para os alunos. Por exemplo, ao começar uma nova disciplina, o tutor a distância pode marcar conversas em chats ou criar atividades que demandem conhecimento do assunto, como a análise de textos ou interpretação de pesquisas. Tudo com base no conteúdo.

Podemos fazer o seguinte sumário dos tipos de controle:

• Seqüência livre: Aqui os alunos têm liberdade para escolher o que será consultado, inclusive escolher se querem ou não pular partes do conteúdo. Como são necessários maturidade e conhecimento prévio do conteúdo, para que a exclusão de qualquer assunto da seqüência de aprendizado não seja prejudicial ao aluno, esse método é indicado para cursos de pós-graduação ou que apresente alunos com maior nível de maturidade.
• Seqüência controlada pelo plano de ensino: Com a segunda opção, os alunos precisam seguir uma linha definida pelo plano de ensino do curso/disciplina. O método é indicado para cursos ou disciplinas em que o professor ou tutor quer que o aluno consulte os materiais, de maneira obrigatória.

Portanto, é importante conhecer a faixa etária dos alunos que participam dos cursos virtuais e principalmente as limitações do ambiente utilizado. No caso do Moodle, alguns tutores usam como estratégia a disponibilização do conteúdo bem antes das atividades, para que os alunos possam fazer o download do texto e só depois de alguns dias, as atividades ficam disponíveis.

O melhor mesmo é refletir bem sobre isso, para fazer a escolha correta com base na faixa etária dos seus alunos e as ferramentas disponibilizadas aos alunos.

U.S. Elections: Obama and McCain Start Sharing in Google ReaderReadWriteWeb

A Loja dos 300Blog da Formação

Ao ver o espectáculo de abertura dos Jogos Olímpicos de Pequim, lembrei-me do documentário “2 Millions Minutes”, realizado por Robert Compton, sobre o modo como os estudantes dos Estados Unidos, da Índia e da China gastam o seu tempo durante o ensino secundário.

Para quem tinha dúvidas sobre o potencial da China, o espectáculo foi uma extraordinária lição com mais de três horas. O exótico, a arte e o extraordinário estiveram sempre presentes. Enquanto via a televisão perguntava-me se, depois dos Jogos, as pessoas continuariam a associar a China às “Lojas dos 300” e à mão-de-obra de baixo custo. Enfim, a um país rural do terceiro mundo onde a maioria da população não tem qualificações nem qualidade de vida.

Para aqueles que ainda têm dúvidas, convém referir alguns dados do documentário, cujo nome resulta do facto do ensino secundário nos Estados Unidos (high school) ter a duração de 4 anos, o que perfaz cerca de 2 milhões de minutos.

Nesse período escolar, o documentário refere que os estudantes chineses dedicam muito mais tempo aos estudos do que os estudantes americanos. Enquanto estes ocupam uma parte substancial com o desporto e desperdiçam parte do tempo, os chineses fazem uma gestão rigorosa do seu tempo. Por outro lado, decresce o número de estudantes americanos que escolhem as áreas das ciências, da matemática e da engenharia ao contrário do que acontece na China. Como resultado, a China produz hoje 8 vezes mais cientistas e engenheiros do que os Estados Unidos, o que está a atrair um crescente número de multinacionais tecnológicas. Esta diferença é ainda mais acentuada quando se constata que 60% dos estudantes que concluem o PHD em engenharia nos Estados Unidos são provenientes de países terceiros, e que muitos deles são chineses que voltam ao seu país.

Sem subterfúgios, o documentário coloca em causa um dogma dos americanos: Os Estados Unidos possuem o melhor sistema de ensino. Compton afirma claramente que tal já não é verdade. Os níveis de sucesso académico dos estudantes americanos estão em declínio há mais de 20 anos, como refere o relatório “A Nation at Risk” (Uma Nação em Risco), sem que os Estados Unidos tenham conseguido inverter a situação. Talvez, se o desempenho dos americanos nos Jogos Olímpicos for tão fraco como é o desempenho académico, provavelmente, haja uma mobilização nacional para resolver a crise do sistema de ensino.

Segundo Compton, o que surpreende é o contraste de valores entre os estudantes americanos e chineses. Enquanto o trabalho ético e a dedicação aos estudos são a bandeira dos estudantes chineses, entre os americanos o desporto assume o papel principal pois a cultura americana valoriza cada vez menos o sucesso académico. Pelo contrário, para as famílias chinesas a prioridade é o sucesso académico e intelectual com o desporto a cumprir o papel secundário de exercício físico e de construção de espírito de equipa. A diferença cultural é gritante. Na China, os pais com filhos no ensino secundário investem em explicadores para acelerar a aprendizagem dos filhos, não para remediar o insucesso nas disciplinas escolares. Os pais chineses não se importam de não ir a um desafio de futebol dos filhos, mas não querem perder as elocuções, os debates sobre ciências e matemática e os torneios de xadrez na escola.

A comparação dos curricula dos estudos (K-12) e das provas de exame dos dois países também é elucidativa, com a China a apresentar níveis de exigência bastante superiores. Acresce que, enquanto os Estados Unidos têm 53 milhões de estudantes (K-12) a China tem 200 milhões e possui 4 vezes mais crianças sobredotadas. Quanto ao ensino superior, em 2006, 1,3 milhões de estudantes concluíram a licenciatura nos Estados Unidos contra 3,3 milhões na China.

Para terminar, um factor decisivo para o sucesso dos negócios num contexto de globalização: a língua. Nos Estados Unidos a língua estrangeira mais falada é o espanhol. Em 2016, a China será o país do mundo com mais pessoas a falar inglês. No entanto, um inquérito aos CEO das grandes empresas revelou que estes consideram que o inglês não será uma língua importante no século XXI, mas sim o mandarim, o hindu, o farsi e o árabe. Por outras palavras, a China estará melhor preparada para agir global.

Definitivamente, o paradigma está a mudar. Apesar de haver ainda muito caminho a percorrer, a China emerge como uma potência com capacidade competitiva para derrotar os Estados Unidos nos Jogos Olímpicos e, também, no desenvolvimento tecnológico e científico. Não será pois de estranhar que, após a maioridade tecnológica patenteada nos Jogos, a “Loja dos 300” passe a vender automóveis e produtos de alta tecnologia “made in China” com a mesma competitividade com que vende actualmente os artigos “inovação zero”.

“Não temos nada a aprender com sistemas de educação de países do terceiro mundo (China)”, Professor da Universidade de Harvard numa entrevista com Robert Compton

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