Here’s the outline for a seminar I teach in schools before the holiday break, to excite teachers about what they can accomplish “the second half” of the school year:

Every year, I make New Year resolutions and ignore them. I don’t promise to fulfill them. I don’t even check my progress and revise as needed. I make-and-forget, check it off the New Year’s To Do list and move on.

This year, I’m trying something different: resolutions that aren’t quantified, that won’t take extra time from my too-busy schedule. Resolutions that are, instead, about my teaching mindset. Here’s my list:

I will learn one new tech tool a month

There are so many. I get massive lists of webtools, websites, apps, extensions, and links in my inbox, mostly proclaimed as “the tool I can’t do without”. Every month, I’ll pick one and try it.

Just to be clear: Today’s tech ed tools aren’t like they used to be. The ones I’m interested in are easy-to-use, intuitive, easily differentiated for varied student needs, and free or inexpensive. Anything that requires a time commitment to learn and buckets of creativity to use is off the list. My schedule is too packed for that sort of commitment. And, I’ll unpack them with the students, authentically, as part of a project we do.

To get me started, add a comment with your favorite tool — the one I should start in January.

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World Kindness Day, celebrated on November 13th each year, promotes kindness across the globe and emphasizes compassion toward others. This day encourages us to look beyond boundaries, religions, and cultures, focusing instead on the simple act of being kind. Founded in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement, it is observed in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates.

Here are 26 resources to help you select the right LMS for your school (click for updates to list): (more…)

Warm-ups

This video is from a series I taught for school districts. It is now available for free, here on Ask a Tech Teacher:

–summarized by NoteGPT

Highlights

• 🖥️ Engaging with technology enhances student learning and excitement.
• 📅 Class warm-ups help transition students into learning mode efficiently.
• ⏱️ Student independence during warm-ups allows teachers to manage other tasks.
• 🎨 Utilizing tools like Smore for creating engaging class materials.
• 📚 Presentation boards encourage student collaboration and sharing.
• 💻 Blogging fosters communication and feedback among classmates.
• 🔄 Responsive classroom activities can be adapted for technology use.

Key Insights

• 🧑‍🏫 Technology Integration: Effectively using technology in education not only captivates students but also promotes a deeper understanding of the material. Encouraging tech-related engagement can transform traditional lessons into interactive experiences.
• 🎯 Purposeful Warm-Ups: Implementing structured class warm-ups minimizes downtime and maximizes learning. These activities set the tone for the lesson and help students focus as they transition into the learning environment.
• 🤝 Student Empowerment: Allowing students to take charge of their warm-up activities fosters independence. This approach not only builds responsibility but also encourages them to become active participants in their learning journey.
• 📊 Creative Teaching Tools: Utilizing platforms like Smore helps educators design visually appealing and informative materials that enhance communication with students and parents, making learning more accessible.
• 👥 Collaborative Learning: Activities such as presentation boards and blogging promote peer-to-peer learning. This collaboration strengthens their understanding and retention of the material while building a supportive classroom community.
• 🔄 Feedback Mechanisms: Incorporating blog comments or discussion forum posts enables meaningful interaction. This feedback loop enhances the learning process and encourages critical thinking among students.
• 🏫 Responsive Classroom Strategies: Integrating responsive classroom techniques with technology can create an inclusive and engaging learning environment. These strategies help maintain student interest and facilitate smooth transitions during lessons.

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The Ask a Tech Teacher team has come up with the best little-known LMS platforms for 2024. Honestly, we hadn’t heard about most of these before one of our international team members brought them to our attention. If you’re looking for an alternative to your current LMS, check out these. Read on to learn key criteria for choosing the right LMS to enhance your school’s digital learning experience

Best LMS for Schools in 2024

In the rapidly evolving landscape of education technology, Learning Management Systems (LMS) have become an integral part of modern schools, facilitating efficient administration and enhancing the overall learning experience. As schools continue to embrace digital transformation, the demand for robust LMS platforms tailored for educational institutions is on the rise. In this guide, we will delve into the intricacies of choosing the best LMS for schools in 2024, highlighting the top 5 platforms that stand out in the competitive market.

Note: We noticed that InnovateClass doesn’t populate a website. Normally, we cross out expired sites, but in this case, it does connect readers with a lot of good information about the innovative classroom.

Top 5 LMS for Schools in 2024

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The Role of Phosphorus Properties in Sustainable Technology for Classrooms

When you think about how to educate the next generation, what do you hope to see? A school classroom of the future, one equipped with technology for students to learn and grow, is also designed to be sustainable. Some wouldn’t regard it as just a vision because phosphorus properties are special ingredients in the development of sustainable technology for education.

Powering Classrooms with Phosphorus-Based Energy Solutions

Phosphorus and its properties are increasingly being studied for their potential to transform education tools and technology. One of the most important areas in which phosphorus has the ability to change things is in energy storage in classrooms. In a classroom today, many of the most essential education tools — tablets, laptops, and interactive whiteboards — require the use of power.

What if every piece of technology in a classroom was powered by a more energy-efficient battery that would last longer and charge faster? That might sound like a dream, but it’s not only approaching — it’s becoming a reality. With phosphorus-friendly batteries, schools can develop more sustainable sources of energy, which will reduce the overall carbon footprint of these institutions.

Companies like ICL Industrial Products are playing an important role in leveraging phosphorus for sustainable technology developments, such as batteries. Today, educators and school leaders should be aware of the power of phosphorus, as it can help facilitate more informed decisions in the best interests of students and teachers.

Phosphorus and the Evolution of Classroom Technology

Energy storage is just one example of phosphorus properties. Semiconductors are another place where phosphorus is at work. Semiconductors contain phosphorus because of its properties as a dopant, which allows it to have an effect on the material’s electrical properties. Essentially, phosphorus has the power to improve the efficiency of computers and interactive displays, which are becoming more popular and necessary in today’s classroom settings.

Since the compound is helping to power so many critical pieces of touch screens, this is yet another example of how the material is shaping the future of education. By making these devices work better and be more energy-efficient, phosphorus properties are helping young learners in classrooms be more engaged and successful than they ever have been.

Real-World Applications: Phosphorus in Sustainable Classroom Tools

Apart from semiconductors and batteries, there are a number of other places where phosphorus can be found in classrooms. Schools everywhere are implementing phosphorus-oxide compounds in LEDs. These innovative lights can now be found in typical modern classroom settings, significantly advancing lighting quality and efficiency to create a safer environment for young learners.

Think of the impact of upgrading school lights to LEDs. The environmental benefit paired with the financial benefit is the perfect global/school solution. This is a great way to understand the fantastic usefulness of phosphorus properties in school technology.

Creating a Sustainable Future with Phosphorus

By choosing phosphorus property technology, educators can make sustainable and cutting-edge transformations in their classrooms. Integrating phosphorus into the build of classroom tech is just one way to keep an eco-conscious classroom sustainable.

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“The content presented in this blog are the result of creative imagination and not intended for use, reproduction, or incorporation into any artificial intelligence training or machine learning systems without prior written consent from the author.”

Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.

In the past, I’ve gotten emails like this from teachers:

I am a tech teacher, going on my fifth year in the lab. Each year I plan to be more organized than the last, and most often I revert back to the “way things were.” I’m determined to run the lab just like I think it should be! … Could you please elaborate on how you run your class? I love the idea of having kids work independently, accomplishing to do lists, and working on different projects. You mention this in Volume I, but I want to hear more!

Currently, I see close to 700 students, grades 1-6. I want to break out of the routine (the “you listen, I speak, you do” routine), and your system seems like it would work well. Just hoping you can share some details.

I decided to jot down my typical (as if any planned lesson ever comes out the way it’s written–you know how that goes!) daily lesson. You can tweak it, depending upon the grade you teach. Here goes:

Creating and Using Curriculum Maps

This video is from a series I taught for school districts. It is now available for free, here on Ask a Tech Teacher:

Summary

Use technology for effective curriculum mapping in lesson planning, emphasizing its importance and ongoing updates.

Highlights

• 📚 Curriculum maps help organize teaching and enhance collaboration.
• 🔄 They are dynamic documents that require constant updates.
• 🗺️ A curriculum map serves as a guide for teachers and substitutes.
• 📅 It includes essential details like timelines, skills, and assessments.
• ✏️ Creating a curriculum map is a year-long process requiring collaboration.
• 💻 Technology tools can simplify the mapping process significantly.
• 🌱 A well-structured map evolves over time, improving lesson effectiveness.

Key Insights

• 📖 Curriculum Maps Enhance Clarity: They provide a structured overview of what is taught throughout the year, benefiting both teachers and students by clarifying expectations and content.
• 🤝 Collaboration is Key: Involving all teachers in the mapping process fosters teamwork and ensures that all perspectives are considered, leading to a more comprehensive educational approach.
• 🔄 Living Documents: Curriculum maps should be treated as evolving tools that adapt based on reflections and experiences from previous years, making them more effective over time.
• 📅 Planning with Purpose: Incorporating important dates and events into the curriculum maps allows teachers to create realistic and achievable goals for their lessons.
• 💻 Technology Integration: Using digital tools to create curriculum maps can streamline the process, allowing for better organization and easier sharing among educators.
• ⏳ Long-Term Investment: Developing a thorough curriculum map is a time-consuming process, but the long-term benefits for lesson planning and execution are invaluable.
• 🌟 Reflective Practice: Regularly reviewing and updating the curriculum map encourages reflective teaching practices, helping educators identify areas for improvement and celebrate successes.

–summarized by NoteGPT

A 1999 study by the Heschong Mahone Group (Daylighting in Schools: An Investigation into the Relationship Between Daylighting and Human Performance) found that students in classrooms with the most natural light progressed 20% faster in math and 26% faster in reading than those in classrooms with the least natural light. This is a significant impact natural lighting can have on student academic success and overall well-being. The Ask a Tech Teacher team decided to dig into this more. Here’s what we found:

Why Natural Light Is So Important in School Design

Students studying in classrooms with enough daylight have been shown to perform better on tests and exhibit less behavioral issues, something which may seem obvious but is sometimes neglected during school space design.

Daylight is an integral element of learning, proven to reduce absenteeism, improve focus and raise mood. Here, we explore why daylight should be integrated into school design as an integral component.

Why daylight?

Make natural lighting a priority in schools for one main reason: It improves academic performance. Students exposed to daylight scored 20% higher on math and reading tests compared to their counterparts in artificially lit classes, according to one study.

Daylighting also plays a key role in keeping children healthy. Direct sunlight stimulates their brain, prompting their bodies to produce serotonin and Vitamin D production – this has been demonstrated to elevate moods, alleviate stress and ward off seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Daylighting saves energy by lowering peak electricity demand when electric lighting is switched off or dimmed during the day. This is especially helpful in school buildings with limited budgets. Shading systems help regulate how much sunlight enters a room to avoid excessive glare or heat gain. (more…)

Summer is a great time to reset your personal pedagogy to an education-friendly mindset and catch up on what’s been changing in the ed world while you were teaching eight ten hours a day. My Twitter friends gave me great suggestions, but first:

A comment on the selections: I did get more suggestions than I could possibly list so I avoided books that involved politics or hot-button subjects that teachers are divided on and focused on positive and uplifting reading. Yes, there is a lot wrong with education around the world but I wanted a selection of books that would send me — and you —  back to teaching in the fall with a can-do attitude for how to accomplish miracles with your next class of students.

Having said that, here’s a granular list of teacher-approved books to keep you busy this summer:

Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times

by Eric C. Sheninger

Digital Leadership defines a strategic mindset and set of behaviors that leverage resources to create a meaningful, transparent, and engaging school culture. It takes into account recent changes such as connectivity, open-source technology, mobile devices, and personalization of learning to dramatically shift how schools have been run for over a century.

Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns

by Clayton M. Christensen

Selected as one of Business Week’s Best Books on Innovation in 2008, Disrupting Class remains a worthy read. It is filled with fascinating case studies, scientific findings, and insights into how managed innovation can unleash education. Disrupting Class will open your eyes to new possibilities and evolve your thinking. For more detail, read my review, Disrupting Class.

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