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Wikipedia…is it an educational resource?

05 Nov 2013 by Briana in Language Arts, Math, PE/Health, Science, Social Studies, The Arts 0 comments tags: digital literacy, The Daring Librarian, Wikipedia

Every year this comes up, so here’s a reminder of how and why. Over the years educators have debated the value and reliability of Wikipedia as a source for educational projects. I have always been FOR students using Wikipedia! But, I always make sure my students know how and when to use it. The guidelines include using Wikipedia for… background/overview information technical and unfamiliar terms pop culture quick facts or trivia and…most importantly, its bibliography! I always teach my students to go to the source of information and well written Wikipedia articles give you that. If a Wikipedia article doesn’t have a bibliography with sources you can go to, then it’s not a good choice for school research. Librarians are often against Wikipedia for academic work, but The Daring Librarian (aka. Anne Bronwynne Jones, one of Library Journal’s 2011 movers and shakers!) has a wonderful, albeit older, blog post on why she is FOR using Wikipedia. It’s worth the 10 minutes. So, as we embark on another school year, remember to teach your students to use resources appropriately and responsibly, rather than sticking your head in the sand and pretending they won’t use Wikipedia just because you said so!

Place Value with Woody and Buzz!

05 Nov 2013 by Briana in IWB Resources, Math 0 comments tags: ActivInspire, flipchart, math, place value, Toy Story

Are you teaching place value soon? To the hundred millions place? Do your kids like Toy Story…Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang? Well, then this flipchart is for you! The Toy Story Place Value flipchart is filled with a variety of activities to teach, reinforce and assess students’ understanding of place value.

Bloom’s in the 21st Century

05 Nov 2013 by Briana in Google Apps 0 comments tags: Andrew Churches, Bloom's Digital Taxonomy, Bloom's Taxonomy, Google Apps, HOTS, Kathy Schrock, LOTS

As educators we all know about Bloom’s taxonomy and how it can help us scaffold learning by building a base of knowledge while supporting and challenging our students to apply what they know in other situations. Bloom’s taxonomy, now over 50 years old, was updated in 2000 by Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl. Krathwohl, who worked with Bloom on the original taxonomy, worked with Anderson and a group of experts to transform Bloom’s taxonomy into an active and modern reflection of what we know about cognitive psychology, learning, and metacognition. Dr. Leslie Owen Wilson gives a wonderful overview of the change and compares the revised taxonomy to Bloom’s original. Based on the revised Bloom’s, Andrew Churches created Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy. His wiki, educational origami, details all of his work, presentations and resources for integrating the digital taxonomy into the classroom. Below is a summary map of Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy. Click on the image to see a larger version. You will notice that the Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy references actions associated with digital tools, many of which you may not be familiar with. It also includes some actions which some educators may find unethical or inappropriate (like hacking), but you cannot take […]

Scientific Micro-origami

05 Nov 2013 by Briana in Science 0 comments tags: capillary action, origami

Here’s another WOW! This video is a series of micro-origami creations that expand when in contact with water. So, how does this work? Here are some resources to help your students understand what’s happening. Color changing celery Escaping Water Celery Rocks!