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ELLs and receptive language issues: Where does one end and the other begin?
Clare Russell EducationI have been teaching for 25 years and counting, with most of those years working with students with learning disabilities. For my students who are also officially classified as ELL, I found myself wondering where one diagnosis stops and the other one begins. Receptive language problems mean someone finds verbal language problematic. A person who is learning a new language also finds verbal language in problematic, usually in that language.
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New tactics boost cybersecurity in schools
Bambi Majumdar EducationThere have been more than 350 cyberattack incidents in K-12 schools since January 2016. These incidents include phishing attacks that resulted in breaches or hacks and the disclosure of personal data. There were also ransomware attacks, denial-of-service attacks and other incidents that resulted in school disruptions and unauthorized disclosures. Cybercriminals target the education sector for reasons other than immediate monetary gains. They want access to extensive financial information and sensitive personal data, and also want their hands on valuable proprietary research data.
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The relationship between student behavior and engagement
Brian Stack EducationA recent Mind/Shift article by Katrina Schwartz highlighted the efforts by San Francisco middle school principal Michael Essien to get classroom behavior under control in his school. Essien’s story touched me personally as I too shared his frustrations. Over the last 10 years as a school administrator, I have seen a dramatic decline in classroom disruptions and general student misbehavior that I believe is correlated to increased student engagement in school.
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Is fitness the right weapon to combat childhood obesity?
Sheilamary Koch Sports & FitnessIncreasing sedentariness among children around the world makes fighting the problem of childhood obesity even more challenging than ever. In the U.S. alone, more than 12 million children between the ages of 2 and 19 years are obese — one out of every six children, cite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Along with healthier eating, promoting physical activity has been long considered a cornerstone of obesity prevention and treatment. But how much impact do exercise and sports have on this critical issue?
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Improving school productivity for ‘non-average’ students
Susan Winebrenner EducationYou have undoubtedly noticed that only some of your students enthusiastically dig in to their schoolwork and seem motivated to get their work done. Learning standards are actually not written for specific grade levels! They are aimed at the perceived learning abilities of the students in the middle of achievement expectations for typical learners of a certain age in a targeted grade. So, the truth is that the students who are not being productive are "located" at both ends of the learning continuum. Those kids who are "not doing or handing in their work" are the target groups for this article.
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How to use quizzes in your music classroom
Aileen Miracle EducationRecently, I took a class about different web apps to use in the classroom. During that class, I discovered Quizizz, and was immediately excited about the possibilities. In this article, I'll write about how to use Quizizz, how to create a quiz on Quizizz, and how to find quizzes I've made on the platform. Quizizz is a website that allows students to take quizzes. It is similar to Kahoot, but you can give the quiz as homework, instead of having all students take it live.
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The gravity of personal responsibility
Debra Josephson Abrams EducationDespite articulating my professional responsibilities in a written and signed commitment to my students and asking them to reciprocate, disinterested and disengaged students did not become interested and engaged, nor did they become responsible, not even in the slightest. To each class, they continued to come unprepared, continued to fall asleep, and continued not to not participate. Surely, I thought, at the very least, they know they are going to fail the course. What else could I do to save them from themselves?
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Are brighter futures through edtech within reach?
Sheilamary Koch EducationPossibilities for using technology in schools are endless — but the conditions that nurture successful educational technology programs boil down to a handful. Institutions that boast excellent outcomes associated with their high-tech capabilities had three common traits; detailed technology visions and plans, teacher and student involvement in technology planning, and formal evaluation of technology effectiveness. These findings were based on a global survey evaluating 22 evidence-based edtech capabilities.
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Overcoming obstacles as an ESL teacher
Douglas Magrath EducationTeachers, including those in ESL, may decide to leave the profession for a variety of reasons. In this article, the author encourages teachers to stay the course and overcome barriers in order to continue in their chosen profession. Teachers want to teach. That is why they enter the profession. But things may be different when they finally start.
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A balanced approach to technology in the classroom
Sheilamary Koch EducationThe powerful influence of technology on our lives is not to be taken lightly — and it’s no surprise that educators have strong opinions on its place in our schools. Evidence that educational technologies displace curricular activities that better develop students’ ability to relate to each other, think critically and concentrate were key justifications for low-tech education expressed in the previous article. While some take an extreme stance against technology in schools, many seem to believe it has a place in the education of our children.
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