Vicki A. Davis's Blog, page 154
February 17, 2015
Book Review: P is for Pirate
I’ve never seen anything like this book for teachers. But that is a good thing. In this day and age of crazy busy-ness, this may just be the perfect book for quick inspiration!
P is for PIRATE: Inspirational ABC’s for Educatorslooks like a children’s book but reads like an inspirational kick in the pants for teachers who want to be awesome. I could see a whole school create a 26 week PD for teachers around each letter of the alphabet.
My head was nodding yes. I wanted to underline, but the book...
February 6, 2015
What to Do When You Fail
When you lose, it hurts. Don’t ever look at someone and think they don’t lose. Don’t think that others don’t fall. They do. We all fail at some time. I failed today. It hurts.
In Steven King’s bookOn Writing,he talks about the many rejection letters he had nailed to the wall in the attic at his home. You lose 100% of the shots you don’t take. We all fail. We all fall.
I’ve been struggling with failure and falling this week. At the midpoint of a mega-app programming project with 60 of my student...
February 4, 2015
My Top Time Management Tips: Plan Your Ideal Week
You don’t accidentally climb Mt. Everest. If you don’t plan to, you won’t. As you set your goals for your life, one of my top time management tips is to plan your ideal week.Michael Hyatt shared this tip back in 2011 on his blog and it has made a huge difference since I picked it up in 2012.
You don’t accidentally climb Mt. Everest. If you don’t plan to, you won’t. Vicki DavisPowered By the Tweet This Plugin
Tweet ThisWhy does planning your ideal week work so well? InThe Power of Habit, authorC...
January 30, 2015
Making Learning Fun: Engaging Students with Imagination with @teachheath
Jeromie Heath engages students by dressing up. Some days he’s Super Marioor a Mad Scientist— other days he’s a pirate. He was even a finalist for People’ Magazine’s teacher of the year(see the video to believe his classroom — notice the standards on the wall – yes, they are still there.) He engages students by immersing them in experiences.On the show, he says, “I’m tapping into their childhood…”
If a child feels you have a connection with them… then they start learning. Jeromie HeathPowered B...
January 29, 2015
Teaching with Windows 10, Spartan, and Vivaldi
Troubleshooting is higher order thinking. Comparing new software with older software has students thinking at a high level too. So, when new software is released, I use it to teach. Three recent software releases give you a great way to teach technology:
Announced this week — Windows 10 is free(as a technical preview until October 1, 2015), for consumers.
With it Microsoft releases a new web browser — SPARTANto replace Internet Explorer
The creator of Opera releases another web browser — VIVALDI...
January 27, 2015
Hope for Teachers; Hope for Kids
Oh, dear friends and fellow educators — you are in the throes of January. A teacher at church admitted to me just this past Sunday that this time of the year she lies awake at night figuring out how to better teach this or that. Brrr. The tests are coming. Such things dominate the minds and can cloud the hearts of great teachers who believe (rightly so) that too much testing obscures what we’re here to do.
Dear teacher, have hope. There are things to do and precious children to love on and tea...
January 22, 2015
RSS and Feedly: Stay Up to Date without the Hassle
Feedly helps you pull together many great sources of information around the web. RSS readers have been part of my curriculum for 10 years. It is time to learn to master this techniqueto make your life easier.
In today’s tutorial video I’ll teach you how to set up Feedly (just the basics) and add 3 sources of information. You’ll learn how RSS works and why it makes your life easier.
Video Tutorial: RSS and Feedly
Learn the new way to stay updated: RSS. While RSS has been around for a while, few p...
January 20, 2015
January 31: the First Student-Led Technology Conference is Here! Join in.
So what if we put students in charge of planning a global student technology conference? It is happening Saturday, January 31 as students from around the world connect and share about technology. Encourage your students to present, participate, and learn. I asked Eric Walters, the teacher of the students organizing this event to share. As we shared in Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds — students are the greatest textbook written for each other. OPEN THE BOOK. Letyour students know.
Guest p...
January 15, 2015
Best of Cool Cat Teacher – Reflection on 2014
Look forward at this year but you should also look back to celebrate and appreciate! I’m so grateful for all of you who read the Cool Cat Teacher Blog. Most of these posts are written in the wee hours of the morning, when I come home tired or sometimes in the car (with Kip driving, of course). My goal is to be helpful, inspiring, and informative.
If you’ve visited my blog in the last two days you might have seen an error screen! It is because I was upgrading to a faster server and we had GLITC...
January 14, 2015
Copyright 101: A Simple Video Lesson in Licenses
Teachingabout copyright, Creative Commons, and how to license your work can be a challenge. I’ve created a lesson to explain this simply. All of the videos I’m creating now on the Cool Cat Teacher TV YouTube channel now have essential questions with them. Feel free to use them with your students.
Copyright 101: A Simple Lesson in Licenses
Essential Questions
What is copyright?
How long does it last?
What are the kinds of copyright?
How can I copyright my own work?
How can I find works I can use free...
