Educational Resources & Tech Tools 01/01/2021

• Resisting the Pushback Against the Work for Racial Equity and Justice  — Teaching While White

  • whenever there’s a concerted effort to address racism in the nation, forces of resistance rise up.

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 12/31/2020

• The Dos and Dont's of Talking to Kids of Color About White Supremacy | Colorlines

  • Do ground your children in a worldview that includes their spirituality, family traditions, heritage, cultural values and
  • self-respect.
  • Don’t perpetuate the myth that we live in a colorblind society. Everyone is not treated the same, and race and color do matter and America is a not meritocracy where they will succeed if they just try hard enough. Even if you believed this in the past, those ideas lack credibility today. If you need to do an about face, say so and explain why.
  • And research shows that by the time a Black boy turns 10, White adults often perceive him as being up to four years older than he is and less innocent than other children. A study released in June revealed that Black girls ages 5 through 14 are viewed as more sexually mature and less innocent than their White peers.
  • Do role-play to help them practice what to say during stressful encounters.

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 12/21/2020

• Listen and Connect: How Parents Can Support Teens’ Mental Health Right Now - MindShift

  • “It sounds really simple, but the thing that teenagers are craving the most is connection and listening because this is hard for everyone,” she said.

     

  • “Children take their cues first from us, always. We are their people.” But adults do not need to be paragons of positivity. We don’t have to pretend it’s easy, says Hurley. Instead, we can talk about how we are feeling with teens “so that they know that, right now, feeling like you're on a roller coaster every day is normal.”
  • “Whether it is taking that daily walk or doing an online yoga class or some sort of exercise to get the endorphins going, we have to think about our own coping strategies,” says Hurley. She also strongly recommends meditation apps because mindfulness is a proven way to reduce the acute stress response. “When we use it, it works.”

  • Check-In Without Interviewing

     

  • Hurley said the most common response she’s hearing from kids right now is that they are lonely. They miss their friends, and they miss “a teacher leaning over their desk to point something out on their paper. Teachers have this magical way of connecting with kids in small ways and they can't get that over Zoom, no matter how hard they try.”

  • Parents often report that their teens are not coming to them for support. But they are, Hurley says.

     

    “They're just doing it in a way that you don't like. When they're venting or sniping at you over little things – there it is!

  • Even as the ‘warm fuzzies’ are not often reciprocated, teens still need them, still need to know they are loved unconditionally.”

• Should Schools Be Giving So Many Failing Grades This Year?

  • “The question is not, how can we get these kids who are close to failing to not fail. It’s, what is not working for those kids?” MacIndoe said. “How can we do a better job for them?”

• NAIS - NAIS Research: Budget Considerations for the 2021-2022 School Year

  tags: budget tuition

  • Data from the NAIS Snapshot surveys of varying groups of independent school leaders reveal that 61% of schools have increased their expense budgets for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, while 58% are projecting a loss for the same time period.
  • 49% of schools experienced a decrease in enrollment for the 2020-2021 school year, with 33% seeing a decrease of greater than 5%. At the same time, 47% of schools reduced their fundraising goals from the previous year.[2] Tuition revenue will only help fill the gap at some schools: 49% increased their tuition, while 41% kept it the same and just 5% of schools reduced it.[3] However, 70% do expect to raise tuition in 2021-2022.[4]
  • Sixty-seven percent of schools have already implemented revenue-increasing strategies, and 76% plan to do the same in 2021-2022. Schools most commonly plan to rely on summer programs, with 67% already offering them and 79% likely to for the next summer.
  • 74% of schools increased their technology budgets.[6] Thirty-six percent expect IT expenses to increase further in 2021-2022.[7] Other schools appear to be angling to attract and retain staff despite the cost: 43% increased salaries (compared to 21% who cut them), and 74% hired additional staff (though data from a different sample of NAIS members found that 30% had implemented a hiring freeze, while 19% instituted layoffs).[8] Additionally, 38% of schools have increased their general financial aid budgets, with 31% increasing it by more than 5%. Fifty-four percent have established a separate emergency grant fund for students needing additional assistance.
  • Despite the need for additional teacher training in online and hybrid learning, professional development budgets have frequently been cut to make up for additional spending elsewhere, with 41% of the schools decreasing the amount allocated (and 26% decreasing it by more than 16%).[10] Thirty-nine percent of schools are likely to continue to reduce professional development in 2021-2022, and 22% may freeze it altogether.
  • adding new degree programs was a common and successful tactic for boosting enrollment during the Great Recession and one that was also popular with faculty.
  • A parallel tactic for independent schools in markets that have seen increased demand for their programs, whether in-person or online, would be to add a part-time or afterschool component for parents worried about learning loss for their public school students.
  • Determining what motivates your parents can help your school focus its offerings and rein in expenses, helping you focus on what matters most to families.
  • Fifty-five percent of independent schools lost teachers this year due to COVID-19 concerns, and 8% lost 5% or more of their teaching staff, according to NAIS Snapshot surveys.[21] All of this has led to a nationwide shortage in both dedicated substitutes and, more broadly, people who can just watch over a classroom when the teacher isn’t physically present.
  • The goal of financial sustainability seems to have been superseded by the reality of teaching during a global pandemic
  • To address the substitute shortage in South Dakota, for example, one public school district partnered with a local university’s college of education. Teaching candidates are able to get the field experience hours required for their degree by substitute teaching in various classrooms.
  • After all, the job market for recent graduates has shrunk dramatically during the pandemic, with unemployment during the third quarter of 2020 particularly high among young people—almost 18% of 18- to 19-year-olds were unemployed as were about 15% of 20- to 24-year-olds.
  • • One-time revenue shortfall (with expected rapid recovery): This scenario is optimistic during the pandemic, but schools that were unable to hold a large revenue-earning event in 2020, such as an auction, community fair, or summer camp, but expect to be able to do so in 2021 can rely on endowment funds for the time being.
     
    • One-time or short-term expenses: Schools may need endowment funds to repair the campus after natural disasters or offer emergency financial aid grants for families facing hardship.
     
    • Short-term expense for long-term savings: Schools that haven’t already done so, or haven’t done so to as full an extent as they would like, can use endowment funds to upgrade technology or PPE infrastructures in order to attract and retain students in the long-term.
  • When making financial decisions, school leaders need to be honest about the challenges affecting their final choice.

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 12/02/2020

• You want this party started, right? Here We Go!

  You want this party started, right? Here We Go! #BidenHarris2020 https://t.co/cC1IYm8QaC

  tags: BidenHarris2020

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 11/16/2020

• Code switching Analysis in The Hate U Give | LitCharts

  • Williamson Starr doesn't use slang—if a rapper would say it, she doesn't say it, even if her white friends do. Slang makes them cool. Slang makes her “hood.” Williamson Starr holds her tongue when people piss her off so nobody will think she's the “angry black girl.” Williamson Starr is approachable. No stank-eyes, side-eyes,

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 11/03/2020

• As the election draws near, civics and government teachers walk a fine line - The Washington Post

  • “In many ways, by not teaching something, you are teaching a lesson,” he said.
  • That studious neutrality is important for many teachers who don’t want to influence students or suggest they lean one way or another
  • “If we’re not able to solve problems together, which is basically what politics attempts to do, we will not be as strong a country.”
  • “Much of our country realizes that whatever the outcome of the next election, we are still going to have a very sizable portion of the population that is very angry and very polarized,” Dubé said. “We’ve forgotten how to be empathetic with each other and to try to put in practice the basic tenets of the way our democracy works. It doesn’t work like ‘my way or the highway.’ ”
  • there is widespread support among Republican and Democratic voters for bolstering civics education and making it an integral part of the curriculum for middle and high school students.

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 10/13/2020

• Schools Aren't Super-Spreaders - The Atlantic

  • Our data on almost 200,000 kids in 47 states from the last two weeks of September revealed an infection rate of 0.13 percent among students and 0.24 percent among staff. That’s about 1.3 infections over two weeks in a school of 1,000 kids, or 2.2 infections over two weeks in a group of 1,000 staff. Even in high-risk areas of the country, the student rates were well under half a percent.
  • If school isn’t safe for everyone, why is it safe for low-income students? And if school is safe for low-income students, why isn’t it safe for everyone?

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 09/28/2020

• How to Help Students Set and Track Goals | Edutopia

  • “If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.”
    
  • 
    —Thomas Edison

• Optimising Learning Using Retrieval Practice — The Learning Scientists

  tags: retrieval retrieval practice

• A Brief Overview of Working Memory — The Learning Scientists

  tags: memory working memory retrieval

• Retrieval Practice and Bloom's Taxonomy — The Learning Scientists

  tags: retrieval practice learning

• Can Students Change Their Study Habits? — The Learning Scientists

  tags: study studying study habits learning

• Mistakes or Opportunities? Learning from Errors — The Learning Scientists

  tags: feedback learning from errors errors

• Multitasking and Selective Attention — The Learning Scientists

  tags: multitasking attention

• The Power of Metacognition in Everyday Life — The Learning Scientists

  tags: metacognition

• Weekly Digest #132: Dual Coding, Visual Note Taking, and Sketchnoting — The Learning Scientists

  tags: dual coding notetaking note-taking learning

• Time Management: What is it, who has it, and can you improve it? — The Learning Scientists

  tags: time management time stress

• Retrieval Practice and Stress — The Learning Scientists

  tags: stress retrieval practice studying

• Forgetting to Remember — The Learning Scientists

  tags: remembering forgetting memory

• New Findings Inform the Laptop versus Longhand Note-Taking Debate — The Learning Scientists

  tags: notetaking remembering

• Dual Coding and Learning Styles — The Learning Scientists

  tags: dual coding learning remembering

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 09/27/2020

• Teachers have always known that kids can...

  Teachers have always known that kids can't learn if they feel anxious and disconnected. Here are *6 ways* to help students feel centered, connected, and in control. ✨ https://t.co/Ax6lCpUk8H

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 09/26/2020

• Digest #146: The Psychology of “Zoom Fatigue” — The Learning Scientists

  tags: zoom fatigue distance learning online learning remote learning zoom

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 09/10/2020

• The most creative kids are the least lik...

  The most creative kids are the least likely to be the teacher’s favorite. They don’t color inside the lines or conform to every rule. Too often, they learn to keep their imaginations to themselves. Our new book encourages kids to persist with their ideas

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 08/18/2020

• Become an influential leader with an online Ed.D. in leaders...

  Become an influential leader with an online Ed.D. in leadership and learning in organizations. Master's degree required. https://t.co/J1PhjsdAwU https://t.co/ekwqoZWZNk

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Educational Resources & Tech Tools 08/17/2020

• Effects of screentime on the health and well-being of children and adolescents: a systematic review of reviews

  tags: screen time distance learning health

  • Only Hoare et al  ²⁰ reported on associations with anxiety, and found moderate evidence for a positive association between screentime duration and severity of anxiety symptoms.
  • adolescents using screens in a moderate way showed the lowest prevalence of depressive symptoms.
  • HRQOL as a formal measured construct was examined by Wu et al, ²² who reported consistent evidence that greater screentime was associated with lower measured HRQOL in 11/13 cross-sectional and 4/4 longitudinal studies. A meta-analysis of 2 studies found that ≥2–2.5 hours/day of screentime was associated with significantly lower HRQOL (pooled mean difference in HRQOL score 2.71 (95% CI 1.59 to 3.38) points) than those with <2–2.5 hours/day.

  • There is moderately strong evidence for an association between screentime and depressive symptoms. This association is for overall screentime but there is very limited evidence from only one review for an association with social media screentime. There is moderate evidence for a dose-response effect, with weak evidence for a threshold of ≥2 hours daily screentime for the association with depressive symptoms.

    There is moderate evidence for an association of screentime with lower HRQOL, with weak evidence for a threshold of ≥2 hours daily screentime.

  • There is weak evidence that screentime is associated with poor sleep outcomes including delay in sleep onset, reduced total sleep time and daytime tiredness.
  • There was moderately strong evidence for an association between screentime and depressive symptoms, although evidence for social media screentime and depression was weak.
  • Evidence that screentime was associated with poorer quality of life was moderate,
  • We found no convincing evidence of health benefits from screentime. Yet some argue strongly that digital media have potential significant health, social and cognitive benefits and that harms are overstated.

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 08/15/2020

• Reopening survey, c/o

  Reopening survey, c/o @mcsweeneys

• As ⁦ says, kids need 4 S's--to be safe, ...

  As ⁦@tinabryson⁩ says, kids need 4 S's--to be safe, secure, seen & soothed. So ⁦@DrMadelineL⁩ writes: "Avoid scary language. Highlight that your kid has some control over safety. Talk about being a brave family. Don’t over-accommodate anxiety." https:

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 08/12/2020

• So GOOD, if you haven't tried jackfruit,...

  So GOOD, if you haven't tried jackfruit, you've got to try this!

  tags: vegan jackfruit

• SO good! Quick Vegan Enchiladas with Sweet Potato Sauce

  SO good! Quick Vegan Enchiladas with Sweet Potato Sauce https://t.co/2AE0Hv1krp #vegan #wfpb #plantbased

  tags: vegan wfpb plantbased

• Teaching as Wayfinding

  • The core demand of 21st century education is that students learn to navigate an incredibly complex global society. This includes connecting across distances, gaining skill with technology, and developing problem-solving skills that can be applied to real-world issues.

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 08/11/2020

• Designing for Online Learning (8/3/20)

  • An aspect of clear communication comes into play when deciding which elements of each learning experience will be and which will be .
  • Asynchronicity allows students time to work at their own pace, to take time to compose ideas, and to express themselves in ways that might not be possible in real time. In addition, asynchronous work allows students to absorb content, prepare assignments, and complete projects offline: it’s a way to avoid hours of staring at screens.

  • The key questions to consider are these: 

     
     
    • What types of learning experiences require synchronous connection? 
     
    • Which synchronous experiences can be turned into asynchronous experiences?  

• A Letter to Educators Teaching Online for the First Time | EdSurge News

  • You can record lectures. And more lectures. You can stack links on links on links, embedding hypertexts in between.

    At first, when you’re beginning to teach online, please don’t do all of these things. Please resist the easy affordances of the online world. Instead, try to connect.

  • Connect your students to one another in a way that enables them not only to learn content from one another, but also to catch life experiences from one another—to shape one another in the way that only peers can. It’s that simple … and it’s that complex.
  • Students will show you their learning in ways they wouldn’t or couldn’t offline. Students will take risks in their learning that they would never take if they were in a physical room with one another. You’ll be able to assess in new ways, ways that may help you provide better feedback.

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 08/08/2020

• Become an influential leader with an online Ed.D. in leaders...

  Become an influential leader with an online Ed.D. in leadership and learning in organizations. Master's degree required. https://t.co/yl0vnSvSlw https://t.co/PEuxaLgH7B

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Educational Resources & Tech Tools 07/18/2020

• How to Structure a 60 Minute Class Period - Maneuvering the Middle

  This site has a math focus but can definitely be applied to non-math classrooms since it mainly focuses on tools and not content.

  tags: block scheduling block

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 07/07/2020

• Coronavirus: Close the bars. Reopen the schools. - Vox

  tags: covid-19 corona virus corona reopening

  • Reopening is a community-wide project. Whether a school can reopen safely, for example, doesn’t just depend on capacity, personal protective equipment, or individual actions. It depends on how widespread the coronavirus is in the community outside the school’s walls.
  • But if a community is flooded with infections, the chances are much higher that those infections will creep in no matter how many protective steps are embraced.
  • If you want to reopen schools this fall, then you need to get the spread of Covid-19 down, as close to zero as possible, this summer. And that means opting not to reopen — possibly at all and definitely not at full capacity — restaurants, bars, nightclubs, or other places that will lead to significantly more coronavirus spread but have less value to society than schools.
  • The goal is to keep the basic reproduction number in a community below 1. That would mean that every person who gets coronavirus transmits it to, on average, fewer than one other person. Over time, that would lead to coronavirus cases falling closer and closer to zero. This number is typically calculated as the R0 or Rt, depending on the methods used. (Some websites, like Rt.live, calculate this figure for all states, and it’s at 1 or more in most states.)
  • schools likely carry some risk of Covid-19 transmission, as an indoor environment in which students, teachers, and other school staff interact for hours. But schools are also really important for day-to-day life — not just for kids’ education, but also for food, shelter, and child care while parents are at work. Knowing that, a community may decide to fit schools into its reopening budget. The trade-off would be that other places, such as restaurants, bars, or gyms, more likely have to remain closed.

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Educational Resources & Tech Tools 03/25/2020

• 4 Tips for Teachers Shifting to Teaching Online | Edutopia

  • Tasks with few instructions often lead to the greatest amount of higher-order thinking, as students figure out what to do within defined parameters.
  • You need a single digital platform that your students can always visit for the most recent and up-to-date information.
  • You might want to check out a unit I created on probability and statistics to see how I provided instructions and set up checkpoints for my students.
  • To effectively manage your time and sanity, you will want to prioritize longer, student-driven assignments and tasks that buy you time to keep planning future units—and that get your students off the computer. Focus on building toward long-term projects where students have autonomy and a clear set of checkpoints and deadlines that need to be met. When possible, create opportunities for students to discuss what they’re learning with their families and include an element of student choice to really build engagement. 
  • What your students will miss the most is the human connection that is cultivated in your classroom.
  • While it can be tempting to focus on content in your distance learning assignments and instructional videos, what matters more is creating structures for personalized touchpoints with your students.
  • Create a structure and stick to it. Your students will see your investment and know that you care about them.

  • It’s important to bear in mind that cultivating an engaging distance learning experience is hard. It takes time and an incredible amount of patience. If you are new to the experience, you’re probably going to feel like a first-year teacher again. That’s OK! Tackle the challenges step by step, keep your students updated on your progress, and stay positive. You can do this!

     

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