Microsoft Educator Network

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Project Based Learning More Pigeon PBL My class started publishing books as part of their "" at the end of last school year. Our class requested and received permission to use the characters from one of their favourite authors, Mo Willems. Initially, we published our books online and shared them through blogging and social media. However, my young students REALLY wanted to see their books in print. Thanks to a grant from our school division, my students' wish has come true! Their amazing stories are actually in print! Before we ...

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Microsoft in Education Global Forum Microsoft in Education Global Forum, Dubai, 2015 - My Reflections I was invited by Microsoft to participate in a two day Global Forum in Dubai on 22nd and 23rd February 2015. It is part of series of global forums that have been organized at different locations in the world. As educators, our invitation to the forum is part of Microsoft’s commitment to recognize and support educators who integrate ICT in their lesson activities. Mine is chiefly in two areas: engaging students in purposeful creation of multimedia in the Adobe Youth Voices program engaging ...

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Project Based Learning National Sweater Day: A Chilling Project! Our most recent project was organizing National Sweater Day at our schools this month to promote energy awareness and energy conservation. National Sweater Day is a which Kindergarten class invited us to take part in. (You can read about their project ) Although this was a "smaller" project compared to some of our more massive PBL undertakings, it was a meaningful learning experience. Students researched National Sweater Day and learned some of the reasons why turning down the heat can help ...

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Change Management & Culture of Innovation HOW TO DEAL WITH CHANGE It seems that change (and there has been much of it in the last 5, 10, 15 years) frustrates many of us, and leaves us desperate for some consistency in the teaching profession. Yet, change (like anything else), is not all bad and not all good. It’s a mixed bag. What is true is that change is constant. It’s also getting exponentially quicker. This is not only in education, but in many fields of work. It’s taken a while for change to pick up the speed with which we now see it in the classroom, but...

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Change Management & Culture of Innovation How IoT Technology Could Impact Teaching and Learning in 2015 Dubbed as the most hyped technology of 2014, the “Internet of Things” (IoT) is the concept of everyday objects connecting to the Internet and each other. This includes things like “smart” thermostats, smoke detectors and even kitchen appliances. was one of the hottest topics at this week's International Consumer Electronics Show () - a premiere technology insider event with a 45+ year history. But would it surprise you to know that education is projected as one of the top sectors to be ...

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Project Based Learning Step by step with history and ICT in Project Based Learning When I look back upon my life, I get aware how much my students and I appreciate project based learning and how immense its didactic role in our school daily life is. Whatever the topic of the project is – all the interdisciplinary subject areas of PBL open us to the world – its present, past and the future, with all the branches of world knowledge we are interested in. It seems that PBL has always made a big difference in well planned didactic processes, and resulted in tangible achievements ...

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Project Based Learning Curiosity in action Working on a video on the most important skills for the XXI st century trainers, I asked myself, if we, as teachers using Project Based Learning, need curiosity too. What about our students? Are they curious about what they do at school or how to make them be curious about at least a few educational areas? What is curiosity? According to Oxford University Dictionary, it is a strong desire to know or learn something. Numerous dictionaries inform that it is a quality related to inquisitive ...

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Project Based Learning Knowledge in action – our paths of ICT I have always wanted to do something exciting, something creative, something artistic. As a girl I was taught to play the old piano, my grandma had; I really liked drawing and painting and I loved writing compositions because I dreamt of being a journalist. In fact, I decided to follow in the footsteps of my mum, who as a teacher, had the best of all – she was loved by her students. Since the beginning of my school career, the role of a teacher has changed, although this feeling of being liked ...

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Building Teacher Capacity ICT and students non-digitized work As a teacher of English I believe it is important to deal with students original work.My desire is to see students sharing their original writings in their own original hand writings.ICT has assisted me a lot in doing this in an easy and effective way.What I need is just a laptop,a projector and a hover cam.For example,students can write a short descriptive paragraph in their exercise books.Using a hover cam, the writings can be projected and shared during the lesson. ...

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Student Voice What do students think about coding? One of my favorite times of year is December because it is time for the Hour of Code! Although it is the topic I teach that I know least about, or I should say have the most to learn about, I still love the thrill of introducing students to coding. The Hour of Code () is designed to get students and teachers involved in coding. The site offers different levels, games design options, activities that involve student's favorite characters, and other aspects to add interest for the students. If ...

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Project Based Learning Digital Storytelling Using Microsoft PowerPoint As the coach of our school’s Student Technology Leadership Program, I have had the privilege of engaging students in digital storytelling and entering the best stories into a contest held each year at the state level. My students have been quite successful and have won first place in 4 out of the past 5 years. Each year the students have used Microsoft PowerPoint as the building block for the digital stories. Microsoft PowerPoint is quite flexible, but normally is used for lectures or ...

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Project Based Learning Incorporating the creative process in day to day basis to yield effective learning outcome The Creative process allows the creation of new ideas and the solving of problems. The process can be strengthened by instilling a culture of inquiry. The students are allowed to ask questions, share discoveries and test theories. They are allowed to try their ideas or research their questions. The purpose of genuine conversations is not to elicit the right answer from children, but rather to open the door to constructing meaning together. The questions can be "I am curious about……………………………………………...

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Project Based Learning Kids Who Code Code-a-thon Our latest project based learning has focused on planning and preparing for hosting our own unique Hour of Code event. On Friday, December 12th our class co-hosted the Code-a-thon with Kindergarten class at Oak Lake Community School. After over the last few weeks, my Grade 2s were very excited to lead their coding activities and share their coding expertise. I was incredibly proud of my students as I watched them teach other (younger and older) students and community members about coding. ...

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Building Teacher Capacity Flipping our classroom with 21st century learning activities For most teachers in a traditional classroom environment, when students come to class the first thing they do is get introduced to a new content. And then, the second half of class we reinforce that concept to help the students master it. This typically takes place through a variety of extension activities. We have small group, or projects, papers, and even worksheets and problem sets. And then, to help reinforce the content, we send homework home with the student. One the other hand, in a flip ...

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Student Voice Students voice and Research Clubs It is our duties as teachers to encourage students to speak out their minds.In my school i encourage students voice through research club.The members of the club come from the whole school.The members are trained on how to carry out research which they do in the whole school.The findings are then shared with whole school and the community at large. ...

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Microsoft in Education Global Forum The Event that Changed My Life Forever! I have been teaching computer science at Ali Trad Pioneer Middle School in Tunisia for 8 years now. My story with education started at the age of 10 when I was a student in grade 3 and my mother was my teacher. I admired her a lot and discovered how dedicated she was to her job. It was really amazing to experience the way she expressed her feelings and respect towards her students. The inspiration I got from my mother motivated me to become a responsible and caring teacher. And today, I believe...

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Accessibility Holiday Ideas to Make the Holidays Accessible and Fun for All! It’s that time of year again to start preparing for the Holiday Season. This year we wanted to share with you a collection of holiday ideas and resources to make the holiday accessible and fun for all! Many communities are realizing with just a little pre-planning, the holidays can be enjoyed by children with special needs. Such programs include which allows children to visit Santa in a quiet more comfortable environment and the Programs provide an airport “rehearsal”. As educators and ...

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Project Based Learning Project based learning- Creating a culture of inquiry Project based learning allows the students to create a culture of inquiry by making them curious. They start testing theories, sharing discoveries and move towards innovative solutions. When the students are encouraged to ask know-how and know-why questions, they are indulged with intellectual thirst. Reflecting critically on ideas, actions and outcomes will lend a way for constructive restructuring. It is a teacher's job to give them opportunities to maintain and develop analytic skills. I ...

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Project Based Learning Nurture Creativity with Computer Programming As kids, we embrace imaginative play, we ask questions, paint colorful pictures, and build elaborate things with our blocks, but somewhere along the way our capacity for creative thinking diminishes. It’s not because we lack the “creative gene”, we just haven’t reinforced it or, as researcher George Land concludes from his longitudinal study on creativity and divergent thinking, we have "unlearned it". There are many aspects of computer programming that can nurture creativity. And if reinforced...

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Project Based Learning Kids Who Code: Exploring and Evaluating Coding Tools The project is well underway in our classroom! Our class has been exploring coding for the last couple of weeks. We've learned that coding is "giving computers instructions/directions" and students have had the chance to try out a variety of coding tools. My students have learned a lot (and so have I!) Here is what we've been up to: Exploration Time: Students have used different devices to explore a variety of coding tools including Lightbot, Hopscotch, Kodable, Code Monkey, ScratchJr., Tynker...

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Student Voice Students' Achievements This is my sixth year in the current school. The students who sit for the Ordinary level exam this December ,were in grade six when I assume duties as the ICT teacher/school IT lab coordinator.For the students from grade 6 to grade 9 I have started to teach a syllabus designed by me.(ICT/IT is not in the curriculum as a subject but few lessons are integrated with other subjects.)The syllabus I set included basic skills in computing and Microsoft Office 2007(MS Word,MS PowerPoint,MS Publisher)....

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Building Teacher Capacity Training of ICT Teachers for the 21st Century Skills Development After long months of waiting, finally, I started my training in the Division of Leyte, Philippines. Now, I am doing my commitment to Microsoft in Education and that is to train teachers to become innovative, simply, through the integration of technology in education. At first, I thought it would be difficult to train 400 teachers. That is really my apprehension, because Leyte was one of the provinces in the Eastern Visayas Region, Philippines, which was totally damaged by the super typhoon ...

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Project Based Learning The Pigeon Meets Flat Matt Once you get the PBL train rolling, it's hard to stop and sometimes... projects collide! My class has been working on the since earlier this spring and they are doing a great job of planning, writing, illustrating and publishing their own books. When we were invited to join the "" project, we enthusiastically accepted. Eventually the two projects collided and The Pigeon met Flat Matt. Here's the details: Matt, also known as "Flat Matt", was sent to us by a 1st Class (six and seven year olds) at ...

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Student Voice #StuVoice Student Voice Resources "I am pro student voice because......." What do you complete this statement with? Visit the website www.stuvoice.org to learn more about the importance of student voice and how to incorporate it into your classroom. Something I found very intriguing is that students feel they have less of a voice and input as they get further in school. This seems backwards to me, shouldn't we be guiding these older students to be independent thinkers? We need to let them know that their voice matters and ...

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Building Teacher Capacity Virtual collaboration between Regions is an opportunity to learn from each others Recently I collaborated with MIE Experts 2015 in Pakistan and facilitated training session for educators on 21CLD on collaboration Strand. This collaboration has led to learning from each others' diverse experiences and learning conditions/environments. You may try the same....

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Change Management & Culture of Innovation THE IMPACT OF A TEACHER Most teachers know very little about what happens to the vast majority of their students. For a few months, we are front and centre in our students’ lives and then it comes to an end. Students leave, move on, transfer, graduate and, usually, we never see or hear from them again. Teaching is the great open-ended narrative, the perpetually unfinished symphony. And, like all great fragments, a good portion of it works on through our imaginations as we wonder what may have happened to former ...

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Change Management & Culture of Innovation Surface Pro 3 – a foundation for innovative teaching and learning. Now two months in, and the Surface Pro3 is over the initial hurdles that any new device suffers from. It has been very well received by independent reviewers and the general public alike who have purchased the device in any of its available configurations. But can it make an impact in educational circles? Whilst the previous versions of the Surface made their ways into schools, there was very little momentum built and some of this was to do with device design, some to do with marketing and some ...

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Professional Learning Communities Kids Who Code: A PLC Project This school year, I am working on a very special project with two other educators from my PLC, and . We have been fortunate to receive support for our work from our local teachers' association, the . Our project is called and it's all about helping our young learners develop coding skills. We are pleased to have the opportunity to work together on this project. So... what is coding? According to , "Coding is what makes it possible for us to create computer software, apps and websites. Your ...

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Project Based Learning Kids Who Code Code-a-thon Meets Project-Based Learning! My teaching partner and friend, , and I have worked together for a number of years on a variety of learning projects. For the past few years, our collaborations have focused on service-based projects where we have strived to make a difference, both locally and globally. A great deal of rich, real-life learning has taken place, and it has been inspiring to guide our students as they have become change agents in their homes and communities. From selling cookies and iced tea to , to planning and ...

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Change Management & Culture of Innovation DOES SUSPENDING CHILDREN REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE Recent research has found that suspension, as a disciplinary measure, has a negative effect on students, and on teacher-student relationships. A study undertaken by PhD psychology student David Quin, at the Australian Catholic University, showed that 43% of suspended students believed that their teachers were less helpful on their return to school, and only 29% said that they had received help in catching up on the work they missed during their suspension. Also of concern was the types of ...

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Student Voice Change- it is what they want to be remembered for. My students introduced me to a great motivational and inspirational speaker: Mike Smith. Mike Smith appeals to today's teens because as he say, he is the eternal teenager. He speaks of all the issues that kids face today, and in a very straight forward manner asks them to stop the negative behaviors, or teaches them how to life themselves up and overcome the bullying. In speaking with youth around the country Mike found that the thing most youth wanted to be remembered for was making a change...

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Change Management & Culture of Innovation DEVELOPING CHILDREN'S STRENGTHS. The end of year ceremonies and prizegivings can be hard for some children as they watch friends, classmates and siblings carry off prizes when they know they have worked hard too and done their best. Doing things for their own reward is a concept we learn as we grow older. While children are young, we can help them develop and grow by placing the focus on their strengths, the greatest of which are qualities of character because they are what will see them through the challenges of life. What ...

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Project Based Learning 'It's the Economy Stupid...' 'It's the economy stupid' is a variation on what was said by Bill Clinton in running for the 1992 election against George W Bush. What Clinton focused on was an obvious issue: without economic growth there would be no prosperity and not much could happen. I was thinking about this and the response to my last post when I was in Buenos Aires a couple of weeks ago at an educational conference. Great people and huge enthusiasm for change. Yet the country struggles in the light of a global economy ...

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Change Management & Culture of Innovation DOES CLASS SIZE HAVE ANY EFFECT? Reducing the number of pupils in a class. As the size of a class or teaching group gets smaller it is suggested that the range of approaches a teacher can employ and the amount of attention each student will achieve will increase. How effective is it? Intuitively, it seems obvious that reducing the number of pupils in a class will improve the quality of teaching and learning, for example by increasing the amount of high quality feedback or one-to-one attention learners receive. However, overall ...

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Change Management & Culture of Innovation SHOULD CHILDREN REPEAT A YEAR IF THEY ARE FAILING? Pupils who do not reach a given standard of learning at the end of a year are required to repeat the year by joining a class of younger students the following academic year. For students at secondary school level, repeating a year is usually limited to the particular subject or classes that a student has not passed. Repeating a year is relatively common in the USA where the No Child Left Behind Act (2002) recommended that students be required to demonstrate a set standard of achievement before...

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Change Management & Culture of Innovation PASSIONATE TEACHERS Did you ever notice how much more you learn from passionate people? Whether it be a teacher, a parent, or a friend…when someone is passionate we tend to listen closer, buy in to what they are saying, and remember it later. Yet, what is often missed is the importance of passion for your subject, the young people sitting in front of you, and the pressing issues in our world. Research shows that teachers—not books, not technology, not buildings, and not even class size—are the single most powerful ...

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Professional Learning Communities The challenges of establishing and maintaining PLCs and how they might be addressed? The difficulty of developing professional learning communities should not be underestimated. In addition to the usual daily implementation issues associated with any change process, there are bigger hurdles that, as yet, remain unresolved in many places. Of these challenges, we have chosen to highlight several in this book, although we recognize there are other important ones. The first challenge is the endemic difficulty of creating PLCs in secondary schools, where size and structure militate ...

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Change Management & Culture of Innovation Microsoft Expert Educators from Australia & New Zealand come together. The weekend of October 11 & 12 saw 36 educators from Australia and 12 from New Zealand undertake an immersion program at Microsoft HQ - as the first group of Microsoft Expert Educators (ANZ). Powerful ideas, sharing of learning activities, developing transformational projects were just some of the events over the 2 days. The program launch has enabled educators to return to their schools inspired and empowered. I would be interested to know what were your key take aways, what are your goals now ...

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Project Based Learning Progress Slippage... Looking out at education 2014 to 2015 one cannot help but feel that the global context is getting rather worse. Governments around the world are still wrestling with budget difficulties caused by the 2008 collapse. And now new economic gloom is descending in Europe and the Far East. Meanwhile renewed war and instability in the Middle East, the Ebola outbreak and armed conflict in Ukraine all paint a picture of things spinning out of control. Of course the world has been at such cross roads ...

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