Are You Addicted to Your Device?

I think this is a perfect time to share this, right before teachers and parents are gearing up for SPRING break! I ran across 4 videos from Common Sense Media that will make you take a step back and evaluate your technology use around students/children. Be honest in your evaluation of yourself. Do you see yourself in any of  these clips? Can you find moments where you are guilty of any examples? I you have an empty nest (no children home) you can easily relate it to your spouse. Well, don't sit there and beat yourself up, get a grip and make some much needed changes. I know it may be helpful to just say, "I AM A ADDICT" and need HELP! Find someone that that will make you accountable. Limit your technology use around your children or spouse. They need YOU! 100% you without any device. Can you manage?  Don't just watch one of these videos, watch all four!

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Posted in addict, attention, common sense media, family, modeling, parent, parenting, role modeling, techno-phobia, technology, time, training

Science of Everyday Life

Great resource for Science teachers! You need to check out this one-stop portal from Discovery Education and 3M with K-12 standards-aligned lesson plans. This is for ALL ages, with tabs for Teachers, Students, and Families. I love the sections on Interactive Lesson plans that you can download to use on IWB (Interactive Whiteboards) tablets, and more. They are sorted by grade level strands: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 much like Discovery Education's videos are categorized. You can even test your knowledge in identifying how science can appear in unexpected places by visiting the Innovation HQ (Headquarters). It is equipped with Virtual Labs, Did You Know, Science Fun, and a section where you can meet 3M Scientists. As if that was not enough, you can Travel through Time using the Decade Navigator to explore in a timeline fashion. I can see some great group work using this tool and have students create learning media for others. What a great way for them to explore past innovations! I can imagine History teachers also loving this tool and collaborating with Science teachers to learn more about the past. Don't you just know that at the end of all this learning, there is a quiz for each decade! Now that is a neat way to complete the learning, right teachers?

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Posted in aligned, careers, education, innovation, K-12, quiz, Resource, science, Scientists, standards, time, travel

President's Day: February 17th

I understand that we all have talents, gifts, and passions. Tonight, I ran across this awesome resource on President's Day that I had to share for others to access. This librarian/media specialist has curated an awesome resource for others. I applaud her for the time and efforts in pulling together these links and saving time for our dedicated teachers who are already pulled in so many directions with little time of their own to do this type of extensive searching. I hope you agree that this is a great resource on President's Day. Hail to + Julie Greller! May she be blessed for making others lives better by providing
 "A Media Specialist Guide to the Internet" and the page on 41 Presidents' Day Sites for Your Classes.

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Posted in February, gift, Julie Greller, passion, President's Day, Resource, talent, time