A Handy Visual Featuring The 7 Learning Styles

September 10, 2014
During the first month of the new school year, teachers get to know their students in terms of their learning levels, where they are at with their learning, their strengths and weaknesses, and, most importantly, their learning styles. I emphasized the last point because it is the key to a successful learning journey for students. When teachers identify the plurality of the learning styles in their classes they become in a better position to cultivate a learning environment where every student have their share in the learning taking place in class.

One of the most popular theories that inform pedagogy in this regard is Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences theory. This theory posits the existence of seven different areas of intelligence that characterize the learning style one is more comfortable with. The visual below provides a very great overview of these 7 learning styles. If you want to learn more about Howard's multiple intelligences theory I would highly recommend his seminal work "Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons in Theory and Practice".


Source: Blue Mango Learning

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Awesome Poster Featuring 7 Ways to Engage Students in Class

September, 2014
One of the daunting challenges facing each (new) teacher centres around getting students engaged in classroom learning. In a digitally focused age where focus gives way to multitasking, attention deficit becomes the current currency. I have already featured some of the techniques to increase students engagement in previous posts, today I am sharing with you 7 more tips from Reading Horizon. These 7 tips are also included in a beautiful visual below.

1- Use the 10:2 method
This means that after each 10 minutes of classroom instruction you provide students with 2 minutes to reflect, show what they learned, engage in mini discussions, ask questions …etc

2- Incorporate movements into your lessons
This is about about engaging students motor skills in thinking and learning. Instead of answering a question while being seated in their desks, students can move to a certain spot in class, go to the board..etc to answer the question.

3- Pick up the pace
According to Reading Horizons, several educational research studies (Carnine & Fink, 1978; Williams, 1993; Ernsbarger et al., 2001) have debunked the myth that the slower the instruction process the better the learning. According to these studies, a quickened instructional pace can also have some positive impact on students learning in that it provides them with a varied set of opportunities to engage, respond, and reflect.

4-Provide frequent and effective feedback
As I mentioned in 5 research-based tips to giving effective feedback, a timely feedback makes the whole difference in students learning in that it consolidates their learning and decreases the likelihood of making mistakes.

5- Allow students 5-7 seconds of ‘think time’ when asking a question
Always make sure you provide a reasonable amount of wait time for students to think before they can answer.

6- At the end of a lesson have students use the 3-2-1 method of summarizing
This is a summative method that allows students to recapitulate what they have learned. They can do this through writing the 3 things they have learned from the lesson, share two interesting things that stood out to them from the lesson, and pose a question about what was taught.

7- Periodically pause mid-sentence
By allowing students to fill in your unfinished sentences, you make sure they are following up with what your teaching.



Source: Reading Horizon

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7 Tips on how to Drive Students Motivation

August 30, 2014
Here is another awesome back-to-school  resource. This is basically a graphic from ASCD featuring seven reminders on how to drive motivation. These reminders are quotes from popular thinkers which provide some smart tips on how to ignite learners motivation. Below is a round-up of these 7 reminders and you can download this free poster from this link.

• Students pose two fundamental questions that relate to motivation to learn: Does the teacher see me? And how does the teacher see me? ( Carol Ann)
• Rewards, punishments, incentives, threats, and other external strategies create finishers, not learners. ( Richard Curwin)
• A key ingredient in fuelling passion to learn is making sure students feel intellectually challenged. ( Stevi Quate and John McDermott)
• When students are focused on goals that they had a hand in choosing, it brings reading engagement, motivation, and progress t a whole new level.( Jennifer Serravallo)
• Teachers must adopt the mind-set that there's no such thing as laziness. If a student appears lazy, there's something else going that we can't see. ( Rick Wormeli)
• When students know there are supports in place to keep them from free-falling into failure, they're much more likely to take risks to deepen their learning. ( Robyn Jackson and Allison Zmuda)
• We think control is going to make something better. But people have only two reactions to control: They comply, or they defy. ( Daniel Pink)

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7 Icebreakers to Use with Students in The First Week of The New School Year

August, 2014
looking for some icebreakers to use with your students? The graphic below created by Busy Teacher features 7 practical icebreaker activities you can employ in your class using Post-it notes. These activities are:

Hidden treasure
Write several icebreaker questions on the sticky side of post-it notes and stick them to the board. Each students takes turns choosing 1 sticky note and answering the question on the back. He then chooses another student to answer the same question.

Two truths and a life
Give each student 3 post-it nots. On 2 notes, she writes something true about herself, on the third- something false. Students share in groups of 4-5 and try to guess which statement is each player's lie.

Question mixer
Write the name of a well known person on a sticky note. Stick a note to each student's back. Students ask classmates 1 yes/no question at a time until they have figured out who is on their back.

Where are you from?
For a class of internationals, give each person a post-it not flag to place on their home country on your classroom world map. After everyone has placed their post-it, students try to guess whose note is whose

Get to know you
Have each student write 5 facts about him/herself on a post-it note, then put the notes on the board. Choose one and read it aloud. Try to guess who wrote it. When you get the right S, that person takes a turn with the remaining notes. Continue until all the note are gone.

A matched set
Students write 5 fun facts about themselves, turn the paper in to you. Write each fact on a post-it along with a matching one with that student's name. When students are not in the room, put the post-it all around the room. Students race to match the names with the correct facts.

All star class
Have each student draw a self portrait and display them on a bulletin board in class. Each person writes a positive adjective describing each of his classmates on a star shaped sticky not and sticks it to the self portrait. Do this activity in 1 day or over a period of time, let students take their portraits home.

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8 Practical Strategies to Ge to Know Your Students

August 23, 2014
As a teacher, the first week of the new school year is always an exciting time for me as I get to deal with new classes and new students.There is always that deep-seated drive to know your students and learn about their learning styles, their previous academic background and what they expect from your  class. Each teacher has her/his own strategy to get to know their students but now with the widespread of technology, a number of digital activities can be used to enable students to express themselves freely and articulate what they want others to know about them. Creating autobiographical trailers, audio clips, blog postings..etc are some examples of how students can use technology to introduce themselves to their peers and to their learning community.

There are also a set of other interesting strategies that are not necessarily technology based and which teachers can use to get to know their students. The handy visual below features some of them . Check it out and share with us what you think of it. Enjoy

1- The silent line
Students are given a criteria and must get themselves organized into a line as quickly as possible, without talking! Examples of criteria are height, shirt colour, etc

2-Ready, set, group!
Students should from and re-form groups quickly with criteria given by the teacher. Ex: make a group of three people with the same colour hair. Once the group has settled into smaller groups, give direction for a different grouping.

3- Toss the name ball
Students sit in a circle. The person who starts out with the ball says the name of a person, then tosses them the ball. If the ball is dropped, the group must re-start from the beginning.

4- Cross if you…
The group sits in a circle with one person in the middle. The middle person designates a criteria, and everyone who meets it should cross and find a new seat. The person who has no seat goes to the middle and selects the next criteria.

5-Snowball flight!
Each person writes one thing they are excited about, one they are nervous about, and one thing they want to learn. The papers are crumpled into balls and put in a pile. Each student then picks a ball and must find the person it belongs to.

6-Truth vs lie
Each person thinks of 2 facts and one lie about themselves. Each tells the whole group their three items and the group must guess which is the lie.

7- Foodie friends
Each person states their name and then a food that begins with the same letter as their name. The next person must repeat the previous names and foods, and then add their own.

8-A poem about me
Each student writes a poem of five lines: 1.3 things they like 2. 3 things they dislike 3.3 words that describe them 4. a place they'd like to visit 5. 3 movies they've seen then share with the class.

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7 Steps to Create Engaging Infographics for Your Class

August 15, 2014
The use of visual aids in teaching is a practice well established in the education literature and teaching pedagogy. Visuals tend to enhance the content's comprehensibility and simplify complex processes. However, with the emergence of web2.0 technologies and the rapid uptake of digital media this visual feature of communication has been exponentially developed especially with the appearance of infographics.

Infographics are visual representations of data. They are a blend of different materials such as text, graphs, pictures, symbols, flowchats, diagrams...etc. Infographics aim at presenting information in such a visually appealing way that facilitates its intake by viewers. There are now several web tools that allow you to easily create stunning infographics without the need for any advanced technology knowledge. Most of these platforms provide pre-made templates that you can use to build your visual. I have already featured some of these tools in previous posts. Check them out here:

• Web tools to create infographics
• Handy iPad Apps to Create Infographics

In today's post, I want to share with you this awesome graphic that features 7 steps to create an engaging infographic. These steps are :

• Selection of topic
• Idea selection
• Content research
• Edit the information
• Types of graphical data
• Content visualization: art illustration direction
• First full draft: put the  pieces together
• Revision: check, refine and perfect

Read on to learn more about each of these steps.

   Source: Graphs.net

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Excellent Visual Summarizing The Main Learning Theories

August 4, 2014
All of us who are working in the field of education are operating from a given theoretical perspective that, knowingly or unknowingly, informs our practice. This perspective is also shaped by the ontological and epistemological stances to reality and knowledge underlying theory. We have all been introduced in the course of our careers as teachers and educators to various  learning theories and most of us would easily identify the key theories that have stood the test of time (constructivism, connectivism, behaviourism, social theory…etc). Having a fair understanding of the different theories that are at work in the world of pedagogy and teaching can help teachers make informed decisions as to the teaching methods that work best for their teaching situation. It also enables them to make better choices about how to approach and diversify their instructional strategies in such a way that meets the different learning needs of theirs students.

If you need a good refresher of the most salient learning theories that inform much of the learning and teaching practice, the visual below is a great place to start with. It succinctly summarizes the major theoretical foundations that have shaped the education literature over years.

All thanks go back to Suvi Salo through whom I discovered this resource.

Check out the original full visual from this link.

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27 Strategies to Motivate Students in Class

July 30, 2014
Looking for ways to motivate your students? Mia from Anethicalisland has 27 strategies for you to use in class to get your students motivated.These strategies cover both types of motivation: intrinsic motivation (an inner drive to engage in an activity for its own sake because it is interesting and satisfying in itself), and extrinsic ( a drive to engage in an activity because of a reward to engage in the activity or a punishment for not engaging). Check them out below and share with us what you think of them.

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Interesting Visual- Teacher with Growth Mindset Vs Teachers with Fixed Mindset

July 28, 2014
The Educator and The Growth Mindset is the title of this nice visual created by Dr. Jackie Gerstein. This visual beautifully and succinctly captures the antagonistic thinking underlying the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. While the earlier renders the individual consumed with toxic feelings of powerlessness and helplessness, the latter pushes individuals to their heights. A teacher with a growth mindset nurtures feelings of self-actualization and empowerment and is more acutely prepared to positively impact students and learning community… Have a look at the visual below to learn more about these two mindsets.

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9 Characteristics of A Leading Educator

July 28, 2014
A few days ago I came across a post published by Teachthought on the 9 roles for teachers that lead. This post was based on a book that has recently been published under the title "The Educator As A Maker Educator". The book is authored  by Jackie Gerstein (most of you would recognize her from her popular blog User Generated Education). As the book was both cheap ($2,90 on Amazon) and short (only 61 pages) I bought it and read on it on my kindle the same day. This book is an intellectual journey into the depths of the theoretical ideas  that informs progressive education. It highlights the role of educator as a maker, which is an idea rooted in the experiential insights of John Dewey.

The concept of  educator as a maker is further illustrated by the 9 roles Jackie thinks should be present in every teacher who is to lead a successful learning experience. These roles are :

1. Process Facilitator for producing, assessing, developing, creating, revisiting, revising

2. Lead Learner

3. Safe Environment Manager–creating environments where learners feel free to take risks

4. Relationship Enabler & Builder for face-to-face, online PLNs, and mentors

5. Technology Tutor

6. Tour Guide Of Learning Possibilities

7. Facilitator Feedback

8. Normalizer of ambiguous problem finding and solving; framer of “failure as iterative”

9. Resource Suggester and provider

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Handy Visual: Differentiation Is Vs Differentiation Is Not

July 21, 2014
Here is an interesting visual on the concept of differentiation in education which I came across on a tweet by Karen Friedman. This visual is created by ASCD and outlines some key differences between what differentiation is and what it is not. Have a look and share with us what you think of it.

Differentiation is :

• An idea as old as effective teaching
• Lessons designed around patterns of student need
• Use of whole-group, small-group and individual tasks based on content and student needs
• Necessary for success with standards for a board range of learners
• Valuing and planning for diversity in heterogenous settings
• Purposeful of flexible grouping
• A student-focused way of thinking about teaching and learning
• Teaching up
• At the core of quality teaching
• Designed to address learning and affective needs that all students have

Differentiation is not:

• Tracking grouping students into class by ability
• Incompatible with standards
• Bluebirds, buzzards and wombats ( ability grouping within a classroom)\Dumbing down teaching for some students
• Something extra on top of good teaching
• A set of instructional strategies
• Mostly for students identified as gifted
• Mostly for students with identified learning challenges
• IEPs for all
• Individualized instruction
• A synonym for group work

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Excellent Periodic Table of Visualizations for Teachers

July, 2014
There are a variety of forms in which visual representation is materialized. Knowing these forms will enable you to diversify the visual channels through which you communicate information to your students. To this end, I am sharing with you this wonderful periodic table that features different visualization methods. When you Hover your mouse on any of the boxes in this periodic table, a pop-up picture will be displayed showing the name and a sample of the visualization.

According to this periodic table shared by Visual Literacy, visualizations are divided into  6 categories:

Data Visualization
Data visualization includes:

• Continuums
• Tables
• Cartesian coordinates
• Pie chats
• Line charts
• Bar charts
• Area charts
• Histogram
• Scatterplot
• Tukey box plot
• Spectogram

Information visualization
Information visualization includes:

• Radar chart cobweb
• Parallel coordinates
• Hyperbolic tree
• Cycle diagram
• Timeline
• Clustering
• Flow chart
• Petri net
• Entity relationship diagram
• Information lense
• Sankey diagram
• Data map
• Treemap
• Cone tree
• Data flow diagram
• Semantic network

Concept visualization
Concept visualization includes:

• Mindmap
• Square of oppositions
• Concentri cirlces
• Argument slide
• Swim lane diagram
• Gantt diagram
• Perspectives diagram
• Dilemma diagram
• Concept map
• Concept fan
• Critical path method
• Decision tree
• Toulmin map
• Cause-effect chains
• Minto pyramide technique
• Layer chart
• Soft system modelling
• Synergy map
• Force field map
• ibis argumentation map
• Process event chains
• Pert chart
• Evocative knowledge map
• Vee diagram
• Concept skeleton
• Flight plan
• Communication diagram
• Meeting trace

Metaphor visualization
Metaphor visualization includes:

• Metro map
• Temple
• Story template
• Tree
• Bridge
• Funnel
• Parameter ruler
• Iceberg
• Heaven 'n' hell chart

Compound visualization
Compound visualization includes:

• Graphic facilitation
• Cartoon
• Rich picture
• Knowledge map
• Learning map
• Infomural

Strategy visualization
Strategy visualization includes:

• Supply demand curve
• Performance charting
• Strategy map
• Organization chart
• House of quality
• Failure tree
• magic quadrant
• Life-cycle diagram
• Porter's five forces
• s-cucle
• Stakeholder map
• Ishikawa diagram
• Technology roadmap
• Spray diagram
• Taps
• Hype-cycle
• Value chain
• Strategy canvas
• Bcg matrix
• Decisión discovery diagrama
• Affinity diagram
• Zwicky's morphological box
• Strategic game board
• Portfolio diagram
• Edgeworth box

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A Wonderful Poster on Failure

July13, 2014
I have always believed that teachers (and people in general) MUST have an open midset; one that tolerates and celebrates mistakes and errors; one that looks at failure as an opportunity for a better beginning. It is through falling down that we stand up robust and it is through misfortunes that we gather our strength to live the life we want and pursue our dreams.

If we want to raise up socially and  emotionally strong students who can face up and overcome  the hardships of life, an important key to this is to teach (and model) them about failure. We need to show them that failure is a healthy sign and a good omen for a healthy life experience. They need to view failure as an attempt for deep reflection and meditation about what worked or did not work. They also need to be reminded that failure has been a common denominator behind most of the historical achievements and inventions in the history of humankind.

At 30 years old, Steve Jobs was left devastated and depressed after being removed from the company he started. Few years after this,  Steve came back stronger than ever and spearheaded a team of engineers to create and launch a series of hand-held devices (iPod, iPhone, iPad) that transformed the mobile technology and human life forever. Steve Jobs is only one example among many that shows how failure can be the impetus for  groundbreaking achievements.

This awesome visual from themetapicture features other examples of popular figures who built their fame and achievement through failure. Share this visual with students and inspire them to never give up their dreams.

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10 Good Ways to Integrate Mobile Phones in Class

July 1, 2014
When it comes to integrating mobile phones in learning , many teachers show a deep-seated concern over it. But let's face it students as early as primary grades have phones and have already developed key skills to use them. Phones and other digital media are part and parcel of their lives if not an important part of it. So instead of banning them from using the digital media they are already familiar with, it would be better to look into ways to embrace these media and leverage its power to enhance students learning. In this regard, the visual below outlines 10 useful examples of how you can integrate phones in classroom learning. Have a look and as always share with us what you think of it.

Source: Splash Math

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Awesome Visual Featuring 18 Tips to Raise Independent Learners

July 1, 2014
Teaching kids and students how to be independent learners is essential for preparing them for the future. Independent learning is a learning that has no boundaries, one in which the learners adapt their time and effort to learn new insights using a wide range of techniques. Some of these techniques are captured in this awesome visual I learned about from Sean Junkins. Have a look and share with us what you think of them.

• Take the lead
• Question the questions. Is there another way to look at it.
• Do your research
• Take a risk
• Look for inspiration
• Make use of existing resources, books, magazines, displays etc
• Ask a friend
• Take your time to reflect
• Sketch it out
• Have a go
• Try again
• Ask for feedback
• Own your learning
• Embrace some mistakes
• Plan ahead
• Teach the teacher
• Help, support and advise your peers
• Online tutorial

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10 Things You Probably Didn't Know about Internet

June 28, 2014
Did you know that 49% of Internet traffic comes from humans while the remaining 51% is made up of bots? Did you know that the first web site was created in 1991? How about the fact that it took Internet 4 years to reach 50.000.000 people but it took television 13 years and radio 18 years to reach the same milestone? Weird enough, did you know that around 65% of all images on the Internet are of naked women?

These and several other weird facts about Internet is the topic of the graphic below. I invite you to have a pick and share with us what you think of it. Enjoy

Graphic created by Zanifesto and I learned about it through MakeUseof.

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8 Characteristics of Great School Leaders

June 28, 2014
Here is an excellent visual created by Sean Junkins ( editor of SeansDesk) featuring some of the characteristics of the school leaders. Sean particularly focused on 8  key features that school leaders have. These are:

1- Vision
Great school leaders are visionaries with a clear sense of moral purpose. They have the ability to formulate and shape the future, rather than be shaped by events.

2- Courage
Great school leaders have the determination, willpower, and patience to see things through. They are willing to take risks and remain steadfast in the force of challenge.

3- Passion
Great school leaders are passionate about teaching and learning, show great commitment to children, and take on active interest in the work of students and staff.

4- Intelligence
Great school leaders are team-builders. They understand the importance of relationships. They empower their staff and students and show empathy for all.

5- Judgement
Great school leaders make wise decisions. They don't act alone, they involve the whole school community to move students forward.

6- Resilience
Great school leaders are optimistic. They stay energetic and positive. They remain calm in the face of crisis and have strategies to steady themselves in stormy waters.

7- Persuasion
Great school leaders are communicators and storytellers. They are persuaders and listeners. They are motivators who get people to do things and go that extra mile.

8- Curiosity
Great school leaders are always on the lookout for good ideas. They are excellent networkers and great opportunists who always stay in touch with the latest trends.

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Teachers' Visual Guide to Twitter Chats

June 25, 2014
In an earlier post here in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning I talked about some of the ways teachers can leverage the power of Twitter for their professional development. One of the things I mentioned is the use of Twitter chats. I am a big fan of these chats and though I don't  attend them regularly but I always check the archive to catch up with what teachers discuss and share on them. In fact several of the ideas and tools I share with you here  come from those chats.

Today when I  came across this infographic on Twitter chats I thought it would make  a great follow-up post for my previous article. In this visual, Teamtait ( author of Edutait) provides some practical ideas to help teachers make the most out of Twitter chats. He starts with outlining some of the reasons why teachers should consider taking part in these chats, then moved to the ways to follow a Twitter chat. Next, he features the popular education chats on Twitter together with the time they take place and he concluded with useful tips to effectively use Twitter chats for professional development purposes.

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3 Awesome Grammar Visuals to Use in Class

June 21, 2014
There is a heated discussion around the teaching of grammar between two main camps. On the one hand, proponents of the "back to basics" movement argue that grammar is the backbone of language teaching and as such it should be given priority in terms of teaching grammatical structures explicitly through language activities and exercises that are designed purposefully to target these structures in a mechanical way. On the other hand, progressivists have a different take on this. They view grammar teaching and and literacy teaching in general as part and parcel of a natural process of learning that resembles kids learning of their mother tongues. They claim that through engaging learners in meaningfully authentic activities, kids get to learn more effectively than is the case through mechanical drilling advocated by the traditionalists.

I personally do not see the effectiveness of any one approach  per se in the teaching of grammar. A healthy dose of explicit instruction on grammatical components of a language lesson is just as important as involving students in communicative and interactive language activities that implicitly target those same grammatical structures.

 But regardless of the teaching approach you subscribe to in your language teaching, there is one evident fact that no two can argue over. Kids capacities in using appropriate grammar skills is whining away. This is even aggravated by the pervasive use of mobile devices and social media websites as primary means of communication in today's world.  There is now a whole new linguistic code created and circulated in those online spaces and in text messages. This code is built on a language that thrives in short forms and grammatical errors. It does seem like  digitality is killing some important aspects of language use and as such it behooves as teachers and educators to draw our students attention to this growing mal-appropriation of language and its negative effects on the grammaticality of their language. In this regard, I am sharing with you three interesting infographics that you can use with you students in class. These visuals highlight some key grammatical mistakes, errors, and rules that students should pay heed to.

• Getting A Grip on Good Grammar
• 15 Grammar Goofs
• The Write Way

1- 15 Grammar Goofs

2- The Write Way

3- Getting A Grip on Good Grammar

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Infographic: The Evolution of Gamification

June 20, 2014
Below is an interesting visual on the evolution of gamification I want you to have a look at but before that let me share with this short explanation of the difference between gamification and games. According to Sean, gamification is not necessarily a game. A game is something that you can lose at. Games are also inherently and intrinsically rewarding( examples include, chess , role playing games..etc) there are also extrinsic rewards that are offered through games as well. Gamification is a little bit different. gamification role is to find these intrinsic rewards in an activity and also offer you those extrinsic rewards for doing the.

Gamification is the application of game principles to something that is not necessarily a game and this should not be confused with serious games. The goal of serious games is to train or teach somebody something.

 

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