360° Virtual Reality Video for the Classroom - Youtube

A new way to watch video

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbsGxdAPhjv_tgCNWGaGvSnlIMZNkmnrM

Now that you can watch 360° video from Youtube on the iPad, I think we will see an uptick in the number of videos available in this new format. The strength of 360° video, is that you can "pan the camera", follow specific parts of the action and have an immersive experience without expensive VR goggles. Simply hold up the iPad, play the video and the accelerometer built into the device lets you look around as if you were looking through a window at the action. Watch sports events, nature videos and science clips like you've never seen them before! (The link above offers samples to explore.)

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Penguin PDF Teacher's Guides to the classics

New and Classic titles

http://www.penguin.com/services-shared/teachersguides/

Follow this link to access the many teachers' guides Penguin has made available. You'll find guides to Shakespeare's works, Orwell's 1984 and Doctorow's City of God and many others. (ie. Jane Austen, Pollan, Joseph Conrad, Khaled Hosseini etc.) The guides are extensive including an introduction, discussion questions, plot summaries, reading strategies, vocabulary words, and other helpful resources.

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GET GRAPHIC: The World In Words and Pictures

Learn more about graphic novels

http://www.getgraphic.org/teachers.php

"As an educator you can utilize the Get Graphic! website to learn more about graphic novels, investigate booklists, explore graphic novel news and information, and learn about graphic novel related events around Western New York. Our Get Graphic! blog offers a place to exchange ideas and see what others are reading, and our Contact list allows you to communicate with someone from the Get Graphic project for assistance in how to best utilize our website and materials."

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The Solar System Drawn to Scale Across 7 Miles of Desert

A visual delight

http://www.openculture.com/2015/09/the-solar-system-drawn-amazingly-to-scale-across-7-miles-of-nevadas-black-rock-desert.html

"Wylie Overstreet and Alex Gorosh set out to create something you've never seen before — our solar system drawn to actual scale. Forget what you've seen in books, or on web sites. To depict things accurately, you need a bigger surface. A really large canvas. Like a seven-mile expanse in Nevada's Black Rock Desert (which otherwise hosts The Burning Man Festival). It's on this dry lakebed that Overstreet and Gorosh built "the first scale model of the solar system with complete planetary orbits" and it's a sight to behold."

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Reasons to Use Picture Books with Middle & High School Students

Teach higher-level skills while still providing an engaging experience

http://www.slj.com/2015/09/books-media/teachers-find-many-reasons-to-use-picture-books-with-middle-and-high-school-students/

"Picture books, according to some English language arts (ELA) experts, provide excellent opportunities to teach higher-level skills while still providing an engaging experience for older students who might think they don't like to read. In fact, many picture books are quite complex, says Mary Jo Fresch, a professor emeritus at Ohio State University ."

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A Wealth of Free Documentaries on All Things Japanese

From Bento Boxes to Tea Gardens and more

http://www.openculture.com/2015/09/a-wealth-of-free-documentaries-on-all-things-japanese.html

The two series "Begin Japanology" and "Japanology Plus" offer short, informative videos on a range of Japan-themed subjects. Great for High School Japanese courses, or general interest Socials Studies.

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2015 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

What to suggest to a reluctant reader?

http://www.ala.org/yalsa/2015-quick-picks-reluctant-young-adult-readers

"The Quick Picks list, presented annually at the ALA Midwinter Meeting suggests books that teens, ages 12-18, will pick up on their own and read for pleasure; it is geared to the teenager who, for whatever reason, does not like to read. The 2015 list features 68 titles and 1 series."

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Poetry In Voice -> Play Poem Roulette

Poet, Mood or Tag.

http://www.poetryinvoice.com/roulette/

Poetry in Voice has created an engaging site to encourage students to interact with a range of works. Pick from a random offering of poets, or moods (ie. courageous, whimsical, etc) or tags by "Spinning the wheel" and seeing what the one-armed-bandit serves up.

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Questioning for Learning: More Than a Google Search

Student Savvy Searching in Google

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept15/vol73/num01/More-Than-a-Google-Search.aspx

Catlin Tucker shares some strategies for smart searching:

"...It was rewarding to see how the work we had put into learning how to articulate a strong question, search online for credible sources, and think critically about that information was now bearing fruit in a student-driven project....Students were no longer just consumers of information; they were also generators of information—because they had learned how to ask good questions."

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Redesigned Curriculum - an overview

Have you seen it yet?

https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/tools

The "tools" page on the BC Ministry of Ed site offers an Introduction to BC's Redesigned Curriculum (PDF) and a quick summary of "What's New in each Area of Learning".

The overview will bring you up to date on all the facets of the changes.

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A Vision for Aboriginal Education

Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspectives in the Classroom

(PDF download)

"The inspiration for this project was to support and build upon a regional dialogue that would lead to further strategies and clear commitments from all educators as we work to serve each learner, families, and communities. With a spirit of collaboration, a commitment to transformation, and an "If not here, where?" mindset, we approached Director Ted Cadwallader of the British Columbia Ministry of Education to share our School District 85 (Vancouver Island North) aspirations. Shortly thereafter, the vision and partnership was expanded to include four other school districts to host focus sessions on Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspectives in the Classroom."

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50 Videos for Career Path Explorations

Introduce students to a variety of careers

http://blogs.kqed.org/education/2015/09/10/50-videos-for-career-path-explorations/

"From the arts to science to religion, introduce students to a variety of careers with KQED, BAVC and Salesforce resources.  Use these videos to inspire young people to discover careers and explore possible career paths ->  Beat Boxer

Cartoonist, Conceptual Artist, Current Events Painter, DJ, Microbiologist, Mechanical Engineer, Neurobiologist, Population Geneticist and more..."

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