Last week at the FETC (Florida Educational Technology Conference) I attended a session about online tools that can be used for assessment by Kyle Schutt. Although I have used PhotoPeach before, I had forgotten that the program had the ability to create a quiz from your images. This makes PhotoPeach a great assessment tool. Simply upload your photos to PhotoPeach.com, choose a [...]
Hello Everyone! February is here. That means we are only a couple of weeks away from our first 2012 MI Day of Discovery! If you have already made plans to attend the Kalamazoo DOD we look forward to seeing you there. If you have yet to sign up, please do so here: http://dodkzoo.eventbrite.com. The best [...]
As discussed in a previous blog, “Educators ‘Score’ Evaluation Tactics Low,” New York state educators, administrators, and government officials are locking horns over the implementation of teacher evaluation systems that include student assessment results. The latest wave of activity featured a statement by state governor Andrew Cuomo that districts must adopt new evaluation systems or [...]
Just a note for our partners in the “Sunshine State.” The Florida Department of Education has formally set the new FCAT 2.0 state assessment achievement level cut scores. Since the predictions made by Discovery Education interim benchmark assessments are based on these decisions the Florida Test C interim benchmark will be a predictive measure of [...]
By David Andrade I created a permanent page at the top of my blog for STEM Resources. The page has resources for students and educators for science, technology, engineering and math organized by sub-topic. It obviously includes a lot of Discovery Resources. I decided to do this to collect these great resources in one [...]
David Andrade, http://tinyurl.com/edtechguy (photo from victorisawesome.wordpress.com) Today I overheard this comment by a student in one of my physics classes: “I like this class because I actually learn something real that I can use.” I was very happy to hear this. I try to relate what I’m teaching and what students are doing to something [...]
Seven of the 11 states seeking waivers from the core provisions of NCLB included additional testing as part of their waiver application. Many of these new tests would be in the subjects of science, social studies, the arts, and other subjects not currently required by NCLB. Here is to hoping that they win their waiver [...]
by David Andrade, http://tinyurl.com/edtechguy Be The Future is a STEM resource from the Science Channel, part of Discovery Communications, that provides information, resources, links, lesson resources, and more from a variety of sources, including Discovery Education. It is a new science initiative to help get students interested and engaged in science subjects and careers. There [...]
by David Andrade, http://tinyurl.com/edtechguy Discovery Education has a huge amount of great resources for educators, from videos to lesson plans to e-textbooks and more. Some of it is in Flash, so you can’t access it directly on your iOS device browser. However, iSwifter has partnered with Discovery Education to create Rover. Rover is an iPad [...]
by David Andrade, http://tinyurl.com/edtechguy Adobe recently announced the release of the Adobe Digital School Collection (ADSC). This collection is a bundle of software for K-12 students and educators and is available for Windows and Mac OS. Included in the bundle is Adobe Photoshop Elements 10, Adobe Premiere Elements 10 and Adobe Acrobat [...]
I am following the story of the 488, and counting, principals from Long Island that, along with a number of colleagues, signed a letter to the state of New York protesting the use of student test scores to evaluate teacher and principal performance. This is a reminder of the importance of work in the area [...]
I saw something memorable on a Friday afternoon in between sessions at the National Association of Black School Educators (NABSE) Annual Conference. There I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time, and spent 15 minutes watching a student marching band that thrilled me with their excellence, organization, and leadership. I [...]
Thank you to all who have made my first month in the DEN so outstanding. My name is Jason Altman, and I am the new DEN manager for assessment. I am looking forward to getting this blog going in the coming weeks, so please check back frequently. I promise there will often be something new. [...]
by David Andrade, http://tinyurl.com/edtechguy Molecular Workbench is a free and open source system that provides visual, interactive simulations for science. The simulations are in lesson format, with embedded assessments and the ability to change variables and see what happens. There are hundreds of free simulations in physics, chemistry, biology, biotech and nanotech. Some are [...]
by David Andrade, http://tinyurl.com/edtechguy STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is a term that has become more and more popular lately as the federal government is pushing for improvements in student performance in these areas. The United States needs more students to enter these fields and, in general, the public needs to be [...]
This past weekend, the CT DEN LC sponsored the CT Day of Discovery. We held in-person sessions, along with having a room set up to participate in the Fall Virtual Conference. I presented a session on 25 Free Resources from Discovery Education. Here is the list and links to the sites. Please share it [...]
FETC’s Fall Virtual Conference is Thursday, October 27th, from 10:30am – 6pm. This is a great way to get some excellent professional development and connect with other educators without traveling. There is a keynote speaker, multiple sessions, and even an exhibit hall, all accessed online for free. Hall Davidson, Director, Discovery Educator Network, will be delivering the [...]
by Dr. Jason Parker, North Carolina LC Member “Ideas about assessments have undergone important changes in recent years. In the new view, assessment and learning are two sides of the same coin….When students engage in assessments, they should learn from those assessments” (National Research Council, 1996, pp. 5-6). This statement reflects the current mood of [...]
Believe it or not, not all students hate tests. When I was a student I loved being tested. When other students would be frantically reviewing notes, shaking nervously and watching the clock as the seconds ticked down too quickly to T-time, I would sit at my desk excited and raring to go. “How could a [...]
As promised, here is another post from North Carolina Leadership Council member Diane Ripollone about how she loves to use the Builder Tools for evaluating student learning. Enjoy! Discovery Builder Tools, How do you use them? written by Diane Ripollone, NC Leadership Council As a new year begins so do the questions. Some of my [...]
It has been a little while, but your DEN LC members have been busy writing! Here is a post from Florida LC member Janet Hallstrom. Stay tuned for a number of assessment-related blog posts over the next few days. Discovery Quizzes to Make Instruction Count in the Classroom written by Janet Hallstrom, FL LC [...]
Did you enjoy last month’s Back to School webinars? Do you wish you had one more chance to see them? Well, back by popular demand, we are hosting MORE Back to School webinars this month! If you have Back to School fever, join us for our upcoming webinars to get your classroom connected with Discovery [...]
When I was younger I used to believe in more other-worldly things, such as astrology, tarot and dream interpretations. I believed that I could look at another person’s palm and be able to predict his/her future. I believed the reason I was imaginative, restless, and enthusiastic was because I was a Gemini. I even went [...]
I’ve been thinking for a while that Oprah isn’t the only one who should get to have a list of her favorite things. As the self-proclaimed DEN Princess, I’ve decided that I too shall periodically share a favorite thing. Today, I’ll start things off with a tool that I learned about first during DEN Summer [...]
Starting tomorrow evening and continuing for the next three weeks are the Discovery Education BTS Webinars. Each week focuses on a different topic. Topics will be shared twice a week, once on Tuesday at 7:00 pm EST and once on Wednesday at 3:30 pm EST. Come learn how to set up student accounts for your [...]
All rights reserved. Discovery Education is a Division of Discovery Communications LLC. Discovery Educator Network is a service of Discovery Education. Copyright © 2007 Discovery Education.