IEP App

An interesting, and free iOS app to help parents keep all the information from an IEP meeting straight.  Rather interesting.  I'm going to recommend it to parents in my class with students with IEPs.

My IEP Meeting

from Free Technology for Teachers.

-Bill Stenross

Study Aids

As a teacher in 4th grade in a high stakes testing school, I've had to learn new ways to help prepare families and students for test taking.  This is a good website with resources that I'll be sharing with parents and students to help them help prepare for tests if they have an iPad.

Study Aids

Alberta looks at the united states, does the opposite

Dangerously Irrelevant has an interesting article about the Alberta School System.  We know our school systems need improvement, but I think sometimes we forget to look at what is being successful in education before looking outside education for ideas to improve.

 A recent article inAlberta Views highlighted the differences between its system and America's, noting that the United States is an 'anti-model' for how to do school reform:

By contrast we can also learn what not to do from reform in the US, whose education system is in decline. Its elements, implemented over the past two decades, are largely ideological: "market-based" reforms (the application of "business insights" to the running of schools); an emphasis on standardization and narrowing of curriculum; extensive use of external standardized assessment; fostering choice and competition among schools, often with school vouchers; making judgements based on test data and closing "failing schools"; encouraging the growth of charter schools (which don't have teacher unions); "merit pay" and other incentives; faith that "technologically mediated instruction" will reduce costs; an overwhelming "top-down" approach which tells everyone what to do and holds them accountable for doing it.

Is The Achievement Gap a Middle Class Issue

An interesting article about the fact that the achievement gap is becoming a middle class issue.

A recent study (PDF) by Sean Reardon of Stanford University finds that the achievement gap between the upper and middle classes is bigger than the gap between the middle class and the working poor. This should give pause to those who dismiss education reform as something that affects other people. If you're middle class, you're on the losing side of the achievement gap.

Free Children's Books

Free Technology for Teachers has found a great resource for free children's books that are great for use on your smartboard.

Interesting Post about Improving Teacher Education

I really valued my teacher education, but I know that it didn't prepare me for teaching as well as it could have.  Here is an interesting post over at Huffington Post to suggest ways to improve teacher education.  I still think the number one thing that education needs to do is attract higher quality candidates to education.

How to Write Objectives using Bloom's Taxonomy

Edgalaxy has a great chart to help you write Objectives using Bloom's Taxonomy.

My new team is going to be writing objects for every lesson, so I'm glad to have this to help us write meaningful and high level objectives.