Monday, March 26, 2012

YouTube Just Launched A Site Specifically For Teachers

YouTube Just Launched A Site Specifically For Teachers







There are thousands of inspirational and educational videos on YouTube right now. Many are perfect for your classroom. Knowing this, YouTube has created a new site that curates these videos and organizes them into an easier-to-find system that’s perfect for teachers.

YouTube Teachers is a brand new channel that displays helpful videos on teaching and learning about basically everything. If it’s a lesson plan or teaching tool, it’s probably on YouTube Teachers. Below you’ll see a few of our favorite videos that were surfaced by browsing the new YouTube Teacher site.

As you can see below, the splash page to YouTube Teachers resembles a chalkboard background on top of a notepad. Because, let’s face it, who doesn’t store their chalkboard on top of a notebook? I kid, I kid.



I have really been enjoying the new site and have tried to put it through it’s paces. It’ll be a great go-to resource for all teachers looking for a lesson idea or thought-provoking video on YouTube without having to sift through a billion cat videos. (Don’t get me wrong, I love a good cat video as much as the next guy but now when hunting for an educational video.)

You can sign up to become a part of the new YouTube Teachers community and get regular e-mails about popular videos.

YouTube Teachers is really all about playlists. They encourage you, as a user, to build an extensive playlist of helpful videos about particular topics. Then they want you to share those playlists with others. Sounds simple enough.
( see link below )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9db9FyDkppk&feature=player_embedded

Don’t know how to make a playlist or other finer points of YouTube? Mathademics put together a helpful video that is sure to help you out


This is the first of two big ways YouTube is reaching out to the education community. In a couple weeks, they’re expected to announce some larger changes that will really benefit teachers in particular. Stay tuned! Literally

What we CAN do about cyberbullying!

What we CAN do about cyberbullying!

March 24, 2012generationtextonlineLeave a comment


Most parents have heard of the term cyberbullying, but how is it different than the good old fashioned bullying of their own childhood?

Remember the kids who got pushed into a locker? How about the kid sitting alone in the lunch room? Maybe it happened to you as a teen. Remember how mean the girls could be…spreading rumors and making fun of peoples’ clothes and hair? How about the boys… wedgies in the locker room and on the bus?

Most adults have a personal story of their own. What is yours?

Cyberbullying is a whole different ball game. It’s 24 hours a day and it comes via text message, Facebook and Formspring. The humiliation can be unbearable. 100’s of people see it and the victim can’t erase it. People can say what they want online and the victim has no control over it. Reports about Tyler Clemente, the Rutgers freshman, say he looked at the cyberbullying targeted at him 38 times before jumping off the George Washington Bridge to his death. If you want to get a feel for cyberbullying look at the “comment section” on any NJ.com article or blog where people can leave anonymous messages. And those aren’t teens cyberbullying, those are adults!

An international research project led by an Australian Catholic University (ACU) professor has found that the factors leading to incidents of cyber-bullying are different to those which result in traditional bullying.

(http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=30571)

According to Professor Sheryl Hemphill, the main factors leading to episodes of a traditional bully are:
•academic failure
•family conflict
•past bullying

But what about cyberbullying?? What leads someone to cyberbully another??

The project found only one of these is a factor leading to incidents of cyber-bullying….past bullying in the form of relational aggression, commonly known as:
•exclusion
•spreading rumors.

So what does that mean for MY teen?

Here is what I tell the teens I work with. We can’t control what other people do. We can’t stop someone from cyberbullying. We can’t stop someone from making up lies. We can’t stop someone from trying to humiliate another. We can’t reason or resolve a problem with a cyberbully. A person who chooses to cyberbully finds protection behind the screen or a fake username. A cyberbully is not interested in telling the truth or finding the truth.

So let’s look at this study… if someone being the target of exclusion or a rumor is a factor leading to cyberbullying, we can do something about that. We can control our own behavior. We can control excluding someone or spreading rumors about people. We can teach our kids to be kind and positive. We can teach our kids how to apologize when they have done something to hurt someone. And we can choose not to cyberbully.

–Jill Brown

Thursday, March 22, 2012

10 Effective tips to be a Great Teacher

10 Effective tips to be a Great Teacher

Looking to really connect with your students?

1) A Great Teacher Will Always Be There- If you are not in your classroom, you are not teaching. Yes, teachers must take days off occasionally, but do not make it a habit. If you are feeling a little sick, unless it is serious, show up! A sick regular teacher is ten times better for his or her students than a healthy sub is. Regular attendance is a must. Be proud to have a perfect attendance record.

2) A Great Teacher is Accessible- You need to help your students at all times. That means before school, during lunch, and after school. No, you do not have to do it all the time. Start out with something like two days a week before school, lunch, and after school. You are the best tutor your students can get. Teach them!

3) Great Teachers Know Their Students on a Personal Basis- Talk to them during lessons. What is their favorite music? TV? Movies? Talk to them in the hallways. The more you know, the more you can adapt. It is easy to converse during class time. Little comments between concepts can go a long way. If some show up early for class, you can really get personal. No class time? Pass out a questionnaire. Above all, learn their names quickly!

4) A Great Teacher Knows Many Parents- Get phone numbers. Make two calls a day to parents. If you can, make more. They do not need to be long. Just a short hello and that you are interested in their child. In just a short time, you can indeed make contact to at least one parent of each student. Parents can be your biggest ally. Students will perform and behave better if they know you are talking to their parents.

5) A Great Teacher Knows What They are Teaching- If you do not know what you are doing, how can you teach? This involves complete preparation.

6) A Great Teacher Attends school events- Make yourself seen at school sports and performances. Being seen in this setting shows students you care about them and support them.

7) A Great Teacher Lives in or Visits the Neighborhood- If you do not live in the same place as your school, make some visits on weekends. Go to a local place to eat. Shop at a local store. Many of your students may have parents who own local businesses. Patronize them. Visit a church. The more your students see you, the more they will be willing to behave in class. They will see you as someone who is willing to be on their level.

8) A Great Teacher Eats Lunch on Campus- Wander around at lunch and sit at a student table. Buy a school lunch and join them. Many students help sell food. Make a point to buy something.

9) A Great Teacher is Always Fair- Expect the best, but be flexible. Fairness does not have to mean leniency It simply means to grade your students on a balanced scale.

10) Great Teachers Never lose Their Cool- Bite your tongue. All things will pass. Never carry a grudge. Things in your classroom will happen. This goes hand in hand with being professional. Acting like a raving lunatic is a sure way to shorten your career

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