TED-Ed Tuesday: Full STEAM Ahead

Is STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) a focus in your school?  If so, you'll be excited to know that the TED-Ed library is a free resource filled with engaging, ready to use lessons.

Science

Technology

Engineering

Art

Mathematics

If you don't see what you're looking for in the existing TED-Ed library, create it using the TED-Ed's Lesson Platform.

Full STEAM Ahead!

TED-Ed Tuesday: Becoming a better thinker

Dr. Dylan Ferniany, the author of today's post, is a fellow TED-Ed Innovative Educator and the Gifted and Talented Program Specialist in Birmingham Public Schools.  Today's blog is reposted from the Birmingham City Schools Gifted and Talented Education Program's blog.


​         Everyone's always talking about critical and creative thinking- but what is it? How is it different than normal thinking? Did you know that the average adult makes approximately 35,000 decisions per day, and a young child makes 3,000 decisions per day. So most people are making somewhere between 3000 and 35000 decisions each day. That's a lot of decisions! Some of those decisions may be small, like whether to brush your teeth first or wash your face. But other decisions are much bigger and may take more of your mental energy. The way we think through those big decisions is by using critical and creative thinking skills. Here's an example: Your teacher gives you a project with a due date in two weeks. She has given you a rubric so you know the parameters, but she has left some decisions up to you. You may have to think about what supplies to get, what is the next step, where to find your information, how to present the information, and all kinds of other decisions you don't even realize you are making.
          Sometimes, we have to make decisions that may affect our future. For instance, which courses to take in high school, or where to go to college. These decisions are hard and take higher levels of thinking and planning than smaller decisions. So if we talk so much about it, how do we do it? Today's TED-Ed lesson explains 5 tips for improving your critical thinking skills. Watch the video, and then interact with the lesson on TED-Ed!

Arthur Benjamin: The magic of Fibonacci numbers

The magic of Fibonacci numbers by: Arthur Benjamin

Materials and Resources

• Computer or Tablet
• TED-Ed Lesson: The magic of Fibonacci numbers
• graph paper
• crayons
• string

http://ed.ted.com/on/vtEuAiRB

TED-Ed Tuesday: #TEDEdChat

Are you on Twitter?  Did you know there is a Twitter chat all about the awesomeness that is TED and TED-Ed? Every Tuesday at 6:00 pm EST, follow #TEDEdChat on Twitter and join in the conversation.

The weekly chat is inspired by one of the countless talks or lessons.  Each #TEDEdChat is a co-hosted by @TED_Ed and anyone who has an idea worth mulling. The only prerequisite is that you have participated in a past chat.

Today's chat is Linda Liukas' talk, A Delightful Way to Teach Kids About Computers.  Watch the talk and join the chat.  (Or don't watch the talk and join the chat.  Either way, you are welcome!)

Do you have an idea for a #TEDEdChat?  Email steph.ng@ted.com for the chance to co-host.

TED-Ed Tuesday: Boost Your Confidence

Dr. Dylan Ferniany, the author of today's post, is a fellow TED-Ed Innovative Educator and the Gifted and Talented Program Specialist in Birmingham Public Schools.  Today's blog is reposted from the Birmingham City Schools Gifted and Talented Education Program's blog.

"Have you ever been told to be more confident? I know I have. Confidence can be a key factor in success and career but it can sometimes be hard to find. The good news is that we can make ourselves more confident! You will learn how in this TED-Ed Lesson. Learn how a fixed and growth mindset may help or hurt your confidence. Confidence also comes from your ability to fail and experience setbacks. If you can accept that you will sometimes make mistakes, you will be more confident going in to the situation. Take the TED-Ed Lesson on 3 Tips to Boost Your Confidence, and then practice it when you have the next opportunity to take on a challenging task!"

TED-Ed Tuesday: How to Make a TED-Ed Lesson

All are welcome to create TED-Ed Lessons, including teachers and students.  The process is simple. 

You will need....

• A TED-Ed Account
• A youtube video
• Some creativity

Step One:  Log in to your TED-Ed Account at ed.ted.com.

Step Two:  Click on Create a Lesson from the homepage.

 

Step Three:  Search for a youtube video or load your preselected video by cutting and pasting its URL.

Step Four: Select the video, and Launch Lesson Editor.

Step Five:  Customize your lesson using up to five sections: Watch, Think, Dig Deeper, Discuss, ...And Finally.

 

 

 

 

 

Step Six: Review, revise and Publish your lesson! 

 

 Check out the finished lesson:  A Sage's Journey: The Story of Tangrams.

 

If the TED-Ed Team feels it is appropriate for a larger audience, they may make your lesson a TED-Ed Select! 

 

 

 

A Sage's Journey: The Story of Tangrams

A Sage's Journey:  The Story of Tangrams 

by: mathverick

Materials and Resources

• Computer or Tablet
• TED-Ed Lesson A Sage's Journey: The Story of Tangrams
• Set of Tangrams
• Tangram puzzles

http://ed.ted.com/on/dCv16njA

The three C's - creativity, crafting and kids: by Maeve Aickin

The three C's - creativity, crafting and kids: 

Maeve Aickin

Materials and Resources

• Computer or Tablet
• TED-Ed Lesson The three C's - creativity, crafting and kids: Maeve Aickin 
• Spirograph
• Drawing paper
• Colored Pencils
• Duct Tape
• Camera (for documenting creations)

http://ed.ted.com/on/YyuD6thM

Origami History

Origami History

Materials and Resources

• Computer or Tablet
• TED-Ed Lesson Origami History
• 3-5 high-interest poetry books
• Origami paper
• Camera (for documenting shapes)

http://ed.ted.com/on/IY3dUEi7

TED-Ed Tuesdays: Khan, Montessori and TED-Ed

Brenda Erickson, a Montessorian I met on Twitter, forever changed my approach and perspective in many aspects of education.  Brenda is the founder of Counterpane Montessori, a unique preK-12 Montessori School. Students will benefit if we build more bridges between traditional approaches and alternative methods. This I have learned through time and practice since our meeting.

Salman Khan, a pioneer in education technology, recognizes the need to build such bridges and he knows the genius of Montessori.  In an interview with KBPS, he describes the new Khan Lab School as a sort of Montessori 2.0.  He explained, "...you could almost imagine this is a bit of a Montessori 2.0. I mean, the whole principle of Montessori is students learn by exploration, play, they learn at their own time and pace, they have mixed age. So we are inspired by Montessori, and I would like to think that Maria Montessori would be pretty excited if she saw what was going on."  Learn more about Khan Lab School.

Thanks to Twitter and other professional networking opportunities, educators working in former worlds of isolation are able to collaborate in the 21st century, building bridges between approaches. The TED-Ed Lesson platform can be useful in constructing such a bridge.  TED-Ed Lessons can allow choice, freedom, time for students to arrive at mastery by points of arrival, and meet the needs of multiple ages in one room.  Maria Montessori also once said, "The hands are the instruments of man's intelligence."  Our senses are how we take in the world around us.  In traditional schooling, children rely on the senses of hearing and vision to take in information.  Maria Montessori made touch as important as the other senses by design in her learning spaces.  Another impactful way to use TED-Ed Lessons in the classroom is to involve a hands-on activity, incorporating our sense of touch into the learning process.

A few lessons, lend themselves to this idea.  One such lesson is Where the Sidewalk Ends (Lego Sculpture) composed by Shannon Brake.  

In order to try it yourself, find a TED-Ed Lesson from the library.  Click on the button in the lower right hand side that says, "Customize this lesson," and add a hands-on activity to the "...And Finally" section or any other section that you see fit.

OR

Create your own TED-Ed Lesson with any youtube video.



  

TED-Ed Tuesdays: Digital Citizenship

Dr. Dylan Ferniany, the author of today's post, is a fellow TED-Ed Innovative Educator and the Gifted and Talented Program Specialist in Birmingham Public Schools.  Today's blog is reposted from the Birmingham City Schools Gifted and Talented Education Program's blog.  

"One of my favorite Ed Tech Gurus is Jennifer Scheffer. Ms. Scheffer is a dynamic, innovative, and energetic leader who is committed to changing the educational landscape by providing students with real-world, personalized learning opportunities. She leads a globally recognized, student run Help Desk program which exists to support Burlington High School's 1:1 iPad program. Jennifer is the Massachusetts Google Educator Group Leader and is a Google Certified Educator. She provides training on Google Apps for Education in and outside of her district and uses Google's suite of apps to enhance communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. She is a fellow TED-Ed Innovative Educator and has created some awesome lessons on digital citizenship that will help students understand the importance of what they do online in and out of school. 

Did you know that there is such a thing as a tree octopus? You didn't? Well check it out right here!  JK. Sometimes it's hard to tell what is true online, and what is fake. Watch this lesson on Detecting Lies and Staying True to learn how to stay safe online and separate fact from fiction. 

I for one am REALLY excited that all my photos from middle school aren't all over the internet. But digital natives don't have that luxury. Everything you do online is a permanent record of what you do. Enjoy this catchy Flocabulary lesson on Oversharing online. Great advice for online etiquette that could help your academic and professional career! 

And finally learn about Who's Creating Your Digital Dossier to better understand how where all of the information about you is online, and how it grows as you do. As I write this blog I am creating part of my own digital dossier, and adding to Ms. Scheffer's by highlighting her work on these amazing TED-Ed Lessons. You control your own digital dossier, and you can make sure that it is filled with positive information about you that will impress your friends, family, and future employers."

Where the Sidewalk Ends (Lego Sculpture)

Where the Sidewalk Ends (Lego Sculpture)

Materials and Resources

• Computer or Tablet
• TED-Ed Lesson Where the Sidewalk Ends (Lego Sculpture)
• 3-5 high-interest poetry books
• Legos
• Camera (for documenting lego sculptures)

http://ed.ted.com/featured/tajfaiVW

GEL (Goals, Evidence and the Learning Experience)

GEL

In School District 27J, we often focus on GEL (Goals, Evidence and Learning Experience) when planning classroom instruction or professional development.  GEL is a simplification of Wiggins & McTighe's Backwards Design Process.  Below is the plan for the innovation project.

GOALS:

1) Provide enrichment services now.

2) Identify gifted and talented students.

EVIDENCE:

1) Data will be collected from each of the TED-Ed lessons the student completes. 

2) Each student in the talent pool will take an assessment at the completion of the project for possible official identification.  

LEARNING EXPERIENCE:  

The identified talent pool will work independently on one TED-Ed Lesson per week.  Each online lesson will be accompanied by a hands-on component.  All of the experiences will promote creative and outside-the-box thinking to enrich current learning and prepare students for a later assessment.

Learn more about the Wiggins' and McTighe's Backward Design Process in this TED-Ed Professional Development Lesson.  

TED-Ed Innovative Educator Project

Last summer, I began the professional development adventure of a lifetime as a member of TED-Ed's first Innovative Educator Cohort.  The TED-Ed Innovative Educator program is professional development at its best. The experience has enriched my life personally and professionally. Currently, we are all working on our Innovative Educator projects. Everyone's project is unique, dynamic and, well, innovative.  My project focuses on identifying gifted and talented students in a Title 1 school.  For an overview of this TED-Ed Innovative Educator Project, please watch this Powtoon.

Applications are open for TED-Ed's second cohort of innovative educators.  Learn more about the professional development opportunity here.

The Backstory

Years ago, I had the privilege of teaching a multi-age gifted and talented classroom. What I should really say, is I had the privilege of learning and growing as an educator because of my time with the dynamic group of gifted and talented students I taught for two years.

The classroom was an experiment.  I taught in a Title 1 school that no longer exists.  It was shut down and restructured as many schools were during the No Child Left Behind era. District administration decided to place a 3rd, 4th and 5th grade gifted and talented classroom into every elementary school in the district.  When my principal at the time asked if anyone was interested in teaching it, I ran back to my computer and emailed her that it interested me. I am so grateful I was granted the opportunity to teach this class.

Filling the class was a challenge.  The tests, which are the same tests used today, were not identifying enough students.  While most of the class began with the identification, some did not.  (One of the cool parts was, some of the kids who were not identified at the beginning of the year were identified at the beginning of the year.)

So why is it so important to find our gifted and talented students in Title 1 schools?  If I were to answer in terms of the now, I would say the identification is necessary to make sure they are getting the enrichment and challenges needed to keep them engaged in the public school setting.  If I were to answer in terms of years from now, I would say the identification is important for access to enrichment, access to advanced classes and access to opportunities that may otherwise not be offered to the students.

As for the experiment, I'd say it was a success.  What metric am I using to judge the success of this class?  I watched several of the students from trail blaze through school and matriculate into college.  

This year, I am working in another Title 1 School, and the identification challenges remain very real.  For this reason, my professional growth plan at my workplace and my TED-Ed Innovative Educator project focus on 1) providing opportunities for enrichment and 2) exploring paths for identification.