How to explain personalized learning to parents
Personalized learning directly affects the daily routine of you and your students, but often parents are out of the loop when it comes to its purpose and benefits in the classroom.
Below is a simple guide that you can follow when explaining personalized learning to parents.
What is personalized learning, and why do we need it?
Personalized learning is education’s answer to the ever-changing needs of diverse student populations, who enter school with different lea
Best personalized learning apps for the 2017-2018 school year
Personalized learning can be a lot easier with good tools to help you manage it. But with all the personalized learning apps out there, how do you choose the best one for you?
We’ve narrowed down the field to four of the best personalized learning apps that you can use this school year across all subjects. In no particular order, they are ...
1. Mindprint Learning
Mindprint Learning helps teachers create a personalized
3 examples of a personalized learning lesson plan template
Personalized learning plays a key role in student-centered teaching, but it can be tough (or even confusing) to make it work with your existing lesson plans. That’s where pre-made templates can help.
Below are three examples of a personalized learning lesson plan template and what makes them good choices to use in your classroom.
A ‘Personalized Learning Plan for Success’
The State of Vermont Agency of Education mad
Brain science experts release new games that address everyday math problems
Lumos Labs, the creator of cognitive brain training product Lumosity, has released four new games that address the everyday math problems that students (and adults) may struggle with.
The Science and Games teams for Lumosity worked to design games to help teach fundamental math skills to people of all ages and
Take a class field trip through ancient history in a video game museum
Assassin's Creed, one of the most popular video game franchises of the past decade, is introducing a new digital experience that students and teachers will love: a virtual re-creation of ancient Egypt, complete with interactive guided tours, that's perfect for a class field trip.
The new Discovery Tour arrives early next year as a free update for
4 anti-bullying activities for teachers and students
Today, close to 40 percent of students are bullied, but teachers only intervene 4 percent of the time. That’s why it’s important to take active steps to reduce bullying, with better understanding and support around the issue and anti-bullying activities for teachers and students alike.
Download our free bullying guide on how to use gaming to prevent bullying.
In honor of Bullying Prevention Month
This game teaches your students to be real-world citizen scientists
Now you can teach your students to be real-world citizen scientists with a game that helps Alzheimer's researchers better understand how treatment can reverse memory loss.
Stall Catchers is a free online game where players of any age — including students as young as 7, for example — can join investigative efforts and speed up the lab research around
New science game Niche teaches students genetics and biology
The new science game Niche teaches students about genetics and biology — from predator survival to climate change.
Niche uses turn-based strategy, simulation, and "roguelike" video game elements to challenge students to use real genetics to learn about species populations and survival against predators, illnesses, and climate. As they play, students can discover over 100 genes; four
Minecraft: Education Edition puts a new spin on The Oregon Trail game
Minecraft Education has partnered with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to put a new spin on a classic educational game: The Oregon Trail.
Teachers can now use The Oregon Trail Experience to supplement lessons and curriculum related to language arts, science, math, geography, science (including climate and environment), social studies (government, politics,
5 coolest educational VR apps for Google Cardboard
Virtual reality is an exciting new technology with huge potential for student education, but it’s not always clear how best to leverage VR in the classroom. One easy entry point is Google’s do-it-yourself virtual reality device, but which educational VR apps for Google Cardboard are worth your time and energy?
How to use Google Cardboard in the classroom
Using Google Cardboard is straightforward. All you need i
5 simple strategies to quiet a noisy classroom
Even experienced teachers can struggle with finding effective strategies to quiet a noisy classroom. But having a few tricks at the ready can help you take back control.
1) Stand near the noisy students
This strategy is a classic that most teachers learn early in their career. If the class is being too rowdy, standing near the loudest students can get them to settle down, especially if you stay silent while doing it.
Keep in mind that how a teacher decide
3 free classroom noise level monitors
A room full of quiet students … for many teachers, that’s the perfect classroom. While that might seem like more dream than reality, thankfully lots of classroom noise monitor apps are out there to help you manage.
We’ve chosen three classroom noise monitor tools that teachers can use for free.
Bouncy Balls
How it works: The free browser app Bouncy Balls is a fun tool where students are challenged t
3 steps for improving class exam review for teachers
Teacher and Classcraft Ambassador Cara Rowe shares her ideas for homemade classroom games, plus three steps for improving your class exam reviews and seeing better student engagement and academic performance as a result.
Review games help students of all levels do better on tests, and there are many well-known games and several sites available to help you throw together a quick and fun review. The only problem with these traditional games and websites, especially in upper grades (w
10 important facts about games and learning
Article republished with permission from Brave in the Attempt. This post is based on the keynote presented by Constance Steinkuehler, a professor at the University of California at Irvine, at the Games f
Why we created Quests, our new tool for personalized learning
This school year, teachers and students will embark on a different kind of adventure in the classroom: Quests, a new tool for personalized learning that gamifies existing lesson plans.
Every learner has their own unique style of learning, but as a teacher, you only have so much time to spend on a lesson. This can make it difficult to meet the needs of every student in your classroom.
That’s why we ma
Why teachers should use games for PBIS success
PBIS can massively improve student behavior in a school, and using games for PBIS is a natural fit. Any new implementation takes effort, and by leveraging the social power of games, teachers and administrators can make that process easier.
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) teaches students behavioral expectations by acknowledging and promoting prosocial behavior in order to prevent negative behavior from developing.
Naturally, we’re
What’s the difference between SEL & PBIS?
SEL and PBIS both foster prosocial behaviors, develop important 21st-century skills, and contribute to a positive school culture. But what’s the difference between SEL and PBIS, and how can you make sure you’re taking steps to integrate both into your classroom and school?
Aligning SEL and PBIS together will help you create positive, long-term change in students’ attitudes, behaviors, and academic performance. Below are easy ways to help
PBIS and bullying: How to prevent antisocial behavior schoolwide
PBIS and bullying are two words you should be hearing together more. One's a problem; the other's a solution. PBIS can be a game-changer for the classroom, and teachers and administrators can even prevent bullying with PBIS to improve culture at the school level, too.
Using PBIS helps you to promote prosocial behaviors and create an environment where it’s harder for bullying to thrive
Latest game reviews
5 educators try the best game-based learning tools of 2017
At Games for Change 2017 in New York, we asked five educators to pick out their favorites from the Marketplace, a show floor that features some of the best game-based learning tools of 2017.
Featured in the video are teachers Roy R. Rodriguez, Christian Patenaude, Louis Neglia, Steve Isaacs, and Matthew Farber, along with two students, Leila and Grace Cheo-Isaacs.
How one expert uses VR to encourage student collaboration
At Games for Change 2017, we spoke to Dave Culyba, an assistant teaching professor at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center, about how educators can use VR to encourage student collaboration.
Dave primarily spends his time teaching students the ins and outs of working in creative industries like game development, theme parks, and virtual reality. He also
Why games in education are a positive force
At Games for Change 2017, we spoke to Kelli N. Dunlap, a psychologist and game designer, about why games in education are a positive force.
Dr. Dunlap uses games to reduce mental health stigma and increase awareness and empathy for psychiatric conditions. She has collaboratively developed games for organizations including the Natio
How 5 teachers are using games in the classroom
At the "How Teachers Use Games in the Classroom" panel at Games for Change 2017, a group of innovative educators and school administrators shared their experiences with games in their schools.
Education experts Randall Deich, Matthew Farber, Mike Farley, Heather Hibner, and Tammie Schrader led the talk. Here are their insights and creations using games in the classroom.
1
5 best practices for VR in the classroom
At the "VR in the Classroom" panel at Games for Change 2017, some of the best minds in education gathered together to share their best practices for using virtual reality in education.
Education gurus Steve Isaacs and Cathy Cheo-Isaacs and education game developers Dan White and Jesse Schell contributed to the talk. Here are their
Games can solve the ‘fake news’ problem by teaching critical thinking
Students need to learn to identify "fake news" in the media, and games could be the answer.
Oliver Lewis, the founder of charitable organization The Near Future Society, recently spoke about games as a solution for "fake news, bias, and extremism" at the Develop conference in Brighton, England, according to gamesindus
Make Learning an Adventure, Gamify your classroom today!
New Toca Lab game teaches students about the plants in their community
Toca Boca recently released a new entry in the Toca Lab science game series. Toca Lab: Plants teaches students all about botany and the everyday plants they can find all around them.
Available for iOS, Android, and
One teacher’s take on ISTE 2017 and its education trends
Editor's note: Reposted with permission from Michele Haiken of The Teaching Factor.
How do you envision technology in your classroom?
How do you utilize technology with your students to promote deeper learning, critical thinking, and creativity?
How do you see technology enhancing your teaching goals?
Technology is transformative. It is more than an instructional tool. Teacher
Games for Change announces its 2017 award nominees in learning, civics, and more
Games for Change has nominated its top games across the Neurogaming & Health, Civics & Social Impact, and Games for Learning tracks for 2017. All nominees are up for the top honor of G4C's Game of the Year award.
G4C holds an annual festival in New York City each year to celebrate games making a positive social difference, and many of those fall into education. The 2017 festival will take place on July 31-August 2.
Judges will select the winners, but G4C is also opening voting up t
Con ‘Em If You Can review
About the game:
In Con ’Em If You Can, the player — mentored by con artist Connor — uses a variety of fraud tactics to convince people to invest their money in bogus projects. By having players be fraudsters, the game hopes to make them more aware of persuasion tactics and more vigilant against fraud.
ISTE 2017: Best highlights and photos from the conference
We were busy at ISTE this year! From hanging out with the guys of EdTech After Dark and giving sessions at the Microsoft and Google for Education booths to co-hosting EdTech Karaoke, we had a blast at this year's conference in San Antonio. And we can't wait for next year in Chicago!
In case you missed it, here's a roundup of all our coverage, plus a fun gal
ISTE 2017: The best of the Playgrounds: Google for Education and Virtual Environments (video)
At ISTE 2017 in San Antonio, we took a tour of some of the best offerings on display at the Google for Education Playground and the Virtual Environments and Games & Simulations Network P