A couple weeks I decided to do something most educators would never dream of doing. I gave all 140 of my German students the opportunity to assess me. I explained to my students that the assessment was 100% anonymous, and the most…
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Added by Justin Tarte on February 2, 2011 at 9:30am —
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6 Solutions to the Most Common Teacher Problems...
Last week we had our third professional development day at Seckman High School. As a PD representative, I had the opportunity to lead two PD sessions. The format of my sessions was to…
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Added by Justin Tarte on January 31, 2011 at 6:11am —
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5 reasons educators should start reading blogs:
1) - Blogs are the heart of learning and sharing... If you are an idea and inspiration junkie like myself, then you will find blogs to be extremely beneficial. Educators of all ages and backgrounds are bringing their ideas, reflections and experiences to one convenient location; their blog.…
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Added by Justin Tarte on January 20, 2011 at 1:39am —
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Here are 14 books that I have read over the last two years that have had a positive effect and impact on me as an educator. Some of these books were read in the book club at Seckman High School, and some were read as part of my doctoral studies. Despite doing a lot more online reading of late (blogs, articles, etc...), I still feel that books play an important role in educator growth and development. Please comment and let me know what you would add to the list.…
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Added by Justin Tarte on January 20, 2011 at 1:37am —
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Educators from all around the world are beginning to use Twitter as a valuable piece in their professional growth toolbox. As professional development continues to evolve and transform, we will need new ways to encourage teachers to embrace new opportunities. Here is a "How…
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Added by Justin Tarte on January 20, 2011 at 1:34am —
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I recently had a discussion with a friend about the relative merits and demerits of technology, and before you jump in to claim that the pros outweigh the cons, let me iterate that the topic under debate was the value of (or lack of it) technology for those who are either scared to use technology or have no clue about it. The tech savvy may find this hard to understand, but there are still those who refuse to embrace technology or do so under considerable duress.
There’s no doubt that…
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Added by Justin Tarte on January 20, 2011 at 1:30am —
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There are lots of things that people love: new car smell, walks on the beach, winning the lottery and most importantly, opening a gas station soda only to find out you won a free soda!
In addition to these most cherished things in our lives, I also really love to be inspired and motivated. Over the last couple weeks there have been two pieces in particular that have so eloquently come together in perfect harmony...…
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Added by Justin Tarte on January 20, 2011 at 1:28am —
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What a wild ride it’s been! The past week has proved both exciting and challenging. Becoming an online teacher is not for the faint of heart. Not if you are becoming an online teacher in a company as fast-growing as Aventa Learning.
After spending a couple weeks eating up my Mentor's online courses, I tip-tapped my fingers, charged and waiting at the gate, for my first course to open up. The training program was so complete and the time I was given to review another teacher’s…
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Added by Rashel Fitchett on January 7, 2011 at 8:55am —
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Hi everyone,
More resources for education
http://teacher.scholastic.com/whiteboards/languagearts.htm
I hope there is something there that you can use.
Gary
Added by Gary Gray on December 20, 2010 at 6:59am —
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I started this blog on June 14th, 2010. For the last 6 months this blog has provided me the opportunity to share and collaborate with some of the best educators in the world. I have been able to take my self-reflection to the next level, which in turn has hopefully made me a better educator. This blog has been influential as I embrace the concept of 24/7 professional development...anytime and anywhere. For the members of my PLN and the readers of my blog, I thank you for your support and…
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Added by Justin Tarte on December 19, 2010 at 9:14am —
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I wasn't expecting my "interview" to actually be a screening call, but that is exactly what happened. A human resource specialist called me at a predesignated hour and day and made it clear this contact was a screening call she would hand over to supervisors at Aventa Learning, to which end, I MAY receive a callbackand. She went on to ask me a set of pointed questions: What did I think was the biggest barrier to an online student's learning? Why did I want to become an online educator? And…
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Added by Rashel Fitchett on December 8, 2010 at 9:53pm —
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I typically have a clear and well-thought out purpose for each blog post, however for this blog post I am going to simply reflect on today's
professional development session. I lead a PD session about 7 weeks
ago for all of the staff members at my high school on social media and
technology integration, and today's session was an extension of the
previous session for any teachers interested. We asked each staff
member to choose…
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Added by Justin Tarte on November 17, 2010 at 6:17pm —
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This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the EdcampKC technology conference in Kansas City, MO. This was my first
"unconference," which basically means the entire conference was
participant-driven and each session was presented by someone who was
actually attending the conference. There was a big board set up in the
main room, and before the conference officially started any person
interested in presenting was able to…
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Added by Justin Tarte on November 9, 2010 at 7:13pm —
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If somebody asked me about the last 6 months of my life, I would respond
by saying something like this; the past 6 months have been extremely
challenging, but yet at the same time I can say with little hesitation
that I have grown more as an educator in the last 6 months than in any
other time period in my life.
The world in which we live is changing faster than anyone could ever
imagine, and because of this the educational system must evolve and…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 29, 2010 at 8:10pm —
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I just finished reading
The Learning Leader, by Douglas R. Reeves, as a part of my doctoral studies. I found the book to be
extremely well written, as well as extremely valuable for anyone looking
to gain a more in-depth understanding of school improvement.
As districts and schools look to both district and building leaders, it
is difficult not to notice the "Islands of Excellence," as well as the
islands of…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 22, 2010 at 3:43pm —
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Tom Whitby has encouraged all education bloggers to write a positive blog on how we should reform the
educational setting. I have decided to revisit a previous post of
mine...
If you have ever walked into a factory that produces a finished good from raw materials, it is frankly an amazing process. Dating back to
the early 1900's, Henry Ford revolutionized…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 17, 2010 at 2:00pm —
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The path to growth and development can be ugly at times. Educators are part of a world that is continually changing and evolving, and as such
we are forced to take a leap, and at times take a leap when we are not
ready. Going through all my undergraduate classes at Mizzou we were
always told how rewarding and fantastic the field of education is, and
from where I sit right now I could not agree more. So...the big
question…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 10, 2010 at 8:05pm —
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My wife and I have been married for a little under three years, and about a year ago we decided that we wanted
to grow our family. As we discussed the most typical way of growing a
family (a baby), we came to the conclusion that we should start small
before taking the big leap. Last summer we purchased an 8 pound, runt
of the litter, slightly discolored, adorable, and loving yellow lab
puppy.…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 4, 2010 at 3:18pm —
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One of the beauties of education is that we get the opportunity to try and explore new ideas. In fact, we are encouraged to think outside of
the box to discover new and improved ways to engage, inspire and
motivate students. Moreover, when we have new ideas and solutions to
problems, we are forcing ourselves to evaluate and assess our current
practices. A fancy word that all educators have heard (some so much it
makes them…
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Added by Justin Tarte on September 25, 2010 at 10:40pm —
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The last 4 weeks have been extremely busy for me. We recently started a brand new gradebook and website system in my school district. This has proven to be an amazing tool and
resource as we look to ways to improve education. For all the greatness
this new opportunity provides, we have been faced with the never ending
battle of growing and developing educators so they can utilize this new
resource. As exciting as it is to work with educators…
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Added by Justin Tarte on September 18, 2010 at 2:00pm —
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