HCS Learning Commons

Some excellent tips on sharing literacy skills with your young ones whilst you have the chance.  Any other clues for sharing on literacy for preschoolers? 

Students have such an amazing variety of jobs to choose from, and many do not require a university degree.  Freeing!!

I love blogging and getting my students blogging too!  I have seen their writing flourish,  when they realise they are writing for a larger audience!  Their sense of humour, style and unique opinion comes to the fore!  Blogs are a wonderful way for young people to share their worldview!

Some history and fun while Obama shares some useful tips with Kid President!  Go Kid President!!

Teens  come and join in some outdoor fun with all expenses paid trips to the outdoors! 

The Historical Scene Investigation Project (HSI) was designed for social studies teachers who need a strong pedagogical mechanism for bringing primary sources into their classroom. With the advent and accessibility of the internet, many libraries, universities and government agencies are housing their historical documents online. Simultaneously, there has been a push in K-12 history education to give students experiences that more closely resemble the work of a real historian. The National Center for History in the Schools (NCHS) provides standards challenging teachers to design experiences in which students:

to go beyond the facts presentedto raise questions and to marshal solid evidence in support of their answers in their textbooks and examine the historical record for themselves to consult documents, journals, diaries, artifacts, historic sites, works of art, quantitative data, and other evidence from the past, and to do so imaginatively–taking into account the historical context in which these records were created and comparing the multiple points of view of those on the scene at the time (National Center for History in the Schools, 1996, p. 14.

Most social studies teachers accept these challenges but find it difficult to find projects and experiences that are accessible for their students. Researching the "cybraries" of the internet takes time, a precious and scarce resource for the typical social studies teacher. While the Internet provides access to Civil War diaries, newspapers from the 1920′s, images from the Jim Crow south, and many other primary sources, the sheer number of possibilities is daunting. Even the most sophisticated search engines provide such a vast number of "hits" that a classroom teacher would find it difficult to gather the necessary resources to launch a primary source investigation/interpretation activity.

For more on the H.S.I. model, click here.

iPad instruction for the beginner teacher or learner in the classroom. 

Easy translations with Duolingo in many languages.

Avatars have been shown to help all students wanting to learn a second language.  New software now supports this!

Storify article on all the tweets and videos, links shared at the #21stedu conference in Vancouver this week April 30-May 2nd.  Big thanks to all the delegates from all over the world who attended!