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Month: January 2020

SPS Digital Learning Hour Episode 89: CSforAll Springfield Part 1

SPS Digital Learning Hour Episode 89: CSforAll Springfield Part 1

In this week’s episode of the SPS Digital Learning Hour we look at CSforAll Springfield. This is the first of two episodes for CSforAll. This episode is focusing on our CIO Paul Foster and teachers, Emma Bartlett, Jamiee Thomas and Danalyn Haynes. CSforAll Springfield is a four-year project which started during the 2018-2019 school year. UMass Amherst, in partnership with Springfield Public Schools (SPS), was awarded a $2 million National Science Foundation grant which aims to bring researchers and SPS…

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Skype in the Classroom

Skype in the Classroom

​Have you ever thought “my students would love to talk to an author like Cressida Cowell, Jane Yolen, Jacqueline Woodson, Kathryn Erskine, D. J. MacHale, Richard Peck, or Jacqueline West?” They might also like to go the Redwood Forest, visit an animal rescue in the UK, talk to a sea turtle expert, visit the Coral Reefs, learn about the Geology of Yellowstone, hear from Dr. Jane Goodall, meet an expert from Australia in the Great Barrier Reef, visit Joshua Tree National Park, or meet a doctor from any…

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SPS Digital Learning Hour Episode 88: Gamification Revisited

SPS Digital Learning Hour Episode 88: Gamification Revisited

This week we are hitting the Wayback Machine to learn more about where we have come from on Gamification Learning. As you’ll learn in this episode, we are looking back at Game-Based Learning and Gamification in both our blog and podcast as we gear up for a book study.  Here are the descriptions from the three weeks that we had this conversation. Week 1: This week Mike, Suzanne and Brendan begin a deep dive into Gamification within the classroom and…

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Part 3: Challenge-Based Learning

Part 3: Challenge-Based Learning

For the final week of this three-part series I delve into the last term. It’s important to understand the three terms we have been looking at, so we can see the differences. To start, let’s recall the definition of each of the three terms: Project-Based Learning (PBL) is the ongoing act of learning about different subjects. This is achieved by guiding students to identify, through research, a real-world problem (local to global), developing its solution using evidence to support the claim, and…

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SPS Digital Learning Hour Episode 87: Game-Based Learning

SPS Digital Learning Hour Episode 87: Game-Based Learning

This week we are hitting the Wayback Machine to learn more about where we have come from on Game-Based Learning. As you’ll learn in this episode, we are looking back at Game-Based Learning and Gamification in both our blog and podcast as we gear up for a book study. You’ll also see how far we’ve come as a podcast since this was from Episode 10. All the links are listed below. Links: FETC: https://wke.lt/w/s/0tXoYh BETT2020: https://wke.lt/w/s/7aFDqP Main Article: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-05-30-how-game-based-learning-encourages-growth-mindset

Part 2: Problem-Based Learning

Part 2: Problem-Based Learning

As we begin this week’s post, let’s take a quick look at the three terms we are focusing on before we jump into Problem-Based Learning. Project-Based Learning Problem-Based Learning Challenge-Based Learning Project Based Learning (PBL) is the ongoing act of learning about different subjects simultaneously. This is achieved by guiding students to identify, through research, a real-world problem (local to global) developing its solution using evidence to support the claim and presenting the solution through a multimedia approach based in a…

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Project, problem and challenge-based learning Part 1: Project-Based Learning

Project, problem and challenge-based learning Part 1: Project-Based Learning

Here we are again with another series of posts where we are trying to figure out what each of these terms are and aren’t and they relate to how we teach. Over the next few weeks we will look at these three terms and include practical ways you can implement them into your classroom. I promise this though, it will take some work to set up any of these learning styles in your classroom. Problem Based Learning, Project Based Learning and/or Challenge-Based Learning helps students develop skills for being 21st Century Learners. …

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