World-Shaker

6 Expert Tips for Flipping the Classroom

A great list. Here’s one of my favorites:

3) Step aside and allow students to learn from each other. “Pre-class, my students access digital readings using a web-based, collaborative PDF annotation tool called NB, which was designed by MIT,” says Mazur. “I have been truly impressed by the energy with which my students dive into the readings. I thought I would need to give much more extrinsic motivation [for them] to do that, but the answer is no, not at all.

“Within a couple of weeks, my 35 students created 2,000 annotations in their text, discussing the readings asynchronously with each other. Their discussions were incredibly thorough, exciting, and in-depth. Yet, every time I participated in the NB annotations, I killed the discussion among the students, because I was seen as the authority. It stopped them from working it out on their own and finding the solution. [Now] I participate only if there is a situation where they are completely and utterly stuck.”

15 tips to get the most out of Google Docs →

Here’s one (I’m ashamed to admit even I didn’t know about it):

1. Back-up, download all

Google Docs is all about the cloud, so it doesn’t understand the concept of ‘desktop’, right? Wrong. Google Docs actually makes it very easy to both upload and download files.

If you want to back-up all your Google Docs files stored on Google’s servers to your hard drive, select what files you want to download from the main the Google Docs screen. Next, click ‘Actions’ and select ‘Download’, then you’ll be presented with this dialog box:

You’ll then see how many items of each file type you can download, and you can even convert the file-types. You’ll end up with a neatly packaged zipped folder on your hard drive.

New Teachers: Twenty Tips for Success →

This is a real rarity for an article on HuffPo: A list based article that’s all on one page!

I really love this. The advice is sound, and each piece has at least one link to an outside resource to help you get started. Here are two:

5. Collaborate

When I was a new teacher, I sadly taught in isolation. Experienced teachers were unwilling to share resources or lesson plans with me. They held those very close, almost like a mom holds their infant child. It was a tough time for me and I had to rely on my own skills and talents to get me through those early years. This lack of sharing and collaboration meant that every time I wanted to launch a project, I was on my own to make it happen. It doesn’t need to be that way! Open yourself up — share and collaborate with your grade-level team and/or college classmates. Share resources, join planning teams, be a part of the conversation! You will find that the road to developing lessons and projects will be so much more meaningful to you because you did it with a collaborative spirit! And check out the Collaborators Wanted Group here on Edutopia.org to get some inspiration.

6. Get a Mentor

I believe strongly in the power of mentoring. I believe that this relationship is vital to the success of a new teacher. However, not all experienced teachers at a school site are able to take on this challenge. A year ago I had the idea, that if there weren’t enough experienced teachers at a school site who could, or were willing to mentor a new teacher, why not a virtual mentor who would be willing to lend support? The Teacher Mentoring Project was born! I urge you to seek out this group on the EduPLN.com community. Many amazing educators from around the globe are available to support and mentor you through the first years of your practice and beyond!

Top 10 Secret Features in Mac OS X Lion →

Number 6 is one of my favorites:

6. Add an Event to iCal by Typing a Phrase

Known as “Quick Add”, iCal now lets you just type a human-readable phrase to add a new item to your calendar. To do this, just click the + button in iCal and choose a calendar. You’ll get a little pop up that’ll let you enter whatever you want. Type something like “Movie this Friday at 7pm” and iCal will translate it into a new event.

Bonus iCal feature: Enter year view and you’ll see a heat map over the calendar. The warmer the color, the more you have going on that day.

How To Sleep In A Dorm: Shut-Eye Tips For College Students →

My mistake: “Residence Hall.”

It’s midnight. You’re beyond exhausted. Your computer is shut down, your chemistry book closed, your teeth brushed. It’s time for your head to hit the pillow.

Unfortunately, your suitemate is on a different schedule — she thinks it’s time to practice her Alanis Morrissette covers. And you roommate is clacking away on a laptop, interrupting only for noisy handful of Fruity Pebbles. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. It also happens to be Thursday, and party hoots and hollers fill the quad below. What to do?

8 Tips for a Successful Social Media Cause Campaign →

Author Meaghan Edelstein has gained national media attention through her blog, I Kicked Cancer’s Ass, which she started to document her battle with end stage cancer.