Terry's Tech Tips

Have you ever heard of or participated in an Escape Room ?  They are tons of fun!  You attend with a group of family or friends.  Your goal is to work together to solve riddles and puzzles to unlock locks.  Eventually, you discover the code to ' Break out ' of the room. Amy Byron, with the support of the Parent Association, purchased both a Breakout Room kit (physical locks) and an account for Breakout Edu Digital (for digital locks).  These Breakout Edu options allow you to construct breakout experiences using YOUR CURRICULUM CONTENT!  It is a fun and engaging way to have students access and use your content. Watch this video to get a better sense of Breakout Edu: How did Amy incorporate Breakout EDU in her classroom? Think back to the first day of school.  You are a student.  What is your experience?  You move from class to class, where each teacher introduces themselves, talks about the course, class ...

Inquiry-based learning   (noun) is a form of  active learning  that starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios—rather than simply presenting established facts or portraying a smooth path to knowledge.    Source:   Wikipedia This week I thought we would explore another classroom where inquiry-based learning is being utilized!   Claims 'Supported by Science':   Ryan Palmer (along with many of the Chemistry teachers) now uses part of his class on Fridays to do ' Science Friday '.  Named after the popular Science Friday NPR radio program, Ryan will pick a current topic making a claim 'supported by science'.  Ryan used the video below created by the Jimmy Kimmel Show to introduce the topic ' Are GMO's Bad for you? does science support the claim that GMO's (genetically modified organisms) are detrimental to your health?  Students are given 10 minutes to research the topic and determine an a...

Inquiry-based learning:  Inquiry-based learning  (noun) is a form of  active learning  that starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios—rather than simply presenting established facts or portraying a smooth path to knowledge. The process is often assisted by a  facilitator .  Inquirers will identify and research issues and questions to develop their knowledge or solutions. Inquiry-based learning includes  problem-based learning and is generally used in small-scale investigations and projects, as well as  research .   Source:   Wikipedia Based on research results ("Make it Stick' By Peter Brown and many others!),  Inquiry-based learning provides the following benefits: increased student engagement    better retention/understanding of the material What does Inquiry-based learning look like? If you are interested in exploring this pedagogy, I think one of the easiest ways to understan...