Kris盐盐

BIG DATA is being hyped as the greatest tool since the printing press, and whist I generally disagree [I like learning about the outliers], "The Eviction Lab at Princeton University has built the first nationwide database of evictions. Find out how many evictions happen in your community. Create custom maps, charts, and reports. Share facts with your neighbors and elected officials." https://evictionlab.org This is an incredible tool for teaching about poverty, community, an even globalization. Reading Guides: http://www.evictedbook.com/reading-group-guides Teachers' Guide: https://evictionlab.org/updates/blog/eviction-lab-teacher-guide/

http://cps.adobeeducate.com/?trackingid=BJ4T3JGK Adobe, in support of their Creative Cloud products, sponsored a study focusing on teaching creativity. It seems that their definitions of "creativity" and "technology" require a computer and great software. However, their findings are interesting. Those surveyed were in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan. Japan's classrooms are the least resourced. Part of what we, as international educators, need to consider is glossed in this survey. What is creativity? Does "inquiry learning," the current buzz word in global curriculum, push being creative? Does leading a student through a process of asking and answering his own questions lead to creativity? Can true creativity be taught? Can it be nurtured? Does a box of scraps, pieces of wood, string, and assorted pieces of metal joinery produce more creativity in the workplace of the future? Or is making beautiful infographics and distilling information a product of creativity? What is our responsibility? GlobalInfographic.pdf

Oh , I love Tianjin!! I was in Beijing 北京 from 2004-2011, and Yantai, Shandong 2015-17. We took the bullet train from 北京 to Tianjin in its first 90 days -- quick, beautiful, and elegant in an oddly Olde World kind of way.

BBC International School reports indefinite closure after next semester, parents furious from Egypt independent The school has been open for 32 years, but cites rising costs as the primary reason for closing. They are also ceasing to be accredited at the end of the school year. http://www.egyptindependent.com/bbc-international-school-reports-indefinite-closure-after-next-semester-parents-furious/

One of my continual teaching struggles is exposing students to an expanded world view through an understanding of current events. The site with which I have had the most success is NewsELA. newsela.com There is a free version, which is perfectly suitable. Essentially, NewsELA aggregates news articles from various reputable (and mostly American) news outlets. The two biggest standout advantages of NewsELA over merely having students read news websites are in the (A) Student Reading Monitoring and (B) Teacher Tools. (A) Student Reading Monitoring -- many of these are invisible to the student. NewsELA offers each article at at least 4 lexiles, and the system offers the level to a student depending upon the student's accuracy on Quizzes and other built-in assignments. (B) Teacher Tools -- in a long list of ways teachers can use NewsELA, some of the ones I use most often are the options where teachers can: assign articles to students, and even choose different lexile levels for different students select sidebar questions addressing a variety of eight reading goals: What the text says, Central idea, People, events, & ideas, Word meaning & choice, text structure, Point of view/ Purpose, Multimedia, and Arguments & claims easily grade student responses on the website add their own questions and directions see the length of time a student spent on an assignment ----- Caveats -- NewsELA is bult on a google platform, so some elements work inconsistently in countries with national internet filtering or blocking policies.

Welcome Sonya! Are you considering staying in Turkey or looking to move to another country?

It's nearly December, and many expat teachers are thinking about Christmas. Some of us have been thinking about it since September, shopping for the best flights. Others of us know we can't afford a 53-hour flight with 4 changes to get from here to "Home." And a few of us are in places where Christmas Day is barely a blip on the calendar and not recognized as a holiday. So, for those of us who will stay local -- what can be done? First, for those who don't have a school calendar that acknowledges Christmas, if at all possible: take two days off. Fuss about being an expat, but have your lesson plans and your classes ready for awkward subs. Christmas Day plus Christmas Eve or Boxing Day Take some time to catch up and stay connected Skype family write a few emails to teachers and friends in other places. if accessible or VPN-able, make a small comment on lots and lots of fB pages. Take some time to get into the Christmas spirit put on holiday music. You like those barking dogs barking Jingle Bells? Go for it. You hate those dogs? Don't choose them! put up some Christmas decor -- make a tree shaped thing on your wall/ the back of a door at home. One year, family was coming to visit in June, so we left our "tree" up and aded local trinkets to it for 6 months! make what you can -- hot coco? cold coco? Everywhere I've lived, sweet potatoes* or yams* and marshmallows have been available. If you can get butter, even better. Make a mock sweet potato pie. Make a real one, if you want to venture into pie crust territory. (*often roasted by a street vendor) On the first day off, stay out late -- go somewhere with friends, other expats, people from the American missionary church -- find people who will celebrate Christmas On the second day -- sleep in. You're not at work! On the third day -- back to work! share your joy. share what Christmas means to you. Even in an upper grade, higher level Math class, you can work in some story telling. reconnect with your students give that grouchy, jaded expat teacher a smile, and maybe a cookie? [note --> this person might be YOU!] Count your blessings. You have a job, of whatever variety or quality -- appreciate that. you have a job overseas/ away from home -- this is an adventure! Live it! Finally, if you are a Christian celebrating Christmas away from friends, family, and your home church, think. Think of Mary, the pregnant one who had to leave home. Think of Jospeh, who had to flee with his small family to Egypt and work there. Think of Christ, who left His home -- Heaven-- to teach us.

I signed up with Schrole in late March of 2017 when my school fell apart, knowing at the time that it was late in the hiring season. I received quality matches and had several phone interviews. My current school actually contacted me after reading my Schrole resume and info. It appears that Schrole appeals to schools that do not want to do the "BIG Three" hiring companies and want more control over their criteria.

https://teacherlink.teachingnomad.com/teaching-license?utm_source=ZohoCampaigns&utm_campaign=Introducing+online+Teaching+License+program+2_2017-06-22&utm_medium=email The TEACH-NOW group has paired with Arizona and Washington DC to offer a new program for educators to obtain a US teaching certification. Many US states have reciprocity, so a AZ or DC cert would allow a teacher to go to many other states in the US and, of course, overseas. From the blurb: The TEACH-NOW program provides a unique teaching model. Instead of enrolling in several different courses each semester, candidates complete a series of intense, comprehensive modules of different lengths, taken in sequence. The program is project and activity-based, and through its collaborative learning model participant learning takes place in mandatory virtual class sessions with 10 -15 candidates in the learning cohort and the instructor. Each module is divided into units, and each unit is one week long. Participants have to commit an average of 15-25 hours to the course each week, completing coursework, collaborative projects and clinical activities. The online platform provides a safe environment to practice what you have learned. Instructors provide encouraging feedback and support throughout the course. The program leads to a state teaching license and offers the following areas of teacher preparation: For those applying for a Washington DC License: •ART (K-12) •BIOLOGY (7-12) •BILINGUAL EDUCATION (K-12) •BILINGUAL SPECIAL EDUCATION (K-12) •CHEMISTRY (7-12) •COMPUTER EDUCATION LABORATORY TEACHER (K-12) •COMPUTER SCIENCE (7-12) •EARLY CHILDHOOD (PreK-3) •ELEMENTARY (1-6) •ENGLISH (7-12) •ENGLISH as a SECOND LANGUAGE (K-12) •FOREIGN LANGUAGE SUBJECT AREAS (K-12) •GENERAL SCIENCE (7-12) •HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION (K-12) •HOME ECONOMICS (7-12) •MARKETING EDUCATION (7-12) •MATHEMATICS (7-12) •MIDDLE SCHOOL ENGLISH (4-8) •MIDDLE SCHOOL MATHEMATICS (4-8) •MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE (4-8) •MUSIC – INSTRUMENTAL OR VOCAL (K-12) •PHYSICS (7-12) •SOCIAL STUDIES (7-12) •SPECIAL EDUCATION: NON-CATEGORICAL (K-12) For those applying for an Elementary (1-8) or Secondary (6-12) Arizona license: • ART • BIOLOGY • BUSINESS • CHEMISTRY • CHINESE/MANDARIN • DANCE • DRAMA/THEATER • ECONOMICS • ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS • FRENCH • GENERAL SCIENCE • GEOGRAPHY • GERMAN • HEALTH • HISTORY • MATHEMATICS • MUSIC • PHYSICAL EDUCATION • PHYSICS • POLITICAL SCIENCE/AMERICAN GOVERNMENT • SPANISH The Teacher Preparation program consists of the following eight modules that can be completed over nine months (40 weeks): 1. Program Orientation 2. The Culture of Schooling 3. The Learner & Learning in the Digital Age 4. Managing the Learning Environment 5. Planning & Preparation for Learning 6. Student Assessments 7. Introduction to Clinical Practice 8. Teacher Practice and Proficiency (clinical)

Go to church!! Overseas, there are generally three types of churches. 1) the local congregation 2) the "missionary church," usually helmed by an American or a Brit and generally very evangelistic in its aim 3) the Expat church -- has a full English language congregation and probably separate a local-language congregation. Some of these will be tied to a Western denomination, but many are looser and call themselves "The International Fellowship of ___." ------------ Why go if you have no desire to participate in their faith? You'll meet people! You'll meet people who are, at least for an hour or so, looking for an English experience. You'll probably find that there are two Christian schools in your area, one dogmatic[teachers sign a Statement of Faith and have behavioral expectations] and one much less so [values/ morals are generally a foundation]. You'll find out where the Other English-language groups and communities are.

Text, text, TEXT! ProTIp: buy an iPhone. Why? iMessage can be used on any Apple device under the same AppleID. Thus, you can log and text from you MacBook, from your local iPhone, and pick up right where you left off when you land in your home country and turnoff that iPhone. So, why text? Most modern phones have cameras, and if it's a phone, it should text. People back home like to see random stuff on the street -- things that wouldn't make it into a weekly email/monthly letter -- the things that happen NOW. Be connected on a daily basis-- your grandmother would probably like to see the kitten inn the alley or the street vendor. Your dad might like that weird contraption stacks a mile high with styrofoam. Friends might appreciate shots of street fashion and the way clothing's put together.

A year later, his whereabouts are known, but it seems that Myanmar police are not pursuing him. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/murdered-teachers-family-slam-cops-11463991

Hello Stephanie!! I was at The Bean for a couple of years when we started pursuing WSAC, IB, and separating the MHS from the Elementary campuses. WHere are you now -- in fall 2017?

Liam-- Where are you now-- Nov 2017? I am actually also in Semarang at the moment!