Reminder - Real World Problems = Problems That Matter to Students

As the new school year gets rolling many of us will be considering using problem-based learning to engage our students in learning experiences. Some of us will try to incorporate "real world problems." When we do so we have to remember that what we think of as "real world problems" are always "real world problems" to our students. I was reminded of this as I went through my notes from a workshop that I ran earlier this year. In that workshop we brainstormed some of the problems that matter to our students. Here are five of the problems that were mentioned during that workshop (I wrote these notes in the voice of a student):

• Make/ save money for tuition. 
• How can I get more people to notice my YouTube channel?
• Keep toes warm while waiting for the school bus. 
• What's for lunch (and healthy)?
• Review apps or site that makes sense to me. 

5 Things You Can Learn in Tomorrow's Practical Ed Tech Webinar

Last week on Practical Ed Tech I hosted Google Forms & Sheets for Beginners. The webinar sold out and many people have since asked if I was going to host it again. So by popular demand I'm hosting it again tomorrow at 4pm EST. There are five main items that will be addressed during the webinar.

• Two ways to create self-grading quizzes. 
• How to create self-paced guided video review activities. 
• Simple methods to streamline emailing personalized updates to parents and students. 
• How to easily keep track of classroom materials through the use of Forms and Sheets. 
• Methods for creating and managing activity registration forms.

Register here!

Yes, this will be recorded and distributed to those who register but cannot attend during the live session.

TimelinesTV - Good, Short History Lessons

I was recently looking through some of my older posts about timelines when I was reminded of TimelinesTV. TimelinesTV was originally built as a site that featured video lessons displayed on a timeline. Today, the timelines don't function well (the site hasn't been updated in a few years), but the videos are still available through the TimelinesTV YouTube channel.

Videos on TimelinesTV are arranged into eight playlists. Those playlists are:

• Nations & Empire (British Imperial History 1290-1948)
• Changing Lives (British Social History 1066-1984)
• History File: Nazi Germany 
• Seven Journeys in the American West 
• Rulers & Ruled (British Political History 1066-1919) 
• American Voices (The USA 1917-1941)
• Edwardian Britain: A History in Photographs
• Smallpox: The Story of a Killer Disease. 

10 Good Options for Creating Digital Portfolios

Yesterday's Practical Ed Tech weekly newsletter featured ten tools that your students can use this year to create digital portfolios. A copy of the handout that was included in the newsletter is embedded below.