Free help for for teachers starting a new year

The start of a new school year can be hard some teachers. The article listed below from Edutopia is a running series to help teachers get ready for the new school year. The best part is everything is free, and I can't think of a teacher that complains about free stuff. http://www.edutopia.org//article/8-weeks-free-teacher-resources-back-school

6 tips to foster personalized learning

Before reading this article I had never seen much regarding personalized learning. But now it seems like a very interesting way to gain the attention of your students and increase their motivation. The article below details 6 tips that one teacher used to make personalized education a success. http://www.edutopia.org//blog/genius-hour-essentials-personalized-education-nichole-carter

Learning Styles

Each of us understand the conditions that work best for us to learn something. So as a teacher, shouldn't we be trying to provide each student opportunities to learn in a manner that works best for them? The article below details some of ideas on how to accomplish this. I think all of our students should be given every advantage to excel in school. This article may help to give you a few more tricks to accomplish this. http://www.edutopia.org//blog/learning-profiles-john-mccarthy

Alternative style of assessment

We all know the pros and cons of different types of assessment. But one school has takes it to a new level. Every student creates their own museum style exhibit to showcase the level of knowledge. I really like the idea of this kind of assessment. More information can be found in the article below. http://www.edutopia.org//practice/using-exhibits-assessment

Car Chemistry

As someone who has taught technology education classes, it's always a positive when I can tie in other subjects. The video included below goes the simple chemical reactions that occur to make a car engine work. This simple video could be a great use in the classroom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9vfMrjitXw&feature=youtube_gdata

Optical Illusions

I've always been intrigued by optical illusions. The video provided below goes through a few optical illusions and discusses how your brain processes the visual image. It's a very interesting perspective. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfdJyDfIHIc&feature=youtube_gdata

Distractions while driving.

We've all had experiences with people driving and paying more attention to their phones than driving. We may even be the culprit in some instances. Even though most states have adopted laws that makes it illegal to do most of these activities, it hasn't made much of an impact. The article below discusses a new product that may help keep peoples' eyes on the road. But how much impact will it have? http://readwrite.com/2014/08/05/smartphone-car-navdy-heads-up-display