MrHonner

The New York Times Learning Network just celebrated its 4th birthday!

NYT Learning is a collection of free teaching and learning resources designed around New York Times content.  NYT Learning posts lessons, quizzes, questions-of-the-day, and many other resources for use in and out of classrooms.

I have been contributing to the Learning Network for over three years.  Since my first Numbers in the News quiz, I have contributed over 50 math quiz questions and a dozen or so mathematics lessons, all tied directly to the stories and the resources of the New York Times.  And I’m proud that, once again, one of my pieces made their Top Ten posts of year!

So happy birthday, NYT Learning!  Here’s to many more years of teaching and learning with the New York Times.

I recently ran a workshop through Math for America titled “Professional Development Through Social Media”.  The goal of the workshop was to share some of the positive professional experiences I’ve had connecting, collaborating, and engaging online, and to provide teachers with an overview of what’s out there and how they can get involved.

I was impressed with how well-attended the session was, and how engaged the participants were in reading and discussing blog posts. exploring teacher websites, perusing Twitter feeds, and discussing the opportunities for professional growth through various online communities.  At least in this self-selected group, it certainly seems like the word has gotten out!

Below are links to the documents we used to stimulate exploration and discussion, including some material we were not able to cover due to time constraints.  In addition, a starter list of online biology teachers has been provided at the request of one participant.  Its production is, itself, a testament to the power of connectedness!

A Few Blog Posts to Read and Discuss

A Few Websites to Explore

A Few Active Tweeters to Browse

A Few Active Google Plussers

Emerging Collaborative Resources

Biology Teachers on Twitter

And all participants were encouraged to check out Exploring the MTBoS, another amazing example of the power of these collaborative and forward-thinking communities!