We’ve updated our list of great free technology sites and apps. Teachers don’t have to use technology to have powerful classrooms, but they can sure help! See how this guide, by the makers of History Alive, can create a spark of thought for educators just easing into using web 2.0 and mobile technology in their [...]

In our TCI webinar on this topic, we discovered that engaging students in debate or whole-class discussions involves a few steps and some rich resources. Here are the guidelines we shared: 1. Challenge students to discuss controversial and complex issues in small groups. 2. Create heterogeneous groups and a suitable classroom arrangement. 3. Prepare students [...]

  I wonder sometimes what my students will remember about me when they are older.  Will I be a loud, balding, caring individual?  I just don’t know.  I can recall some of the teachers I have had.  One thing that all my favorite teachers had in common was that they were all weird.   Weird [...]

Around here, we love fall. The crisp air, football tailgaters, and stunning colors really float our boats. Most of all, however, we love conferences. Put us in a windowless, cement-floored exhibit hall or turn us loose with a group of teachers in a meeting room, and we’re in heaven. We love rubbing elbows with other [...]

What makes a digital textbook interactive?  We think it’s more than a fun game or a flashy (not Flash!) banner.  It’s text that is accessible to students. It’s purposeful game-like challenges.  It’s opportunities to demonstrate knowledge.  Because we believe all of these ideas, we’re spending this spring improving our Student Subscriptions to bring students further [...]

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to be at the Kentucky Council for the Social Studies (http://kcss.org).  While sitting around talking with teachers and discussing our practice, we came on the subject of “great teaching” and “great teachers.”  It struck me, that great teaching and great teachers can not be described with [...]

One nifty way that teachers can customize their TCI Presentations is by adding images. This short video will show you how. But wait! There’s more! You’ll also get  Great Places to Find Images, our handout that’s chock full of links to super duper image sites that provide free, interesting, and useful images for teachers.

This is the first in a series of blogs highlighting a nifty feature in the TCI Subscriptions. In this short video, we show you three easy ways to add students to your classes.

About 25 years ago, my friend Bob predicted the e-book reader. One day we were having a spirited discussion about the future of books. Bob, a sales representative for a high-tech company, posited that the printed book would someday be available in electronic form. Coming from the perspective of an editor who had always developed [...]

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