Blog post 16: Self-directed Learning using Feedly

http://www.emergingedtech.com/2016/11/8-techniques-many-tools-create-engaging-student-centered-lessons/

Being a 5th and 6th Grade Science Teacher, posts that I read from EdTech blogs have allowed me to keep up with the new age of technology and get fresh ideas on lessons and how to manage my classroom.  The first link that caught my eye to read was from EdTech blog in Feedly, the reason I was interested in this post is because I'm always looking for new ideas to engage my students in my classroom.  I sometimes struggle creating lesson plans and coming up with great ideas, so I felt this post would provide some input and pertinent information.  The post is called "8 Techniques and Tools for Creating Lessons That Actively Engage Students", which includes technological apps a teacher can use in their classroom to engage students interests.  Some of the apps that this post mentions are as follows, first one I would like to mention is Socrates.  Socrates is an app that allows teachers to submit questions, quizzes and even get the results of those quizzes.  The next app I am definitely going to use in my classroom is jeopardylabs.com, this app allows me to create a jeopardy game with the information I'm using to teach my lesson at that time.  I know my students will definitely be engaged in this app because they are very competitive and always want to play games in class.  Definitely happy I ran into this app, definitely going to enjoy this one.  Another app this post talks about is Skype, in which I do have a little experience with.  I do like this app because it does allow you to put a face on the people that you are communicating with, whether it be in the United States or somewhere else around the world, students will be able to share ideas on how they live and what they study.
The next post that caught my eye was from the 21st Century Principal, "When Strong Leadership Takes Advantage of Others and Setting Aside Our Ambitions".  This post really interest me because it is something that I've seen not only in the education world, but in other jobs that I've had in the past.  The post that Principal J. Robinson submitted was very interesting, we all do look for a strong leader to help us, especially during hard times or to fix things that we feel need fixing.  There are very few strong leaders that are able to lead without being bias, or taking advantage of leading without being biased or gaining personal gratification or get things done the way they want it.  Most people that are involved in trying to fix things think twice about offering their opinion or attempting to change things to try and fix the problem, they fear failure and being blamed if it doesn't goes as planned.  The bad part of believing a leader is that people feel they don't have a choice but to accept what plans and ideas the leader brings up, whether it's good or not.  It's unfortunate that I've worked under a dictatorship, in which your ideas or beliefs don't count or matter to the person that is in charge.          
http://the21stcenturyprincipal.blogspot.com/2016/06/when-strong-leadership-takes-advantage.html