Group items tagged

" Using Twitter sounds so simple. Type out no more than 140 characters - the maximum allowed in a single tweet - and hit send. That's all, right? Not quite. Twitter's interface may look simple, but it is not, and its complexity has turned off many people who tried the service. This is a problem because one of the big questions facing Twitter before it starts trading as a public company, perhaps as early as next month, is whether it can attract enough users to become a robust outlet for advertising dollars. Although Twitter brings in money from advertising, it does not yet sell enough ads to make a profit. "

"Of all the things I have read about the 21st century skills required for students success in today's info rich society, the visual below from edutopia captures the essence of these skills and touches on critical areas students need to work on to meet these skills.These skills are grouped in three main categories: learning, creating and collaborating:"

"n a fast-paced world where information travels at the speed of light, note taking skills can make all the difference between effective and ineffective learning. Students can perform way better if they master the art of note taking. In this regard, I am sharing with you this wonderful note taking workshop prepared by Learning Commons which features the 6 important note taking skills students need to develop together with the different methods of taking notes and concluding with the five Rs."

"What separates the successful mobile learning projects from the unsuccessful? This is a 'million dollar' question, and I've thought long and hard about it. From the 17 large 1:1 projects I've worked on, only three have been truly successful in producing transformational learning. In your own experience, how many schools do you know who have transformed learning vs how many you know rely on iPads as laptop placements, focusing on web browsing and research functions only? I'm sure you'll draw similar conclusions to my own, but if a handful of schools can transform learning with mobile devices, how do we replicate it across more schools? I believe I've found the answer."

"Many a debate is sparked in education about the need for 'engagement' in teaching and learning. Some dismiss 'engagement' as the bastard language of OFSTED to encourage an adventure playground style approach to learning. For me it is something a little more quotidian, a little bit more…well, normal. It captures a buzz symptomatic of students tackling a challenge with effort and enjoyment. That being said, perhaps engagement isn't the key at all. Maybe, against our instincts we should concentrate on boredom as the real secret to success for learning."

"Is this you? You've joined Twitter. You're following a few people. Your profile picture may or may not be an egg. You've even tweeted a couple of times. But you're wondering what all the fuss is about. Or maybe this is you? You've joined Twitter and you've found tons of interesting people and ideas. But there is just way too much information. You can't keep track of the stuff you want to know more about.   If one of these scenarios sounds familiar, you've probably begun the process of building your PLN (see this post I wrote back in September), but you want guidance about how to make it extraordinary, transformative and-most importantly-personalized for you and your needs. Here's how to master Twitter in five steps:"

"You've just downloaded Yosemite, Apple's latest update to the Mac platform. There's a lot that's familiar, but a number of features still look, feel, and function differently. If you haven't already been using the public beta, it can be a lot to take in. Lucky for you, we've got a primer. We've selected 10 Yosemite features that will change the way you use your Mac. Some you may recognize, particularly if you've followed our previous Yosemite coverage, but now that Yosemite and iOS 8 are live for all, there are a few more features Apple's rolled out."

"Educators literally have a "world of knowledge and resources" at their fingertips, as one director of curriculum and instructional technology declared in response to THE Journal's national survey. "What better way to learn about the situation in Syria than tweeting #Syria and receiving a tweet from someone there?" But guiding your students in learning new concepts, gaining insights and building their skills requires you to be comfortable with the technologies that can make all of that happen. Where do you start? We asked your colleagues that same question, and they responded in multitudes. Their recommendations covered the alphabetic gamut, from adaptivity and apps to wikis and a willingness to learn. We compiled and consolidated 121 different results to develop this year's list of five must-have multimedia skills for 2015."