Group items tagged

OverDrive has different catalogs of eBooks in the OverDrive Marketplace for different libraries.  We're not all seeing the same title or author selections.

"On 28th June, 2011 Google rolled out the beta version of its highly anticipated social networking site, Google Plus. It is no secret that Google has long been wanting to get a slice of the social networking market. So, what exactly is Google Plus and how does it compare to Facebook? In this post we are going to look at Google Plus Versus Facebook and examine some of their major differences. Simply put, Google Plus has integrated many of the best features from our favorite social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, in one convenient package."

"This site aims to inspire teachers to increase the communication and collaboration in their classrooms using web based tools such as blogs, wikis and social bookmarking tools. The examples given on this site focus on using these web tools in Design and Communication Graphics classrooms but many of the activities outlined can be easily modified to be used in different subjects and to cater for many different ability levels. The site explains what the web based tools are, what they can contribute to teaching and learning, how they can be integrated into the classroom using simple and clear examples, and how to enable pupils to use them saf"

A fantastic, simple real-time document conferencing tool, Sync.in allows students to collaborate on the same piece of work at the same time without becoming confused about whose contributions are whose. The tool allows multiple users to edit the same document simultaneously, but marks each contributor's edit in a different colour and instantly reflects any changes on every contributor's computer screen, so the document updates for each user in real time. Brilliant for brainstorming, project planning or sharing group revision notes and text guides.

PrimaryWall is a web-based sticky note tool designed for schools that allows pupils and teachers to work together in real-time" Primary Wall is a web-based sticky note tool designed for schools that allows teachers and students to work together in real-time, adding sticky notes to a group 'wall' like a pinboard. Simple, fast and user-friendly, the site also hosts other great collaborative tools for students working together to create projects, with group writing and drawing tools also available. Great for creating class brainstorms or inviting students to create a collaborative mood-board with lots of different ideas or quotes. Resulting masterpieces can be saved and referred back to later!

There is a big difference between having a BYOD policy and a BYOD learning environment. The former lays the foundation for a BYOD learning environment but it by no means guarantees it. In order to shift from a school with a BYOD policy to a school with a BYOD learning environment, mindset shifts need to occur organizationally:

Evernote is a great web service and software application that we can use in education. A lot of ink has been shed on this topic and just one click in a search engine is enough to get hundreds of links to guides and tutorials about Evernote. I have been going through so many of these resources and have collected ideas, videos, notes and many more. If you are a loyal reader to my blog ( I am glad most of you are ) you would clearly notice that guides I write here are different in that they are simple. to the point, address teachers and students direct  need, and most of all written in an easy and simple language. In this regard, I am working on an ebook that will contain all the guides I have posted here so far but will be available for free only to my subscribers. Without any further ado, let us get back to our guide.

Sesame Street began in 1969 as a simple yet revolutionary idea to use television to help kids learn. More than four decades later, Sesame Street is the longest street in the world, stretching across 150+ countries and all kinds of media, from books to radio to mobile devices. Led by its famously furry cast, the show addresses a wide spectrum of children's learning - ABCs and 123s, health, mutual understanding, and more - with an approach that's brilliantly adaptable to local cultures and educational needs. Sesame Street is a production of Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit educational organization making a meaningful difference in the lives of children worldwide by developing innovative and engaging educational content delivered in a variety of ways -- including television, radio, books, magazines, interactive media, and community outreach. http://www.sesamestreet.org

Today's post, however, is about a great work that has been done by our colleague Tom Barret. He has created awesome example forms for different topics. He has also , thankfully , made all these forms availabe for us to download and use with our students. I have checked all his forms and I was really amazed by the great efforts he has put into them. You can use these forms with your students for sure but remember to keep in mind the great things you can do with Google Forms if you give it a little time. Check out this list of forms below and click on any title to access its corresponding form. The pictures you see below are only  half snapshots of each form:

Sometimes teachers and administrators need a kick in the pants to see what they perceive as problems re-framed in a different way. Adam S. Bellow, author of The Tech Commandments, and founder of eduTecher, spoke to a roomful of receptive teachers at the recent ISTE 2011 conference, and demonstrated some of the ironies and contradictions the education system is mired in. And he had some advice.

Virtual field trips challenge and expose students to new types of technology. It is a great way to spark their interest and motivate their learning in a specific content area. Virtual field trips can offer students more opportunities because you can take them to places they wouldn't normally be able to go to otherwise - like inside a volcano or ocean floor! In addition, virtual field trips may even boost students' reading comprehension skills and will expose them to different cultures and environments. While virtual field trips offer a great learning opportunity, they can be hard to organize and time consuming. Take advantage of our free virtual field trips and engage your students even more!

25 Myths About Homework Posted by David Wees on Oct 23, 2010 Last night I asked people for help with my presentation on Myths about Homework which I am presenting today at Skeptic Camp in Vancouver. Within 15 minutes, we had 20 Myths, within another 15 minutes we had a total of 26 myths about homework with one duplication. Thanks for your help, I've turned these myths into a presentation you can view below. I think that homework may still be something which has value, but which probably needs to take a much different form than what it looks like now. Here's the pretty plain version using Google Docs.

"3 Shots To Caffeinate Your Presentations"

We often forget about the timeouts. "The two minutes is not an unrelated time-out, but rather a different way of recapping what was just shared or previewing the coming attraction. It's the perfect time for audience engagement, peer-to-peer sharing, a humorous (and relevant!) video clip, connecting with prior knowledge, and using different modalities to match the learning styles of diverse learners."

"Don't use Google forms for anything somewhat private This is a problem and although no one is talking about it, we need to start. Every day we ask for parent permission. We ask for addresses, we ask for phone numbers, and we ask for emails. If Google will randomly scan our work and also will not define for us what constitutes "private information" then Google forms is NOT a suitable alternative for collecting information for schools."

You should read this, it could happen to any of us unless google apps has a different version of the terms of service. I am going to have to download all my spreadsheets with users and passwords on then asap and suggest you consider doing the same.

"So you want to pop your filter bubble - to see the neutral, un-filtered, un-personalized web. How do you go about it? Unfortunately, there are no magic bullets: The ad companies and personal data vendors that power and profit from personalization are far more technologically advanced than most of the tools for controlling your personal data. That's why The Filter Bubble calls on companies and governments to change the rules they operate by - without those changes, it's simply not possible to escape targeting and personalization entirely. But that doesn't mean all is lost. Here are 10 simple steps you can take to de-personalize your web experience. They won't work forever, but for now they'll take you out of your own personal echo chamber."

Some very good advice here to try out. Check out the links.

"Keep that status update to yourself. That's the advice teachers are being given as the education system grapples with the expanding use of social media by students. Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation has been conducting workshops with high school teachers in Algoma in recent months after the Ontario College of Teachers issued an advisory that teachers should keep their distance from students when it comes to Facebook, Twitter and other electronic communication."

With twitter it would be worth encouraging teachers wanting to use it with students to keep one that is private/professional pln related and create different accounts for their classrooms using alternative emails.