Skip to main content

Home/ beyondwebct/ Group items tagged options

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Barbara Lindsey

SpeEdChange: Considering Universal Design - 0 views

  • UDL means many things, depending on which group of researchers and advocates you are speaking to, but the general idea is to create learning environment which can be individually adapted to learner needs. In other words, the environment adapts rather than forcing the learner to.
  • educational institutions, content delivery systems, assessment systems, and ICT should be flexible enough to meet the diverse needs of the learner population.
  • And school ends in graduate school with them telling you that you are making your citations wrong - not that they can't tell where you got your information from, you're just not conforming absolutely to whichever nonsensical citation system your particular department has chosen to embrace."
    • Barbara Lindsey
       
      Do you see any problems with either conforming to or not conforming to an agreed upon citation system? What is Socol's argument here? Is this a good example for his argument? 
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • A decade ago the Centre for Applied Special Technology (CAST) proposed 3 principles that could be applied to the curriculum and set an agenda for inclusion, as follows:1. Provide multiple representations of content.2. Provide multiple options for expression and control.3. Provide multiple options for engagement and motivation.and these remain essential, but I want to add a fourth which must apply to them all:4. That these representations and options be available to all students on the basis of understood needs and/or informed preference, without the need for diagnosis.
    • Barbara Lindsey
       
      To what extent have you experienced this in the courses you've taken? Would offering this to your students be helpful to them? Would it change the way you assess? Would this change the way a course is taught? How a program is structured? Do you see any problems with this?
  • This is not just privileging one media form over another, this is elevating the "how" over the "what" to an extreme extent. It not only humiliates those labelled with "disabilities," it refuses to accommodate the very legitimate choices of all students. Choices which might significantly improve the comfort, attention capabilities, and learning opportunities for that 60%-65% who currently fall far behind, and might even help those already doing well to achieve their full potential.
  • Under UDL content would be fully flexible in delivery.
  • UDL should really go further - especially in recognizing that not all students benefit from following the same path to skills and knowledge. Any system which applies the same pedagogy to all students is clearly not a universal design (in my mind it is not even moral). Insisting on everyone using the same textbook, or doing the exact same assignments, or following the same schedule - those are all industrial practices which are based in the belief that students are a raw material which can be shaped by repeated stampings. Any claims to some kind of rational meritocracy within that "same requirements" argument are simply a mask for the essential anti-humaness of the system.
    • Barbara Lindsey
       
      Would love to hear your thought on this assertion by Socol. If you agree with what he says, how would/could you structure the courses you teach? How could the courses you are taking as a student change? Would that help you? Could these courses then attract more diverse students? What would the learning look like? The assessments?
  • "Create something," he told us, "which demonstrates your in-depth knowledge of at least one critical moment in that century."
    • Barbara Lindsey
       
      How would you design an assessment around this?
  • I am not imparting malice to their position, simply suggesting that there is little incentive - emotionally, psychologically, or economically - for them to change.
    • Barbara Lindsey
       
      Do you think this is true?
  • I think that teacher training institutions should be required to have at least a third of their teaching and research faculty consist of individuals who have special needs, or who needed alternative educations, or who simply did badly in school.
Barbara Lindsey

Upgrade to Premium Account | Diigo - 0 views

  •  
    Shows what options you get based on what kind of diigo account you have.
Barbara Lindsey

Toolbox or Trap? Course Management Systems and Pedagogy (EDUCAUSE Quarterly) | EDUCAUSE... - 0 views

  • Campuses have adopted these programs on a wide scale, yet few studies have looked at how the design and use of a CMS affects pedagogy, and instructors rarely discuss how a CMS affects their teaching.
    • Barbara Lindsey
       
      Discuss in class.
  • Decisions about which learning software to use on campus are often made by campus technologists and administrators rather than faculty.
    • Barbara Lindsey
       
      Not surprisingly, this also is the case at UCONN.
  • The construction of the course syllabus, a natural beginning point for most instructors, is a good example of how the software imposes limitations. When they first enter a CMS, new instructors see the default buttons of the course menu, which are based on type rather than purpose: Announcements, Course Content, Discussion, even Syllabus.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • The default organization of the CMS forces them to think in terms of content types instead, breaking the natural structure of the semester.
  • In addition to a counterintuitive organizational scheme, integrated commercial systems have a built-in pedagogy, evident in the easiest-to-use, most accessible features. The focus on presentation (written documents to read), complemented by basic "discussion" input from students, is based on traditional lecture, review, and test pedagogy. This orientation is very different from the development of knowledge through a constructivist, learner-centered, or inquiry-based approach, which a number of faculty use successfully in the classroom.
  • But at the novice level, the system simply does not encourage such customization. To be able to modify the CMS to employ alternative teaching methods, instructors must have a well-developed sense of what is possible in the online environment before approaching the course design process—a perspective many do not have when they first start teaching online. When presented with a list of options, most people typically choose one option rather than question the list itself.
  • Most faculty do not use the web either extensively or intensively in their own work, and those who aren't "into technology" will quickly find themselves overwhelmed by a CMS.
  • Even after several years of working with a CMS, faculty requests for help tend to focus on what the technology can do rather than how their teaching and learning goals can be achieved.
    • Barbara Lindsey
       
      Important distinction.
  • An instructor seeking an easy way to post word-processed documents, enter grades, receive papers and assignments through a digital dropbox, and run a traditional threaded discussion board will tend to show great satisfaction with using a CMS.4 Those who tax the system more, and use the most complex features, show lower levels of satisfaction. In addition, after spending months creating material and quizzes in a proprietary system, faculty rightly panic at the idea of "moving everything" to another system. The big systems simply do not allow for easy export, and no one wants to do all that work over again. It is much easier to simply declare satisfaction with things the way they are.
  • There are, of course, alternatives to these hampering systems, and you don't have to be a programmer or Internet expert to use them.
  • Web 2.0 applications that encourage social construction of knowledge (Wikispaces, BubbleShare, Ning) are freely available and may provide more creative instructors with better options than any LMS currently available. Such programs make possible the creation of one's own mini-CMS, cobbled together out of programs that fit with the instructor's methodology. In these cases, pedagogy comes first—the tools can be used to build the courses we want to teach.
  •  
    Discuss this in class
Barbara Lindsey

Edistorm - Edistorm - Online Brainstorming and Planning. Add a sticky note and post it ... - 0 views

  •  
    Not free, but has an educator option
Barbara Lindsey

How to Outsmart Tracking Cookies on the Web - WSJ.com - 0 views

  • To have the most privacy options, upgrade to the latest version of the browser you use.
  • All popular browsers let users view and delete cookies installed on their computer.
  • Once you've deleted cookies, you can limit the installation of new ones.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • Internet Explorer lets you set rules for blocking cookies based on the policies of the cookie-placer.
  • No major browsers let you track or block beacons without installing extra software known as "plug-ins," as described under advanced steps.
  • All major browsers offer a "private browsing" mode to limit cookies. Chrome calls it "Incognito." Internet Explorer calls it "InPrivate Browsing," but this option is available only in the latest version, IE8.
  • It deletes cookies each time you close the browser or turn off private browsing, effectively hiding your history.
  • "Flash Cookies"
  • Flash is the most common way to show video online. As with regular cookies, Flash cookies can be useful for remembering preferences, such as volume settings for videos. But marketers also can use Flash cookies to track what you do online.
    • Barbara Lindsey
       
      So every time you see a flash video (YouTube is an example) you are being tracked.
Barbara Lindsey

Online version: Open Data, Democracy and Public Sector Reform : Tim's Blog - 0 views

  •  
    Over the weeks since I handed in my MSc Dissertation I've been trying to work out how best to share the final version. Each time I've started to edit it for release I've found more areas where I want to develop the argument further, or where I recognise that points I thought were conclusions are in fact the start of new questions. After trying out a few options, I settled on the fantastic Digress.it platform to put a copy of the report online - giving each paragraph it's own URL and space for comments and trackbacks. Hopefully this can help turn a static dissertation into something more dynamic as a tool for helping take forward thinking about the impacts of open government data. All comments, feedback, reflections and thinking aloud on the document welcome.
Barbara Lindsey

Deliberate Engagement of Laptops in Large Lecture Classes to Improve Attentiveness and ... - 0 views

  •  
    The value of in-class Internet technologies to student attentiveness, engagement, and learning remains both controversial and filled with promising potential. In this study, students were given the option to use LectureTools, an interactive suite of tools designed specifically for larger classes. The availability of these tools dramatically changed the mechanics of the course as over 90% of students attending lecture voluntarily brought their laptops to class. On one hand, surveys over multiple semesters show that students believe the availability of a laptop is more likely to increase their time on tasks unrelated to the conduct of the course. On the other hand, the surveys also ascertained that students felt more attentive with the technology, significantly more engaged, and able to learn more with the technology than in similar classes without it. LectureTools also led to a dramatic increase in the number of students posing questions during class time, with more than half posing at least one question during class over the course of a semester, a percentage far higher than achieved in semesters prior to the use of this technology. These results suggest that while having laptops in the classroom can be a distraction to students, students of today show confidence that they are capable of productive multitasking, showing that they not only can handle this technology when applied through "deliberate engagement" using tools like LectureTools, but thrive with it, as seen through improved attentiveness, learning, and overall engagement even in larger classes.
Barbara Lindsey

Teachable Moment - plagiarism - 0 views

  • Let's assume you have engaged students in worthwhile class work and it is time for them to involve themselves in an inquiry related to it and of interest to them. Forget about "research," forget about "the term paper,î abandon the often calcified list of "subjects." Here is a proposed series of steps and assignments for the process.
  • * "significant learningî ó that which raises questions and problems whose answers and solutions promote further curiosity and learning that have the potential to develop into a lifelong pursuit.
  • Assignment A: Ask students to prepare three carefully worded questions on a matter related to classwork whose answers they might like to pursue.
    • Barbara Lindsey
       
      I will do this from now on with our moderator questions and blog posts.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • If you feel there is no time for such a procedure (and if you are correct in your assessment), then you have the following options: Launch a campaign with other teachers directed at the problems and/or people responsible for making time unavailable so that it can be made available. If that fails, at least eliminate "research" and "term papers" from the curriculum on educational grounds.Use as much of the procedure as you can to promote inquiry and to eliminate as much plagiarism as possible.Continue to teach as in the past.Quit and find a more honorable line of work.
  •  
    A must read for those who are concerned about plagiarism with online students.
Barbara Lindsey

Education Week: Districts Embracing Online Credit-Recovery Options - 0 views

  •  
    Interest in online credit-recovery courses continues to surge, prompting some policy experts and educators to consider whether traditional rules requiring students to spend a certain number of hours in the classroom, rather than simply demonstrate their proficiency in the subject matter, are increasingly outdated.
Barbara Lindsey

PollEverywhere grappling with Monetization and Free Educator Plans « Moving a... - 0 views

  • the development of pricing schedules and "free" access options for phenomenal web 2.0 services for education and learning.
  • PollEverywhere is grappling with similar monetization issues as VoiceThread has.
  • My digital curriculum wiki is one I'm going to be updating and moving later this spring, and hopefully sharing often at educational conference events and in-district PD sessions
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • A high quality education has never been free and without cost. We SHOULD utilize and leverage free content and tools when it makes sense and those resources tangibly advance our learning goals. We also must remember and should discuss, however, the cases where digital content and capabilities are WORTH paying for.
Barbara Lindsey

Using Open Content To Drive Educational Change | FunnyMonkey - 0 views

  • The differences between open content and traditional textbooks only begin with the production and distribution of the text. When we look at the types of teaching, learning, and assessment that become more accessible when using open content, we can start to get a clearer picture of the pedagogical rationale that makes remixable and reusable content a better choice than a traditional textbook.
  • generally, when a text is being used within a course, the structure of the text creates the structure of the course.
  • The text becomes a point of reference for the ongoing work in the class.
    • Barbara Lindsey
       
      Is this necessarily a problem?
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • most teachers who use a textbook deviate from it. Most teachers plan lessons and curriculum that go beyond where the text ends, or that address deficiencies in the text. These lessons and activities form a shadow text that help drive quality classrooms. Yet, within the world of the traditional textbook, these improvements or options never make it back into the textbook. Many of these innovative practices never get shared with colleagues in the same building.
    • Barbara Lindsey
       
      Interesting point!
Barbara Lindsey

I'm So Totally, Digitally Close to You - Clive Thompson - NYTimes.com - 0 views

  • unless you visited each friend’s page every day, it might be days or weeks before you noticed the news, or you might miss it entirely.
  • He developed something he called News Feed, a built-in service that would actively broadcast changes in a user’s page to every one of his or her friends.
  • Instead, they would just log into Facebook, and News Feed would appear: a single page that — like a social gazette from the 18th century — delivered a long list of up-to-the-minute gossip about their friends, around the clock, all in one place. “A stream of everything that’s going on in their lives,” as Zuckerberg put it.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • When students woke up that September morning and saw News Feed, the first reaction, generally, was one of panic.
  • He created a Facebook group demanding Zuckerberg either scrap News Feed or provide privacy options.
  • Zuckerberg, surprised by the outcry, quickly made two decisions. The first was to add a privacy feature to News Feed, letting users decide what kind of information went out. But the second decision was to leave News Feed otherwise intact. He suspected that once people tried it and got over their shock, they’d like it.He was right. Within days, the tide reversed.
  • he bits of trivia that News Feed delivered gave them more things to talk about — Why do you hate Kiefer Sutherland? — when they met friends face to face in class or at a party. Trends spread more quickly. When one student joined a group — proclaiming her love of Coldplay or a desire to volunteer for Greenpeace — all her friends instantly knew, and many would sign up themselves. Users’ worries about their privacy seemed to vanish within days, boiled away by their excitement at being so much more connected to their friends.
  • It catalyzed a massive boom in the site’s growth.
Barbara Lindsey

Podcast263: Technology Shopping Cart Podcast07 - iPhone Web Apps and Poll Eve... - 0 views

    • Barbara Lindsey
       
      How many rss options can you find on this post?
  •  
    Wes Fryer and Karen Montgomery podcast with links focused on mobile ed apps like poll everywhere. Part 2 of 3 part series
Barbara Lindsey

After Frustrations in Second Life, Colleges Look to New Virtual Worlds - Technology - T... - 0 views

  • It turns out that virtual worlds are at their best when they look nothing like a traditional campus. Professors are finding that they can stage medical simulations, guide students through the inside of cell structures, or pre­sent other imaginative teaching exercises that cannot be done in a physical classroom.
  • OpenSimulator, and it is essentially a free knockoff of Second Life
  • The most ambitious attempt to build an education-friendly virtual world is a project called Open Cobalt,
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • led by researchers at Duke University
  • Any college with a spare server and some staff time can use the OpenSimulator software and play God to a virtual world.
  • The main request is the ability to limit access to students in a course, which the group can do.
  • To counter these new options, Linden Lab is testing a product that would let colleges install a world on their own servers and limit access to students and professors. Case Western is among those trying it out for its virtual campus.
  • Maybe 3-D online environments are just one of those technologies that sound cool but never fully materialize, like personal jetpacks. Trying to make the World Wide Web look like the real world misses the new kinds of things the Internet can do.
  • "We don't ­really understand what we can do and what we can't do with this tool for education yet, so it's more exploratory now," said Peter J. Ludlow, a philosophy professor at Northwestern University who studies virtual worlds. "We know there's something here, but we don't know what yet."
  •  
    It turns out that virtual worlds are at their best when they look nothing like a traditional campus. Professors are finding that they can stage medical simulations, guide students through the inside of cell structures, or pre sent other imaginative teaching exercises that cannot be done in a physical classroom.
Blanca Garcia Valenzuela

Free Technology for Teachers: Free 33 Page Guide - Google for Teachers - 0 views

  •  
    "This guide avoids some of the obvious things, like using Google Docs for collaborative writing, and instead focuses on some of the lesser-used Google tools options"
1 - 20 of 27 Next ›
Showing 20 items per page