Group items tagged

"I'm trying to capture rethinking about education or formal learning. I'm tired of anything that allows folks to think knowledge dump and test is going to lead to meaningful change. I'm also trying to 'think out loud' for myself. And start getting more concrete about learning experience design." This thoughtful blog is accompanied by a very useful graphic display of how content, activities, evaluation, etc. feed into each other.

What makes a great "social LMS"? " Does it provide a means to rate and prioritize the social learning interactions? Does it allow for evaluating the effectiveness of the social learning experience? Does it integrate with and enhance an organization's existing system? Does it track the history and outcomes of the social learning process? Does it allow for open collaboration and knowledge sharing? Does it improve productivity? Does it make learning easier?" All the reasons whya traditional LMS may not work well in an educational setting. Can Moodle adapt?

"8 ways to use Learnist, a Pinterest-like education sit By Lindsey Smith Learnist bears a striking similarity to Pinterest by way of Wikipedia, and the busy knowledge-sharing site is bursting at the seams with content. "Want to know how to write objectively, use Photoshop, or experiment with the "flipped classroom"? Now you can with Learnist boards. Experts create pages or "boards," which serve as informative or instructional layouts where external sources are used to support any given topic. "Education Dive compiled a list of 8 ways that education-focused Learnist boards present trends, tips, and resources to help you learn and eventually share what you know:" This is an informative list that shows how to use a technology in ways that can expand the mind to other applications/format. Good links!

"A movie trailer is a perfect summarizing activity. It can also act as a "teaser" as an introduction to a presentation or student paper. A movie trailer can readily showcase the acquisition of knowledge of a lesson or unit." A good description of how to use iMovie on the iPad/tablet.

This is a wiki to help educators become knowledgeable with curriculum issues, pedagogy, and technology. Ceck out the sidebar for such topics as "21st century skills," "assessment," and "activities, projects," "technology," etc. You can join the wiki and help contribute.

A chart showing the differences between individualized instruction and personalized learning. "On the face of it personalized and individualized learning are two sides of the same coin, a game of semantics and this is why many teachers still use them interchangeably as if they mean the same thing while in fact there is a noticeable difference between the two particularly in how each trend views the role of teachers and students, knowledge, and standards." This chart by David Warlik shows the differences.

These apps help transform the process of sharing and demonstrating knowledge. R. Byrne: "Digital storytelling is a powerful tool in the classroom. It is engaging for students and teachers of all grade levels and can be used across the curriculum. Most of all, digital storytelling gives students a voice and a way of communicating information in an authentic manner. One of the great things about digital stories is that there are no "cookie cutter" answers."

"When I decided to write this article, Twitter was riding the crest of a wave sweeping the microblogosphere. Nevermind that till Twitter's release in 2006 there hadn't even been a microblogosphere. But this Internet niche has proven durable, compelling, mildly addictive even, and integral to the workflow of the most ostentatiously connected educators and knowledge workers. Twitter was an idea that converged with a need few even knew existed. Still today, many are saying "Who needs it? Why?" Others are saying "WE need it, bring it back!!"" Great article on the rise and rise of Twitter by Vance Stevens

"Skype is a free and easy way for teachers to open up their classroom and their students to a world way beyond their campus. With Skype, students can learn from other students, connect with other cultures, and expand their knowledge in amazing ways. Teachers and parents can also benefit from Skype in the classroom. Read below to learn how you can take advantage of the power of Skype in your classroom." Links with short explanations--very useful.

A map of 333 Web domains, resembling the Tokyo Metro Map.

This is an annual report on trends on the Internet, mapped over a Tokyo subway map. So a very popular company, like Google, is located this year (2009) at Shinjuku and Twitter is at Shibuya, "the station with the biggest buzz." Go figure. Might have interest as a brain teaser or mind puzzle, esp. for students with some knowledge of the Tokyo train system.

A slideshow (with audio) of a paper presented at the TESOL NYC CALL IS Academic Session, April 2008. Attempts to clarify what is known about SLA and how Plato's problem of "excessive knowledge" is solved by a computer model of reading prediction that uses Landauer and Dumais' theory of Latent Semantic Analsyis.

Distance Consulting group -- this is a definitions page. "One of the best-known examples of a CoP was formed by the copy machine repair technicians at Xerox Corporation. Through networking and sharing their experiences, particularly the problems they encountered and the solutions they devised, a core group of these technicians proved extremely effective in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of efforts to diagnose and repair Xerox customers' copy machines. The impact on customer satisfaction and the business value to Xerox was invaluable. Yet, for the most part, this was a voluntary, informal gathering and sharing of expertise, not a "corporate program" (however, once the company realized the value of the knowledge being created by this CoP, steps were taken to support and enhance the efforts of the group)."

"In the original 2004 article I stated: "The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe. Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today. A real challenge for any learning theory is to actuate known knowledge at the point of application" (Conclusion section, � 1). I find Verhagen�s (2006) critique falls at precisely this point. The core of what I wrote in the initial article is still valid: that learning is a network phenomenon, influenced (aided) by socialization and technology. Two years is a lifetime in the educational technology space. Two years ago, web 2.0 was just at the beginning of the hype cycle. Blogs, wikis, and RSS�now prominent terms at most educational conferences�were still the sandbox of learning technology geeks. Podcasting was not yet prominent. YouTube didn't exist. Google had not released its suite of web-based tools. Google Earth was not yet on the desktops of children and executives alike�each thrilled to view their house, school, or business in satellite images. Learning Management Systems still held the starting point of most elearning initiatives. Moodle was not yet prominent, and the term PLEs (personal learning environments) did not exist. In two years, our small space of educational technology evolved�perhaps exploded is a more accurate term."

"Welcome to elearnspace! This site and blog explore elearning, knowledge management, networks, technology, and community. Many resources exist for elearning, yet a model of how the pieces fit together is often missing. elearnspace has been organized to present a whole picture view of elearning" George Siemens' collection of interesting articles, mainly about connectivism.

"This is a virtual place for folks interested in learning to "operationalize TPACK" (Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge) via curriculum-based learning activity types ('LATs') to get up-to-date information, and (more importantly) participate in the vetting and refining of the activity types in each of the curriculum areas in which activity type development is happening." College of William & Mary School of Ed has set up a community site where there is a collection of activities with accompanying technologies for a wide range of ages/grade levels. There is also a "teaching strategies" page and links to presentations, assessment tools, and other resources. Hopefully there will be frequent updates and the pages will be a useful resource.

Literacy Partners is a strategy to help students better understand a text, whether in literature, science or social science topics. Reading in pairs with teacher-directed questions and discussing those questions as they answer them together fosters respect among students and helps both partners gain in knowledge. (Sign-in for the Teaching Channel may be required, but it's free and well worth it.)

"Back in the day-we usually referred to visible thinking as explicit thinking. But, as with many solid, worthwhile constructs, they are not readily adopted and so often reappear decades (or centuries!) later under a new name with new advocates and with a new dream that maybe this time things might stick and better the lives of students. "So it is with visible thinking. The basic idea is to uncover the implicit and inert thinking and to make that thinking discussable and perhaps available to others. For it is by objectifying knowledge that we can come to understand it." Talking through a project or the composition process is another way to make learning explicit. Explicit understanding of the process is part of Bloom's Taxonomy.

"Create flashcards Create your own flashcards with two clicks. You can use different styles (bold, italic, red/green colour, underline). Add pictures to your cards easily. Study flashcards You can study your cards alone or online with your friends. Just use Skype or the integrated chat functionality and see how easy it is. Information about learning in a team Print flashcards Print individual flashcards or all of them in two steps and learn them offline wherever you are. Teamwork You can comment on each flashcard, track the status of your knowledge, track changes, study online with friends and send messages to them. Publish flashcards You can publish your flashcards. Everyone who receives the link to your cards can import them to their account." Flashcards as a social networking tool! This is a nice way to have students create their own good study habits, and there is an iPhone App available too You can also search for flashcards made by other students. Better than Rosetta Stone.

"We want our students to be active viewers. But why stop at comprehension? "Active viewing is great, but it isn't enough. When it comes to video, students shouldn't just get it; they should also have something to say about it. Students need to be active and reactive viewers -- comprehending and critiquing, reading and reacting, getting and giving knowledge. Below you'll find great tools, tips, and strategies for helping to foster both of these essential media-literacy skills." This page has a wealth of materials -- worksheets, video lessons, tips, etc. -- for critical thinking.