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re-posted here from Connected Principals.] Steven B. Johnson writes in Where Good Ideas Come From about the revolutionary power of social media such as Twitter to advance ideas and innovation in a myriad of fields, and it has been fascinating to see this concept in action in the swift spread over the past six months of the practice of flipping classrooms, which is also known as reverse instruction or learning, and is closely related to (or often synonymous with) teacher vodcasting.

Abstract from publisher - The difficulty for teachers is in understanding how to integrate, use and maintain course blogs so that they are a strong and positive educational force in the classroom. At the core of using blogs is the development of blog management strategies. Based on the authors' use of blogs in undergraduate courses, the current paper outlines an approach to blog management.

There was a hyperlink to an article about whether we should still teach cursive. Apparently high schools are not doing it any more. My son stopped cursive in about the 5th grade and didn't have to use it and now he is struggling at the university because he can't read when the professor uses cursive in anything, like comments on his papers. I have to print when I leave him a note. Wow, technology is wiping out one of the long-standing activities that took humans decades to develop.

I like the balanced way this piece presents some of the pros and cons of technology in education. Just this week I had a conversation with another educator who has encountered recent studies suggesting a link between handwriting (of any kind) and certain cognitive development. Some schools are now emphasizing handwriting instruction because it helps boost students' academic achievement.

My daughter is 8 years old and she started learning cursive this year. So it must be back! I'm not sure if will help boost her achievement or not, but I'm glad she is learning it. I think the article made a good point about how students today have a short attention span and easily get off track. If they are typing a paper on the computer, for example, they can open a browser and start surfing the web. They don't necessarily stay focused on the task at hand. It is even hard for me sometimes. If I don't ignore email (just put it off until later, I mean), I would never get anything done!

Developed with the support of the Lifelong Learning programme of the European Union, Arabic Online teaches basic Arabic.

"CALICO (Computer-Assisted Language Instruction Consortium) is devoted to research and development of technology in second language acquisition."

"the European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning. EUROCALL aims to provide a European focus for the promulgation of innovative research, development and practice relating to the use of technologies for language learning."

Chico's Rubric for Online Instruction offers a framework for addressing this question. Use of this rubric represents a developmental process for online course design and delivery, and provides a means for an instructor to self-assess course(s) based on University expectations. Furthermore, the rubric provides a means for supporting and recognizing a faculty member's effort in developing expertise in online instruction as part of our commitment to high quality learning environments.

"The evaluation of online courses involves many of the same criteria applied to traditional classroom courses but also necessitates the use of new criteria more directly based on the online environment. The course evaluation materials below offer a range of rubrics and guidelines for help in developing effective practices for evaluating online courses."

Ok - so this article isn't on the interpretive mode...but it makes some good points - pro and con. The author is an entertaining self-described rabble-rouser!

Nice blog post about different ways for teachers to share resources and develop a PLN (personal learning network) through social-networking.

Nice blog post that describes different ways for teachers to share resources and develop a PLN (personal learning network)

Top 100 Language Learning blogs - nice resources for developing your PLN.

how to develop programming for the mobile crowd - without special tools or technology. Formats, design considerations, aspect ratio and template

Telling and listening to stories is an ancient tradition that can benefit foreign language learners of all ages, languages, and levels of proficiency. Stories contain linguistic, paralinguistic, discourse, and cultural features that provide the comprehensible input and output that students need to develop their conversational skills. Instructors and students can select and tell stories that they enjoy and that interest their listeners. Some interactive story telling activities are presented, categorized as: Change the Story, Group Picture Story, Jigsaw Story, My Story, Oral Reading, Picture Stories, Psycho Story, Rumor, Shuffled Comics, Story Hour, Strip Story, and Tell Us a Story. Contains 33 references. (Author/LB)

Downloadable educator's guide by Linda Fogg Phillips, written at Facebook's request.  The homepage says:   "Our commitment to you is to provide an easy way to stay updated as changes occur with Facebook.  We created this website to do just that, in addition to providing you with even more insights, guidance, and resources." but that still doesn't tell me much about what's in the guide...

Vol 16, Issue 2 - Special Issue of JALN - "Faculty Development for Online Teaching"

Another app to try for adding voice to your class