Group items tagged

If you are seeing this with the Chrome Extension - I'm discovering that there is no way to share your highlights and post-it notes with the group. Go back and install the Diigolet - instructions in Week 2!

Abstract: "In academic settings where digital badges are taking over conventional task formats, educators are faced with the challenge of how to deliver and assess content and skills within badges. Imposing a mastery learning approach, where feedback is key, to a digital badge system may be a potential solution to using digital badges within higher education. As a way to support student learning, Guskey, Journal of Advanced Academics, 19(1), 8-31 (2007) emphasizes the importance of not only frequent feedback but specific feedback. In order to examine how students are using feedback to inform their coursework within a digital badge context, an online survey was designed consisting of open-ended questions about the nature and value of instructional feedback within a digital badge system. Results from the questionnaire indicated three major thematic groups illustrating feedback from the students' perspective: Importance and Nature of Feedback, Authority over Knowledge and Learning, and Learning for Mastery."

Some things I hadn't thought about - or looked for - when I design my online courses.

"G Suite has recently released two features that allow teachers to meet these criteria and maximize their instructional time: Google Cast for Education and Screencastify."

These language instructors prefer Zoom over Skype and other video conferencing tools.

Wow, Off2Class and Zoom make a great combination! And what a powerful resource Off2Class is for ESL teachers--one-stop-shopping for lesson plans!

These language instructors prefer Zoom over Skype and other videoconferencing tools.

This is a practice-oriented publication that's a bit more casual in tone and practical in content than its scholarly counterparts, while still rigorous in the quality of information it offers. We will feature articles, interviews with notable folks in the field of language teaching and learning, reviews of software, materials, and books, and more!

A lot of great ideas and a nice way to stay informed and to, at the same time, feel connected with a network of language educators who are addressing the same challenges and concerns.

SpatialChat looks so fun! I'll be curious about pricing, and appropriateness and safety for high schoolers.

"When it's student-paced, no one gets left in the dust and no one gets bored waiting for the class to move on. HyperDocs are purposefully designed digital lessons and can transform your class. The creators of HyperDocs - Lisa Highfill, Kelly Hilton, and Sarah Landis - describe them as a transformative, interactive Google Doc replacing the worksheet method of delivering instruction, the ultimate change agent in the blended learning classroom. https://hyperdocs.co/about"

Abstract - "Teacher educators have increasingly integrated social media into their education courses with aims including improving instruction and preparing students for a connected world. In this study, the authors sought to better understand the possibilities and challenges of scaffolding 60 pre- and in-service teachers across two universities into professional learning networks (PLNs) through a social media assignment. Participants analyzed educator practices, participated in, and envisioned future uses of teacher Twitter. Consistent with previous studies, education students were positive about the relational and relevant aspects of Twitter use. However, students' participation did not mimic the participatory cultures of affinity spaces often reported by connected educators in the literature. Instead, participants tweeted around deadlines and quit using their accounts for professional education purposes once the class ended. In contrast to recent literature, this article argues that social media integration for education students should focus on relational and relevant engagements and content, as opposed to attempting to build social media augmented PLNs for unknown futures."

ACTFL 2012 presentation "Attendees will learn to revise traditional activities by incorporating advertising and smartphones into their teaching. Advertising is everywhere and smartphones are part of most students' life. They can be tools that shape student awareness of other languages and cultures. "

ACTFL 2012 presentation

A new offering from ACTFL for K-12 language teachers, starting fall 2012 - in collaboration with the University of Maryland University College.

This article may be of interest to those of you considering blended/hybrid learning formats.

Language Teaching Technology

Michel Boiron writes on use of new media in classroom instruction.

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!

Award-winning blog! Very informative about instructional technology especially for K-12 teachers.