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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."

CLEAR opening page with many programs to try

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!

As many as 145 languages are spoken in Minnesota public schools. This fall, students with the University of Minnesota's School of Journalism and Mass Communication are working with MPRNews to explore that classroom diversity -- and sharing a bit of what they find as they go.

Incredible. I knew Minnesota is diverse.. you just need to go outside and see it. But, data shown in this page is amazing. I also have read some of the other posts. I think that this could be a good resource for high school or college because it shows facts, and authentic stories.

While virtual classes are more and more popular in universities, there have been many attempts to create new technological tools to be use in online classes. Some teachers have adopted a well made online audio software: Voicethread. Voicethread is a website to which one subscribes and create an account.

Hi Jessica, thanks for this article. Actually, I have been reading a lot about error correction lately, so it caught my eye right away. Any special reason why you chose it?

Hi Violeta, When teaching languages I think we need to read a lot about how to correct our students errors, and how to have them self correct. I have used some techniques, but since last week I realized that there is more outside to research. Check this one.. is good! Tarone, E. and Swierzbin, B. (2009). Exploring learner language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hi Jessica, This article makes us think how best we can give students feedback.Thanks for posting it.

Many general resources for information about teaching online/hybrid - from course design, pedagogy, techniques,

"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."

Tex's French Grammar is the integral grammar component of Français Interactif, an online French course from the University of Texas at Austin. Various sections of the website are entertaining (the dialogues are not always appropriate for middle school!) and others provide rote grammar practice.

A veritable goldmine of rubrics!

Wow - not only a really cool tool, but also a really well-done video explaining what it is and how it works!

Sorry, this is a U of MN tool, but I thought you'd like to see what it is - and the way they've done the video to explain it is really nicely done!

I found this by chance just exploring around. If you check the SUPPORT section on the VoiceThread site, you will find a list of publications. They posted a collection of abstracts with links of scholarly articles written about using VoiceThread for language learning, K-12, higher education and professional development. I just skimmed through the lists, and some of the articles are accessible, while some are behind a password.

Using Twitter for a 10 minute verb activity.

This is so cool! I know it would keep my students more engaged and focused on what could potentially be boring grammatical exercises. I do not currently use an on-line notebook and want to use Google docs more often. Lots to think about!

A quick assessment that will give you some ideas about what's needed to be an online teacher

Links upon Links for language teachers/ learners from Foreign Language Teaching Forum by State University of New York College at Cortland

Saving this for later too. Lots of info here- thanks for sharing. This will continue to be a great resource.

Great catch, I am bookmarking this one and adding to my resource library. Merci beaucoup!

Thanks for sharing, Carmen-- I am also considering students who do not have Twitter, or parent concerns, and I wonder if small group work might be a solution- Using the twitter account of one student, another student or group of students help to compose responses, stay hidden from their online contributions.

Thanks for this suggestions, Carmen-- will use it!

Especially middle/high school parents/students may feel more comfortable using a platform provided by the district. I am also planning to use the discussion board in the district's platform. I can definitely use the tips in this article.