Group items tagged

How Google+ is used as part of social media and the case studies which are presented

This is the study of Google+ showed that it is more popular with parents than students,  which could be a favorable indicator of how popular it is for those educators of the same generation.

LessonNote, an iPad-based observation tool "Lesson Study Alliance and Project IMPULS are developing an application for iPad, the LessonNote, to help practitioners of lesson study improve the quality of their post-lesson discussions by improving the quality of observational data collected during the lesson. It has been tested in research lessons in both the U.S. and Japan. The first version of this application will soon be available for free from the iTunes store."

This website is good. They describe their beliefs on selling their thinking process to creating an experience for learners. Their process is 1)Discovery, 2)Interpretation,3)Ideation,4)Experimentation 5)Evolution... illustrated in their case studies before they chunk out their product. Perhaps our department have the same manner of process before we come out our products. Perhaps this could be a less vague idea for our audience in term of showing what we do less descriptive but more case studies.

Bangladeshi students want to study abroad and we provide consultancy to select appropriate course, right institution matching their merit, affordability and choice.

According to this article, the most significant factor is not the scaling of online instruction (which isn't a new thing already) _but_ the ability for educators to study how people learn in various environments. Timely and accurate feedback is an essential component, not only for students, but also for educators, in improving the quality and relevancy of education for smaller groups. Personally, I think that the rise of massively open online courses (MOOCs) will ironically lead to a huge increase in the number of customized and localized courses tailored for niche sub-groups. Instead of seeing a huge dissemination of one-size-fits-all education, we will see an increasing diversity of different educational strategies, similiar to how the diversity of an ecosystem increases when its geographic size increases. It's a very exciting time for educators out there indeed...

An item shared during Google Apps for Education sessions. BlOSSOMS is a blended learning open source for science or maths studies.  Very nicely done video in their library.

For the video team to read.

Looking at the abstract, it's indeed powerful if this kind of special eyeglasses is available in the mass market. Then again, due to my limited capability, access to the review for this research is not possible, as such, thus wouldn't know the actual effectiveness & usefulness of this study. Hopefully, details of similar studies done elsewhere may be available over internet in future.

A little backdated article in 2011, but I thought it would be good to start exploring possibilities of Google+ and using it in classrooms

Tan, Hu, Wong, Wettasinghe (2003) on Information Technology and Singapore Education, Instructional Framework, Instructional Strategies (Direct Instruction, SDL, Group Work, Computer-Mediated Communication, Constructivist Learning, Learning through Experience) Computer As an Administrative Tool - Blackboard ! Computer As a Presentation Tool - from PPT to Prezi? Computer As a Tutor - engage the learners in higher order thinking Computer As a Cognitive Tool - mindtools Conclusion: To successfully integrate IT into teaching and learning in schools is a challenging task that hinges on a lot of factors, including effective teacher training. Darling-Hammond (1994) describes the new paradigm of teacher learning as a place in which opportunities are provided for "learning by teaching, learning by doing and learning by collaborating." In our attempt to avoid reducing such training into teaching of discrete IT skills, or merely talking about it through lectures, we presented an approach that modeled various pedagogies, including direct instruction, self-directed learning, group work, computer-mediated communication, and constructivist learning. We also provided a holistic technology-enhanced environment, for the trainees to experience the use of the computer as an administrative tool, as a presentation tool, as a tutor, and as a cognitive tool. These strategies are built upon theories and studies of learning, as well as the use of IT in education. The results of the trainees' evaluation of the module indicated a generally positive reaction to the module and the perception that the instructional objectives have been achieved. These are encouraging indicators of the effectiveness of our instructional strategies, which we will build upon for further improvement in the subsequent delivery of the module.

Despite the slightly hyperbolic title, it's quite thoughtfully written actually. Some interesting case studies and reflections on how to use mobile learning in practical fieldwork, including some comments from teachers and students. A good read.

Excellent resource written by excellent people!

To hashtag or not? That is the question.

Like your comment about how the iPads don't become the focus of the learning. That's a thought that's been on my mind recently - the importance of the perception of "seamlessness" in tech usage. That's probably one of the most important reasons a technology gets adapted - no matter how cumbersome it seems at first (e.g. learning how to drive a car) - because the normal usage of the technology doesn't hinder the intended task at hand. (That's why once you learn to ride a bike, you don't think so much about the bicycle itself as you think about moving faster.) Think Donald Norman in "The Design of Everyday Things" has a term for this: affordability. So I guess, my thought on the usage of the iPad (and any new tech at hand): The learning of the new tech need not be intuitive. But the everyday usage has to seamlessly flow with the given task at hand - so that the tool and the user become "one" with the task. (Just like how a user fumbles with a pair of chopsticks at first, but once he masters it, his chopsticks "become" part of his fingers.) Then such seamless technologies get seamlessly adopted as "cognitive-multipliers".