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Great post by Clarence Fisher about reading a novel with another class via Skype and how he is using technology to build the conversation. Instead of being afraid of letting students chat online, he is developing their skills. Rather than hiding some of the less rigorous comments, he's sharing with everyone, so he can learn along with us.
The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. This FREE conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone. The 2008 conference theme is "Amplifying Possibilities". This year's conference begins with a pre-conference keynote the week of October 13, 2008. The following two weeks, October 20-24 and October 27-31, forty presentations will be posted online to the conference blog (this website) for participants to download and view. Live Events in the form of three "Fireside Chats" and a culminating "When Night Falls" event will be announced. Everyone is encouraged to participate in both live events during the conference as well as asynchronous conversations. More information about podcast channels and conference web feeds is available!
Thanks Roland. I shared this article with my SR coaches. Many of them made plans to have their students use the video conferencing equipment to chat with an author. Skype provides them a free option they can begin utilizing while they are waiting for the IVC equipment to arrive and be installed. Also nice to have that quick list of authors for them to consider inviting into their classrooms. Thanks :)
the expert for each chapter recounted the key elements of the chapter to the
rest of the kids, who hadn’t read it After this round of highlights from each
chapter, the groups transitioned into general discussion about the five-chapter
segment of the novel.
(recognizing that reading doesn’t necessarily guarantee remembering)
Chapter 8 in MacDougal-Little’s The Americans covers the reform movements
between1820-1850. There are four distinct strands which emerged during this
period- religious renewal, abolitionism, the early women’s rights efforts, and
workplace reform
she did want them to sample Dickens’ voice and pick up some cultural background from the era.
Are kids actually working, thinking, and engaged with the text we assign- or are
they just imitating a sentient life form while remaining functionally
unconscious?
OK - allows students to become teachers to other students, a role at which a lot of them excel.
Are kids actually working, thinking, and engaged with the text we assign- or are they just imitating a sentient life form while remaining functionally unconscious?
Or for teachers who worry, sincerely, whether hearing an oral summary from other students is as good as reading an expert’s version in print
X I'm not sure I agree. Often with jigsaw when the "experts" get together students are more interested in "getting the answers" than truly engaging with that text (ie. asking questions, making inferences, etc) I suppose it depends on the follow-up activity and HOW they go about sharing their info.
when you have to read, write, talk, and listen, it is much harder to “fake
it” than it is to slide through a textbook assignment without understanding.