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Good pedagogical look at classroom discussions - practical strategies and theory. These can be used for in-class and online discussions.

iCivics has just released its seventeenth educational game for students. The new game is called We The Jury. We The Jury puts students in the role of a juror for two trials. Looks like a great activity for students. I would also use it and have discussion groups. Those using an LMS with online discussions or Collaborize Classroom, this would be a great online activity for interactive discussions.

Good discussion on CIPA compliance and who is in charge of determining what is appropriate or not. This discussion articulates why a filtering company shouldn't be in charge of telling me what is appropriate or not. There is no standard that can be applied by a 3rd party provider.

My response: Patrick, thanks for bringing the issue to us to consider. No matter how we see it, it is a discussion that is important to have. It does mean we have quite a responsibility to use the tools we have well. On a Classroom 2.0 Live webinar today, there was a discussion of the technology needing to be transformative, not just a substitute for paper/pencils/books, etc. or just an electronic version of the same curriculum. That brings us to the pedagogical approach of each teacher. If they just place their old methodology on top of the technology, nothing much different will occur. BUT...if they see their method of how students will interact with them and course material differently, the technology can be a tool both the teacher and student can enjoy and in the process they can become more creative, collaborative, and communicative.

Whether or not you realize it, you probably have philosophical discussions with your students. But if you use the term "Philosophy", it would probably be met with blank stares. This website, developed by a college philosophy professor, provides an easy to understand, engaging introduction to philosophy for middle schoolers using FILM. I think it could also be used with high school students and used as a tool for how students could engage each other in a variety of discussions across the curriculum.

Site presents information that could be used in classes that discuss personal life skills, careers, economics, etc.  "The living wage shown is the hourly rate that an individual must earn to support their family, if they are the sole provider and are working full-time (2080 hours per year). The state minimum wage is the same for all individuals, regardless of how many dependents they may have. The poverty rate is typically quoted as gross annual income. We have converted it to an hourly wage for the sake of comparison."

Interesting read on College & Career prep. Looks at what college is and discusses accessibility, literacy levels as barriers, & other important topics. 

Interesting discussion on copyright issues with Flickr images with Creative Commons license - be sure to read the comments

Linda Yollis, an award-winning 3rd grade teacher, made this video with her students to share how they have used blogs to learn the importance of connecting online with others online, about Digital Footprints and Internet safety, and sharing their voice. I think you'll enjoy it and hopefully think about the ways you encourage students to make their writing/learning visible and connect with others, whether it be a blog or an interactive online discussion. 

"Finland's Pasi Sahlberg is one of the world's leading experts on school reform and the author of the best-selling "Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn About Educational Change in Finland?" In this piece he writes about whether the emphasis that American school reformers put on "teacher effectiveness" is really the best approach to improving student achievement." This article brings forth some challenges to some of the things we assume in the U.S. that make for success in our schools. With the CCSS, this discussion becomes even more relevant.

Ideas on how to embed and use Google Forms to track the understanding of students when watching assigned videos, either lectures or other videos. Using the form makes is easy to compile the response of students and provides for discussions and additional teaching of concepts. This teacher copied and pasted the response into Wordle and it gives a sense of what students found to be of significance in the video.

Sherry Hegstrom, on her blog "Emerging Technologies in Education" asks the question: What makes for a digital story? She brings up some great questions for us to consider and there are some comments that engage the discussion. Check it out!

Great discussion on the process of implementing blogging in the classroom. Nice infographic embedded in blogpost

Continuing discussions on Commenting by Ed Nagelhout

The post really points to the possible pitfalls of online courses. It also suggests the importance of examining & evaluating the effectiveness of online courses - including the teacher's pedagogy and instructional methods - and student receptiveness, level of engagement, and success in courses. The comments after the post provide a lively discussion. Blended learning seems to get high marks.

"Geo Listening " provides a service that monitors the posts of the 14,000 students in the Glendale Unified School District, to help curtail cyberbullying, drug use, and other problems. This article provides for great discussion with students, teachers, admin., and parents.

Krista Moroder, Director of Learning & Instructional Tech. (former teacher) provides some insight into these two tech. integration frameworks and their strengths & difficulties. "I'm going to preface this post by saying that I think both TPACK and SAMR are incredibly useful frameworks- and I use them a lot in my work with education technology. While I don't want to completely discount either framework in this post, I do want to start a discussion- and explain why I am currently not finding them completely effective in my work with teachers. Worth the read....

I like the reflective process this teacher is using to improve her teaching literacy to her students. The methods she is practicing and refining are in contrast to the "one and done" reading approach she mentions students practicing outside of class. A favorite quote in the reflection: "In my class we explore the why--the story behind history. Pace carefully and read closely, and students will discover the why--especially when they can discuss the questions they've had time to think about." Instead of the teacher "teaching" content, the students explore that content and find meaning for themselves that is relevant and connective to other learning experiences.

Award-winning educational futurist David Thornburg discusses classroom design and four learning models he has written about extensively in his book, "From the Campfire to the Holodeck: Creating Engaging and Powerful 21st Century Learning Environments" Is your classroom designed primarily for the traditional lecture? For using technology to do the same old things better than differently? Give out too much information vs. using more open-ended approaches? Transform the way information is learned and used? This article helped me to reflect on the way I encourage the use of technology and how to make its use an experience more reflective of what is presented in the CCSS and 21st century learning. What is your response to the article? Agree, disagree? What model(s) do you see yourself using? What movement would you like to make in your approach?

Dean Shareski brings up a vital discussion around the fears we have in "publishing" online and what this space is really for: CONVERSATION. Take the time to read this, as it will impact the way we help students with publishing online.