Times Higher Education - Dummies' guides to teaching insult our intelligence - 0 views
-
if you encourage discussion in class, you have to be prepared for your students to arrive at conclusions that are unpalatable to you.
-
When I started, largely out of exasperation, to investigate the educational research literature for myself, I was pleasantly surprised to find there was some genuinely useful and scholarly work out there, which recognised the demands of different subjects and even admitted that university lecturers aren't all workshy and stupid... It's a shame that this better stuff doesn't seem to have fed through into the generic courses that most institutions offer. My personal advice to anyone starting out as a university teacher: find a few colleagues who take their teaching seriously (there are almost certain to be some in the department) and ask them for advice; sit in on their classes if possible; remember you'll never teach perfectly but you can always teach better; and close your ears to well-meaning interference from anybody who's never actually spent time at the chalkface!
-
Magueijo's could acknowledge that some people teaching these courses are genuinely concerned about improving teaching, and they need academics' help in designing better courses that do so. Sotto's side should acknowldge that however much they talk about how important teaching is (as if they discovered this, and academics did not know), they are not listening to the people attending their courses if those people feel utterly patronised and frustrated at the waste of their time. If academics treated their students like educationalists treat their student academics they'd be appalling teachers. A simple course allowing us to learn from a video of our own lectures would be immensely useful. Instead whole empires of education have developed that need to justify themselves and grow, so they subject us to educational jargon and make us write essays on the educationalist's pet theory.
- ...2 more annotations...
Final Report: Friendship | DIGITAL YOUTH RESEARCH - 1 views
-
Social relations—not simply physical space—structure the social worlds of youth.
-
When teens are involved in friendship-driven practices, online and offline are not separate worlds—they are simply different settings in which to gather with friends and peers
-
these dynamics reinforce existing friendship patterns as well as constitute new kinds of social arrangements.
- ...43 more annotations...
A Textbook Example of What's Wrong with Education | Edutopia - 0 views
-
A Textbook Example of What's Wrong with Education A former schoolbook editor parses the politics of educational publishing.by Tamim Ansary var addthis_options = 'delicious, digg, facebook, google, reddit, stumbleupon, twitter, more'; Print Forward addthis_pub = 'glef'; Share Comments(38) Comment RSS Click to enlarge pictureThe Muddle Machine Credit: Monte Wolverton Some years ago, I signed on as an editor at a major publisher of elementary school and high school textbooks, filled with the idealistic belief that I'd be working with equally idealistic authors to create books that would excite teachers and fill young minds with Big Ideas. Not so. I got a hint of things to come when I overheard my boss lamenting, "The books are done and we still don't have an author! I must sign someone today!" Every time a friend with kids in school tells me textbooks are too generic, I think back to that moment. "Who writes these things?" people ask me. I have to tell them, without a hint of irony, "No one." It's symptomatic of the whole muddled mess that is the $4.3 billion textbook business. Textbooks are a core part of the curriculum, as crucial to the teacher as a blueprint is to a carpenter, so one might assume they are conceived, researched, written, and published as unique contributions to advancing knowledge.
Reading and the Web - Texts Without Context - NYTimes.com - 49 views
-
It’s also a question, as Mr. Lanier, 49, astutely points out in his new book, “You Are Not a Gadget,” of how online collectivism, social networking and popular software designs are changing the way people think and process information, a question of what becomes of originality and imagination in a world that prizes “metaness” and regards the mash-up as “more important than the sources who were mashed.”
-
Core discussion topic? From this, I see a few discussion issues: 1. Do we prize "mash-ups" more than original work? Who is "we" in this? 2. If the answer to #1 is "yes," then the next question is: is this good or bad? 3. Finally, if the answer is "bad" to #2, what place do "mash-ups" have, and how do we help our students see the value in original work?
-
-
Web 2.0 is creating a “digital forest of mediocrity” and substituting ill-informed speculation for genuine expertise;
-
Mr. Johnson added that the book’s migration to the digital realm will turn the solitary act of reading — “a direct exchange between author and reader” — into something far more social and suggested that as online chatter about books grows, “the unity of the book will disperse into a multitude of pages and paragraphs vying for Google’s attention.”
- ...5 more annotations...
Education Week's Digital Directions: Educators Move Beyond the Hype Over Skype - 52 views
-
-
-
-
Some, such as brian Crosby have done this. http://learningismessy.com/blog/?p=196
-
- ...3 more annotations...
The Basics of APA Style - 87 views
Common Core Curriculum Maps | - 215 views
-
-
-
Moreover, once students have memorized a poem, they are able to carry it with them everywhere. It becomes part of their lives.
- ...4 more annotations...
Social Networking as a Tool for Student and Teacher Learning - 52 views
-
Online social networking includes much more than Facebook and Twitter. It is any online use of technology to connect people, enable them to collaborate with each other, and form virtual communities, says the Young Adult Library Services Association
-
Among students surveyed in a National School Boards Association study, 96 percent of those with online access reported using social networking, and half said they use it to discuss schoolwork. Despite this prevalence in everyday life, schools have been hesitant to adopt social networking as an education tool. A 2010 study into principals’ attitudes found that “schools are one of the last holdouts,” with many banning the most popular social networking sites for students and sometimes for staff.
-
Survey research confirms, however, that interest in harnessing social networking for educational purposes is high. As reported in School Principals and Social Networking in Education: Practices, Policies and Realities in 2010, a national survey of 1,200 principals, teachers and librarians found that most agreed that social networking sites can help educators share information and resources, create professional learning communities and improve schoolwide communications with students and staff. Those who had used social networks were more positive about potential benefits than those who had not. In an online discussion with 12 of the principals surveyed, most said, “social networking and online collaboration tools would make a substantive change in students’ educational experience.” They said these tools could improve student motivation and engagement, help students develop a more social/collaborative view of learning and create a connection to real-life learning.
- ...1 more annotation...
I really enjoyed doing this. - 6 views
I really enjoyed doing the research and writing for the project. It is interesting to see all the applications of social bookmarking and social networking in education. Webcasting and blogging ar...
Hiding the Sausage - 60 views
-
-
“Really, it’s not that much different than the way things have already worked for a while,” says Brad Ashwell, Florida Public Interest Research Group’s democracy and consumer advocate. “It’s the same thing as it always was, only now they have more top-down planning, more corporate structure around.”
-
- ...7 more annotations...
Digitally Speaking / Blogging - 169 views
-
Using Feed Readers
Feed readers are probably the most important digital tool for today's learner because they make sifting through the amazing amount of content added to the Internet easy. Also known as aggregators, feed readers are free tools that can automatically check nearly any website for new content dozens of times a day---saving ridiculous amounts of time and customizing learning experiences for anyone.
Imagine never having to go hunting for new information from your favorite sources again. Learning goes from a frustrating search through thousands of marginal links written by questionable characters to quickly browsing the thoughts of writers that you trust, respect and enjoy.
Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?
It's not! Here's a Commoncraft tutorial explaining RSS Feeds in Plain English:
Feed readers can quickly and easily support blogging in the classroom, allowing teachers to provide students with ready access to age-appropriate sites of interest that are connected to the curriculum. By collecting sites in advance and organizing them with a feed reader, teachers can make accessing information manageable for their students.
Here are several examples of feed readers in action:
Student Blogs
http://www.pageflakes.com/wferriter/20982438
This feed list includes several elementary, middle and high school blogs that students can explore during silent reading or while online at home.
Current Events
http://www.pageflakes.com/wferriter/16714925
This feed list includes links to several news websites that cover topics that are a part of one teacher's required social studies curriculum.
Global Warming
http://www.pageflakes.com/wferriter/22534539
Used specifically as a part of one classroom project, this feed list contains information related to global warming that students can use as a starting point for individual research.
While there are literally dozens of different feed reader programs to choose from (Bloglines and Google Reader are two biggies), Pageflakes is a favorite of many educators because it has a visual layout that is easy to read and interesting to look at. It is also free and web-based. That means that users can check accounts from any computer with an Internet connection. Finally, Pageflakes makes it quick and easy to add new websites to a growing feed list—and to get rid of any websites that users are no longer interested in.
What's even better: Pageflakes has been developing a teacher version of their tool just for us that includes an online grade tracker, a task list and a built in writing tutor. As Pageflakes works to perfect its teacher product, this might become one of the first kid-friendly feed readers on the market. Teacher Pageflakes users can actually blog and create a discussion forum directly in their feed reader---making an all-in-one digital home for students.
For more information about the teacher version of Pageflakes, check out this review:
http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/the_tempered_radical/2008/02/pageflakes-for.html
For more information on using feed readers to organize and manage information, check out this handout:
Thesis Boot Camp | Research Degree Voodoo - 61 views
50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom | TeachHUB - 77 views
-
Summarize. At the conclusion of each lecture, ask students to type a 140-character or less summary of what they have learned
-
Set up a foreign language news stream. Keep foreign language students informed of current events from relevant nations while simultaneously challenging them to use their translation skills by keeping a specific news feed.
-
Typing keywords into Twitter’s search engine wields every microblog entry on the subject, providing an excellent way for students to research ideas,
- ...1 more annotation...
20 Ways to Provide Effective Feedback to Your Students ~ Educational Technology and Mob... - 215 views
-
-
-
Utilize this strategy when grading papers or tests. This strategy allows you the necessary time to provide quality, written feedback.
- ...5 more annotations...
-
Free OpenSource Dyslexia Font - OpenDyslexic - 67 views
Digital Natives: Do They Really THINK Differently? - 41 views
-
by Marc Prensky Our children today are being socialized in a way that is vastly different from their parents. The numbers are overwhelming: over 10,000 hours playing videogames, over 200,000 emails and instant messages sent and received; over 10,000 hours talking on digital cell phones; over 20,000 hours watching TV (a high percentage fast speed MTV), over 500,000 commercials seen-all before the kids leave college. And, maybe, at the very most, 5,000 hours of book reading. These are today's ―Digital Native‖ students. 1 In Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants: Part I, I discussed how the differences between our Digital Native students and their Digital Immigrant teachers lie at the root of a great many of today's educational problems. I suggested that Digital Natives' brains are likely physically different as a result of the digital input they received growing up. And I submitted that learning via digital games is one good way to reach Digital Natives in their ―native language.‖ Here I present evidence for why I think this is so. It comes from neurobiology, social psychology, and from studies done on children using games for learning.
-
by Marc Prensky Our children today are being socialized in a way that is vastly different from their parents. The numbers are overwhelming: over 10,000 hours playing videogames, over 200,000 emails and instant messages sent and received; over 10,000 hours talking on digital cell phones; over 20,000 hours watching TV (a high percentage fast speed MTV), over 500,000 commercials seen-all before the kids leave college. And, maybe, at the very most, 5,000 hours of book reading. These are today's ―Digital Native‖ students. 1 In Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants: Part I, I discussed how the differences between our Digital Native students and their Digital Immigrant teachers lie at the root of a great many of today's educational problems. I suggested that Digital Natives' brains are likely physically different as a result of the digital input they received growing up. And I submitted that learning via digital games is one good way to reach Digital Natives in their ―native language.‖ Here I present evidence for why I think this is so. It comes from neurobiology, social psychology, and from studies done on children using games for learning.
-
Hi. I wrote a paper about digital natives as part of an anthropology assignment for a doctoral course. Researchers from around the world have empirically proven that Prensky's theories are false. Additionally, while neuroscience has shown that brains do change as a result of neuroplasticity, to argue that it is generational is also a false claim. Though cognitive theory shows that learners bring their prior experiences to the interpretation of new educational opportunities - impacting attention and interpretation - all generations have had this occur. There is merit to the point that we should take learner's prior experience into consideration when designing instruction; however, Prensky's digital native claims may have done more to create tension between students and teachers than to provide instructional support. If you would like any of the scholarly studies, I have a published reference list at http://brholland.com/reference-list. Beth
Opinion | Steve Jobs Was Right: Smartphones and Tablets Killed the P.C. - The New York ... - 6 views
-
-
they’re productivity dream machines
-
keyboard is better and more durable
- ...5 more annotations...
"Can't We Just Change the Words?": EBSCOhost - 1 views
-
The idea of wanting to be true to the music of a culture, to the people of that culture, and to one's students in teaching is at the heart of the discussion of authenticity.
-
However, teaching music without attention to its cultural context is a problem in several respects: it risks misrepresenting the musical practice being studied, it fails to take advantage of the potential benefits of culturally infused music teaching, and it promotes a conception of music as isolated sonic events rather than meaningful human practices.2 Discussion about this struggle to balance accurate performance practice with accessibility has focused on the concept of authenticity
-
The definitions of authenticity represented in the music education literature fall into four models: the continuum model; the twofold historical/personal model; the threefold reproduction, reality, and relevance model; and the moving-beyond-authenticity model.
- ...10 more annotations...