Interesting article about lessons that can be learned from non-American educational systems. This article focuses primarily on the educational systems in Finland, with an emphasis on teacher autonomy.
Dr. Barrett's (n.d.) webpage presents an introduction to the types of ePortfolios in a learner-centered approach. The website requires cognitive activity and capitalizes on the use of multimedia to present the essential content; and it does so following instructional design principles as recommended by Mayer (2009). Beginning with an anticipatory set to activate the learner's prior knowledge, the lesson page begins by asking learners to think about their own personal use of portfolios. Immediately following, the essential material elements are presented in a cartoon image, capitalizing on the benefits of dual coding (Mayer, Id.), using both images and key words to help learners pay attention and select appropriate information. The image also relies on spatial contiguity (Mayer, Id.) in its presentation format. This webpage itself would fit into Mayer's (Id.) use of multimedia as "information acquisition." However, coupled with a reflective activity, learners would be able to make more integrated sense of the types of portfolios available and which types would be most suited for their particular needs.
References:
Barrett, H. (n.d.). ePortfolios and Google Apps. [Webpage]. Retrieved from http://sites.google.com/site/eportfolioapps/overview/blog-entry-eportfolios-and-googleapps
Mayer, R. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Dr. Barrett's (n.d.) webpage presents an introduction to the types of ePortfolios in a learner-centered approach. The website requires cognitive activity and capitalizes on the use of multimedia to present the essential content; and it does so following instructional design principles as recommended by Mayer (2009). Beginning with an anticipatory set to activate the learner's prior knowledge, the lesson page begins by asking learners to think about their own personal use of portfolios. Immediately following, the essential material elements are presented in a cartoon image, capitalizing on the benefits of dual coding (Mayer, Id.), using both images and key words to help learners pay attention and select appropriate information. The image also relies on spatial contiguity (Mayer, Id.) in its presentation format. This webpage itself would fit into Mayer's (Id.) use of multimedia as "information acquisition." However, coupled with a reflective activity, learners would be able to make more integrated sense of the types of portfolios available and which types would be most suited for their particular needs.
References:
Barrett, H. (n.d.). ePortfolios and Google Apps. [Webpage]. Retrieved from http://sites.google.com/site/eportfolioapps/overview/blog-entry-eportfolios-and-googleapps
Mayer, R. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
"Life is filled with chaos, and we have to learn how to work and solve problems in the midst of it every day. These interactive lessons give you the opportunity to experience these daily challenges without real-world consequences."
Blueback is a beautiful metaphor for life and particularly of the life we live in schools. When looked at close up, with an eye on the details, the experience of school is one of passing and recurring cycles. When looked at from a distance, with an eye on the whole, there are elements of constancy, the throughlines which bring meaning to our experience and which have as their consequence the residuals of education.
Great lesson ideas for integrating math and CS to encourage students to invest in their math learning and their CS. Super great work in Moundsview Chippewa Middle School!
There are some ideas which seem to translate nicely into fields of thought far from their point of origin. These are ideas which shine a metaphorical light on concepts and allow us to develop a deeper understanding of that concept once we see it from a fresh perspective. Schrödinger's Cat is one such idea.
After eight years of engaging our students with a Personal Passion Project during Term Four we shifted to a 'Genius Hour' model for 2015. In the end the results from the students were impressive but along the way some lessons were learned and we are looking forward to making some minor tweaks for 2016 that should further enhance the learning opportunities.
"Let's start by agreeing that scaffolding a lesson and differentiating instruction are two different things. Scaffolding is breaking up the learning into chunks and then providing a tool, or structure, with each chunk. When scaffolding reading, for example, you might preview the text and discuss key vocabulary, or chunk the text and read and discuss as you go. With differentiation, you may give a child an entirely different piece of text to read, you might shorten the text or alter it, and you may modify the writing assignment that follows."