When I go out of the house for a walk,
uncertain as yet whither I will bend my steps, and submit myself to my
instinct to decide for me, I find, strange and whimsical as it may seem,
that I finally and inevitably settle south-west,
toward some particular wood or meadow or deserted pasture or hill in that
direction. My needle is slow to settle—varies a few degrees, and does not
always point due south-west, it is true, and it has good authority for
this variation, but it always settles between west and south-south-west.
The future lies that way to me, and the earth seems more unexhausted and
richer on that side. The outline which would bound my walks, would be,
not a circle, but a parabola, or rather like one of those cometary orbits,
which have been thought to be non-returning curves, in this case opening
westward, in which my house occupies the place of the sun. I turn round
and round irresolute sometimes for a quarter of an hour, until I decide
for the thousandth time, that I will walk into the south-west or west.
Eastward I go only by force; but westward I go free.
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Thoreau - Walking - Webtext - 41 views
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I must walk toward Oregon, and not toward Europe. And that way the nation is moving, and I may say that mankind progress from east to west.
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Seating Chart Maker - Seating Chart Maker - 149 views
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Seating Chart Maker is an application that can help you get all your students where they belong. Whether it's a child with vision issues who needs to be in the front of the class, or those two kids who just cannot be allowed to sit next to each other-too much talking or too much fighting-this tool can help you spend less time figuring out the classroom logistics and more time teaching your students what they need to know. And isn't that really why you teach? Written by the spouse of a teacher, Seating Chart Maker runs under Windows and is a free download.
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Stop Motion Studio - 36 views
ukedchat.com/...stop-motion-studio
video animation stop motion iOS iOS app Android Android App Apple Apple app
shared by Martin Burrett on 20 Aug 16
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Parse Tree Editor - 19 views
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Syntax Tree Editor (Free: Windows Only) a utility for drawing syntax tree diagrams. A syntax tree diagram is a visual representation of the structure of a sentence. The people who most often need to draw these diagrams are linguists, and the Syntax Tree Editor is designed with the needs of linguists in mind. Syntax Tree Editor can be freely downloaded and should work on any computer running a reasonably recent version of the Windows operating system (XP, Vista, 7).
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I found ONE! :) Still no Apple, though. Searching, searching, searching.
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The Future of College? - The Atlantic - 29 views
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proprietary online platform developed to apply pedagogical practices that have been studied and vetted by one of the world’s foremost psychologists, a former Harvard dean named Stephen M. Kosslyn, who joined Minerva in 2012.
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Minerva class extended no refuge for the timid, nor privilege for the garrulous. Within seconds, every student had to provide an answer, and Bonabeau displayed our choices so that we could be called upon to defend them.
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subjecting us to pop quizzes, cold calls, and pedagogical tactics that during an in-the-flesh seminar would have taken precious minutes of class time to arrange.
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felt decidedly unlike a normal classroom. For one thing, it was exhausting: a continuous period of forced engagement, with no relief in the form of time when my attention could flag
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One educational psychologist, Ludy Benjamin, likens lectures to Velveeta cheese—something lots of people consume but no one considers either delicious or nourishing.)
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adically remake one of the most sclerotic sectors of the U.S. economy, one so shielded from the need for improvement that its biggest innovation in the past 30 years has been to double its costs and hire more administrators at higher salaries.
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Lectures, Kosslyn says, are cost-effective but pedagogically unsound. “A great way to teach, but a terrible way to learn.”
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Minerva boast is that it will strip the university experience down to the aspects that are shown to contribute directly to student learning. Lectures, gone. Tenure, gone. Gothic architecture, football, ivy crawling up the walls—gone, gone, gone.
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“Your cash cow is the lecture, and the lecture is over,” he told a gathering of deans. “The lecture model ... will be obliterated.”
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One imagines tumbleweeds rolling through abandoned quads and wrecking balls smashing through the windows of classrooms left empty by students who have plugged into new online platforms.
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Liberal-arts education is about developing the intellectual capacity of the individual, and learning to be a productive member of society. And you cannot do that without a curriculum.”
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“The freshman year [as taught at traditional schools] should not exist,” Nelson says, suggesting that MOOCs can teach the basics. “Do your freshman year at home.”) Instead, Minerva’s first-year classes are designed to inculcate what Nelson calls “habits of mind” and “foundational concepts,” which are the basis for all sound systematic thought. In a science class, for example, students should develop a deep understanding of the need for controlled experiments. In a humanities class, they need to learn the classical techniques of rhetoric and develop basic persuasive skills. The curriculum then builds from that foundation.
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Subsidies, Nelson says, encourage universities to enroll even students who aren’t likely to thrive, and to raise tuition, since federal money is pegged to costs.
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We have numerous sound, reproducible experiments that tell us how people learn, and what teachers can do to improve learning.” Some of the studies are ancient, by the standards of scientific research—and yet their lessons are almost wholly ignored.
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ask a student to explain a concept she has been studying, the very act of articulating it seems to lodge it in her memory. Forcing students to guess the answer to a problem, and to discuss their answers in small groups, seems to make them understand the problem better—even if they guess wrong.
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e traditional concept of “cognitive styles”—visual versus aural learners, those who learn by doing versus those who learn by studying—is muddled and wrong.
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pedagogical best practices Kosslyn has identified have been programmed into the Minerva platform so that they are easy for professors to apply. They are not only easy, in fact, but also compulsory, and professors will be trained intensively in how to use the platform.
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a pop quiz at the beginning of a class and (if the students are warned in advance) another one at a random moment later in the class greatly increases the durability of what is learned.
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he could have alerted colleagues to best practices, but they most likely would have ignored them. “The classroom time is theirs, and it is sacrosanct,
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Minerva’s model, Nelson says, will flourish in part because it will exploit free online content, rather than trying to compete with it, as traditional universities do.
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certain functions of universities have simply become less relevant as information has become more ubiquitous
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MOOCs will continue to get better, until eventually no one will pay Duke or Johns Hopkins for the possibility of a good lecture, when Coursera offers a reliably great one, with hundreds of thousands of five-star ratings, for free.
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It took deep concentration,” he said. “It’s not some lecture class where you can just click ‘record’ on your tape.”
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part of the process of education happens not just through good pedagogy but by having students in places where they see the scholars working and plying their trades.”
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“hydraulic metaphor” of education—the idea that the main task of education is to increase the flow of knowledge into the student—an “old fallacy.”
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I remembered what I was like as a teenager headed off to college, so ignorant of what college was and what it could be, and so reliant on the college itself to provide what I’d need in order to get a good education.
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it is designed to convey not just information, as most MOOCs seem to, but whole mental tool kits that help students become morethoughtful citizens.
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for all the high-minded talk of liberal education— of lighting fires and raising thoughtful citizens—is really just a credential, or an entry point to an old-boys network that gets you your first job and your first lunch with the machers at your alumni club.
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Its seminar platform will challenge professors to stop thinking they’re using technology just because they lecture with PowerPoint.
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professors and students increasingly separated geographically, mediated through technology that alters the nature of the student-teacher relationship
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The idea that college will in two decades look exactly as it does today increasingly sounds like the forlorn, fingers-crossed hope of a higher-education dinosaur that retirement comes before extinction.
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The Mindset List: 2017 List - 89 views
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As their parents held them as infants, they may have wondered whether it was the baby or Windows 95 that had them more excited.
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As they slept safely in their cribs, the Oklahoma City bomber and the Unabomber were doing their deadly work.
FreeApps Download, All Must-have Free Apps in One Click | FreeNew - 91 views
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Share More! Wiki » Anthology/Slide Thinkfinity into the Curriculum with Diigo... - 92 views
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To plan out my WebSlides above, I followed this process: Wrote a short narrative for the introduction Created a List in Diigo so that I could save my bookmarks to it while bookmarking the web pages I would use. Actually Bookmarked the web pages that I would use, making sure to highlight and add comments about parts I wanted to call attention to, as well as check the box that said ADD TO LIST and choosing the list I wanted to save bookmarks to. Recorded my audio using Audacity (free audio recorder that works on Windows, Mac and GNU/Linux computers) Viewed the MyList page and clicked on WebSlides, then clicked on the preferences to upload my audio. Adjusted the duration of the slides to match my narration. Relaxed and enjoyed the audio narrated WebSlide. Be sure to share your examples of educational Diigo WebSlides!
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Using Groups Effectively: 10 Principles « The Window - 172 views
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Having students work in groups reaps a bounty of benefits, including boosting students’ social skills and upping the number of “happy campers” in the classroom.
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As with every aspect of teaching, using groups effectively requires mindful planning and attention to more than who works with whom.
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Putting people into groups isn’t a magical dust that makes everyone more creative. It has to be the right kind of group, and the group has to match the task
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"I recently attended a conference session featuring Keith .. an expert on the effectiveness of group efforts. His presentation focused on what has been and potentially can be accomplished through collaboration, but he hinted that just getting people into groups is not the answer. .. Though his focus is on creativity, I think Sawyer's insights apply to our use of groups to foster learning. Here are ten principles I've picked up:"
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What Happened to Downtime? The Extinction of Deep Thinking & Sacred Space :: Articles :... - 63 views
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When you're rushing to a solution, your mind will jump to the easiest and most familiar path. But when you allow yourself to just look out the window for 10 minutes – and ponder – your brain will start working in a more creative way. It will grasp ideas from unexpected places. It's this very sort of unconscious creativity that leads to great thinking. When you're driving or showering, you're letting your mind wander because you don’t have to focus on anything in particular. If you do carve out some time for unobstructed thinking, be sure to free yourself from any specific intent.
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There is no better mental escape from our tech-charged world than the act of meditation. If only for 15 minutes, the ability to steer your mind away from constant stimulation is downright liberating. There are various kinds of meditation. Some forms require you to think about nothing and completely clear your mind. (This is quite hard, at least for me.) Other forms of meditation are about focusing on one specific thing - often your breath, or a mantra that you repeat in your head (or out loud) for 10-15 minutes. At first, any sort of meditation will feel like a chore. But with practice, it will become an energizing exercise.
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There is no better mental escape from our tech-charged world than the act of meditation. If only for 15 minutes, the ability to steer your mind away from constant stimulation is downright liberating. There are various kinds of meditation. Some forms require you to think about nothing and completely clear your mind. (This is quite hard, at least for me.) Other forms of meditation are about focusing on one specific thing - often your breath, or a mantra that you repeat in your head (or out loud) for 10-15 minutes. At first, any sort of meditation will feel like a chore. But with practice, it will become an energizing exercise.
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CustomGuide - Free Computer Training Quick References, Cheat Sheets - 63 views
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ADD / ADHD and School: Helping Children with ADHD Succeed at School - 2 views
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Kids with attention deficit disorder respond best to specific goals and daily positive reinforcement—as well as worthwhile rewards. Yes, you may have to hang a carrot on a stick to get your child to behave better in class. Create a plan that incorporates small rewards for small victories and larger rewards for bigger accomplishments.
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Alternate seated activities with those that allow the child to move his or her body around the room. Whenever possible, incorporate physical movement into lessons.
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Write important information down where the child can easily read and reference it. Remind the student where the information can be found. Divide big assignments into smaller ones, and allow children frequent breaks.
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Develop a “secret language” with the child with ADD/ADHD. You can use discreet gestures or words you have previously agreed upon to let the child know they are interrupting. Praise the child for interruption-free conversations.
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consequences immediately following misbehavior. Be specific in your explanation, making sure the child knows how they misbehaved.
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Recognize good behavior out loud. Be specific in your praise, making sure the child knows what they did right.
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Provide a stress ball, small toy, or other object for the child to squeeze or play with discreetly at his or her seat.
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Read to children. Read with children. Make reading cozy, quality time with you. Make predictions or “bets.” Constantly ask the child what they think might happen next. Model prediction: “The girl in the story seems pretty brave—I bet she’s going to try to save her family.” Act out the story. Let the child choose his or her character and assign you one, too. Use funny voices and costumes to bring it to life.
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If you understand how your child with ADD/ADHD learns best, you can create enjoyable lessons that pack an informational punch.
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Establish a homework folder for finished homework. Check and help the child organize his or her belongings on a daily basis, including his or her backpack, folders, and even pockets. If possible, keep an extra set of textbooks and other materials at home. Help the child learn to make and use checklists, crossing items off as they are accomplished. Help organize loose papers by color coding folders and showing the child how to hole-punch and file appropriately.
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Allow the child breaks as often as every ten to twenty minutes. Teach a better understanding of the passage of time: use an analog clock and timers to monitor homework efficiency.
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Neurological deficits, not unwillingness, keep kids with attention deficit disorder from learning in traditional ways.
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If you can work with and support your child’s teacher, you can directly affect the experience of your child with ADD/ADHD in the classroom.