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Use 99stats.com to spot trends and create fresh content that will attract more readers to Your Website. Gain rich insights into Your Website Traffic so that You can optimize Your marketing effectiveness.

Copyright "rights for the user" champion and author, Cory Doctorow, reports on efforts to guarantee rights for the blind and others with reading disabilities to gain access to the printed word. It's happening at the UN's World Organization for Intellectual Property, and it's the first time they are working on rights for copyright USERS in addition to copyright HOLDERS. Read about how U.S. negotiators have opposed this protection for disabled. It's an important issue for educators worldwide, but especially for those in the U.S., whose copyright law has been written to strongly favor corporate interests.

UPDATED INFO!! - The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education helps educators gain confidence about their rights to use copyrighted materials in developing students' critical thinking and communication skills.

The Digital Citizenship and Creative Content program is a free, turnkey instructional program. The goal is to create an awareness of the rights connected with creative content. Because only through education can students gain an understanding of the relevance of and a personal respect for creative rights and grow to become good digital citizens.

This paper explores the role that notemaking strategies can play as part of an emancipatory pedagogy designed to empower students. We will argue that being taught active notemaking is fundamental in enabling students to use information with confidence and thus that notemaking allows students to gain a voice (Bowl, 2005; Burns et al., 2006) within their own education. Rather than taking a psychological approach to notemaking, we suggest that notemaking allows students to take ownership of ideas and concepts in powerful ways (Gibbs, 1994 cited Burns and Sinfield, 2004), ways that reinforce understanding and build knowledge. These processes and practices can essentially help students to learn what they want to learn - and, pragmatically, to write essays that are adequately researched and correctly referenced (Burns and Sinfield, 2004). The final focus will be on the collaborative development of NoteMaker, a Reusable Learning Object (RLO) designed for use across the university - and across the sector.

C. Grathwohl argues that Wikipedia plays a vital middle layer of authority for students conducting pre-research; scholars, he says, should work to assure that links in Wikipeida lead students to more advanced research that's been validated by the academic community.

Nationally representative samples of more than 7,000 4th graders, 11,000 8th graders, 12,000 12th graders participated in the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in U.S. History. Summary: Lowest performing 4th graders make greatest gain from 1994 + scores incr since 2006 for male as well as for Black and Hispanic 8th graders Avg scores for 8th & 12 graders increase from 1994 Less than 1/4 of students perform at or above Proficient level in 2010

A useful site that allow you to upload text files, images, PDFs, Microsoft Office and other files and view them in real time with other people on the web. Each user's mouse cursor can be seen on the viewer and you can communicate using the chat tool. No sing up or log in required and you share and gain access to the file with a url link. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+&+Web+Tools

research on SRI, gains, 

Sociology and foreign languages at the top of undergraduate majors if you are interested in seeing gains in critical thinking skills in higher ed - could be some pedagogical models for folks in the natural sciences to emulate since they were at the bottom!

"Conversation is key . Sawyer succinctly explains this principle: "Conversation leads to flow, and flow leads to creativity." When having students work in groups, consider what will spark rich conversation. The original researcher on flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, found that rich conversation precedes and ignites flow more than any other activity.1 Tasks that require (or force) interaction lead to richer collaborative conceptualization. Set a clear but open-ended goal . Groups produce the richest ideas when they have a goal that will focus their interaction but also has fluid enough boundaries to allow for creativity. This is a challenge we often overlook. As teachers, we often have an idea of what a group's final product should look like (or sound like, or…). If we put students into groups to produce a predetermined outcome, we prevent creative thinking from finding an entry point. Try not announcing time limits. As teachers we often use a time limit as a "motivator" that we hope will keep group work focused. In reality, this may be a major detractor from quality group work. Deadlines, according to Sawyer, tend to impede flow and produce lower quality results. Groups produce their best work in low-pressure situations. Without a need to "keep one eye on the clock," the group's focus can be fully given to the task. Do not appoint a group "leader." In research studies, supervisors, or group leaders, tend to subvert flow unless they participate as an equal, listening and allowing the group's thoughts and decisions to guide the interaction. Keep it small. Groups with the minimum number of members that are needed to accomplish a task are more efficient and effective. Consider weaving together individual and group work. For additive tasks-tasks in whicha group is expectedtoproduce a list, adding one idea to another-research suggests that better results develop

COURSE OBJECTIVES: This is a graded internship that allows you to integrate your own coursework with a hands-on service learning experience. The central objective of this course is to provide students with community experiences and reflection opportunities that examine community needs, the importance of civic engagement, and social justice issues affecting ethnic minorities and marginalized populations in contemporary American society. Students dedicate 70 hours at a pre-approved site (including Title I K-12 schools, youth programs, health services, social services, environmental programs, government agencies, etc.) directly serving a population in need or supporting activities that contribute to the greater good of our community. A weekly seminar, course readings, discussions, and reflection assignments facilitate critical thinking and a deeper understanding of cultural diversity, citizenship, and how to contribute to positive social change in our community. The course is also designed to provide "real-world" experiences that exercise academic skills and knowledge applicable to each student‟s program of study and career exploration. STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Student will be introduced to essential skills associated with their baccalaureate studies to actively serve the local community. While completing this in-depth study of cultural diversity, citizenship and social justice issues facing our community, students will gain an understanding of the value of Social Embeddedness and the importance of incorporating civic engagement into their collegiate careers, as they strive to become civically engaged students. Students will be introduced to inequalities, discrimination, and other community issues facing ethnic minorities and marginalized populations, as well as the correlation with greater societal issues. INTERNSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES:  Service hours - 70 hours of community outreach (spread throughout the semester in which you are enrolled in the course)

Great tool for distance learning if you want to have students responding as you are presenting. Also good for in class 1-1 settings. That's what it is designed for however, it becomes a question of whether or not you gain what you want by having a silent class simply responding on their screens. Google for login is required but integrates with Google apps, upload ppt. or create your own within pear deck

"There is a wealth of video content available online that can help the teaching and learning process, but some of the main issues of using online content within the classroom include inappropriate advertising, inappropriate recommendations, and the dreaded school firewall or slow internet connection. Yet, gaining access to such video content can really help to explain certain concepts, with opportunities to include footage, clips or teaching points in the lesson."

"There's a good reason why universities have spent the last few years dedicating precious resources and time to fostering a collaborative learning environment. Students who are encouraged to participate in discussions, work cooperatively in small-group settings, and actively engage with their peers are believed to gain not only the cognitive skills needed to survive in the professional workplace but also the interpersonal ones needed to thrive. And for many, the approach seems to be working. But is it working for all students?"

Some statements stand out in your memory for the power with which they resonate through you mind. I recall the first time I encountered the question posed by Alan November "Who owns the learning?" on the cover of his book of the same name. In four words, Alan poses a question that strikes at the heart of education and encourages us to re-think our approach. If we believe that the learner should own the learning, what are the implications of this for our teaching? Like a stone dropped on the surface of a calm pond, the ripples from a powerful idea spread, expand and gain strength. 

"As you will see below you can do very little without gaining express permission, yet if you are clear about how you will use the data and strictly adhere to this, in addition to evidencing this permission, you can do so much."