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This paper focuses on storytelling as a research tool for social sciences, especially for cultural anthropology. After a short review of the main methodological tools traditionally used in ethnography, with particular regard to observation and interview, we focus on collecting and crafting stories (ethnotelling) as suitable tools for conveying the relational nature of fieldwork. Drawing on the works of Orr, Chipchase, Marradi and Adwan/Bar-on, we show how stories – collected, mediated or made up – are valuable tools for representing experiences and identities. As a result, we suggest a different approach to user-experience design, based on the creation of "thick" environments enabling a whole range of possibilities, where users can imagine or live their own user-generated experiences.

"hat Are the Disadvantages of Online Schooling for Higher Education? Today, online schooling for higher education is prevalent across many fields. While there are several benefits to online schooling, such as flexibility and convenience, there are also real and perceived disadvantages. Explore some of the potential drawbacks of online learning. View 10 Popular Schools » Online Schooling In 2012, about a quarter of undergraduate college students were enrolled in distance education courses as part -- if not all -- of their studies, according to a 2014 report from the National Center for Education Statistics. That same data found that 29.8% of graduate students in this country are enrolled in some or all distance learning classes as well. A 2013 report from Babson Survey Research Group and Quahog Research Group, LLC, pointed out that approximately 86.5% of higher education institutions offer distance learning classes. Clearly, online schooling is commonplace. Disadvantages: Student Perspective Despite advantages, online schooling is not the right fit for every student. Taking online courses is generally believed to require more self-discipline than completing a degree on campus, a belief that is supported by SCHEV -- the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Because online schooling options often allow students to complete much of the coursework at their own pace, students must be motivated to stay on schedule and manage their time accordingly. Other potential disadvantages from a student's viewpoint may include the following: Less Instructional Support Although instructors are available to students via e-mail, telephone, Web discussion boards and other online means, some students may see the lack of face-to-face interaction and one-on-one instruction as a challenge. A lack of communication or miscommunication between instructors and students may frustrate students who are struggling with course materials. That could be exacerbated by the casual nature

For educators, parents and learners Carol Dweck's research on the benefits of a Growth Mindset is naturally appealing. Those who have a growth mindset achieve better results than those who don't, are more resilient and accept challenge willingly. After two years of incorporating a growth mindset philosophy we are finding that the reality of shifting a student's disposition away from a fixed mindset and then maintaining a growth mindset is significantly more complex than at first imagined.

Teaching is by nature a high energy profession that demands a lot and while their is much to celebrate there is arena danger of burnout. Taking some time to relax and de-stress is important as is noticing the signs that you are reaching your limit. For all teachers understanding that a break and a change of schedule benefits not just you but your students too can be the catalyst for granting yourself permission for a genuine break.

As a teacher, how do you react when one student (or a small minority) dominate discussion and class debate? Do you step in to include the rest of the group or just let the one-sided rhetoric run its natural course? If you intervene, what is the usua…

"Debating societies may seem to be the preserve of Oxbridge and private schools, but there is a place for debating in classrooms everywhere, argues Gemma Jones Debating societies may seem to be the preserve of Oxbridge and private schools, but there is a place for debating in classrooms everywhere. From 'Why William Won the Battle of Hastings' to 'causes of the First World War', history is a natural subject to use debates to deepen knowledge in lessons. However, across the curriculum there is scope to engage the pupils in a structured debate to challenge misconceptions, structure arguments and encourage independent study. Additionally, participating in debates can develop confidence and public speaking skills."

Now that Google Drive has built file storage into your Google account, it's only natural that you'd like it to play nicely with your other Google apps. With a few tricks, it can-at least with your Gmail account. 

Download free textbooks online: Bookboon's free online textbooks for students are focused and to the point. They are all written by highly respected professors from top universities in the world and cover topics such as economics, statistics, IT, engineering and natural science.

"How do we know it's not a natural cycle?" 

Young people are often characterised as cyberkids in reference to an assumed intense engagement and natural affinity with the internet. This article critiques the empirical basis for such claims and explores two alternative perspectives: namely, continua of use and typologies of use. Using UK data on 12-15 year old home internet users, a series of descriptive and latent class analyses of young people's internet use is presented. Results show there is little support for cyberkid characterisations and a proposed continuum of use is also shown to not fit the data. A three-way typology of use is instead presented which suggests a third of young home internet users make only limited use of the internet and the remaining two-thirds diverge into informational and creational/communicative users. These findings are used to argue that Mannheim's notion of generational units may be a useful way to characterise young people's internet use.

"The will to learn is an intrinsic motive, one that finds both its source and its reward in its own exercise. The will to learn becomes a 'problem' only under specialized circumstances like those of a school, where a curriculum is set, students confined and a path fixed. The problem exists not so much in learning itself, but in the fact that what the school imposes often fails to enlist the natural energies that sustain spontaneous learning (Bruner, 1966, p. 127)."

Nice nature of science activities for the classroom. 

A UK site which encourages exploration and outdoor activities by setting missions ranging from finding or photographing things from nature to going pond dipping to write reports about a location. Earn points for each mission completed. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/PSHE%2C+RE%2C+Citizenship%2C+Geography+%26+Environmental

Using responses from more than 2,800 colleges and universities, this study is aimed at answering fundamental questions about the nature and extent of online education: Download 45 page pdf

Who Knew!

"How do fast-paced video games affect the brain? Step into the lab with cognitive researcher Daphne Bavelier to hear surprising news about how video games, even action-packed shooter games, can help us learn, focus and, fascinatingly, multitask. Daphne Bavelier studies how the brain adapts to changes in experience, either by nature or by training."

"The lack of interest in math or natural sciences is one of the most frequently voiced causes for concern in the debate surrounding education, at least in Germany. It has been seen time and again that pupils lose their enthusiasm for physics, chemistry and math once they reach eighth or ninth grade. But is this inevitable? And if not, how can teachers steer a different course?"