"AUTHOR: ISSIE LAPOWSKY. ISSIE LAPOWSKY DATE OF PUBLICATION: 05.04.15.
05.04.15
TIME OF PUBLICATION: 7:00 AM.
7:00 AM
INSIDE THE SCHOOL SILICON VALLEY THINKS WILL SAVE EDUCATION
Click to Open Overlay Gallery
Students in the youngest class at the Fort Mason AltSchool help their teacher, Jennifer Aguilar, compile a list of what they know and what they want to know about butterflies. CHRISTIE HEMM KLOK/WIRED
SO YOU'RE A parent, thinking about sending your 7-year-old to this rogue startup of a school you heard about from your friend's neighbor's sister. It's prospective parent information day, and you make the trek to San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood. You walk up to the second floor of the school, file into a glass-walled conference room overlooking a classroom, and take a seat alongside dozens of other parents who, like you, feel that public schools-with their endless bubble-filled tests, 38-kid classrooms, and antiquated approach to learning-just aren't cutting it.
At the same time, you're thinking: this school is kind of weird.
On one side of the glass is a cheery little scene, with two teachers leading two different middle school lessons on opposite ends of the room. But on the other side is something altogether unusual: an airy and open office with vaulted ceilings, sunlight streaming onto low-slung couches, and rows of hoodie-wearing employees typing away on their computers while munching on free snacks from the kitchen. And while you can't quite be sure, you think that might be a robot on wheels roaming about.
Then there's the guy who's standing at the front of the conference room, the school's founder. Dressed in the San Francisco standard issue t-shirt and jeans, he's unlike any school administrator you've ever met. But the more he talks about how this school uses technology to enhance and individualize education, the more you start to like what he has to say.
And so, if you are truly fed up with the school stat
Web application(networked studentcomponent)
Tool usedin test case
Student activitylevel of structure
Social bookmarking (RSS)
Delicioushttp://delicious.com/
Set up the account
Subscribe to each others accounts
Bookmark and read 10 reliable websites that reflect the content of chosen
topic
Add and read at least 3 additional sites each week.
News and blog alert (RSS)
Google Alerthttp://www.google.com/alerts
Create a Google Alert of keywords associated with selected topic
Read news and blogs on that topic that are delivered via email daily
Subscribe to appropriate blogs in reader
News and blog reader (RSS)
Google Readerhttp://reader.google.com
Search for blogs devoted to chosen topic
Subscribe to blogs to keep track of updates
Personal blog (RSS)
Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com
Create a personal blog
Post a personal reflection each day of the content found and experiences
related to the use of personal learning environment
Students subscribe to each others blogs in reader
Internet search (information management, contacts, and synchronous
communication)
Google Scholarhttp://scholar.google.com/
Conduct searches in Google Scholar and library databases for
scholarly works.
Bookmark appropriate sites
Consider making contact with expert for video conference
Podcasts (RSS)
iTunesUhttp://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/itunesu.html
Search iTunesU for podcasts related to topic
Subscribe to at least 2 podcasts if possible
Video conferencing (contacts and synchronous communication)
Skypehttp://www.skype.com
Identify at least one subject matter expert to invite to Skype with
the class.
Content gathering/ digital notebook
Evernotehttp://evernote.com/
Set up account
Use Evernote to take notes on all content collected via other
tools
Content synthesis
Wikispaceshttp://www.wikispaces.com
Post final project on personal page of class
wiki
The process and tools are overwhelming to students if presented all at once.
As with any instructional design, the teacher determines the pace at which the
students best assimilate each new learning tool. For this particular project, a
new tool was introduced each day over two weeks. Once the construction process
was complete, there were a number of personal web page aggregators that could
have been selected to bring everything together in one place. Options at the
time included iGoogle, PageFlakes, NetVibes, and Symbaloo. These
sites offer a means to compile or pull together content from a variety of web
applications. A web widget or gadget is a bit of code that is executed within
the personal web page to pull up external content from other sites. The students
in this case designed the personal web page using the gadgets needed in the
format that best met their learning goals. Figure 3 is an instructor example of
a personal webpage that includes the reader, email, personal blog, note taking
program, and social bookmarks on one page.
The personal learning environment can take the place of a traditional
textbook, though does not preclude the student from using a textbook or
accessing one or more numerous open source texts that may be available for the
research topic. The goal is to access content from many sources to effectively
meet the learning objectives. The next challenge is to determine whether those
objectives have been met.
Figure 3: Personal web page compiles learning tools
Table 2: Personal learning environment toolset
Web application
(networked student
component)
Tool used
in test
case
Student activity
level of
structure
Social bookmarking (RSS)
Delicious
http://delicious.com/
Set up the account
Subscribe to each others accounts
Bookmark and read 10 reliable websites that
reflect the content of chosen
topic
Add and read at least 3 additional sites each
week.
News and blog alert (RSS)
Google Alert
http://www.google.com/alerts
Create a Google Alert of keywords associated with selected topic
Read news and blogs on that topic that are
delivered via email daily
Subscribe to appropriate blogs in
reader
News and blog reader (RSS)
Google Reader
http://reader.google.com
Search for blogs devoted to chosen topic
Subscribe to blogs to keep track of
updates
Personal blog (RSS)
Blogger
http://www.blogger.com
Create a personal blog
Post a personal reflection each day of the
content found and experiences
related
to the use of personal learning environment
Students subscribe to each others blogs in
reader
Internet search (information management,
contacts, and synchronous
communication)
Google Scholar
http://scholar.google.com/
Conduct searches in Google Scholar and library databases for
scholarly
works.
Bookmark appropriate sites
Consider making contact with expert for video
conference
Podcasts (RSS)
iTunesU
http://www.apple.com/itunes/
whatson/itunesu.html
Search iTunesU for podcasts related to topic
Subscribe to at least 2 podcasts if
possible
Video conferencing (contacts and synchronous
communication)
Skype
http://www.skype.com
Identify at least one subject matter expert to invite to Skype with
the class.
Content gathering/ digital notebook
Evernote
http://evernote.com/
Set up account
Use Evernote to take notes on all content collected via other
tools
Content synthesis
Wikispaces
http://www.wikispaces.com
Post final project on personal page of
class
wiki
The process and tools are overwhelming to
students if presented all at once.
As with
any instructional design, the teacher determines the pace at which the
students best assimilate each new learning tool.
For this particular project, a
new tool
was introduced each day over two weeks. Once the construction process
was complete, there were a number of personal
web page aggregators that could
have been
selected to bring everything together in one place. Options at the
time
included iGoogle, PageFlakes, NetVibes, and Symbaloo. These
sites
offer a means to compile or pull together content from a variety of web
applications. A web widget or gadget is a bit of
code that is executed within
the
personal web page to pull up external content from other sites. The
students
in this case designed the personal web page
using the gadgets needed in the
format
that best met their learning goals. Figure 3 is an instructor example of
a
personal webpage that includes the reader, email, personal blog, note
taking
program, and social bookmarks on one
page.
The personal learning environment can take the
place of a traditional
textbook, though does not preclude the student
from using a textbook or
accessing one or more numerous open source texts
that may be available for the
research
topic. The goal is to access content from many sources to effectively
meet the learning objectives. The next challenge
is to determine whether those
objectives have been met.
AssessmentThere were four components of the assessment process for this
test case of the Networked Student Model: (1) Ongoing performance
assessment in the form of weekly assignments to facilitate the construction and
maintenance of the personal learning environment, (2) rubric-based assessment of
the personal learning environment at the end of the project, (3) written essay,
and (4) multimedia synthesis of topic content.
Points were earned for meeting the following requirements:
Identify ten reliable resources and post to social bookmarking account. At
least three new resources should be added each week.
Subscribe and respond to at least 3 new blogs each week. Follow these blogs
and news alerts using the reader.
Subscribe to and listen to at least two podcasts (if available).
Respectfully contact and request a video conference from a subject matter
expert recognised in the field.
Maintain daily notes and highlight resources as needed in digital notebook.
Post at least a one-paragraph reflection in personal blog each day.
At the end of the project, the personal learning environment was
assessed with a rubric that encompassed each of the items listed above.
The student's ability to synthesise the research was further evaluated with a
reflective essay. Writing shapes thinking (Langer & Applebee, 1987), and the
essay requirement was one more avenue through which the students demonstrated
higher order learning. The personal blog provided an opportunity for regular
reflection during the course of the project. The essay was the culmination of
the reflections along with a thoughtful synthesis of the learning experience.
Students were instructed to articulate what was learned about the selected topic
and why others should care or be concerned. The essay provided an overview of
everything learned about the contemporary issue. It was well organised,
detailed, and long enough to serve as a resource for others who wished to learn
from the work. As part of a final exam, the students were required to access the
final projects of their classmates and reflect on what they learned from this
exposure. The purpose of this activity was to give the students an additional
opportunity to share and learn from each other.
Creativity is considered a key 21st century skill (Partnership for 21st
Century Skills, 2009). A number of emerging web applications support the
academic creative process. Students in this project used web tools to combine
text, video, audio, and photographs to teach the research topics to others. The
final multimedia project was posted or embedded on the student's personal wiki
page.
Analysis and assessment of student work was facilitated by the very
technologies in use by the students. In order to follow their progress, the
teacher simply subscribed to student social bookmarking accounts, readers, and
blogs. Clicking through daily contributions was relatively quick and efficient.
Scholarly and important but also practical. Scroll down for an incredible chart of ideas that challenges older students to take charge of their own learning.
Diigo highlighting tool allows the teacher or
student to highlight in an article or a web page
The key concepts or vocabulary words could be
highlighted to check for understanding.
Some students have problems determining what
should be highlighted in an article or passage. Teachers could use this tool to
demonstrate how to correctly highlight and find the key points.
About diigo.com
page
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About diigo.comDiigo or
Digest of Internet Information, Groups and Other stuff is a social bookmarking
site that allows its users to bookmark and tag websites. Users are also able to
highlight information and put sticky notes directly on the webpage as you are
reading it. Your notes can be public which allows other users to view and
comment on your notes and add their own or it can be private. Sites can be saved
and stored for later reading and commenting. Users can also join groups with
similar interests and follow specific people and sites. Teachers can register for an educator account that allows
a teacher to create accounts for an entire class. In an education account,
students are automatically set up as a Diigo group which allows for easy sharing
of documents, pictures, videos, and articles with only your class group. There
are also pre-set privacy settings so only the teacher and classmates can see the
bookmarks and communications. This is a great way to ensure that your students
and their comments are kept private from the rest of the Internet community.
Diigo is a great tool for teachers to use to have students interact with
material and to share that interaction with classmates.
Best Practices for using Diigo tools
Tagging
Tool
Teachers or students can tag a website that
they want to bookmark for future reference.
Teachers can research websites or articles that
they want their students to view on a certain topic and tag them for the
students. This tool is nice when
researching a certain topic. The teacher can tag the websites that the students
should use eliminating the extra time of searching for the sites that would be
useful and appropriate for the project.Highlighting Tool
Diigo
highlighting tool allows the teacher or
student to
highlight in an article or a web page
.
1The key
concepts or vocabulary words could be
highlighted
to check for understanding.
Some students have problems determining
what
should be highlighted in an article or passage.
Teachers could use this tool to
demonstrate
how to correctly highlight and find the key points.
Sticky Notes
Tool
The sticky note tool is a great addition to the
tools of diigo. Students may add sticky notes to a passage as they are reading
it. The sticky notes could be used to make notes or ask questions by the
students.
Teachers could postition the sticky notes in
the passage for students to respond to various ideas as they are reading.
Students could use sticky notes to peer edit
and make comments on other student's work through Google docs.
These are just a few ideas of how to
apply the diigo tools to your teaching practices. Both students and teachers
benefit form using these tools. The variety of uses or practices give both
groups a hands on way of dealing with text while making it more efficient.
Bookmark/Snapsho
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About
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Sunday,
7:53 pm
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About
diigo.com
Diigo or
Digest of
Internet Information, Groups and Other stuff is a social bookmarking
site
that allows its users to bookmark and tag websites. Users are also able
to
highlight information and put sticky notes
directly on the webpage as you are
reading it.
Your notes can be public which allows other users to view and
comment on
your notes and add their own or it can be private. Sites can be saved
and
stored for later reading and commenting. Users can also join groups with
si
Diigo or Digest of Internet Information, Groups and
Other stuff is a social bookmarking site that allows its users to bookmark
and tag websites
Diigo highlighting tool allows the teacher or
student to highlight in an article or a web page.
The key concepts or vocabulary words could be
highlighted to check for understanding
Diigo highlighting tool allows the teacher
or
student to highlight in an article or a web
page.
The key concepts
or vocabulary words could be
highlighted
to check for understanding
Diigo highlighting tool allows the teacher or
student to highlight in an article or a web page.
The key concepts or vocabulary words could be
highlighted to check for understanding.
Some students have problems determining what
should be highlighted in an article or passage. Teachers could use this tool to
demonstrate how to correctly highlight and find the key points.
Diigo highlighting tool allows the teacher
or
student to highlight in an article or a web
page.
Teachers or students can tag a website that
they want to bookmark for future reference.
Teachers can research websites or articles that
they want their students to view on a certain topic and tag them for the
students.This tool is nice when
researching a certain topic. The teacher can tag the websites that the students
should use eliminating the extra time of searching for the sites that would be
useful and appropriate for the project.
The sticky note tool is a great addition to the tools of diigo. Students may add sticky notes to a passage as they are reading it. The sticky notes could be used to make notes or ask questions by the students.Teachers could postition the sticky notes in the passage for students to respond to various ideas as they are reading.Students could use sticky notes to peer edit and make comments on other student's work through Google docs.
On the Clouds: A New Way of Computing.
By: Yan Han. Information Technology & Libraries, Jun2010, Vol. 29 Issue 2, p87-92, 6p, 1 Black and White Photograph, 1 Diagram; Abstract: This article introduces cloud computing and discusses the author's experience "on the clouds." The author reviews cloud computing services and providers, then presents his experience of running multiple systems (e.g., integrated library systems, content management systems, and repository software). He evaluates costs, discusses advantages, and addresses some issues about cloud computing. Cloud computing fundamentally changes the ways institutions and companies manage their computing needs. Libraries can take advantage of cloud computing to start an IT project with low cost, to manage computing resources cost-effectively, and to explore new computing possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; (AN 50741403)
Tematy: CLOUD computing; COMMUNICATION in learning & scholarship; INTEGRATED library systems (Computer systems); INSTITUTIONAL repositories; LIBRARIES -- Automation; ACADEMIC libraries; INFORMATION technology; EFFECT of technological innovations on
Baza danych: Academic Search Complete
Use of iPads in MGT30700 (Project Management), Fall 2010 from Aug 23-Oct 8
Report Prepared by
Corey M. Angst, Ph.D. & Emily Malinowski (MBA 2011)
Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame
December 21, 2010
First, our findings suggest the greatest value of the iPad may not be its ability to function as an eBook reader but instead its capacity to function as a consolidator or aggregator of information. Second, a statistically significant proportion of students felt the iPad, 1) makes class more interesting, 2) encourages exploration of additional topics, 3) provides functions/tools not possible with a textbook, and 4) helps students more effectively manage their time.
See wiki https://wiki.nd.edu/display/oitepublishing/iPad+Configuration+for+Pilot. It also includes an Enterprise Deployment Guide
Fedena is a free & opensource school management software that has more features than a student information system. Use fedena to efficiently manage students, teachers, employees, courses & all the system & process related to your institution.
For the past eight years students in Year Six at Redlands have participated in a Personal Passion Project during Term Four. It is a way to finish their time in Junior School with a project that connects their passion with all they have learned about managing inquiry/design based projects to that point.
"The NMC Horizon Project, as the centerpiece of the NMC Emerging Technologies Initiative, charts the landscape of emerging technologies for teaching, learning, research, creative inquiry, and information management. Launched in 2002, it epitomizes the mission of the NMC to help educators and thought leaders across the world build upon the innovation happening at their institutions by providing them with expert research and analysis."
Projects provide a flexible framework for engaging students in exploring curricular topics and developing important 21st century skills, such as communication, teamwork, and technology skills. In addition, students are motivated by the fun and creative format and the opportunity to make new friends around the world. For teachers, a school portal enables quick and easy management of student accounts and review of project work.
Segue is a curricular content management system designed for teaching, learning and research. It is essentially a synthesis of wikis, blogs and traditional content management systems.
"Before you begin a telecollaborative project," she said, "Look at the plan critically and decide whether it's worth it in terms of learning outcomes. Ask yourself these questions:
Does this use of the Internet allow students to do something that can't be done in another way?
Does this use of the Internet allow students to do something in a better way?
"If the answer to either of those questions is yes," said Harris, "then your project is probably worth doing."
"As teachers, we need to do what is our art and our craft -- which is teaching, not technology."
Judi Harris has been this champion for years...she long ago convinced me that you shouldn't use tech just for the sake of using tech. Her statements gives the compelling questions we should all ask ourselves before embarking on the use of precious time. What's your return on investment????
An activity structure, according to Harris, is simply a description of what students do in an activity, without reference to content or grade level. For example, kindergarten students mixing paints, elementary students forming compound words, and high-school students creating chemical compounds are all using an activity structure that involves combining existing elements to form new elements. The content and grade level are strikingly different, but the basic activity, the structure of the activity, is the same.
Existing activity structures, said Harris, are usually supported best by existing instructional tools. If Internet tools are going to be used to enable students to do something they haven't been able to do, or do as well, before, new activity structures, structures that are best supported by new instructional tools, must be identified and implemented.
Develop a project plan that's specific and logistically manageable.
Be sure students have regular access to computers. Once a week in a computer lab is not enough time. For students to get the most out of a telecomputing project, they must be able to participate at least two or three times a week.
Project based learning in the technology classroom diary: T minus one week After spending 3 weeks teaching my grade 9's project management using Scrum, we finally moved on to Alexey Krivitsky's terrific and well-known Lego City simulation.
According to Putnam, time spent with relatively passive and disengaging media has come at the expense of time spent on vital community-building activities.
The evidence to date is mixed
A core problem on both sides of the debate is an underlying assumption that all Internet use is more or less equivalent
It would be more plausible and empirically rigorous, then, to consider how specific forms of Internet activity impact civic and social engagement as a result of their particular underlying social architectures
combining conclusions from two different lines of MMO research conducted from two different perspectives—one from a media effects approach, the other from a sociocultural perspective on cognition and learning.
By providing spaces for social interaction and relationships beyond the workplace and home, MMOs have the capacity to function as one form of a new "third place" for informal sociability much like the pubs, coffee shops, and other hangouts of old.
loosely structured by open-ended narratives
They are known for their peculiar combination of designed "escapist fantasy" and emergent "social realism"
from two research projects: one an examination of the media effects of MMOs, the other an ethnographic study of cognition and culture in such contexts.
the conclusions of both studies were remarkably aligned.
the assumption that the most fruitful advances are sometimes made when congruent findings are discovered through disparate means
demonstrate the "effects" of game play vs. no game play.
first project was a traditional effects study
second project, a qualitative study of cognition and learning in MMOs (
ethnography
sociocultural perspective
as a way to tease out what happens in the virtual setting of the game and how the people involved consider their own activities, the activities of others, and the contexts in which those activities takes place
a reasonable level of generalizability (random assignment to condition in the first study) and contextualization (ethnographic description of existing in-game social networks and practices in the second)
but I wonder why he chose these games -- this is not specified. Only their success in US and abroad?
brick-and-mortar "third places" in America where individuals can gather to socialize informally beyond the workplace and home
the exaggerated self-consciousness of individuals.
In what ways might MMOs function as new third places for informal sociability?
virtual environments have the potential to function as new (albeit digitally mediated) third places similar to pubs, coffee shops, and other hangouts.
in this section we analyze the structural form of MMOs that warrants this "third place" assertion.
eight defining characteristics of third places
there is no default obligation
To oblige any one person to play requires that explicit agreements be entered into by parties
the default assumption is that no one person is compelled to participate legally, financially, or otherwise.
Unless one transforms the virtual world of the game into a workplace (e.g., by taking on gainful employment as a virtual currency "farmer" for example, Dibbell, 2006; Steinkuehler, 2006a) or enters into such agreement, no one person is obligated to log in
and this is why, in my opinion, you will never see games in school. The game cannot be the Third Place because school is a Second Place.
Yee's (2006) interviews also reveal that individuals who game with romantic partners or family find that such joint engagement in the "other world" of MMOs allows them to redefine the nature and boundaries of their offline relationships, often in more equitable terms than what may be possible in day-to-day offline life
the relationships that play-partners have with one another offline are often "leveled" within the online world
an individual's rank and status in the home, workplace, or society are of no importance
appeal to people in part because they represent meritocracies otherwise unavailable in a world often filled with unfairness
conversation plays an analogous role
"In all such systems, linguistic interactions have been primary: users exchange messages that cement the social bonds between them, messages that reflect shared history and understandings (or misunderstandings) about the always evolving local norms for these interactions" (p. 22).
third places must also be easy to access
such that "one may go alone at almost any time of the day or evening with assurance that acquaintances will be there"
accessible directly from one's home, making them even more accommodating to individual schedules and preferences
barriers to initial access.
"What attracts a regular visitor to a third place is supplied not by management but by the fellow customer,"
"It is the regulars who give the place its character and who assure that on any given visit some of the gang will be there"
affective sense
As one informant satirically commented in an interview, "You go for the experience [points], you stay for the enlightening conversation.
engendering a sense of reliable mentorship and community stability.
Oldenburg argues that third places are characteristically homely, their d�cor defying tidiness and pretension whenever possible. MMOs do not fit this criterion in any literal sense
In neither of our investigations did the degree of formality exhibited by players within the game bear any relation to the degree of visual ornamentation of the players' immediate vicinity.
Thus, while the visual form of MMO environments does not fit Oldenburg's (1999) criterion of "low profile," the social function of those environments does.
Oldenburg (1999) argues that seriousness is anathema to a vibrant third place; instead, frivolity, verbal word play, and wit are essential.
The playful nature of MMOs is perhaps most apparent in what happens when individuals do bring gravity to the game.
the home-like quality of third places in rooting people
Participation becomes a regular part of daily life for players and, among regular gamemates such as guild members, exceptional absences (i.e., prolonged or unforeseen ones) are queried within the game or outside i
create an atmosphere of mutual caring that, while avoiding entangling obligations per se, creates a sense of rootedness to the extent that regularities exist, irregularities are duly noted, and, when concerning the welfare of any one regular, checked into
Are virtual communities really communities, or is physical proximity necessary?
Anderson (1991), who suggests that geographic proximity itself is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for the emergence and preservation of "community."
Social capital (Coleman, 1988) works analogously to financial capital; it can be acquired and spent, but for social and personal gains rather than financial
operates cyclically within social networks because of their associated norms of reciprocity
bridging social capital is inclusive.
This form of social capital is marked by tentative relationships, yet what they lack in depth, they make up for in breadth.
On the one hand, bridging social capital provides little in the way of emotional support; on the other hand, such relationships can broaden social horizons or worldviews, providing access to information and new resources.
bonding social capital is exclusive.
social superglue.
it can also result in insularity.
shows that bridging and bonding social capital are tied to different social contexts, given the network of relationships they enable.
Virtual worlds appear to function best as bridging mechanisms rather than as bonding ones, although they do not entirely preclude social ties of the latter type.
One could argue that, if the benchmark for bonding social capital is the ability to acquire emotional, practical, or substantive support, then MMOs are not well set up for the task:
While deep affective relationships among players are possible, they are less likely to generate the same range of bonding benefits as real-world relationships because of players' geographic dispersion and the nature of third places themselves.
Despite differences in theoretical grounding and methodologies, our conclusions were remarkably similar across complementary macro- and micro-levels.
It is worth noting, however, that as gamers become more involved in long-term social networks such as guilds and their activities become more "hardcore" (e.g., marked by participation in large-scale collaborative problem-solving endeavors such as "raids" into difficult territories or castle sieges), the function of MMOs as "third places" begins to wane.
It may be, then, that the structure and function of MMOs as third places is one part of the "life cycle" for some gamers in a given title.
In such cases, MMOs appear to enable a different kind of sociability, one ostensibly recognizable as a "community" nonetheless.
However, our research findings indicate that this conclusion is uninformed. To argue that MMO game play is isolated and passive media consumption in place of informal social engagement is to ignore the nature of what participants actually do behind the computer screen
Perhaps it is not that contemporary media use has led to a decline in civic and social engagement, but rather that a decline in civic and social engagement has led to retribalization through contemporary media (McLuhan, 1964).
Such a view, however, ignores important nuances of what "community" means by pronouncing a given social group/place as either wholly "good" or "bad" without first specifying which functions the online community ought to fulfill.
Moreover, despite the semantics of the term, "weak" ties have been shown to be vital in communities, relationships, and opportunities.
is to what extent such environments shift the existing balance between bridging and bonding
In light of Putnam's evidence of the decline of crucial civic and social institutions, it may well be that the classification "lacking bridging social capital" best characterizes the everyday American citizen. T
Without bridging relationships, individuals remain sheltered from alternative viewpoints and cultures and largely ignorant of opportunities and information beyond their own closely bound social network.
it seems ironic that, now of all times, we would ignore one possible solution to our increasingly vexed relationship with diversity.
All students should master a verifiable set of skills, but not necessarily the same skills. Part of the reason high schools fail so many kids is that educators can’t get free of the notion that all students—regardless of their career aspirations—need the same basic preparation. States are piling on academic courses, removing the arts, and downplaying career and technical education to make way for a double portion of math. Meanwhile, career-focused programs, such as Wisconsin’s youth apprenticeships and well-designed career academies, are engaging students and raising their post-high-school earnings, especially among hard-to-reach, at-risk male students.
Maintaining our one-size-fits-all approach will hurt many of the kids we are trying most to help. Maybe that approach, exemplified in the push for common standards, will simply lead to yet more unmet education goals. But it won’t reduce, and might increase, the already high rate at which students drop out of school, or graduate without the skills and social behaviors required for career success.
Well-written commentary for anyone interested in the impact of Common Core Standards.
"What's Wrong With the Common-Standards Project"
"We need rigorous but basic academics, homing in on skills that will be used, and not short-shrifting the "soft skill" behaviors that lead to success in college and careers. The management guru Peter Drucker got it right: "The result of a school is a student who has learned something and puts it to work 10 years later."
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.
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:
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 andGoogle 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 developinga teacher version of their tooljust 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:
"The importance of proofreading cannot be overlooked. Proofreading skills do not develop overnight, but rather improve with practice. You can develop these skills by reviewing your own work, as well as the work of others. Because proofreading can often be a tedious project, below are some tips that can make the process more manageable."
Lisa C. Hurst on 05 May 15"AUTHOR: ISSIE LAPOWSKY. ISSIE LAPOWSKY DATE OF PUBLICATION: 05.04.15. 05.04.15 TIME OF PUBLICATION: 7:00 AM. 7:00 AM INSIDE THE SCHOOL SILICON VALLEY THINKS WILL SAVE EDUCATION Click to Open Overlay Gallery Students in the youngest class at the Fort Mason AltSchool help their teacher, Jennifer Aguilar, compile a list of what they know and what they want to know about butterflies. CHRISTIE HEMM KLOK/WIRED SO YOU'RE A parent, thinking about sending your 7-year-old to this rogue startup of a school you heard about from your friend's neighbor's sister. It's prospective parent information day, and you make the trek to San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood. You walk up to the second floor of the school, file into a glass-walled conference room overlooking a classroom, and take a seat alongside dozens of other parents who, like you, feel that public schools-with their endless bubble-filled tests, 38-kid classrooms, and antiquated approach to learning-just aren't cutting it. At the same time, you're thinking: this school is kind of weird. On one side of the glass is a cheery little scene, with two teachers leading two different middle school lessons on opposite ends of the room. But on the other side is something altogether unusual: an airy and open office with vaulted ceilings, sunlight streaming onto low-slung couches, and rows of hoodie-wearing employees typing away on their computers while munching on free snacks from the kitchen. And while you can't quite be sure, you think that might be a robot on wheels roaming about. Then there's the guy who's standing at the front of the conference room, the school's founder. Dressed in the San Francisco standard issue t-shirt and jeans, he's unlike any school administrator you've ever met. But the more he talks about how this school uses technology to enhance and individualize education, the more you start to like what he has to say. And so, if you are truly fed up with the school stat
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