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Educator Updates
Common Sense announces di
gital driver's
license
Common Sense Media announced plans to create a digital driver’s license, an
interactive online game that will teach kids the basics of how to be safe and
responsible in a digital world.
Read
more about our plans for interactive curriculum
modules
Internet safety FREE curriculum and implementation guides. The site has admin, teacher, and student resources. Digital Passport is one of the Internet Safety programs available.
But how can we identify a potentially good teacher? How can average teachers become better teachers? The secretary's special funding could make a crucial difference by financing a national program exploiting the electronic miracles of the Internet and video. We could escape geography by using the technology to have the best teachers appear in hundreds of thousands of disparate classrooms. This is a force multiplier. The classrooms would be equipped with a large, flat-screen monitor with whiteboards on either side; the monitor would be connected to a school server that contains virtually all of the lessons for every subject taught in the school, from kindergarten through 12th grade. The contents would use animation, video, dramatization, and presentation options to deliver complete lessons, to convey ideas in unique ways that are now unavailable in conventional classrooms. The classroom teachers would play the role of enhancers, answering questions and helping students better understand the material covered electronically; they'd pause the presentation to ask questions and to prompt critical thinking. The whiteboard would be the platform for student involvement.
A growing criticism of the American education system is that teachers spend too much of their time distanced from their colleagues (a recent survey found that teachers spend just 3% of their school day collaborating with other teachers), encouraging competition rather than collaboration, and making it difficult for teachers to work together to solve educational and institutional issues.
"..there are many ways that teachers can reach out and connect with their colleagues and build a more collaborative atmosphere in their schools. We've come up with just a few here.."
February 2011 |
Volume
68
|
Number
5
Teaching
Screenagers
Pages
7-7
Screenagers: Making the Connections
Marge Scherer
"Education has to change. We can't pull kids into
learning
in school if they are engaged in a different
world outside school."
"If you don't know how to use technology in
class, you are
in trouble. But, of course, technology is a
double-edged sword. You can use it
poorly, or
you can use it well."
The principals speaking were two of the
candidates for the
ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award, which will
be presented in March at
ASCD's Annual Conference in San Francisco. A
group of us were interviewing 13
finalists—both administrators and teachers—over
the course of a few weeks, and
we were
talking to them about their leadership, their creativity, their whole
child philosophy, their impact on student
achievement, and, of course, their
technology
use. All the educators spoke to us via Adobe ConnectPro, a two-way
technology that allowed us to see, hear, and
record them in their
schools—whether in New York, Oregon, the
Philippines, or places in between—while
they
viewed us in our meeting room in Alexandria, Virginia.
February 2011 |
Volume
68
|
Number
5
Teaching
Screenagers
Pages
7-7
Screenagers: Making the
Connections
Marge Scherer
"Education has to change. We can't pull kids
into
learning
in school
if they are engaged in a different
world
outside school."
"If you don't know how to use technology
in
class, you are
in
trouble. But, of course, technology is a
double-edged sword. You can use
it
poorly, or
you can
use it well."
The principals speaking were two of the
candidates for the
ASCD
Outstanding Young Educator Award, which will
be
presented in March at
ASCD's
Annual Conference in San Francisco. A
group of
us were interviewing 13
finalists—both administrators and
teachers—over
the course of a few weeks, and
we were
talking to
them about their leadership, their creativity, their whole
child philosophy, their impact on student
achievement, and, of course,
their
technology
use. All
the educators spoke to us via Adobe ConnectPro, a two-way
technology
that allowed us to see, hear, and
record
them in their
schools—whether in New York, Oregon, the
Philippines, or places in
between—while
they
viewed us
in our meeting room in Alexandria, Virginia.
February 2011 |
Volume
68
|
Number
5
Teaching
Screenagers
Pages
7-7
Screenagers: Making the
Connections
Marge Scherer
"Education has to change. We can't pull
kids
into
learning
in
school
if they are engaged in a
different
world
outside
school."
"If you don't know how to use technology
in
class, you
are
in
trouble.
But, of course, technology is a
double-edged sword. You can use
it
poorly,
or
you can
use it
well."
The principals speaking were two of
the
candidates for the
ASCD
Outstanding Young Educator Award, which
will
be
presented
in March at
ASCD's
Annual
Conference in San Francisco. A
group
of
us were interviewing 13
finalists—both administrators and
teachers—over
the course
of a few weeks, and
we
were
talking to
them about
their leadership, their creativity, their whole
child
philosophy, their impact on student
achievement, and, of course,
their
technology
use.
All
the educators spoke to us via Adobe ConnectPro, a
two-way
technology
that
allowed us to see, hear, and
record
them in
their
schools—whether in New York, Oregon,
the
Philippines, or places in
between—while
they
viewed
us
in our meeting room in Alexandria,
Virginia.
Teachers whose students make the greatest achievement gains have extensive preparation and experience relevant to their current assignment (subject, grade level, and student population taught).
Opportunities to work with like-minded, similarly accomplished colleagues – and to build and share collective expertise – are also strongly associated with effective teaching.
Accomplished teachers who have opportunities to share their expertise — and serve as leaders (as coaches, mentors, teacher educator, etc.) — are more likely to remain in the profession.
To teach effectively, teachers must have access to the people, resources, and policies that support their work in the classroom. This includes: (1) principals who cultivate and embrace teacher leadership; (2) time and tools for teachers to learn from each other, (3) opportunities for teachers to connect and work with community organizations and agencies that support students and their families outside the school walls; (4) evaluation systems that comprehensively measure the impact of teachers on student learning, (5) performance pay systems that primarily reward the spread of teaching expertise and spur collaboration among teachers.
A Better System for Schools: Developing, Supporting and Retaining Effective
Teachers
“A teacher needs to be a role model, mentor, and advice giver – not a ‘friend.’” When a high school student gains access into a teacher’s network of friends and acquaintances and is able to view their family photos, for instance, the student-teacher dynamic is altered.
While students may be eager to find and friend their teachers on Facebook, many of them understand the implied rules and boundaries of this virtual environment. “I do understand why my teachers do not want me to add them until I graduate,” says Jegaraj.
sites like Facebook are social environments. Teachers guide students in a professional capacity, and being social doesn’t seem like part of the job description
"In the virtual world, the definition of a student-teacher relationship is hazy, particularly on social networks like Facebook and MySpace, where adults and teens share the same forums to connect and keep in touch with friends, classmates, relatives, and co-workers. Chances are, your teen has already found her teachers on Facebook and sent friend requests to join their networks."
Using Twitter is a brilliant way for teachers to connect to their students, classroom parents, and the global community. If you are a teacher, you can use Twitter in a variety of ways, from staying updated on new trends in education to encouraging idea sharing in the classroom. The following list of tips can help you get the most out of your Twitter experience.
I recently had a teacher declare that Twitter was "a waste of time" during one of our meetings. It's good to see resources that will help our teachers understand the value of tools like Twitter.
"Skype in the classroom is a free community to help teachers everywhere use Skype to help their students learn. It's a place for teachers to connect with each other, find partner classes and share inspiration. This is a global initiative that was created in response to the growing number of teachers using Skype in their classrooms."
"The Open Educational Resources Research Hub (OER Research Hub) provides a focus for research, designed to give answers to the overall question 'What is the impact of OER on learning and teaching practices?' and identify the particular influence of openness. We do this by working in collaboration with projects across four education sectors (K12, college, higher education and informal) extending a network of research with shared methods and shared results. By the end of this research we will have evidence for what works and when, but also established methods and instruments for broader engagement in researching the impact of openness on learning.
OER are not just another educational innovation. They influence policy and change practices. In previous research (OpenLearn, Bridge to Success and OLnet) we have seen changes in institutions, teacher practice and in the effectiveness of learning. We integrate research alongside action to discover and support changes in broader initiatives. Our framework provides the means to gather data and the tools to tackle barriers.
The project combines:
A targeted collaboration program with existing OER projects
An internationalfellowship program
Networking to make connections
A hub for research data and OER excellence in practice
The collaborations cover different sectors and issues, these include: the opening up of classroom based teaching to open content; the large-scale decision points implied by open textbooks for community colleges; the extension of technology beyond textbook through eBook and simulation; the challenge of teacher training in India; and the ways that OER can support less formal approaches to learning. By basing good practice on practical experience and research we can help tackle practical problems whilst building the evidence bank needed by all."
Twitter chats are such a great way to stay connected and informed in your professional circle, and education is no exception. Through education chats, you can find out about new methods for teaching, tech resources, even jobs for teachers. Most chats are held weekly, and offer an opportunity to have a regularly scheduled conversation with like-minded educators.
Check out our collection to find a wealth of Twitter chats that are great for all kinds of educators.
Some very interesting Microsoft applications that might be suitable for schools.
It includes Beginner Developer, Chemistry Add-in for Word, Education Labs for Maths test creation, Microsoft Robotics and others.
Hat tip to Skipz
A great place to find tech tools to use with MS Office programs. Find and download alll of Microsoft's free tools for teachers and students. Updated 3.18.2012 Microsoft Partners in Learning helps educators connect, collaborate, create and share. TeachTec is a Microsoft Partners in Learning resource that helps educators find relevant and effective ways to use technology to inspire teaching and engage students. Together we have consolidated the latest and most popular teacher and student resources that Microsoft provides to all schools, districts and education organizations around the world.
I think that this is what we are talking about when we say "digital native." I think that are studnets know so much more than we do that it is often difficult to know where to start.
I'm wondering why businesses, especially, don't recognize that teachers do not have the latest and greatest technological tools and work to provide those materials for students who will eventually become members of the workforce.
In connected teaching, individual educators also create their own online learning communities consisting of their students and their students' peers; fellow educators in their schools, libraries, and after-school programs; professional experts in various disciplines around the world; members of community organizations that serve students in the hours they are not in school; and parents who desire greater participation in their children's education.
The most effective educators connect to young people's developing social and emotional core (Ladson-Billings 2009; Villegas and Lucas 2002) by offering opportunities for creativity and self-expression.
"What students take away from a successful education usually centers on a personal connection with a teacher who instilled passion and inspiration for their subject. It's difficult to measure success, and in the world of academia, educators are continually re-evaluating how to quantify learning. But the first and most important question to ask is: Are teachers reaching their students?"
I aggree that as teachers we need to realize that technology has changed instruction and the way that our students learn and the way that we learn and instruct.
Technology has always changed the way we live. How did we respond to changes in the past? One thought is that some institutions, some businesses disappeared, while others, who took advantage of the new tech, appeared to replace the old. It will happen again and we as educators need to lead the way.
With technology our students brains are wired differently and they can multi-task and learn in multiple virtual environments all at once. This should make us think about how we present lessons, structure learning and keep kids engaged.
Rubbish. The idea that digital native are adept at multitasking is wrong. They may be doing many things but the quality and depth is reduced. There is a significant body of research to support this. Development of grit and determination are key attributes of successful people. Set and demand high standards. No one plays sport or an instrument because it is easy rather because they can clearly see a link between hard work and pleasure.
Information development was slow.
Many learners will move into a variety of different, possibly unrelated
fields over the course of their lifetime.
Informal learning is a significant aspect of our learning experience.
Learning is a continual process, lasting for a lifetime.
Technology is altering (rewiring) our brains.
Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network,
and complexity and self-organization theories.
Principles of connectivism:
Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.
Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information
sources.
Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known
Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual
learning.
Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is
a core skill.
Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist
learning activities.
Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn
and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of
a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong
tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the
decision.
So what does this look like? I feel that when I attempt this, evaluators and administrators don't necessarily understand. They want a neat, quiet, well-managed, orderly classroom.
If new learning approaches are required, then why are we still being evaluated in a linear way?
John Seely Brown presents an interesting notion that the internet leverages
the small efforts of many with the large efforts of few.
The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe. Our ability
to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know
today.
Knowledge
is growing exponentially
amount of
knowledge
is doubling
every 18 months
To combat the shrinking half-life of knowledge, organizations
have been forced to develop new methods of deploying instruction.”
(the
understanding of where to find knowledge needed).
know-where
learning
a persisting change in human
performance or performance potential…[which] must come about as
a result of the learner’s experience and interaction with the world”
Learning theories are concerned with the actual process of learning,
not with the value of what is being learned.
The ability to synthesize and recognize connections
and patterns is a valuable skill.
knowledge is no longer acquired
in the linear manner
What is the impact of chaos as a complex pattern recognition process
on learning
An entirely new approach is needed.
Chaos is the breakdown of predictability, evidenced in complicated arrangements
that initially defy order.
Meaning-making and forming connections
between specialized communities are important activities.
Chaos, as a science, recognizes the connection of everything to everything.
If the underlying conditions used
to make decisions change, the decision itself is no longer as correct
as it was at the time it was made.
principle that people, groups, systems, nodes, entities can be connected
to create an integrated whole.
Connections between disparate
ideas and fields can create new innovations.
Learning is a process that
occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core elements –
not entirely under the control of the individual
decisions are based
on rapidly altering foundations
The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant
information is vital.
Behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism
do not attempt to address the challenges of organizational knowledge and
transference.
The health of the learning ecology of the organization depends
on effective nurturing of information flow.
This cycle of knowledge development (personal
to network to organization) allows learners to remain current in their
field through the connections they have formed.
This amplification of learning, knowledge
and understanding through the extension of a personal network is the epitome
of connectivism.
Diverse
teams of varying viewpoints are a critical structure for completely
exploring ideas
An organizations ability to foster, nurture, and synthesize the impacts
of varying views of information is critical to knowledge economy surviva
As knowledge continues to grow and evolve, access to what
is needed is more important than what the learner currently possesses.
Access is not enough. Prior knowledge and understanding is needed. Processing is needed. Evaluation of processing and outputs is needed. Feeding that back into the "system" is needed.
learning is no longer an internal, individualistic
activity
learning is no longer an internal, individualistic
activity
Does Edmodo's Digital Citizen Starter Kit handle the challenge of educating kids to be good digital citizens? The answer is "Yes!" according to Bianca Hewes, a high school English teacher in Sydney, Australia who's also been doing awesome things with Edmodo since 2009 (including connecting 30 of her students with registered Edmodo teachers in the US, South America and England to mentor their individual writing projects). "Edmodo is a social network with training wheels," says Bianca. "By introducing it at a young age, teachers are able to develop the habits of the mind that are essential for students to be good digital citizens. Students learn to use appropriate language, to speak kindly and with compassion, to be supportive rather than critical, and to ask thoughtful questions."
Good news for teachers looking to collaborate with their colleagues in other parts of the world. Skype has a new free service just for educators called Skype in the classroom, "a free global community created in response to, and in consultation with, the growing number of teachers" using the tool to help students learn.
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:
Whether you’re using technology a lot or just dipping your proverbial toes in the digital water, this quick set of tips is perfect for you.For starters, you should know that effective connected educators always “start with the why” and don’t immediately adopt and deploy technology as soon as possible. They try to figure out “why” that particular piece of tech should have a lofty place in the classroom and where it would help.
"Are you integrating technology or hoping to become a more effective teacher? If you circled one or both of those options, then listen up. Also, go grab a damp towel before that marker stays permanent on your computer monitor! Okay, all cleaned off? Let's learn about some of the must-know habits of effective connected educators."
"TES Connect is a social network that allows teachers to network, share resources and search for jobs. It is the world's largest social network for a single profession and allows teachers to connect with other professionals to find and share their best classroom resources and advice."
This ASLA Online site hosts discussions with the aim to bring together a range of educators to consider, discuss and explore the impact of educational initiatives on school libraries and teacher librarians and the educational potential of a globally connected world.
Digital citizenship curriculum targets 4th, 5th graders
Lesson plans, articles, and tools to teach Digital Citizenship and Internet Safety
Internet safety FREE curriculum and implementation guides. The site has admin, teacher, and student resources. Digital Passport is one of the Internet Safety programs available.
