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Designing active and authentic learning experiences The Journal of Learning Designis an educational journal which moves beyond a focus on technological applications in educational settings, to encourage more critical analysis of approaches to the design of learning environments and the extent to which they result in enhanced learning outcomes for learners. Traditional, didactic, delivery-focussed models of teaching in higher education are still common, whether in the lecture theatre or in the online environment. The Journal of Learning Designaims to raise awareness beyond such transmission models of education, to the design of more active, collaborative, authentic and engaging learning experiences. The Journal of Learning Designaims to provide a forum for critical debate and professional exchange about models, theoretical positioning and best practice in learning design.

"@POUSDSupt: Exactly What The Common Core Standards Say About Technology http://t.co/WTRFq2LUTt via @zite #ccss #edtech" Nicely presented.

Tech standards in the common core

Stupski Fndtn staff + McREL researchers ask 2 questions: (1) How can teachers adapt the principles of effective pedagogy to differentiate instruction and meet the needs of all learners in order to help Our Kids be challened, motivated, and successful? (2) How can teachers create structured, challenging, yet nurturing classroom environments to ensure that Our Kids are engaged and successful learners? KEY FINDINGS: adaptive and differentiated instruction (theory and methodologies) in culturally relevant classroom that allows for student "role fluidity" + teacher skill in finding gaps in knowledge/skills + motivating students through engaging projects and targeted instruction (academically rigorous and nurturing) PLUS fac devt must be supported by and inclusive of school leadership. a Design Collaborative might act on 5 options: (1) Support teachers to better utilize methods and theories of culturally relevant pedagogy and differentiated instruction, (2) Implement a pedagogical program based on the notion of "role fluidity" to give students a central voice in the classroom, (3) Use technology to engage students and enhance pedagogy, (4) Guide teachers in creating academically rigorous and positive classroom learning environments, (5) Implement pedagogical programs based on developing higher order thinking and subject-specific skills. Report by Kerry Englert, Helen Apthorp, Matthew Seebaum. Dated Oct 2009

Creative Educator articles focus on constructivism and creativity and share ideas about the power of technology as a learning tool when put in student hands.Topics include ideas, inspiration and strategies to help the educator grow professionally and design their classroom to meet the needs of your learners. Most articles focus on K-12 but they relate to any professional educator.

"Alliance for Excellent Education's report on Culture Shift provides facts that point to learner-centered instruction and the use of technology to "guide students toward greater ownership of their learning." "

published by EDUCAUSE, 2012 - asks "How can we reach more learners, more effectively, and with greater impact?" also.... * How will your institution negotiate the new geography of learning? * In a world where information is always accessible, how will teaching and learning change? * What will constitute an institution of higher education in the future? * How do we ready our institutions, our students, and ourselves for what higher education can-and must-become?

'Game Changers: Education and Information Technologies explores the tools and processes that can improve the quality, flexibility, and scalability of postsecondary education. The book takes a hard look at the education landscape today and asks what that landscape might look like tomorrow. It asks important questions and pushes us to open our minds about how technology will shape the universe of possibility for tomorrow's students' Edited by Diane G. Oblinger

"Game Changers: Education and Information Technology" a free publication from EDUCAUSE (pdf) http://t.co/uLJEi8vP

lso see http://www.connectivism.ca/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectivism_(learning_theory)

MEMOIRE à lire

Defines the difference between technology and media and provides information (based on academic experience) about how to most effectively create online lessons and media.

David Warlick makes an association between Reynolds Presenation Zen Method v's Approach and the way we approach technology professional development

Great insight and reflection on how we learn and how we expect our students to learn.

Main points are in a slideshow here: http://www.slideshare.net/sdimbert/relearn

Great ideas... We are preparing our children for a future of frightening uncertainty, but astounding opportunity, and to prosper within that future, our children must become skilled, resourceful, and habitual learners - not just lifelong learners but adopting a learning lifestyle.

"Open education sites exemplify how technology is democratizing education. These sites allow both learners and teachers to create their own curriculum, whether it's used in or out of the classroom."

I love their vision - to promote educational change through empowering teachers and bringing students to the center of the learning conversation through simple, easy to use technology. Amen?!

The book 'Non Obvious' by Rohit Bhargava present an intriguing exploration of how careful observation and thought can reveal emerging trends and as the subtitle suggest 'predict the future'. For educators the ability to identify the trends which will deliver the best outcomes for our students from the noise of fads is alluring. While the talk of new technologies, of learner centric pedagogies and teaching for lifelong learning play the part of the obvious trends in education identifying the non-obvious trend is a more challenging endeavour. 

"Teachers in England are being invited to join a professional development opportunity through EarthEcho International sponsored by the Northrop Grumman Foundation. The 'EarthEcho Expeditions: What's the Catch?' programme leverages the rich Cousteau legacy of exploration and discovery to bring Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education alive for today's 21st-century learners and their educators. The free, expenses-paid opportunity is planned to allow secondary school teachers to participate as Expedition Fellows to learn first-hand from scientists and engineers the consequences of fisheries mismanagement and how this can be changed for the better with new technological approaches and discoveries."

We are living in interesting, frightening and rapidly changing times. Where rapid changes and transformations through technology, politics, globalisation and the climate, conspire against normality. These times demand a fresh approach to education, one that provides learners with the thinking dispositions they need to turn challenges into opportunities.  "All that was 'normal' has now evaporated; we have entered postnormal times, the in-between period where old orthodoxies are dying, new ones have not yet emerged, and nothing really makes sense." But what thinking might guide us through this time of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity?

Much of the buzz around the educational benefits of Internet technology has focused on the potential for the classroom -- or perhaps, if we add to that, the boom in mobile technology, the potential to bridge the classroom and the home.

by Marc Prensky Our children today are being socialized in a way that is vastly different from their parents. The numbers are overwhelming: over 10,000 hours playing videogames, over 200,000 emails and instant messages sent and received; over 10,000 hours talking on digital cell phones; over 20,000 hours watching TV (a high percentage fast speed MTV), over 500,000 commercials seen-all before the kids leave college. And, maybe, at the very most, 5,000 hours of book reading. These are today's ―Digital Native‖ students. 1 In Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants: Part I, I discussed how the differences between our Digital Native students and their Digital Immigrant teachers lie at the root of a great many of today's educational problems. I suggested that Digital Natives' brains are likely physically different as a result of the digital input they received growing up. And I submitted that learning via digital games is one good way to reach Digital Natives in their ―native language.‖ Here I present evidence for why I think this is so. It comes from neurobiology, social psychology, and from studies done on children using games for learning.

by Marc Prensky Our children today are being socialized in a way that is vastly different from their parents. The numbers are overwhelming: over 10,000 hours playing videogames, over 200,000 emails and instant messages sent and received; over 10,000 hours talking on digital cell phones; over 20,000 hours watching TV (a high percentage fast speed MTV), over 500,000 commercials seen-all before the kids leave college. And, maybe, at the very most, 5,000 hours of book reading. These are today's ―Digital Native‖ students. 1 In Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants: Part I, I discussed how the differences between our Digital Native students and their Digital Immigrant teachers lie at the root of a great many of today's educational problems. I suggested that Digital Natives' brains are likely physically different as a result of the digital input they received growing up. And I submitted that learning via digital games is one good way to reach Digital Natives in their ―native language.‖ Here I present evidence for why I think this is so. It comes from neurobiology, social psychology, and from studies done on children using games for learning.

Hi. I wrote a paper about digital natives as part of an anthropology assignment for a doctoral course. Researchers from around the world have empirically proven that Prensky's theories are false. Additionally, while neuroscience has shown that brains do change as a result of neuroplasticity, to argue that it is generational is also a false claim. Though cognitive theory shows that learners bring their prior experiences to the interpretation of new educational opportunities - impacting attention and interpretation - all generations have had this occur. There is merit to the point that we should take learner's prior experience into consideration when designing instruction; however, Prensky's digital native claims may have done more to create tension between students and teachers than to provide instructional support. If you would like any of the scholarly studies, I have a published reference list at http://brholland.com/reference-list. Beth

EduTech in Sydney has been a remarkable experience. A grand celebration of education and an energising gathering of educators ready to share stories and make connections. Despite the rainy weather some 8000 educators came together in the inspiring new International Convention Centre at Darling Harbour and left two days later with hers full of new ideas and wonderings of what might be the future of education. With many ideas still bubbling away here is a brief list of the key take-aways.