Taking Yourself Seriously: Processes of Research and Engagement is the working title of a book by Peter Taylor and Jeremy Szteiter that assembles the tools and processes from research and writing courses taught in the Graduate Program in Critical and Creative Thinking. The most up to date version of the book can be viewed at http://cct.wikispaces.umb.edu/TYS (and associated links, including a link to a full pdf of the book).
"For your research and writing to progress well, your questions and ideas need to be in alignment with your aspirations, your ability to take or influence action, and your relationships with other people. Shorten these items to head, heart, hands, and human connections. Your efforts to bring these 4H's into alignment is what we mean when we invite you to take yourself seriously."
Some comments from former students looking back on the influence of the research courses out of which this book has arisen:
Jane, a healthcare professional and story-teller:
I learned is to 'hold my ideas loosely', which means accepting my own idea as a valid one but always leaving the space open to take in the counterarguments.
I learned to give myself permission to be circular and come back to previous steps or thoughts, and I actually became more comfortable doing so.
I was able to get engaged in a project that I was able to actually use in work, which was extremely satisfying. The whole process encouraged me, and I felt very empowered as a change agent, which could be an exhilarating feeling.
The purpose of tagging is to help make it easier for the content to be easily found.
Blogs, wikis, podcasting, video sharing websites (e.g. YouTube and Vimeo), photosharing websites (e.g. Flickr and Picasa), social networking sites (e.g. FaceBook, Twitter) are all examples of Web 2.0 technologies.
Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) are all about using web tools such as blogs, wiki, twitter, facebook to create connection with others which extend our learning, increases our reflection while enabling us to learn together as part of a global community.
Lengthy, substantive piece on blogging for educators, starting from "what is a blog," continuing through Web2.0 tools, and ending with Personal Learning Networks. Something for everyone here.
ten conclusions that might guide a country's development of a culturally
appropriate Internet policy
Do not spend vast sums of money to buy machinery that you are going to
set down on top of existing dysfunctional institutions. The Internet, for
example, will not fix your schools. Perhaps the Internet can be part of a
much larger and more complicated plan for fixing your schools, but simply
installing an Internet connection will almost surely be a waste of money.
Learning how to use the
Internet is primarily a matter of institutional arrangements, not technical
skills
Build Internet civil society. Find those people in every sector of society
that want to use the Internet for positive social purposes, introduce them to
one another, and connect them to their counterparts in other countries around
the world. Numerous organizations in other countries can help with this.
Machinery does not reform society, repair institutions, build social
networks, or produce a democratic culture. People must do those things, and
the Internet is simply one tool among many. Find talented people and give
them the tools they need. When they do great things, contribute to your
society's Internet culture by publicizing their ideas.
For children, practical experience in organizing complicated social events,
for example theater productions, is more important than computer skills.
The Internet can be a powerful tool for education if it is integrated into a
coherent pedagogy. But someone who has experience with the social skills of
organizing will immediately comprehend the purpose of the Internet, and will
readily acquire the technical skills when the time comes
Conduct extensive, structured analysis of the technical and cultural
environment. Include the people whose work will actually be affected. A
shared analytical process will help envision how the technology will fit into
the whole way of life around it, and the technology will have a greater chance
of actually being used.
Don't distribute the technology randomly. Electronic mail is useless unless the
people you want to communicate with are also online, and people will not read
their e-mail unless they want to. Therefore, you should focus your effort on
particular communities, starting with the communities that have a strong sense
of identity, a good record of sharing information, and a collective motivation
to get online.
This community could so easily be the students - but how often do schools seem to be obsessed with givgin staff lots of access to technology and email but block/restrict students' use of it?
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:
How many members of the Diigo Ed group are using this forum? I don't want to be overwhelmed by too many social networking groups that I become inundated with too much information to be a truly participating member of any of them. I like the Diigo Ed group, so far!
While I am new to the Diigo Ed group (and like it so far), I joined CR 2.0 a year and a half ago and have thoroughly enjoyed the conversations, info, and (especially) the webinars! Lots of good sharing all around.
I've been using Diigo and the group Diigo in Education for quite some time, but Classroom 2.0 is active with tons of ideas for all of us.
social network for those interested in Web 2.0 and Social Media in education
Classroom 2.0 is a free, community-supported network. We especially hope that those who are "beginners" will find this a supportive comfortable place to start being part of the digital dialog. Because of spammers, we have to approve all memberships here. While your membership is pending you are still welcome to peruse the site or attend any events!
I just joined the Classroom 2.0 ning about a week ago. It appears to have some valuable information. I am new to social networking, but am looking forward to the experience. I am very interested in Web 2.0 technologies so the ning seemed like a good place to start.
Mixbook
(or Mixbook for Educators) is a
photo-based creation platform that offers
hundreds of layouts and backgrounds to choose from
along with customizable frames and text to make your book beautiful.
Just pick a layout, drag-and-drop your photos into the photo slots, and
edit to your heart's content.
Though the site's examples suggest using the books to gather wedding,
travel, and baby albums, this program can absolutely used to create
stories around historic photographs and artifacts, original art, to
produce a class yearbook, to share an oral or personal history or
journey, to tell the story of a field trip. Mixbook
for Educators now offers a secure collaborative environment for
sharing their ebooks, as well as discounts on printed products, should
you choose to print. (A similar option is Scrapblog.)
Storybird,
a collaborative storybook building space designed for ages 3-13,
inspires young writers to create text around the work of professional
artists and the collection of art is growing.
Two (or more) people create a Storybird
in a round robin fashion by writing their own text and inserting
pictures. They then have the option of sharing their Storybird
privately or publicly on the network. The final product can be
printed (soon), watched on screen, played with like a toy, or shared
through a worldwide library. Storybird is also a simple
publishing platform for writers and artists that allows them to
experiment, publish their stories, and connect with their fans.
Myth and Legend Creator 2 shares a collection of traditional stories from England and
around the world to hear and read. The site offers historical
context for each story, story time lines and maps, ideas for use of the
story in the classroom, and student work inspired by the story. The Story Creator--with
its libraries of backgrounds, characters, props, text bubbles, sound
and video recording tools, and options to upload--provides students
easy opportunities to create their own versions of traditional stories.
The Historic
Tale Construction Kit is similar in that it helps students
construct stories around a theme, in this case stories set in the middle
ages with movable, scalable beasts, folks, braves, buildings. and
old-style text.
Tikatok is a platform devoted to kid book publishing at a variety of levels. Children have the option of exploring a collection of interactive
story templates called StorySparks prompts, personalizing an existing
book with their own names in Books2Go, with their own names, or
starting from scratch in Create Your Own Book. Tikatok’s Classroom Program allows teachers to share lesson plans, view and edit students' work online, encourage collaboration,
and track
writing progress.
Big Universe is both an online library and a publishing and sharing community for grades K through 8. Using Big Universe Author, students may create, research, and collaborate on books using a library of more than 7000 images and interactive tools.
"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."
There is a change taking place in how schools approach ICT, one that has been coming for some time but is at the point of moving into the mainstream. A subtle but powerful shift that sees ICT build connections with the Maker Movement as a tool for solving what Bronwyn Moreton speaking at the ICT Educators of NSW conference describes as the 'I wish it would . . .' moment where a learner discovers that their technology doesn't do everything they wished it would.
A wonderful collaborative real-time drawing space which connects to your Google Plus account, allowing you to illustrate, explain and teach remotely across the world.
http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools
From the website:
"Welcome to the Visual Thesaurus, an interactive tool that allows you to discover the connections between words in a visually captivating display. Word maps let you search for just the right word and then explore related concepts, revealing the way words and meanings relate to each other. It's a word-lover's delight, with more than 145,000 words and 115,000 meanings organized in an innovative and intuitive design." However, it costs $3/month and $20/year to subscribe.
When I was a kid, one of my prize possessions was a big, red Swiss Army knife. It had everything from a plastic toothpick and a spoon to a bottle opener and screwdriver. I used it for all kinds of projects, and I always had it with me just in case someone needed to pry something open or tighten something down. Today I carry a more modern multipurpose tool-the smartphone.
iHigh.com provides schools, colleges and other youth related organizations with free web tools and video streaming that connect sports and activities to the premier Global Youth Network. "
Mind maps are a powerful way of visualising your thoughts and ideas, and within education can be a great way of getting pupils to work creatively to show their learning - building connections between their thinking resulting in, potentially, a great revision tool.
Free to download this book.
"This guide was written especially for educators, who want to teach 21st century skills, such as collaborating, communicating, and connecting, through digital storytelling"
"AVG Rescue CD is basically a portable version of AVG Anti-Virus supplied through Linux distribution which can be used as a bootable CD or bootable USB flash drive suitable for recovering MS Windows and Linux operating systems (FAT32 and NTFS file systems) from virus and spyware attack. AVG Rescue CD administration toolset also includes a Windows Registry editor, a TestDisk utility for recovering deleted files and lost partitions, a file browser for navigating folders, and a Ping tool for basic network diagnostics.
How does AVG rescue CD work? Simply download to any CD or USB stick and insert into damaged computer like a recovery disk. Upon booting, the free AVG software will automatically mount all hard drives of the computer and scan them for viruses and malware, while automatically restoring a safe network connection.
Download AVG Rescue Free now onto any CD or DVD or USB flash drive. They promise free support and service for paid license holders of any AVG product."
School leaders around the United States continue to spend HUGE amounts of money on interactive whiteboards for classrooms, despite the fact that these devices universally FAIL to empower students to become more independent, self-directed and engaged learners in the way mobile learning devices (like laptops, tablets or other personal digital learning tools) can. Please do not misunderstand me: It definitely IS a big deal for a teacher and his/her students to have access to an LCD projector connected to a computer in the classroom if previously, the "normal" technology in the room was an overhead projector.
pjt111 taylor on 18 Sep 11Taking Yourself Seriously: Processes of Research and Engagement is the working title of a book by Peter Taylor and Jeremy Szteiter that assembles the tools and processes from research and writing courses taught in the Graduate Program in Critical and Creative Thinking. The most up to date version of the book can be viewed at http://cct.wikispaces.umb.edu/TYS (and associated links, including a link to a full pdf of the book). "For your research and writing to progress well, your questions and ideas need to be in alignment with your aspirations, your ability to take or influence action, and your relationships with other people. Shorten these items to head, heart, hands, and human connections. Your efforts to bring these 4H's into alignment is what we mean when we invite you to take yourself seriously." Some comments from former students looking back on the influence of the research courses out of which this book has arisen: Jane, a healthcare professional and story-teller: I learned is to 'hold my ideas loosely', which means accepting my own idea as a valid one but always leaving the space open to take in the counterarguments. I learned to give myself permission to be circular and come back to previous steps or thoughts, and I actually became more comfortable doing so. I was able to get engaged in a project that I was able to actually use in work, which was extremely satisfying. The whole process encouraged me, and I felt very empowered as a change agent, which could be an exhilarating feeling.
