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Answer Garden

If you accept that Learning is a Conversation, and that some of the most powerful learning can take place in the process of conversing and exchanging ideas with others, then setting up ways to have as many of these conversations as possible seems like an obvious thing to do.

It might be easy to think that the people on the stage at conferences have the knowledge and that if we simply listen to them we will get wisdom, but the truth is that sometimes it just doesn't work like that, and even if it does, most of those ideas gather far more momentum once we start to internalise them through further conversation with others. Ideas beget ideas, one thing leads to another, and you often find some of the best, most useful ideas come to you not from what was said by a speaker, but from things that came to to you as a result of further conversation about what was said.  (by the way, the same logic applies in classrooms too!)

If we limit our notion of learning to the "official" channel - the teacher, the textbook, the syllabus - we miss so much. Yes, learning happens at school, but what about outside school? Yes, learning happens in the classroom, but what about outside the classroom? Yes, learning happens in the act of "being taught", but what about when we are not "being taught"?

days could more accurately be described as the electronic version of class hand-outs. These courses usually consist of a course description, a syllabus, lecture notes, reading lists, and assignment checklists. In other words, whatever materials a student might have viewed on paper in the past are now read onscreen, and whatever presentations a student might have watched in the classroom are now observed on their screen

Online Course Design Pitfall #1: Upload your course materials, then call it a day.Reading your course material on a computer screen does not make for a memorable learning experience. Step back and take a fresh look at your content in the larger context of the world and the Web

Online Course Design Pitfall #2: Let the course management system drive your thinking.Course management systems (CMS) are usually preconfigured with a course template that instructors are expected to populate with their course description, syllabus, assignments, and announcements. Often these templates

When a student says, “Just tell me what you want,” the student could be speaking from a place of great frustration.

if students know what we want them to do and they understand how we will evaluate their efforts, they are more apt to do the work we assign.  They’ll take chances, and they’ll do so without much complaint. If we want students to take chances, they must be able to trust us.

Have I met my office hours?  (If not, have I left a note or alerted students to the change?) Is my syllabus online or otherwise available other than on the first day of the semester? Do I return student work in a reasonable amount of time? Do I require a textbook, and am I using that book? Do I respect my students and the knowledge they bring to the classroom? Have I set clear guidelines about assignments, even if the assignment is broad? If I have strict syllabus policies, do I enforce them equally and fairly? Am I creative or innovative in my approach to the subject?  (Am I modeling the kind of behavior/actions I wish to see in my students?) Have I been clear about how interpretive or creative takes on assignments will be evaluated?  (Am I sure I’m not evaluating harshly, for example, if I disagree with the student’s interpretation of the assignment?)

There are several ways we can use Twitter in education and here is briefly a set of  some of the most important ones that you need to keep in your mind while using this social network. Hold after class discussions Create an online community of students Ask questions relevant to course materials Start backchannel talks  Create a classroom hashtag Use it for class announcements Get feedback from students Share interesting online materials Pass on information about events Have a Twitter account for each class Reward participation Integrate Twitter into Syllabus

Though these tools you can draw, edit, save and share your diagrams like flowchart, network diagram, wireframe, Organizational charts etc. Most of them have free basic option or free trail that you could use and experience these tools.

Propose what grade they deserve for class participation thus far, and Defend their proposed grade with evidence from the classroom.

Last May Brian shared how he grades students' class participation.

The assignment sheet for these classes is simple: on it I've printed the class participation policy from the syllabus. I ask students to write a one-page essay in which they: