A sense of community is created where people have a common goal, such as a project, or can benefit from working together. One of those benefits is social capital, as mentioned above. Another is increased learning.
Members of an online community gain social capital by making thoughtful or helpful contributions.
Members of an online community gain social capital by making thoughtful or helpful contributions. This can be made tangible by a rating system - some forums have thumbs up or down or voting systems for forum posts.
Social capital is a natural and logical consequence/reward of a student's (or anyone's) online behavior and contributions, and as such, it is a powerful tool for educators to include in their online courses to ensure student engagement and retention.
Good points. On Group bookmarks we have votes now. Will be adding more meaningful (ie. taken anti-spam into consideration) contribution attributes to reward user participation!
A sense of community is created where people have a common goal, such as a project, or can benefit from working together. One of those benefits is social capital, as mentioned above. Another is increased learning.
If you want to truly learn something, there is nothing like teaching it, so allowing, in fact encouraging, students to help one another solve problems, to teach each other, increases learning for both the helper and the helped.
A group can gain social capital by being proud of what it creates and getting positive feedback from other groups. A chance for students, whether working as individuals or in collaborative groups, to give feedback to each other is a valuable tool for creating a greater sense of community and engagement toward common goals.
Bookmarking, Sharing, Highlighting, and Annotating Online Resources:Diigo is a great tool for Educators, because you can form a group, and share bookmarks, which each member can highlight and comment on. Diigo is a fantastic tool for sharing resources and collaborating. Now, they have come out with Diigo for Educators, to make it even better!
But the two tasks I’ve described are a real test for
children, developed in Switzerland.
They are phenomenally accurate at predicting full-scale intelligence scores. On
5 and 6 year-old kids, this simple test is virtually synonymous with a
90-minute intelligence test of their full cognitive capacities; the two tests
have a 99% correlation. It turns out that kindergartners who are really good at
sorting line length and relative weight are the exact same kids who score high
on tests of conceptual reasoning, memory, and attention.
trending topics. They’re essentially a taste of what’s on people’s minds and typically revolve around recent news, television events, buzz generating blog posts and of course, memes.
Not only that, considering that according to their research, a trending topic has an average shelf life of about 11 minutes, there would need to be more than 100 tweets per minute for it to attain the ‘weight’ needed
As popular as Twitter is, as popular as Facebook is, they are both still used by only a fraction of educators, and within that fraction, they only reach the niche audience you have.
It's probably my Engineering background but some of these assume (incorrectly) alot. For example.
"A man is lying dead in a room. There is a large pile of gold and jewels on the floor, a chandelier attached to the ceiling, and a large open window."
"Lying" leads one to believe the man is being held down by weight. If we assume he properly set his ballasts for zero/neutral buoyancy he would be floating especially given his now empty tank. Also most wreckage divers use some form of balloon or cabling system attached to a boat to help "carry" heavy loads to the surface. So he wouldn't have been held down by the find.
Finally, only the most experienced divers, with the proper training dive for salvage. An experience diver would never be caught out with no air. Not to mention the problems states there is an easy access path with the "large window" so even if things went completely wrong, the diver could have at least tried for the surface.
I'm with Sigrid, not for me. ;-)
Nice job coming back to Freeman. I would like to have seen more of this back-and-forth between the authors.
Mark Fenton expressed in the article “Battling America’s Epidemic of Physical Inactivity: Building More Walkable, Livable Communities” many different things we can do to help the obesity problem in America. Fenton states, “We must create environments in which physical activity becomes a routine part of the day for more Americans.” By creating a more pedestrian friendly atmosphere it will encourage people to walk or bicycle to their destination instead of always using their automobiles. I agree with what Fenton is trying to explain within in his research. Children learn by the examples that are being set around them. If they see everyone driving in their cars every where they go the only thing they have in their heads is, “I can’t wait until i can drive.” Instead of realizing they can go the same exact distance on their bike and be much more healthy than if they were driving a car. Fenton expresses, “We all must become role models by walking and cycling whenever possible and inviting others to do so with us.” People don’t like feeling abnormal; they want to do what other people are doing around them. Which is a very true assumption on Fentons part, we must become the role models for the youth around us. We set the standards of what is acceptable and what isn’t. We need to change the “norms” while it’s still possible and contribute to reversing the obesity problem
Great job here dealing with your source material. You quote, come-to-terms, reflect on the material you've introduced, and offer your own position. Then you come back to another quote by Fenton, and do much of the same. Excellent!
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:
Plantary properties has a great lesson for your weight and age on other planets.
More than 25 hands-on science activities are provided in classroom-ready pages for both teachers and students for exploring Earth, the planets, geology, and space sciences.
A traditional “A-F” report card doesn’t inspire that type of insight for the students or the people they need to share it with in order to get into high school or college or get a job. A collection of badges from classroombadges.com would be much more like sharing a personal “yearbook” of academic accomplishments. I love that idea.
"I admit this title makes a pretty bold statement for a society that pretty much uses the first five letters of the alphabet to define every child from about age 5 until adulthood. But, I am hearing more and more about the use of badges in the classroom, especially in conversations about gamification and self motivation."
I have been trying out some grading apps and am intrigued by ActivGrade because instead of being focused on a letter grade A-F, I could see students being more concerned with mastering a goal. Their "grade" is a color toward mastery of a standard. Red means I have a lot of work to do to master this, yellow means I'm making progress toward mastery and green means I've mastered this goal at this point. One grading algorithm to choose from in the app is a calculation which puts a 75% weight on the student's most recent assignment for a given concept. This means that as I get better at a skill, my most recent attempt at showing my mastery over the skill is worth more for my grade than my prior attempts. This seems like smart grading practice to me.
A good timeline creating site. Add text and pictures to your timeline and embed on your site or blog. Easy to collaborate and share with others.
http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/History
ANOREXIA20/01/2014Anorexia nervosa is a potentially life-threatening condition in which an obsession with thinness leads to severe dieting and excessive weight loss.
t also helps them assign the appropriate balance of points in relation to the importance of each target as well as the number of items for each assessed target.
At first when looking at this test plan, I questioned how an English teacher who gives very few "tests" in favor of application essays would create a test plan. However, then I realized that each of the learning targets is really just a criterion on a rubric. Instead of having a certain number of questions, each category is worth a different weight. That makes the test plan idea make much more sense in my mind.
minimizing any bias that might distort estimates of student learning.
Will the users of the results understand them and see the connection to learning?
From a formative point of view, decision makers at the classroom assessment level need evidence of where students are on the learning continuum toward each standard
This explains, in real terms, why I've had so much struggle with online reading! Very interesting article.
Because of these preferences—and because getting away from multipurpose screens improves concentration—people consistently say that when they really want to dive into a text, they read it on paper
This is backed up by a recent article: Faris, Michael J., and Stuart A. Selber. "E-Book Issues In Composition: A Partial Assessment And Perspective For Teachers." Composition Forum 24.(2011): ERIC. Web. 31 Mar. 2013.
Surveys and consumer reports also suggest that the sensory experiences typically associated with reading—especially tactile experiences—matter to people more than one might assume.
When reading a paper book, one can feel the paper and ink and smooth or fold a page with one's fingers; the pages make a distinctive sound when turned; and underlining or highlighting a sentence with ink permanently alters the paper's chemistry.
discernible size, shape and weight.
Although many old and recent studies conclude that people understand what they read on paper more thoroughly than what they read on screens, the differences are often small. Some experiments, however, suggest that researchers should look not just at immediate reading comprehension, but also at long-term memory.
When taking the quiz, volunteers who had read study material on a monitor relied much more on remembering than on knowing, whereas students who read on paper depended equally on remembering and knowing.
E-ink is easy on the eyes because it reflects ambient light just like a paper book, but computer screens, smartphones and tablets like the iPad shine light directly into people's faces.
the American Optometric Association officially recognizes computer vision syndrome.
People who took the test on a computer scored lower and reported higher levels of stress and tiredness than people who completed it on paper.
Although people in both groups performed equally well on the READ test, those who had to scroll through the continuous text did not do as well on the attention and working-memory tests.
Subconsciously, many people may think of reading on a computer or tablet as a less serious affair than reading on paper. Based on a detailed 2005 survey of 113 people in northern California, Ziming Liu of San Jose State University concluded that people reading on screens take a lot of shortcuts—they spend more time browsing, scanning and hunting for keywords compared with people reading on paper, and are more likely to read a document once, and only once.
When reading on screens, people seem less inclined to engage in what psychologists call metacognitive learning regulation—strategies such as setting specific goals, rereading difficult sections and checking how much one has understood along the way
Perhaps she and her peers will grow up without the subtle bias against screens that seems to lurk in the minds of older generations.
They think of using an e-book, not owning an e-book,"
Participants in her studies say that when they really like an electronic book, they go out and get the paper version.
When it comes to intensively reading long pieces of plain text, paper and ink may still have the advantage. But text is not the only way to read.
Very clear imagery. He opens the essay with his personal anecdote to set the scene for this discussion. It also lets the reader know right away that he is a gun owner.
What I was doing was perfectly legal. In North Carolina, long-gun transfers by private sellers require no background checks.
so long as the buyer has a purchase permit or a concealed-carry license.
I felt uneasy
He liked the rifle. I needed the cash. We shook hands, and off we went.
There is rarely a moment when I’m not within reach of a firearm.
We don’t touch the guns or draw them from their holsters. They are unseen and unspoken of, but always there.
Rarely do we mention what we carry
I didn’t know what I was doing, but I knew the rules: Always assume a firearm is loaded. Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. Know your target and what’s beyond it.
Guns were often a bridge between father and son.
or my family, guns had always been a means of putting food on the table. My father never owned a handgun. He kept nothing for home defense.
had a gun put to my head
I can remember that
steel
I can remember
In the end, what happened was swept under the rug. My parents said the school was probably trying to keep the story off the news.
surrounded myself with the people I did as a form of protection.
I dropped to the ground as gunfire rang from a car at a bonfire party.
I pushed friends behind the brick foundation of a house as a shootout erupted over pills. There were times when someone could have easily been shot and killed.
his service weapon pushed into the base of my skull.
I stood there trembling while they apologized.
Jackson County
I found a community that reminded me of my grandmother, where folks still kept big gardens and canned the vegetables they grew. They still filled the freezer with meat taken by rod and rifle — trout and turkey, dove and rabbit, deer, bear, anything in season.
hared passion for wilderness and time spent in the field with gun in hand.
Those types of things are rare now, even in places like Appalachia.
A few weeks later, the boy took that .30-30 lever action into the field and killed his first deer with it — the same as his uncle, his grandfather and great-grandfather.
centuries of experience gathered around the campfire each night
the .308 blew apart the morning.
There is a sadness that only hunters know, a moment when lament overshadows any desire for celebration
Life is sustained by death
the killing is not easy, nor should it be.
would feed me for a year
I asked if there was anything I could’ve done differently to make him more comfortable when he first approached the truck.
He smiled and told me: “But this is South Carolina. Most every car I pull over has a gun.”
As I headed toward the mountains, all I could think about was Philando Castile,
situation was re
All I could think about was how things might have been different if the
versed and that young black state trooper with braces had been behind the wheel, a white trooper cautiously approaching the car.
It was impossible not to recognize how gun culture reeks of privilege.
This guy knows his guns. Even though his essay doesn't cite research, you can see his ethos through his personal experience and his use of precise jargon.
There were always guns, but nothing like the assault weapons that line the shelves today.
firearms whose sole purpose would be to take human life if I were left with no other choice.
I’ve witnessed how quickly a moment can turn to a matter of life and death. I live in a region where 911 calls might not bring blue lights for an hour. Whether it’s preparation or paranoia, I plan for worst-case scenarios and trust no one but myself for my survival.
they joke about the minute hand of the doomsday clock inching closer to midnight.
as they wait for the end of the world.
they own them because they’re fun at the range and affordable to shoot. They use the rifles for punching paper, a few for shooting coyotes. E
step as close to Title II of the federal Gun Control Act as legally possible without the red tape and paperwork. They fire bullets into Tannerite targets that blow pumpkins into the sky.
None of them see a connection between the weapons they own and the shootings at Sandy Hook, San Bernardino, Aurora, Orlando, Las Vegas, Parkland. They see mug shots of James Holmes, Omar Mateen, Stephen Paddock, Nikolas Cruz — “crazier than a shithouse rat,” they say. “If it hadn’t been that rifle, he’d have done it with something else.”
Where is the fault in this logic? It just doesn't add up.
They fear that what starts as an assault-weapons ban will snowball into an attack on everything in the safe.
I understand what’s at stake
I think about that boy picking up that AR in Cabela’s, and I’m torn between the culture I grew up with and how that culture has devolved.
changes I know must come, changes to what types of firearms line the shelves and to the background checks and ownership requirements needed to carry one out the door.
an unrelenting fear of what could be lost
a subsistence culture already threatened by the loss of public land, rising costs and a widening rural-urban divide; the right of individuals to protect their own lives and the lives of their families.
He cut a look in my direction as if I’d absolutely lost my mind.
I’d be fine with an assault-weapons ban
question is irrelevant, that the reason doesn’t supersede the right.
Despite everything we have in common, despite the fact that he’s my best friend and we were going squirrel hunting in a few days, the two of us fundamentally disagree
As sad as it is to say, the silence is easier
there were kids on the television in the background, high school survivors who were willing to say what we are not, and I was ashamed.
ne of those pretty, late-winter days with bluebird skies when the trees are still naked on the mountains and you can see every shadow and contour of the landscape.
The muzzle was pointed in our direction. Ashley was terrified.
The truth is, there are guns I feel justified in owning and guns I feel belong on battlefields.
I know that part of what they’re missing or refusing to acknowledge is how fear ushered in this shift in gun culture over the past two decades.
Fear is the factor no one wants to address — fear of criminals, fear of terrorists, fear of the government’s turning tyrannical and, perhaps more than anything else, fear of one another.
I recognize this, because I recognize my own and I recognize that despite all I know and believe I can’t seem to overcome it.
I don’t buy into that only-way-to-stop-a-bad-guy-with-a-gun-is-a-good-guy-with-a-gun bravado.
I have no visions of being a hero. Instead, I find myself looking for where I’d run, asking myself what I would get behind. The gun is the last resort. It’s the final option when all else is exhausted.
we walked, I could feel the pistol holstered on my side, the weight of my gun tugging at my belt. The fear was lessened by knowing that there was a round chambered, that all it would take is the downward push of a safety and the short pull of a trigger for that bullet to breathe. I felt safer knowing that gun was there.
How does fear drive so many of us to distrust and hate our fellow Americans? How does the Gun Lobby and the NRA use this fear to their advantage? What role does fear play in racial prejudice? How do we combat and address this fear?
Thoughtful article on "social capital"
