Public Library of Science (PLOS) is a nonprofit publisher, membership, and advocacy organization with a mission to accelerate progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication.
Our core objectives are to:
Provide ways to overcome unnecessary barriers to immediate availability, access, and use of research
Pursue a publishing strategy that optimizes the openness, quality, and integrity of the publication process
Develop innovative approaches to the assessment, organization, and reuse of ideas and data
Unclutter your mind.
I’m all for not having to remember tech tutorials or the tour company we used in NYC, bookmarks allow me to archive that knowledge. They are my digital library.
Your browser enables you to save a link, place it in a folder, and possibly add a few tags (which you probably don’t use).
Can you annotate a link?
How about highlighting a portion of the page?
Does it take a snapshot of the page?
Will it create lists? Generate reports?
How effectively can you search your bookmarks?
How much more useful and complete would your links become with these tools?
Hyperlinks are pieces of information, we need context. What was important about the link? What we need is a library that has information about the data we collecting.
Welcome to Diigo
Social bookmarking and a whole lot more.
As you can see Diigo is an amazing tool that can revolutionize how you research and archive the web.
How Diigo can make you more productive?
Diigo’s research tools make archiving a breeze so you will build a much more complete and useful reference system. An online database that you can search and share with ease.
TakeAways
Bookmarking prevents us from having to remember.
Our bookmarks become a personal reference library
Diigo’s superior tools will help you create an amazing library.
Granted, there are no papers to grade, and assignments aren’t free-form, but how does one professor handle so many students?
We had four teaching assistants, and my initial plan was that they would spend a lot of time on the discussion forum, answering questions. One night in the early days, I was on the forum at 2 a.m. when I saw a student ask a question, and I was typing my answer when I discovered that another student had typed an answer before I could. It was in the right direction, but not quite there, so I thought I could modify it, but then some other student jumped in with the right answer. It was fascinating to see how quickly students were helping each other. All we had to do was go in and say that it was a good answer. I actually instructed the T.A.’s not to answer so quickly, to let students work for an hour or two, and by and large they find the answers.
Most students who register for MOOCs don’t complete the course. Of the 154,763 who registered for “Circuits and Electronics,” fewer than half even got as far as looking at the first problem set, and only 7,157 passed the course. What do you make of that?
EdX operates under an honor code, with no way to verify that the student who registered is the one doing the work. Is that likely to change?
It’s quite possible employers would be happy with an honor certificate. We’re looking at various methods of proctoring. We have talked about people going to centers to take exams. There are also companies that use the cameras inside a laptop or iPad to watch you and everything else that’s happening in the room while you take an exam, and that may be more scalable.
And because we will have all this data on how students actually use our materials, there are opportunities for research on learning. We can watch how many attempts students made before they got an exercise right, and if they got it wrong, what they used to try to find a solution. Did they go to the textbook, go back and watch the video, go to the forum and post a question?
"In this bulletin, we will summarize the trends, from youth sur‐ veys that have tracked bullying specifically, and also those that have tracked closely related phenomena such as school assaults, school thefts, school fighting and school hate speech."
A dozen activities are presented for using an online education technology tool to engage students in classroom activities to develop a better understanding of concepts.
Hyperlinks are pieces of information, we need context. What was important about the link? What we need is a library that has information about the data we collecting.
Diigo’s research tools make archiving a breeze so you will build a much more complete and useful reference system. An online database that you can search and share with ease.
TakeAways
Bookmarking prevents us from having to remember.
Our bookmarks become a personal reference library
Diigo’s superior tools will help you create an amazing library.
"it was confirmed that Elsevier bought Mendeley for an amount between $69-100 million. This announcement opened the floodgates of people denouncing the deal and Mendeley people's promises that they won't change. It was sad to see them try to promise something they will have no control over and never talking about any evidence or contractual obligations to protect what Mendeley is from what most people perceive Elsevier is."
Just 7% of the nation’s 18-to-24 year olds had dropped out of high school, continuing a steady decline in the nation’s dropout rate since 2000, when 12% of youth were dropouts.
The decline in the size of the Hispanic dropout population has been particularly noteworthy because it’s happened at the same time that the Hispanic youth population is growing.
census data show that Hispanics have reached a record high school completion rate.
When would-be college students apply for financial aid using the FAFSA, they are asked to list the colleges they are thinking about attending. The online version of the form asks applicants to submit up to 10 college names. The U.S. Department of Education then shares all the information on the FAFSA with all of the colleges on the list, as well as state agencies involved in awarding student aid. The form notes that the information could be used by state agencies, but there is no mention that individual colleges will use the information in admissions or financial aid -- and there is no indication that students could be punished by colleges for where they appear on the list.
Now, some colleges use this “FAFSA position” when considering students’ applications for admission, which may affect decisions about admission or placement on the wait list, said David Hawkins, director of public policy and research for the National Association for College Admission Counseling.
So the institution is disinclined to use up a precious admissions slot for a student who is unlikely to enroll.
“The student has no idea that this information is being used in this context,” Hawkins said. The federal government "doesn’t indicate it. Institutions certainly aren’t telling students they are using it. Certainly, this is a concern from this association’s standpoint.”
It's unclear if the Education Department was aware of this issue until contacted by Inside Higher Ed on Friday. The department now says it will review the longstanding practice of sharing the FAFSA positions with every college.
The use of the list on the FAFSA is just another example of how colleges are using increasingly sophisticated data mining techniques to recruit and shape their classes.
The effects of growing up in poverty, particularly for children raised in socially isolated, economically depressed urban areas, warrants greater concern, especially given that one out of every three Black children is raised in a poor household.(20) Here the evidence is clear that the risks faced by children, particularly African American males, in terms of health, welfare, and education, are substantially greater.(21) A recent longitudinal study on the development of children whose mothers used drugs (particularly crack cocaine) during pregnancy found that when compared to children residing in similar neighborhoods from similar socio-economic backgrounds, the children in the sample showed no greater evidence of long term negative effects. This is not because the incidence of physical and cognitive problems among the sample was not high, but because it was equally high for the control group. The stunned researchers, who fully expected to observe noticeable differences between the two groups, were compelled to conclude that the harmful effects of living within an impoverished inner-city environment outweighed the damage inflicted by early exposure to drugs.(22)
Children who read on grade level by the end of third grade are more successful in school, work, and in life. This KIDS COUNT special report affirms a commitment by the Casey Foundation to help ensure that all students are proficient in reading by the end of third grade and help narrow the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children.
only a small proportion of those surveyed are using technology such as virtual-research environments, social bookmarking, data and text mining, wikis, blogs and RSS-feed alerts in their work. This contrasts with the fact that many respondents professed to finding technological tools valuable.Just under half of those polled used RSS feeds and only about 10 per cent used social bookmarking, with Generation Y students exhibiting the same behaviour as other age groups.
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:
Continuously upgrade educators' classroom technology skills as a pre-requisite
of "highly effective" teaching
Home
Advocacy
Top Ten in '10: ISTE's Education Technology Priorities for 2010
Through a common focus on boosting student achievement and closing the
achievement gap, policymakers and educators alike are now reiterating their
commitment to the sorts of programs and instructional efforts that can have
maximum effect on instruction and student outcomes.
This commitment requires a keen understanding of both past accomplishment and
strategies for future success. Regardless of the specific improvement paths a
state or school district may chart, the use of technology in teaching and
learning is non-negotiable if we are to make real and lasting change.
With growing anticipation for Race to the Top (RttT) and Investing in
Innovation (i3) awards in 2010, states and school districts are seeing increased
attention on educational improvement, backed by financial support through these
grants.
As we think about plans for the future, the International Society for
Technology in Education (ISTE) has identified 10 priorities essential for making
good on this commitment in 2010:
1.
Establish technology in education as the
backbone of school improvement
. To truly improve our schools for the
long term and ensure that all students are equipped with the knowledge and
skills necessary to achieve in the 21st century, education technology must
permeate every corner of the learning process. From years of research, we
know that technology can serve as a primary driver for systemic school
improvement, including school leadership, an improved learning culture and
excellence in professional practice. We must ensure that technology is at the
foundation of current education reform efforts, and is explicit and clear in its
role, mission, and expected impact.
2.
Leverage education technology as a gateway
for college and career readiness
. Last year, President Obama established
a national goal of producing the highest percentage of college graduates in the
world by the year 2020. To achieve this goal in the next 10 years, we must
embrace new instructional approaches that both increase the college-going rates
and the high school graduation rates. By effectively engaging learning
through technology, teachers can demonstrate the relevance of 21st century
education, keeping more children in the pipeline as they pursue a rigorous,
interesting and pertinent PK-12 public education.
3.
Ensure technology expertise is infused
throughout our schools and classrooms.
In addition to providing all
teachers with digital tools and content we must ensure technology experts are
integrated throughout all schools, particularly as we increase focus and
priority on STEM (science-technology-engineering-mathematics) instruction and
expand distance and online learning opportunities for students. Just as we
prioritize reading and math experts, so too must we place a premium on
technology experts who can help the entire school maximize its resources and
opportunities. To support these experts, as well as all educators who
integrate technology into the overall curriculum, we must substantially increase
our support for the federal Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT)
program. EETT provides critical support for on-going professional
development, implementation of data-driven decision-making, personalized
learning opportunities, and increased parental involvement. EETT should be
increased to $500 million in FY2011.
4.
Continuously upgrade educators' classroom
technology skills as a pre-requisite
of "highly
effective" teaching
. As part of our nation's continued push to ensure
every classroom is led by a qualified, highly effective teacher, we must commit
that all P-12 educators have the skills to use modern information tools and
digital content to support student learning in content areas and for student
assessment. Effective teachers in the 21st Century should be, by definition,
technologically savvy teachers.
5. Invest in pre-service education
technology
Michelle Kassorla on 20 Jun 13Public Library of Science (PLOS) is a nonprofit publisher, membership, and advocacy organization with a mission to accelerate progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication. Our core objectives are to: Provide ways to overcome unnecessary barriers to immediate availability, access, and use of research Pursue a publishing strategy that optimizes the openness, quality, and integrity of the publication process Develop innovative approaches to the assessment, organization, and reuse of ideas and data
