Group items tagged

"Today's students have grown up in the digital age, and are generally accustomed to having questions answered at the click of a button-but that doesn't mean they all know how to conduct meaningful, thorough research. Studies show that while a majority of students turn to search engines when conducting research, most of them are behind the times when it comes to utilizing keywords or smart search methods to retrieve the best possible results. Three in four college students monitored were deemed incapable of conducting a "reasonably well-executed" Google search, and for many educators, the concern is that while students do have a great deal of data at their disposal, most of them don't know the best way to access it. "

Here are links to number of interesting presentations from the "E-books in Libraries: A Global Question of Survival?" seminar that took place in London on February 2013. The event was co-sponsored by IFLA MLAS (Management of Library Associations Committee) and CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) and featured presentations by experts about the ebook situation in libraries around the world.

"With the release of GeoSettr you can now create your own GeoGuessr game based on your favorite locations and Street Views. Using GeoSettr you can create your own GeoGusser game of five questions. All you have to do is choose five locations on a Google Map and then you then get a unique link to your game that you can share with your friends."

Our Little Earth is a nice site that provides bi-weekly summaries of the world's biggest news stories. The summaries are written for students. Each edition includes video clips along with the stories. In each edition you'll find stories appropriate for use in social studies, math, and science lessons. You may also find stories about the arts, entertainment, and popular culture. A few "did you know" questions appear in each issue as well. An archive containing every edition going back to 2007 is available too.

You can also insert the term "Tablet" for iPad: the questions and arguments for thinking about the task before the technologies are still very valid and worth considering. 

A post that clearly sets out a plan for teaching students about good digital citizenship and how to maintain a positive digital footprint.

Have you ever Googled yourself ? Have you ever checked your virtual identity? Do you know that you leave a digital footprint every time you get online? Do you know that whatever you do online is accumulated into a digital dossier traceable by others ? These and several other similar questions are but the emerging tip of the sinking iceberg.One that is packed full of concerns related to issues of our online identity and privacy issues.

Earlier this year, the Federal Court of Australia made a decision on this very question when a senior public servant was sacked due to looking at legal pornography, using his own internet connection, in his own home. The only problem was that the employee viewed the material using the work laptop which was monitored by the employers.

"It's common for Facebook to undergo drastic (or silent) changes whether the users like it or not. The real question is, how ready are you when Facebook is determined to 'make the world more open and connected'? Have you made full use of the privacy and account settings to your advantage? Also, if you've been observant enough you should've discovered several improvements on the existing features to make them more visible and user friendly. Why not give this list a run-through and see if you missed any."

"Every Teachmeet I have attended has been different. Different because of the venues, the presentations, the time of the day, the day of the week, the people who attend. This is one of the reasons I like them. Teachers sharing passion, interest, skills, questions and ideas."

Peter DeWitt questions why we do not make better use of blogs to support learning. He provides a number of possibilities, including curation, media literacy, student voice, assessing learning, collaboration and artistic freedom.

The are some good ideas here as well as some questions you could ask before beginning coding in your classroom.

"Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide from 2-4pm Eastern time as part of NPR's 'Talk of the Nation' programming. Each week, we focus on science topics that are in the news and try to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join Science Friday's host, Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science - and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program."

Wide range of resources including pod- and vodcasts (on iTunes & for download & available for mobile devices). The 'Talking Science' section has a section especially for Teachers which includes lesson plans & resources linked with video/audio material.

As the post-PC era moves from interesting theory to cold, hard reality, one of the most pressing questions is: How can we use tablets, and especially the iPad, to help people learn? Most of the focus has been on ebooks replacing textbooks, a trend fueled by Apple's recent updates to iBooks. Specifically, the company released iBooks Author, a tool for creating immersive ebooks on the desktop. Plus, the new iPad is now the first tablet with a retina screen, making reading and watching multimedia on the device even more enjoyable. But technology is only as good as the system it's applied to. Much like a fresh coat of paint will not improve the fuel efficiency of a '69 Mustang, the application of technology to a broken system masks deeper problems with short-term gains.

Too often the conversation surrounding the flipped classroom focuses on the videos- creating them, hosting them, and assessing student understanding of the content via simple questions or summary assignments. I wish the conversation focused more on what actually happens in a flipped classroom. If we move lecture or the transfer of knowledge online to create time and space in the physical classroom, how are we using that time to improve learning for students? What is our role as the teacher in the flipped classroom? How are we maximizing the potential of the group when students are together to design collaborative, creative, student-centered activities and assignments? This is the part I want to hear more about!

Over the past couple of years, I've been trying to collect every good piece of writing and advice about verifying social media content and other types of information that flow across networks. This form of verification involves some new tools and techniques, and requires a basic understanding of the way networks operate and how people use them. It also requires many of the so-called old school values and techniques that have been around for a while: being skeptical, asking questions, tracking down high quality sources, exercising restraint, collaborating and communicating with team members. Post also contains a great Slideshare.

Part of the benefit of jumping forward with a 1:1 iPad deployment like we have tried is that we get the opportunity to impart knowledge to other districts looking to do a similar initiative. While that might not seem like a benefit, it actually also means we can make some mistakes because there is not a long history of this type of deployment in the world. Many districts have had 1:1 Laptop projects, which we have benefited from and could easily be applied to this list I'm about to share. However, for the sake of our specific district, and the questions I get from other districts on a daily basis, I'm going to break down the ten things you should NOT do when implementing a 1:1 iPad program.

To be checked 

Create interactive classes with ease Using the Nearpod Content Tool, simply upload a pdf or start a new presentation and add interactive features. Share content in real time Push information, questions, and activities to students' mobile devices. Engage students Multimedia content harnesses students' attention, keeping them focused and minimizing off-task behavior. Control students' devices Teachers can see all student activity in real-time, check attendance and identify students who log out from Nearpod.

"The battle for supremacy in the K-12 whiteboard market is heating up. Companies are scrambling for new sources of revenue, making strategic moves to reinvent their products in the age of tablet computing, and sizing up their competitors to see what they can do to differentiate themselves from the pack. Who ultimately ends up on top has huge implications for educational technology leaders, who must determine which company is the best fit for their needs, and at a cost their districts can afford in still-difficult budget times. Complicating those decisions are changes in the technological landscape that are raising questions about the long-term educational relevance of interactive whiteboards. Do classrooms really need them in the age of iPads?"