Group items tagged

"Understand the science in your own life! Our weekly videos cover all sorts of quirky and mind blowing science. So what are you waiting for?" [YouTube channel of science videos in RSAanimate-style]

(via @wfryer)

"Technology has evolved at a neck-snapping pace. We see it every day as we all learn about new web tools, apps, startups, and ideas in the education technology arena. We have bright eyes staring toward the horizon and we're all hoping for a bright future for our students. But it's important to look back. I've found you never truly know where you're headed until you understand where you've been. In terms of education technology (emphasis on technology), we've come so far. Let's look at an interesting image that I came across whilst browsing the ol' Pinterest:"

"Knowing how to search Google isn't just helpful for your own searches, but can help you to better understand and utilize search engine optimization strategies."

"What I gained from this exercise was a thorough understanding of issues surrounding Cloud Computing and the information I needed to be able to speak confidently with my school community about the move we were making. If you're a school looking to move into the Cloud Computing space, then measures like this are necessary. If you're an Australian school looking for links to assist you with the process, then take a look at the following."

Mutt Susan from Digital Divide and Conquer has created a great rubric to assist students in understanding and analyzing the apps they find. The Student App Review Rubric has five criteria that students can use when assessing an app. Each of the criteria can be given a numerical number from 0 to 4 with 4 as the top grade. The 5 criteria are: 1. Looks and sound, 2. Engagement and motivation. 3. User friendly directions and instructions. 4. Performance and ease of use. 5. Differentiation in learning.

"Geography Soup is a bespoke collection of short films curated for Geography teachers to use in the classroom. Every one is chosen for it's ability to take us slightly off the beaten track & to inspire us to learn & understand a little bit more about our planet & how we interact with it. Each film is a starting point to a lesson, a topic, a line of enquiry & a learning journey."

No one who is part of this new movement believes all kids should grow up to be programmers. We believe it would be a beautiful outcome if all kids grew up knowing how to use computers to enhance their natural abilities, whatever those are, and grew up with the confidence to be "makers" instead of just consumers. Computer programming is ultimately about problem solving and creating. "Thinking like a computer scientist" really means understanding what problem you are facing and breaking down that problem into solvable chunks. The better you get at recognizing the problem the more efficient your solutions become."

Reeve is a member of an elite covert group thought not to exist anymore, he is captured, beaten and brutally tortured, by the very Governments he used to work for. With the help of his old mentor John Carpenter, Reeve must strip away, and rid himself of the emerging demons of his past, so that he may understand the core essence of Ninjutsu, the Ninja's Immovable heart, in order to remember how and why he was captured, and what he is meant to do, before time runs out and his captors discover why he is really here.

"Digital Information Fluency (DIF) is the ability to find, evaluate and use digital information effectively, efficiently and ethically. DIF involves Internet search skills that start with understanding how digital information is different from print information, knowing how to use specialized tools for finding digital information and strengthening the dispositions needed in the digital information environment. As teachers and librarians develop these skills and teach them to students, students will become better equipped to achieve their information needs."

Some intersting ideas here that examine how to use specialised tools for finding digital information.

"Welcome to another post that is a new entry in my Googal In Google Series. In fact, I was ecstatic about the enthusiastic responses from my Ten Items All Should Know When Using Google Basic Search… Far From Basic posting. (If you didn't see it, give it a click.) In this first of a three part posting I will cover some great things to know about Google Advanced Search. I will even try to convince you that perhaps you will increase student understanding by teaching them to search with the Advanced Search Page! As always, feel free to subscribe to this Blog by RSS or email, follow me on twitter at (@mjgormans), and also discover some great resources at my 21centuryedtech Wiki! You will also find my other postings at Tech and Learning Magazine. Now let's take a moment and advance to some of the advanced search strategies using Google Advanced Search! - Have a great week - Mike"

"This is a continuing article in my series "The Googal In Google" This posting will focus on the art of searching using the basic Google search engine. I have tried to include the obvious and the not so obvious techniques. As you look through, I am almost certain you will learn something new. Please share this article with other educators and students. Just understanding these ten concepts will assist anyone into being a more productive researcher. As always, please feel free to follow me on twitter at (@mjgormans), I will do the same. Also, please take a moment to subscribe to this blog by email or RSS. I am always finding useful information to share! Let's begin our search. - Mike"

Despite staff constantly reinforcing the message with students that they need to construct proper bibliographies, I still see plenty of kids creating them with just the bare url and no other detail about the site they sourced their information from. I think Wikipedia have provided me with some terminology and explanations I can use with the students that will help them understand the importance of a citation using full details.

Initiated and funded by AusAID to support its Global Education Program. This is an Australian website with an Australian focus on world issues. The objective of the Global Education Website is to increase the amount and quality of teaching of global education in Australian primary and secondary schools. The site supports the AusAID Global Education Program which aims to raise awareness and understanding among Australian school students of international issues, development and poverty, and to prepare them to live in an increasingly globalised world and to be active citizens shaping better futures.

An engaging way to learn about the impact of tsunamis, floods, earthquakes and volcanoes, and what humans can do to minimise the cost. This website has been a hit with my students during our science study on 'Natural Disasters.' Allowing them to learn through their own experiences and mistakes leads to some powerful sharing and reflection. An example of how games can be used in the classroom to not only support, but extend, the students understanding of these concepts.

Understanding current events in the light of history.

"If you've ever visited a website that handles even the smallest bit of your personal information, there's a good chance (hopefully) that it's asked you to read through a privacy policy or two. Rather than pour over the details, many of us simply click on 'I AGREE!' and proceed with using the application. Even the companies and websites involved understand this and make it as easy as possible to satisfy lawyers as well as users. What's the harm in essentially ignoring that privacy policy? While the majority of the time it's harmless, there are some ne'er-do-wells that may gather your personal information and sell it to marketers, advertisers, or spammers. While terrible, it's not unheard of."

Exploriments are simulation-based interactive learning units for enhancing conceptual understanding in Science and Math in an experiential manner. Useful for students and teachers alike, Exploriments provide a highly interactive, exploratory, and engaging experience.

Our society has been irreversibly affected by a new phenomenon in InfoWhelm - an unparalleled access to a wealth of online information, never before seen or heard of. Learning has truly become a lifelong pursuit, and it can happen anytime and anywhere in our Information age. But how do we determine good from the bad, interpret right from wrong, and distinguish complete, accurate, and usable data from a sea of irrelevance and digital inundation? The skills to help us best understand and make use of the wealth of knowledge at our fingertips is essential to life and success both in the classrooms and workforces of the 21st century.

"FluidMath enables teachers and students to easily create, solve, graph and animate math and physics problems all in their own hand-writing on the screen of a Tablet PC or Interactive Whiteboard. For teachers, it is designed to assist in creating dynamic instructional materials for the classroom providing engaging learning experiences. For students, it is designed to help explore and understand concepts in mathematics and science."

Cool, new tablet pc math software that recognizes handwriting. It solves, graphs and animates math problems. I made these demo screencasts using FluidMath: http://bit.ly/kweHFN

"Over the last few months, Facebook has launched several initiatives and features to help you keep your account and data secure. Back in May, the company revealed it was switching over to the secure HTTPS protocol and announced details of its login approvals feature. Facebook has also teamed up with Web of Trust to help protect you from scam websites and recently added its social reporting tool to its mobile website. In addition, the company has launched a bug bounty program that rewards security researchers for finding flaws in the social network's security systems. To help you understand the social network's security features and how to protect your account, a Guide To Facebook Security has been launched. The guide, which you can download from Facebook, is 14 pages long and offers all kinds of tips on how to protect your account, including how to spot and avoid scam apps and clickjacking."