Group items tagged

Twitter is one of the most widely used social media platforms used in our society. This project relies on this wide usage to quickly gather some statistics for a class to examine. For this project, the teacher posed a question on twitter about how likely it was for the person reading the tweet to get snow the next day. The next day students logged onto Twitter and read the responses to the question using its hashtag. Students were then able to respond if they wanted for further information. As a class, they organized the tweets based on how likely it was for the responders to get snow. They also organized the tweets globally to see where the responses were coming from. This is a great activity because it forces students to compare different statistical values and evaluate statistical language. I like this activity because different questions can be posted regularly. This can even be tweaked were questions or polls are tweeted and the class responds for the data. Statistics is one of the most widely used branches of mathematics and this activity gives students great practical exposure. I could see myself using this project with my students during our statistics unit.

This site provides a wide variety of information on important topics in education, including many statistics on educational technology and integration.

A simulation game about the capture / recapture of fish. Its goal is to teach students about Hypergeometric distribution as well as other basic statistical concepts like estimation and confidence intervals.

This resource I came across provides resources for all types of social media. Within this specific page, the topic addresses the best practices for Twitter used in the classroom. It provides information on the use of Twitter within primary and secondary schools as well as higher education. Statistics are presented to show usage within the school amongst scholars and faculty. This site is also an interactive social media network system for questions and comments.

Interesting statistical information about the desire for technology integration and actual users.

This sis a great site for those who teach history - World or US. It has a ton of information on WWII and can be used for a number of different activities.

This study from Pew Research Center offers a good look at just who in American culture plays digital games regularly. The statistics here might be surprising.

This project has students examining statistics using blogs. For this project, the teacher gave her class data from a survey given to students from the year prior. The classes goal was to tell a story of the prior years class using statistics. Students had to find tools online to create visual representations of their data. They used their class blog as a hub for exchanging good resources and ideas. When they finished creating their visuals and summarizing the data, they finalized their work in a personal blog entry. Then students shared their blog posts and were given time to read and comment on other students interpretations. This a great project because it gives students an opportunity to write about math which doesn't happen as often as it should. It also gives students insight into all the different ways a set of data can be perceived. I like extending this idea of blogging to being a hub where students finalize and reflect on all of their projects during the year. As an English teacher, I value writing. I really value and chance I can to incorporate writing into my math class.

This fact sheet from the National Center for Education Statistics provides a good overview of the prevalence of Internet usage in schools in the U.S.

This article, although stating a case for social media, gives many examples of uses for social media. It also gives examples of teachers that have used these social media in successful ways and gives statistics to back up their claims.

E.Delmatoff of Portland Oregon uses social media to help meet the schools "adequate yearly progress goal" for the first time ever.

Retirees maintain personal interests---just as commonly as non-retirees. The love of learning and being a part of community does not disappear once one has retired. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people 65 and older spend at least 2 hours per day undertaking leisure activities. This article explores the idea of shifting from professional communities of interest to personal communities of interest in retirement and discusses PLNs in retirement that usually consist of friends and family members. The author focuses on the usage of social media for retirees to keep connected with one another.

Contains 4 math programs that allows teachers and students to create equations, drawings, graphs and statistical graphs on the computer. Offers EmPower Program that will give a disabled student a free 10-year license for these programs.

This article gave an overview of what a community of practice is - but what I really like where the graphics included, especially the one on social media in the classroom - some cool statistics presented in an eye appealing manner.

I really like the visual representation at the top of this post. It shows the circular nature of communities of practice and breaks down the key ideas nicely.

The average value is very desirable in the world of statistics! Known as the central tendency, averages provide a way to understand the characteristics of a broad set of data. What are the different measures of central tendency? How can we calculate them? Let's explore this below!

The study in the paper was interesting as it looked at K-12 educators and their use of Twitter to research, relate and form PLNs. Twitter and other social medias have allowed teachers to form networks that are specific to their needs and wants in terms of their own professional growth. In the "End of Isolation" the researchers findings touched on the fact that "over 82% of the time, the educators in this study chose to follow other educators or content experts related to their field of teaching so they were able to create a personal learning network meaningful to their professional needs." Now I just need to work with teachers at my school site to help them realize the individualized professional potential!

This study underscored the benefits of Twitter for the educational community. The article shared the advantages to new teachers in particular, where one participant stated it changed her vision and practice in the classroom. Very powerful!

Of all the resources I have read thus far on PLNs, this particular article forced me to think deeper and reconsider my interpretation of this concept. First of all, I found that the article provided a picture of the quality of interaction that can occur within Twitter. The data collected by researchers provides an in depth look at Twitter as a PLN - a feat that few other resources I have read have accomplished. By detailing the amount, quality, and type of interactions and connections, a tangible conception of a PLN emerges, even for someone who has little to no experience with Twitter. Of the 10 surveyed, a majority of their connections and tweets were professionally related. According to Nussbaum-Beach (video I posted), the difference between a PLN and a CoP is the familiarity of the people and the connection to an idea or problem. However, this study provides a different perception of a PLN that is largely professionally based with strong two-way connections. These conclusions made me wonder if it is possible for facets of a PLN on Twitter to transform into a CoP. Further, at what point can one argue that a PLN has successfully transform into a virtual CoP? Thanks for sharing. This was an excellent read!

Breakdown of the theory of Connectivism, distinctions between groups and networks and learning about the history & application of Connectivism in education

This article talks about the importance of networks and the difference between a group emphasis and a network emphasis. The author discusses the importance of information running through a network of human and non-humans. He additionally outlines Siemen's principles of Connectivism. Further, he discusses the implications for using the principles of Connectivism by educators and within higher education.

Kelsey, thanks for sharing. I found the article relevant to my own practice as a higher ed librarian, where we are increasingly encouraging students to be producers of information and to participate in the scholarly conversation.

Great website for Civil War Units. There are maps, battle statistics, weapons, people, and slavery. Easy for students to use. Well-maintained and accurate.