Group items tagged

Great format for Reader's Workshop.

ISTE 2012 Movie Project Workshop

Google Workshops For Educators

To make the most out of this link, you'll want to explore beyond the first page because the entire website is a product. This website seems to stress the importance of doing cooperative learning that has much more structure than collaborative learning. In emphasizing the role structure plays in group dynamics, I am starting to see the differences between these "C" words more clearly.

Melissa, You are right, going into the links made this post even more interesting. I found value in the difference between this theory and other learning techniques being the fact that students work together. I love this! When my students work together they learn so much more. Kids have a way of explaining things to each other that is amazing. I found the link about using it in conjunction with other techniques a little vague. Maybe I should sign up for the workshop. I know I could use the information. Thanks for sharing.

This is an amazing resource! The videos and transcripts in the demonstration section are really good referents to define what specific behaviors we're looking for in terms of student collaboration. The exploration creates some guidance about how to look at and discuss the topics - I can totally imagine using this resource to work with a group of teachers on designing lessons that take advantage of cooperative groups.

In this article, Guldberg and Mackness focus on issues that both encourage and impede an individual's ability to participate in communities of practice. These issues were addressed based on their participation in a workshop focusing on understanding communities of practice. From this, they were able to identify five areas: emotion, technology, connectivity, understanding norms, and learning tensions that contributed to each participant's active or passive engagement in the workshop's community of practice.

Eric Sheninger presented on Professional Learning Networks-great resources from a principal, writer, and presenter. I have been in one of his workshops before, very enthusiastic and out spoken where technology in the schools is concerned. You can find him on Twitter and Pinterest too.

Upload images or draw onto bread, then toast! Educational link (from menu) has interesting facts about bread; donations made to Share Our strength for each piece of art created.

Blog author Steve Wheeler summarizes several writings on connectivism in this blog post. He highlights the connectivist idea that learning occurs outside the individual via social networks and PLNs. He also points to the shift in knowledge acquisition from one of "knowing information (aka memorization)" to "knowing how to locate information." He suggests it's vital that students learn to develop their own networks and personalized learning tools.

I enjoyed the quote from Siemens where he says that students need to find a method to develop their own learning tools, environment, and communities to store their knowledge. As educators, it is more important for us to guide students to find the information they require. Then coach them as to how they can store and display the knowledge they have acquired.

I found his "nutshell" comment about how connectivism argues it's more important to know where to find knowledge than it is to internalise it to be very helpful.

Specifically discussing how online communities are essential for professional development and growth in education, this report explores the factors of EDTECH that help enrich learning. The ecosystems in times of budget shortfalls provide creative means for educators to connect and stay connected to colleagues. Establishing or joining an existing community of practice is critical for educators looking to broaden their horizons. The issue is getting everyone on board and implement communities of practice within professional development workshops at schools.

This is a good set of tools and instructions for creating and maintaining a PLN.

I found these piece both extremely interesting and valuable. So true the way the author discusses the outcomes of a one-shot workshop vs. a "job-embedded, ongoing" (love the terms!) framework such as PLCs. The main benefits of the PLCs are 1) their are embedded into each school day and are facilitated by teacher support staff and 2) they are not collaboration for collaboration's sake! Instead, they engage teachers into an ongoing dialogue that is of their concern or interest right here, right now! Thus, meaningful collaboration results in meaningful outcomes. Great read!

There's two tools I'm seeing less and less that were included in this blog post. I'm seeing less people using wikis and also Ning seems to have been replaced maybe by Google+? I see this blog as good discussion of using your time wisely and wonder how it might be updated say in 2 or 3 years with new technologies.

This article by Richard DuFour, one of the key voices in PLC professional development, identifies what distinguishes a PLC from other Communities of Practice. PLCs in schools are focused on student achievement, and creating a common understanding of what students should know and be able to do, how we will know when a student has reached mastery, and what we will do when a student is not successful.

I also had the opportunity to go through a training with the DuFours, but for three days last summer. I felt their were spectacular. Communication and problem solving are also important aspects of PLCs. #EdTechSN

I am developing my curriculum into a more blended environment. I think the professional learning communities and collaboration suggested here could really help me overcome some barriers. Thank you.

This site, created by Scholastic, is jammed with activities for students and teachers. I personally like the authors and illustrators page, on which students can view videos about authors, and participate in writing workshops where authors give students tips on how to improve their writing in a specific genre.