Group items tagged

I agree with Audrey Watters -- we need a way to QUESTION TED talks. Good ideas worth spreading are worth interrogating and discussing. There is NO platform for that and a growing issue, I think that TED MUST address if it is going to live long and prosper. Good educators, good leaders always question and are curious. We try things out and we wonder. We want solutions but solutions packaged in a cute 15 minute presentation aren't ever really as simple as they seem. There is a different between a sound byte and a bit of something I can REALLY use.  I agree with Audrey - READ her post. My worry is that we're spreading ideas that haven't, perhaps, been tested and gone through full examination. IF we didn't learn anything from the Mortensen "3 cups of tea" fiasco then education deserves to be mislead again. We should examine and have transparency with the speeches and be able to continue the conversation. "But I have questions. I have questions about this history of schooling as Mitra (and others) tell it, about colonialism and neo-colonialism. I have questions about the funding of the initial "Hole in the Wall" project (it came from NIIT, an India-based "enterprise learning solution" company that offers 2- and 4-year IT diplomas). I have questions about these commercial interests in "child-driven education" (As Ellen Seitler asks, "can the customer base be expanded to reach people without a computer, without literacy, and without any formal teaching whatsoever?"). I have questions about the research from the "Hole in the Wall" project - the research, not the 15 minute TED spiel about it. I have questions about girls' lack of participation in the kiosks. I have questions about project's usage of retired British schoolteachers - "grannies" - to interact with Indian children via Skype. I have questions about community support. I have questions about what happens when we dismantle public institutions like schools - questions about

New guide for parents from the Federal Trade Commission about protecting children online. It says that parents should get a "plain language notice" about information will be collected before they want to use features on an site or download an app that collects their personal information. I'm very curious how this is going to happen since often parents aren't involved in the app installation process for their children. Review the parent guide to understand the current rules.

As I read this article on leading up, I'm curious if this is encouraged in schools. Leading up is when a person exerts influence on leaders one or two levels above him or her. We need teachers who can lead up. Is it encouraged? I'm not so sure.

Not sure how I missed the April announcement that Read it Later has been rebranded as Pocket but I kept seeing "pocket" in my RSS readers, Zite, etc. and got curious. Pocket (theh competitor to instapaper) allows you to save websites you see on your mobile device to read later like a magazine on devices like your ipad, droid device, kindle fire, or even your web browser (if you read on your laptop still.) I've seen many use this on their laptop and send it to Pocket or Instapaper to read on their ipad later.

Nominate someone you know NOW. What a great way to share up and coming education technology leaders: "Do you know educators who are passionate about using technology to transform teaching and learning; who can inspire their colleagues to embrace new tools; and who are curious by nature and always looking for how the next innovation can be applied to education? If so, please submit their names by Wednesday, December 18th for consideration as part of the National School Boards Association's "20 to Watch" recognition program. The 2013-14 "20" will be honored in Washington, D.C. during CoSN's Annual Conference, March 19th, 2014 (www.cosn.org) and recognized during the Technology Leadership Network Luncheon at the NSBA Annual Conference in New Orleans, April 6, 2014. Questions? Please email Ann Flynn."

Florida takes a huge step forward (or backwards?) in virtual ed.

A new law requires every district to set up an online school for grades K-8th grade. I'm just curious about a few things -- why the arbitrary selection of ages? I'm not sure that virtual education is a good idea for k, 1, 2 -- would need to be convinced. To me, it has great application for high school -- but yet high school isn't part of it. Many virtual classes I've seen are NOT well constructed and the online teachers aren't accessible. The teacher must be there while teachers are learning. Just have a lot of ideas here but questions too!

Welcome to TEACH WEB 2.0 We are a group of curious teachers who explore and brainstorm ways to integrate Web 2.0 technologies into our teaching. Our mission: Safely steer our students through Web 2.0 tools and technologies Goals * Research Web 2.0 tools and social networking sites * Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) * Brainstorm effective, appropriate educational applications

Intuitive feed readers - now that is fascinating in potential but also scary in that perhaps, they could be manipulated (much like our searches are manipulated.) Fascinated and yet curious at the same time.

Be curious, be bold, find out what the smartest school librarians and educational tech visionaries from around the world are doing and saying, and see how it can be implemented to the benefit of your students and faculty. Embrace the unknown, and be prepared to jettison the familiar if it fails to move learning and student achievement forward.

Thanks for posting, Dave!

Being the curious type, with the inane ability to know how to look up information and conduct research, I soon found a quote by Johannes Kepler (1571 - 1630) who was a German astronomer who stated - Why are things as they are and not otherwise? My mentor extraordinaire!

This is James Robinson's class blog. It also hosts blogs from all of his kids. James teaches literature and writing at SAS (Shanghai American School). He's been blogging for about a year and a half. As you'll see if you visit this great example of classroom blog use, this blog rocks! James is using Wordpress to create a website/blog presentation. He's happy to have teachers or students drop in and respond to the personal blogs his students have created. If you're looking for a chance at an international student exchange blog connection, give it a look. (Heck, give it a look if you're just curious.) The kids love to get comments from folks around the world so don't forget to be interactive! ~ Dennis O'Connor

"Posted at 04:30 PM ET, 10/14/2011 STEVE JOBS SMACKDOWN: Matt Bors delivers our Cartoon of the Day By Michael Cavna [comic] Last Sunday night, Comic Riffs first reported on a curious trend we noticed among editorial artists: Despite Steve Jobs's declared Buddhism, obituary cartoons were rendering unto him an afterlife at the gates of an iPad-happy St. Peter. Throughout the week, other cartoonists noted the odd trend, as well. But one artist - Portland's Matt Bors - has now rendered perhaps the most inspired response. ..."

"I began my personal journey into the world of Cubing when I was attending Regis University in Denver, Colorado in 2009. My senior thesis project involved devising a cryptosystem using the Rubik's Cube to encode and decode messages. Although my involvement with the Rubik's Cube waned post-graduation, it was rekindled shortly after I became a secondary teacher of mathematics in 2014. I had several Rubik's Cubes in my possession from my college days and these decorated the shelves in my classroom. I recall these puzzles catching the eyes of many curious pupils. After months of traditional curriculum presentation, I determined that my students were in need of a novel lesson, one that would ignite a passion for problem-solving. This lesson would involve the colourful and alluring hexahedron puzzle on my desk: the Rubik's Cube."

"This week's chat is focused upon 10 crucial CPD questions for teachers and schools with the intention of learning more about what is working and why. In addition to this, the other focus is on how we can ensure that every member of staff becomes continually curious to engage with action research and evidence informed practice about what works best for our learners."

Now that you and/or your students are using wikis and blogs, are you curious what could be added to them? From animated slideshows to collaborative documents to interactive review games, many great (and free) tools are available.

New web 2.0 ebook - I haven't read it yet, but would like to see your thoughts on this. Those who read book get 30 days of atomic learning.

A tutorial that explains web 2.0 tools and how they might be used in educational settings.