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Ihering Alcoforado

50 Interesting Ways To Use Skype In Your Classroom | Edudemic - 19 views

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    I'm a so-so fan of Skype. I've used it on an infrequent basis and have had more than a few dropped calls. Audio and video alike. However, it's a cheap way to make long distance calls and seems to work better over wi-fi and the video quality is improving on a regular basis. So therefore it's probably a great tool for the classroom. But how can you use Skype to do more than just make calls? Well, there's a pantload of interesting ways! Check out these fun ideas: Collaborate! Meet with other classrooms: One of the most common projects educators utilize Skype for is setting up exchanges with classrooms around the world, usually for cultural exchange purposes or working together on a common assignment. The program's official site provides some great opportunities to meet up with like-minded teachers and students sharing the same goals. Practice a foreign language: Connect with individual learners or classrooms hailing from a different native tongue can use a Skype collaboration to sharpen grammar and pronunciation skills through conversation. Peace One Day: Far beyond classroom collaborations, the Peace One Day initiative teamed up with Skype itself and educators across the globe to teach kids about the importance of ending violence, war, and other social ills. Around the World with 80 Schools: This challenge asks participating schools to hook up with 80 worldwide and report back what all they've learned about other cultures and languages. Talk about the weather: One popular Skype project sees participants from different regions make note of the weather patterns for a specified period of time, with students comparing and contrasting the results. Collaborative poetry: In this assignment, connected classrooms pen poetic pieces together and share them via video conferencing. Practice interviews: The education system frequently receives criticism for its failure to prepare students for the real world, but using Skype to help them run through mock-up
Dennis OConnor

ALA | Interview with Keith Curry Lance - 0 views

  • The basic question tackled in school library impact research to date have been if school libraries or librarians make a difference? And, if so, how much and how? At least in recent years, more attention has gone to measuring the impact of school libraries than to explaining how that impact is achieved; but, the focus is beginning to move from the former to the latter. Four studies, or sets of studies, illustrate the formative history of this line of research.
  • The findings documented, and elaborated upon, the SchoolMatch claim that [the level of] school library expenditures was a key predictor of academic achievement, as measured by standardized tests, specifically in Colorado, scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS).
  • other key library predictors, including the amount and level of library staffing, collection size, and the amount of time the school librarian spends playing an instructional role.
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  • by 2005, the Colorado study model had been replicated and elaborated upon to a greater or lesser extent in Colorado and more than a dozen other states by five different researchers or research teams. Collectively, they have studied the impact of school libraries in approximately 8,700 schools with enrollments totaling more than 2.6 million students.
  • using this research to advocate for school library programs has affected the relationships of school librarians with both principals and teachers. Four out of five respondents (81 percent) reported that they shared the research with their principals. (Between one-third and half also reported sharing this research with their superintendents, other administrators, technology staff, and/or parents.) Almost two out of three respondents (66 percent) reported sharing the research with teachers. As a result, approximately two-thirds of respondents report that sharing the research improved their relationships with their principals (69 percent) or teachers (66 percent).
  • Krashen suggests quite the reverse. Reading and library use are not direct consequences of students being from more prosperous homes, but rather from the fact that more prosperous homes tend to offer more books and other reading materials, and, thereby, to encourage reading and library use. Thus, he hypothesizes, libraries—both public and school—have an important role to play in equalizing access to books and other reading materials for disadvantaged students.
  • Overall, students and teachers confirmed that the school libraries studied helped students by making them more information- and computer-literate generally, but especially in their school work, and by encouraging them to read for pleasure and information—and, in the latter case, to read critically—beyond what they are required to do for school.
  • their core results were remarkably consistent. Across states and grade levels, test scores correlated positively and statistically significantly with staff and collection size; library staff activities related to learning and teaching, information access and delivery, and program administration; and the availability of networked computers, both in the library and elsewhere in the school, that provide access to library catalogs, licensed databases, and the World Wide Web. The cause-and-effect claim associated with these correlations was strengthened by the reliability of the relationships between key library variables (i.e., staffing levels, collection size, spending) and test scores when other school and community conditions were taken into account.
  • A series of studies that have had a great deal of influence on the research and decision-making discussions concerning school library media programs have grown from the work of a team in Colorado—Keith Curry Lance, Marcia J. Rodney, and Christine Hamilton-Pennell (2000).
  • Recent school library impact studies have also identified, and generated some evidence about, potential "interventions" that could be studied. The questions might at first appear rather familiar: How much, and how, are achievement and learning improved when . . . librarians collaborate more fully with other educators? libraries are more flexibly scheduled? administrators choose to support stronger library programs (in a specific way)? library spending (for something specific) increases?
  • high priority should be given to reaching teachers, administrators, and public officials as well as school librarians and school library advocates.
  • Perhaps the most strategic option, albeit a long-term one, is to infiltrate schools and colleges of education. Most school administrators and teachers never had to take a course, or even part of a course, that introduced them to what constitutes a high-quality school library program.
  • Three factors are working against successful advocacy for school libraries: (1) the age demographic of librarians, (2) the lack of institutionalization of librarianship in K–12 schools, and (3) the lack of support from educators due to their lack of education or training about libraries and good experiences with libraries and librarians.
  • These vacant positions are highly vulnerable to being downgraded or eliminated in these times of tight budgets, not merely because there is less money to go around, but because superintendents, principals, teachers, and other education decision-makers do not understand the role a school librarian can and should play.
  • If we want the school library to be regarded as a central player in fostering academic success, we must do whatever we can to ensure that school library research is not marginalized by other interests.    
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    A great overview of Lance's research into the effectiveness of libraries.  He answers the question: Do school libraries or librarians make a difference?  His answer (A HUGE YES!) is back by 14 years of remarkable research.  The point is proved.  But this information remains unknown to many principals and superintendents.  Anyone interested in 21st century teaching and learning will find this interview fascinating.
Nigel Coutts

The rewards of highly collaborative teams - The Learner's Way - 0 views

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    Not that long ago I was a writer of interesting and engaging educational programmes. Fortunately, that is no longer the case. The programmes that I wrote and shared with a team of teachers were generally well accepted and the feedback offered was always politely positive. I enjoyed writing these programmes but in recent times I have enjoyed even more stepping away from this process and in doing so empowering the team of teachers that I learn with. The programmes that this team produces far exceed the quality I could ever have hoped to produce but more importantly the students are benefiting from their experience of highly engaged and thus engaging teachers.
Glenn Hoyle

Interaction Equivalency in Self-Paced Online Learning Environments: An Exploration of L... - 0 views

  • This exploratory study sought to examine the experiences and preferences of adult learners concerning the various interactions that they encounter in a self-paced online course. The following four primary research questions guided data collection and analysis efforts: 1. What forms of interaction do adult learners engage in most in self-paced online courses? 2. What forms of interaction do adult learners value most in self-paced online courses? 3. What forms of interaction do adult learners identify as equivalent in self-paced online courses? 4. What impact do adult learners perceive interaction to have on their self-paced online learning experience?
  • Deep and meaningful formal learning is supported as long as one of the three forms of interaction (student–teacher; student-student; student-content) is at a high level. The other two may be offered at minimal levels, or even eliminated, without degrading the educational experience. High levels of more than one of these three modes will likely provide a more satisfying educational experience, though these experiences may not be as cost or time effective as less interactive learning sequences. (Anderson, 2003)
    • Mike Fandey
       
      The perception of high level is key. If a single interaction approach is selected and the learner opts not to engage, then "high level interaction" is not achieved.
  • Participants further noted that they engaged most actively with the instructor and course content, commensurate with findings of previous research pointing to the necessity of such fundamental interactions (Gallien & Early, 2008; Heinemann, 2003; Pawan, Paulus, Yalcin, & Chang, 2003; Perry & Edwards, 2005; Stein, Wanstreet, Calvin, Overtoom, & Wheaton, 2005). The results of this study further strengthen the literature calling for the development of specific competencies not only for those designing online learning but also for those who facilitate online learning experiences of various formats (Klein, Spector, Grabowski, & Teja, 2004; Varvel, 2007).
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  • Research Question 2: What forms of interaction do adult learners value most in self-paced online courses?
  • Participants hailed the blogging and social bookmarking activities as integral to the quality of the overall learning experience, noting the synergy of formal and informal interactions that such activities fostered.
  • Participants noted that although they enjoyed the interactions with other learners and often wished for more, they conceded that in the self-paced, online learning environment such interactions are challenging.
  • informal learning environment that was crafted placed maximum control with the learners. Such informal learning environments provide an open venue for learners to connect with others interested in the same concepts either in a different course section or at a different stage of the course (Rhode, 2006).
  • Participants identified interaction with the instructor and content as very nearly equivalent in a self-paced online course. Participants pointed out that quality interaction with content is indispensable in the self-paced learning environment and can not in any way be replaced. They also indicated that interaction with the instructor could potentially be diminished and compensated for through increased quality interactions with content or learners. Participants further noted that while interaction with other learners is desirable within the self-paced learning environment, the self-paced nature of the course makes such interactions challenging. Therefore, learners were willing to forgo interpersonal interactions deemed by some as tangential in exchange for the flexibility afforded by the self-paced learning approach.
  • In a granular analysis of the various interaction activities, participants generally reported the activity of blogging as equivalent or superior to asynchronous discussion via the discussion board in Blackboard. Such findings add to the burgeoning body of research supporting the pedagogical possibilities of blogging as a flexible asynchronous communication alternative to threaded discussion via a restricted learning management system
  • This mixed methods study explored the dynamics of interaction within a self-paced online learning environment. It used rich media and a mix of traditional and emerging asynchronous computer-mediated communication tools to determine what forms of interaction learners in a self-paced online course value most and what impact they perceive interaction to have on their overall learning experience. This study demonstrated that depending on the specific circumstance, not all forms of interaction may be either equally valued by learners or effective. Participants differentiated among the various learning interactions available and indicated that informal interactions were as important as formal interactions in determining the quality of the online learning experience. Participants also reported the activity of blogging as being equally valued and in some ways superior to instructor-directed asynchronous discussion via the discussion board in a learning management system.
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    Learning takes place through active engagement rather than passive transmission.
Sally Loan

20 Essential Technology Terms for Teachers - 18 views

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Alexis Krysten

ICT in my Classroom - 1 views

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      Ihering Alcoforado

      Digitisation Perspectives - Review | Subject Centre for Information and Computer Sciences - 2 views

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        Book Reviews Book title: Digitisation Perspectives Type: book Author: Ruth Rikowski Year: 2010 Edition: 1st ISBN: 9460912982 Publisher: Sense Publishers Publisher's Description: This book examines various views and perspectives on digitisation. As Simon Tanner, Director Digital Consultancy, King's College London says in the Foreword: "Digitisation has become a cultural, scholastic, economic and political imperative and raises many issues for our consideration." Furthermore, that the book: "...seeks to address and answer some of the big questions of digitisation... It succeeds on many levels..." There are 22 contributors in the book, all experts in their fields. The book is divided into six parts: Part 1: 'Background and Overview to Digitisation and Digital Libraries' Part 2: 'Digitisation and Higher Education' Part 3: 'Digitisation and Inequalities' Part 4: 'Digital Libraries, Reference Services and Citation Indexing' Part 5: 'Digitisation of Rare, Valued and Scholarly Works' Part 6: 'Futuristic Developments of Digitisation' Topics covered include electronic theses, search engine technology, digitisation in Africa, citation indexing, reference services, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, new media and scholarly publishing. The final chapter explores virtual libraries, and poses some interesting questions for possible futures. The book will be of particular interest to information professionals, educators, librarians, academics and I.T. and knowledge experts. Ruth Rikowski concludes by indicating that: "...hopefully, the book will provide a source of inspiration for further research, leading to some more effective ways to proceed with the digitisation process. Also, that it will be possible to do this within a framework that can be used for good rather than ill, and for the benefit of many." Reviewer: Eric Jukes (Formerly of College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London) Book Rating: 5/5 Buy this book from Amazon  Review Summary
      Leo de Carvalho

      Home - Learning Designs - Products of the AUTC project on ITC-based learning designs - 0 views

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        This web site has been designed for teachers and instructors in higher education to access a rich set of resources that support the development of flexibly delivered high quality learning experiences for students.
      Martin Burrett

      When Technology and Classrooms Collide…by @JMcKay1972 - 0 views

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        "Development of technology within the classroom can aide the identification of contextual factors that may or may not contribute to effective use of technology in enhancing quality learning experiences. Factors such as organisational culture, teacher self-efficacy and their confidence and experience in utilising technology, resources and learner engagement all have to be considered to allow for an integrated approach."
      Leo de Carvalho

      Computer-supported collaborative learning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

      • Other learning theories that provide a foundation for CSCL include distributed cognition, problem-based learning, cognitive apprenticeship, and situated learning. Each of these learning theories focuses on the social aspect of learning and knowledge building. Each theory recognizes that learning and knowledge building involve inter-personal activities including conversation, argument, and negotiation.[4]
      • The theory suggests that learning is not a matter of accepting fixed facts, but is the dynamic, on-going, and evolving result of complex interactions primarily taking place within communities of people.
      • Collaboration theory proposes that technology in support of CSCL should provide new types of media that foster the building of collaborative knowing; facilitate the comparison of knowledge built by different types and sizes of groups; and help collaborative groups with the act of negotiating the knowledge they are building. Further, these technologies and designs should strive to remove the teacher as the bottleneck in the communication process. In other words, the teacher should not have to act as the conduit for communication between students or as the avenue by which information is dispensed. Finally, collaboration theory-influenced technologies will strive to increase the quantity and quality of learning moments via computer-simulated situations.[12]
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        Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is a pedagogical approach wherein learning takes place via social interaction using a computer or through the Internet. This kind of learning is characterized by the sharing and construction of knowledge among participants using technology as their primary means of communication or as a common resource.[1] CSCL can be implemented in online and classroom learning environments and can take place synchronously or asynchronously.
      lily_frances

      Conversations oct1 2014 ian gray at htaa confce - 0 views

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        Improving quality of conversations in history using ICT
      Sally Loan

      Free Technology for Teachers: Loopster - An Online Video Editor - 25 views

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      Brett Campbell

      The problem with high-tech 'personalized' learning tools - 8 views

      • the primary value of these tools is to help us adapt to teacher unemployment, student overcrowding, and student over-testing.
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        " what many of these people are selling as "personalized" learning is actually digitized standardized learning. Creating tools and products that offer digital ways to deliver drill-and-kill instruction is not revolutionary."
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      Sally Loan

      A Teacher's Guide to Classroom Backchannels & Informal Assessment Tools - 25 views

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      Learning Today

      Educators Must Create Environments for Students | e-Learning Today TV - 4 views

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        This was a great video on how Robots are being used to Educate Autistic Children.
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      cristina costa

      EAEA - Innovation in learning through ICT - new challenges - 0 views

      shared by cristina costa on 18 Dec 08 - Cached
      • The impact of ICT on education and training is visible, but not as great as it could be. The extent to which businesses and public services have been transformed through ICT is not yet reflected in educational systems;
      • Embedding ICT in education and training systems requires changes across the pedagogical, technological and organisational settings
      • The potential for ICT to help develop a 'learning continuum' between formal, informal and workplace learning is clear and has to be built upon
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      • developing innovative learning approaches, including them in curricula and supporting them through teaching guidelines and teacher training;
      • adapting assessment methods and quality standards to the actual learning needs in education systems, and exploiting innovative learning resources such as open educational resources
      • building on the widespread use of digital devices and tools as an opportunity to foster the creative and critical use of ICT for learning and teaching.
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