Group items tagged

"I wanted to share some additional thoughts on Cliff Atkinson's new book, The Backchannel, and its implications for higher education.  As I mentioned in my earlier post, the first chapter of the book is available online and provides a very clear introduction to the logistics and possibilities of the backchannel.  What might the backchannel look like in educational settings?  Here are a couple of examples."

"Once students started Twittering I think they developed a sense of each other as people beyond the classroom space, rather than just students they saw twice a week for an hour and a half" "Dr. Parry declared that "it was the single thing that changed the classroom dynamics more than anything I've ever done teaching."

"I am hoping to create a directory, listed by school division (or other organization), of Saskatchewan educators on Twitter. If you are a Saskatchewan educator, please help by listing yourself, colleagues, or others that you know that are on Twitter."

Scroll to near the bottom for lists from the University of Saskatchewan, University of Regina and pre-service teachers.

Great video filled with ideas of how and reasons why to use technology in teaching and learning.

"Generation is often used to explain and rationalize the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in higher education. However, a comprehensive review of the research and popular literature on the topic and an empirical study at one postsecondary institution in Canada suggest there are no meaningful generational differences in how learners say they use ICTs or their perceived behavioural characteristics."

"A self teaching tutorial on twitter. I tried to bring out the essence of educational micro-blogging."

"Professors who wish to engage students during large lectures face an uphill battle. Not only is it a logistical impossibility for 200+ students to actively participate in a 90 minute lecture, but the downward sloping cone-shape of a lecture hall induces a one-to-many conversation. This problem is compounded by the recent budget cuts that have squeezed ever more students into each room. Fortunately, educators (including myself) have found that Twitter is an effective way to broaden participation in lecture. Additionally, the ubiquity of laptops and smartphones have made the integration of Twitter a virtually bureaucracy-free endeavor. This post describes the two main benefits professors find when using Twitter in lecture."

I do think that the author's conclusion about it being a great way to deal with growing class sizes due to budget cuts is simplistic and misses the point about it being a great way to engage students, period. Be sure to watch the video.

Interesting blog post by Tony Bates on the changing face of higher education, the role of distance education and educational technology. Worth a read.

This is an interesting post on using Evernote as an ePortfolio tool. It's written by a K-12 educator, but I think much of it could apply in higher ed. Students in my educational technology course used Blogger for their ePortfolios, but i can see this as an option in the future.

"The Problem During lectures, it's hard for every student to let you know if they understand or if they're confused. Especially in large classes, many students are reluctant to express their confusion which limits both their learning and their enjoyment. The Solution Understoodit addresses this issue by allowing students to anonymously, and in real-time, indicate if they understand or are confused. Understoodit runs on devices that you and your students already own: smartphones, tablets, netbooks and notebooks."

A Toronto techie has dreamed up a website that lets students click a red "Confused" button when they don't get the lecture, sending an immediate red warning to the professor's laptop that shows what portion of the class is stumped - on a "Confusometer." The prof then can stop, explain it again and hope students start clicking their green "Understood" buttons and gradually light up the class "Understandometer.""

"Here's a brief look at the evolution of classroom technology."

"A growing literature suggests that there is a disjuncture between the instructional practices of the education system and the student body it is expected to serve, particularly with respect to the roles of digital technologies. Based on surveys and focus group interviews of first-year students at a primarily undergraduate Canadian university and focus group interviews of professors at the same institution, this study explores the gaps and intersections between students' uses and expectations for digital technologies while learning inside the classroom and socializing outside the classroom, and the instructional uses, expectations and concerns of their professors. It concludes with recommendations for uses of digital technologies that go beyond information transmission, the need for extended pedagogical discussions to harness the learning potentials of digital technologies, and for pedagogies that embrace the social construction of knowledge as well as individual acquisition."

"Tagxedo turns words -- famous speeches, news articles, slogans and themes, even your love letters -- into a visually stunning word cloud, words individually sized appropriately to highlight the frequencies of occurrence within the body of text." Thanks for Erika for pointing this out to me.

"Below is just a small fraction of the amazing presentations put on by the folks over at TED. Each one of the presentations embedded below is perfect for sharing with students and showing in class*. Heck, assigning the viewing of these TED talks as homework isn't a bad idea."

"Short video explains how to use Diigo to collaborate with students, colleagues, friends and family."

"On the web, a new "Friend" may be just a click away, but true connection is harder to find and express. Ze Frank presents a medley of zany Internet toys that require deep participation -- and reward it with something more nourishing. You're invited, if you promise you'll share."

"Welcome to Piazza-a place where students can come together to ask, answer, and explore under the guidance of their instructor. It'll save you time, and your students will love using it. It's also free, and easy to get started."

Create and share great video lessons with your iPad or browser.

An interesting tool developed at Guelph to support student peer evaluation, assessment and review (PEAR)