Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

I read this article this afternoon, and thought of it when I was doing work for my wiki assignment. I am looking into the blog Teachers Love SMART Boards (http://smartboards.typepad.com/) and I saw that the author of the blog also works for Teacher Online Training, which offers courses (for a fee) for teachers interested in implementing technologies in their classroom, or using the technology they currently have in a more meaningful way. The majority of the blog was reviews of free sites or education-oriented tools from outside sources, but there were a few posts that dealt with the programs offered by TOT. It made me wonder whether the blog was intended to be impartial, or a form of advertising... He mentioned his job in the company at the beginning of most if not all of the posts that promoted their programs, but these new guidelines may put this blogger in a sticky situation.

HuffPo is now doing automated A/B testing for its headlines. How does that apply to ed? Online learners all have that liminal moment where they choose to click through or not click through. Proper A/B testing uncovers the motivation of why (or at least the effectiveness) of why some marketing copy and headlines work, and others dont. The best cloud-based ed. tech in the world means nothing if the click-through rate of a passive user is not substantial.

I have viewed these webinars before and I would advise you to give it a go.

"A panel of 'experts' talks about what's wrong with our education system -- and how to fix it."

During our augmented reality online discussion, I had mentioned the usefulness of creating an augmented reality application for those wishing to do mechanical work on their vehicles. The marines are nowing making use of an augmented reality application that does just that.

If only educational games were engaging enough for students to want to pay to play...

This blog offers ideas for using twitter in education from becoming local journalists  to playing twrivia or plinky.  It also recommends using the tool to follow topic experts and extend learning.  While I haven't really embraced twitter as one of my favorites, this article gives some interesting ideas.  

Harvard Business Publishing Online forcasts six trends in social media. "70% of organizations ban social media."

WSJ looks at teenagers' text messaging habits and whether texting will be accepted in the workplace, and whether technological multitasking will be beneficial to the next generation of workers.

I'm seeing a lot of this "today's kids are just different" rhetoric. Do you buy it?

Although often seen as an inconsequential feature of digital technologies, one's self-representation, or avatar, in a virtual environment can affect the user's thoughts, according to research by a University of Texas at Austin communication professor.

facebook takes cyber bullying issues seriously. facebook solutions: 1) use privacy control settings 2) use those "remove" and "delete" buttons to drop bullies from your friend list.

Sony to connect gadgets to downloadable content to increase loyalty. Also hopes expand service to include 3D TVs, e-books and car batteries.

In order to get around the clunkiness of the LMS my school uses I am always looking for tools like this one. The problem with doing this is that sometimes they cost money, they usually expose students to advertising (which I think is an ethical issue when you're dealing with a captured audience), and they all require a time commitment to familiarize myself and my students. I'm not sure what it is about systems like Blackboard (which charges incredible amounts of money) that hamper its visual appeal and design for intuitive use.

This recent survey shows that tweens and teens may be more concerned with their internet safety than adults may think, but more education is needed.

This is what I'm saying :-) We tend to do a decent job at making sure children are being safe online...but more is definitely needed. Parents and teachers are concerned with making sure that what happens on the web stays safe and healthy - valid concerns, but instead of thinking about the harms, what if we shifted our thinking more about the potential benefits? Media education shouldn't be preventative, it should be pro-active!

Many of the schools with which I come in to contact- including mine- reinvent the wheel when it comes to acceptable use policy at great expense of time and often little influence of "best practice." Why not make use of the good work and attention that has been deliberated by other educators who have already wrestled through the problem.

""The whole evening is about educating parents about the technology that's out there," said Laura Boss, director of communications for Newport-Mesa Unified School District, who stressed that parents should not be afraid of the every-changing technology and that being informed is the first step. "This is the world [today's] kids live in." The presentation encouraged parents to embrace their kids' digital world, support balanced use, monitor their kids' digital media use, and discuss what sites they are allowed to visit and what they can and can't download. A few tips shared during the presentation: Give kids a code of conduct. Remind them not to post/IM/text anything they wouldn't say to that person's face; Discuss cyber-bullying with kids and ask if they know anyone who has been bullied; Talk about the importance of privacy and how to protect it; and discuss their online identity and possible risky behavior. "Raise good digital citizens!" a slide stated."

Intesesting article about LinkedIn and other social networks such as FaceBook, Twitter, and Google+   Not directly related to education but does speak to the role of social networks in the 21st century