Group items tagged

Blog post by Meenoo Rami, October 22, 2013. "How can you make the most of social networks? The main thing: Explore. Whether you choose to use Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, blogs, or other forms of virtual communities, read a lot and let the good stuff lead you to more good stuff (and good people). The second thing: Look for community-and if you don't find it, build it. When I realized there was no Twitter chat for English teachers, I launched (and have maintained for past three years) #engchat, which has given me many rewards for the time and effort I put into it. Every Monday night at 7 p.m, ET, dozens of teachers of English come together to discuss topics such as social justice education, teaching grammar and vocabulary, and balancing the canon with contemporary fiction in our classrooms. Even outside our Monday night chats, the hashtag #engchat helps teachers to pose questions, share lesson ideas, and exchange relevant resources with others who share similar interests. "

Emanuella Grinberg reports on Better By Design including offices, hospitals, etc. The office better by design is open spaces that boost creativity and collaboration. The workplaces of the future - and, in many cases, the present - will have fewer high-walled cubicles and private offices. "The good news? Innovative companies with commensurate budgets are creating offices that bring employees together in colorful communal workstations and collaboration areas, making "The Office" look like a monochrome vestige of a bygone era. And, designers are working with companies to maintain private spaces within open offices where employees can drill down on a report or take an important phone call beyond earshot of colleagues. It's part of the "alone but together" philosophy taking hold in office design, which attempts to balance employee collaboration with privacy in an era when personal space is shrinking,"

Good companion piece to the Genius is Dead NYTimes article

Opinion piece in the July 19th 2014 NYTimes by Joshua Wolf Shenk, the author of the forthcoming book: Powers of Two: Finding Essence of Innovation in Creative Pairs". He begins:"the lone genius is a myth that has outlived its usefulness. Fortunately, a more truthful model is emerging: the creative network, as with the crowd-sourced Wikipedia or the writer's room at "The Daily Show" or - the real heart of creativity - the intimate exchange of the creative pair, such as John Lennon and Paul McCartney and myriad other examples with which we've yet to fully reckon." and ends with: "This raises vital questions. What is the optimal balance between social immersion and creative solitude? Why does interpersonal conflict so often coincide with innovation? Looking at pairs allows us to grapple with these questions, which are as basic to the human experience as the push and pull of love itself. As a culture, we've long been preoccupied with romance. But we should also take seriously something just as important, but long overlooked - creative intimacy."

Although the author stresses pairs, the history of genius is really interesting - for example, before the 16th century, individuals were not geniuses, but having genius which was a value that emerged from within a person given to them at birth".

Learner-Centered Teaching by Maryellen Weimer covers five changes discussed more extensively in her book 1. Role of the teacher 2. Balance of power 3. Function of content 4. responsibility for learning 5. processes and purposes of evaluation

CORE4Women is a free organization where women can share and discover online learning. From their website: Why CORE4Women? Traditional websites are a one-way flow of information from a computer to an end-user. CORE4Women is a live, interactive discussion among women about online learning. There are volunteers who have life experiences that have been significantly influenced by online learning. These volunteers want to mentor and share their experiences with other women. There are also scholarships available to members enrolled in fully online programs!

CORE4Women provides a way for mentors to dialogue directly with women who are looking for answers about online learning. These mentors can explain how to locate degree programs, how to seek funding, how to register, how to engage with others in the online environment, and how to balance many responsibilities while completing course work.

from the NYTimes

from the NYTimes

Reflective piece by Carol A. Cassara, March 26, 2015, on changing from a fast beat of life (in musical terms--prestissimo) enabled by social media and technology to adagio (moderately slow) by breaking old habits of checking email before the sun comes up every day. "Relaxation is a muscle that needs to be exercised, and I think it's one workout I'm really going to enjoy."

blog post by Gayle Bennett, 8.3.15 on finding and asking the right questions to hire the best people for associations

Interview with Carol Dweck on the role of motivation in learning, Education World

a view on how mindfulness/meditation is used to manipulate us into complying with dysfunctional or unbearable workplaces