Group items tagged

Fascinating and scary look about how the internet and the access to the widest range of resources imaginable, many of them beyond the scope of our individual capacities, is changing the role of classroom teacher to facilitator, and the role of pastor to facilitator through multi-site transmission of the sermons delivered by the best faith orators. Makes me wonder about WLS facilitation, too. Atlantic, Michael Godsey, march 25, 2015.

A big study by TNTP on teachers' professional development basically conceding defeat on helping teachers improve their classroom practice, especially once teachers pass the 5 year mark of experience. Sounds to me like the measures they are using to evaluate teacher improvement are too big and inflated so that individual progress cannot be observed much less evaluated for effectiveness from a reliable starting point. The other problem seems to be in recruiting teachers who are good to start off with.

8 ways to think about tech in ways that actually improve the classroom by Laura Moorhead from ideas.ted.com. Although geared toward k-12, this has some good advice for teachers such as not co-opting the social media most used for personal connections and fun (FB), no app is going to do everything, sharing ones passion and exploration with students is a good thing, and bringing in social learning is key - let the students explore and help each other. The technology and apps should support them to do this, not drive the content.

article on ed-tech buzzwords such as flipped classroom and digital humanities by Jeffrey R. Young, 8/28/15

from the World Education newsletter. Andy Nash describes the Technology Integration Project (TIP), a six-month PD initiative designed to prepare adult educators to understand, choose, and effectively incorporate technology into instruction. Based on the online World Ed course, Integrating Technology into the Adult Education Classroom, with additional support from a coach and an online learning community.

nice blog post on how Twitter does encourage learning and how it should be introduced into class along with other requirements students should consider before enrolling in the class, Kelli Marshall, lecturer at DePaul University, June 2015, Chronicle HE

blog post by KatieBascuas, May 29, 2014, discusses three types of "fringe" learning benefits: MOOCs, flipping (riding on the idea of flipped classrooms), and microcredentials (badges and such). Only a minority of associations are trying these out. Very interesting assessment and use of terms. Opportunity?

article by teacher in 2012 in Baltimore Post-Examiner on why technology is so vital to learning in the classroom. "Is that how we learn nowadays? Let's say I wasn't helpful and didn't provide a definition of intensive-explicit instruction, but you wanted to know what it meant. What would you do? Google it, of course. That's the power of technology: I can learn so much about the world through my own sense of discovery. The trick for today's teachers is to instill that sense of discovery, and traditional intensive-explicit instruction will not foster that independence."

Jackie Gerstein's page with breakdown of flipped classroom

Very nice blog post on introducing and using digital technology for learning inthe classroom, Jesse Stommel, Asst. Professor at University of WI-Madison, January 2015

great article by Kevin Birmingham, a literary criticism award winner, the first ever non-tenured faculty member to win it, on how adjunct crisis is furthered by status quo university systems that value everything but classroom teaching.

like this assessment of value of gap year by Abby Falik

article by Becky Klein-Collins for Governing, July 2016

Another approach might be with engage a large or small company to guide their employees through courses that would improve their current job skills. I shared a writing course I found at the Purdue sight with me daughter. She shared it with her supervisor suggesting that their whole team take the course. There may also be opportunities to work with job centers to educate potential employees on specific job skills required by a company. I mentioned online learning at my most recent book club. WOW, they see it as a way to exchange money for a degree. The response was very negative. Now, Judge Judy is offering online access to cases - and you can weigh in on how you think it should be resolved. Online interaction is coming but, there needs to be a clear case made for its value as an educational tool. I have always had a fear about "experts" teaching the courses. It reminds me of cloning.

from Te@chthought.com: Terry Hick updated the 2013 version of this infographic on 5/21/15. Mirrors Seek, sense, share and the digital literacies in Net Smart. Good site for teaching and learning, although k - 12 focused but relevant to most teaching, I think.

Amplify tablet of poor quality in first big district wide adoption, may not survive rocky rollout, Molnar, 6.26.15

Don Kilburn/Tom Vander Ark blog post on how formative assessment made possible by technology is helping GenerationDo-It-Yourself students (and teachers?) remediate while still in high school. Pearson is behind this article (remember Barb McDonald's mention of this in a CPSquare discussion).

Volume XI, Number 4, Winter 2005/2006, Evaluation Exchange newsletter, Harvard Family Research Project, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Edutopia blog on web tools to help students collaborate. Some fun principles for collaboration including: shut up and listen; action beats inaction; there are no mistakes. Worth viewing the old Carol Burnett show YouTube with Tim Conway.