Group items tagged

Review by Rob Jenkins on the Chronicle, 3.18.13, on why MOOCs are a massively bad idea for wait-listed community college students in California as proposed in new legislation there. Excerpt: "We know that succeeding in online classes requires an extraordinary degree of organization, self-discipline, motivation, and time-management skill. A simple Google search of "how to succeed in online classes" yields a plethora of Web sites-including many college and university sites-offering students such gems as "be organized," "manage your time wisely," and (my favorite) "stay motivated."" Excerpt: So to recap, California's plan (or to be fair, one senator's plan) is basically to dump hundreds of thousands of the state's least-prepared and least-motivated students into a learning environment that requires the greatest amount of preparation and motivation, where they will take courses that may or may not be effective in that format. Here's a prediction: Those students will fail and drop out at astronomical rates. Then the hand-wringing will begin anew, the system will pour millions more dollars into "retention" efforts, and the state will be in an even deeper fix than it is now. (Virtual cheating will probably run rampant, too, followed by expensive anticheating measures, but that's another blog post.) Look, I'm not a politician or an economist. I don't know the answer to California higher education's budget woes. But I'm pretty sure herding community-college students into MOOCs is not it.

Learning about coding by Cale Guthrie Weissman, 4.5.13, apndodaily, found by following links from AARP Life Reimagined to LinkedIn blog post to this site.

Blog by Clark Quinn (Learnlets) on reimagining learning, March 8, 2010. Find the combination and order of content, activity, and product followed by reflection and evaluation logical and appropriate for WLS offerings.

Blog post by Kerry Hannon, November 7, 2012, Next Avenue--where grown-ups keep growing, a PBS sponsored site. Raises issues that WLS is concerned with. 3 Tips 1. Set up a free LinkedIn account. Create a winning LinkedIn profile. 2. Open a Twitter account. "Follow people or companies who interest you and ones you might want to interview for someday." 3. Share, ask, and engage. "Identify an online community of 'thought leaders' who discuss your field...

Bryan Eisenberg's blog about the About Us page and what to make sure is included in it. Interestingly, he doesn't seem to follow his own advice on his own About Us page!

Another About Us page resource

This video by Seth Dickens poses two questions 1) What do I know that could be shared? and 2) What do I want to learn? While I might disagree with the order, the rest of the video (about 4 minutes long) does a beautiful job of explaining what a learning (professional or personal) network is and what it allows one to do to connect purposeful and learn. Other information: Uploaded on Feb 21, 2012 This short video is an introduction to PLNs; known also as "Professional Learning Networks" and "Personal Learning Networks." These simple, organic networks help professionals to continually learn and add new skills and knowledge through informal learning. I'd be delighted to add you to my PLN, whether you're just getting started, or have already established a network. Join me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sethdickens Find me at my blog: www.digitalang.com/blog For Teacher-Training Seminars & educational Consultancy please contact info@digitalang.com This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. You are free: to Share - to copy, distribute and transmit the work , to Remix - to adapt the work, to make commercial use of the work provided under the following conditions Attribution - You must attribute the work to Seth Dickens -www.digitalang.com Noncommercial - You may not use this work for commercial purposes. Share Alike - If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.

Great site for learning html, and a good model because they offer W3Schools certificates. This is the home page, with the topics you can learn listed in the left hand column. It is easy to follow and understand.

Here's one of the html sites I used to construct the table. It is an easy to use site, and they offer certificates.

great quote on how creativity--following a passion will take you through losing memory, hearing, sight, etc. by Marna Clarke on Senior Planet

Maryellen Weimer writes for faculty in educational settings and is focused on when collaboration crosses into cheating and how to know when students have really learned vs. mimic answers they had to real part in developing. Raises questions for me about the mindset that people carry from education into the workplace...wasn't there research on how research papers get credited with the most senior or male person first and those that followed (graduate students, less experienced faculty, women) did not get the same respect?

Good definition of social media vs. social networking from Huffpost Books by Fauzia Burke, 10/2/2013. Defines social media as the content you upload, and a one-to-many communication method. You own the content you share and have to produce it yourself. Social Networking, on the other hand, is engaging your audience with sites like Facebook and Twitter. Social Networking is about creating relationships, communicating with your readers, building a following. It is important to listen as much as talk with social networking so it becomes a sharing, and conversation-rich communication.

by Lily Herman who was named one of Glamour magazine's Top 10 College Women in 2015. She writes about the awards ceremony, and being seated with some famous, accomplished women she admires. Here are her tips: treat them like real people; don't be afraid to get a little personal; don't skip the follow-up

from CIO.com by Meredith Levinson, Dec. 11, 2007. Some tips for introverts for f2f networking: smart small, don't apologize when asking for help, tap into your primal instincts as a human communal, tribal animal, be yourself, tap into your passions, ask for introductions, be generous, be prepared, follow up, get over your fear of rejection, take risks, see a shrink if you can't open up.

Ron Thomas's blog from April 25, 2016 on how it is up to each individual to keep their skills up to date and follow the trends of their career industry. This was highlighted in Jane Hart's blog this week.

Is this what we need to do on a regular basis with WLStudio? #EdChat http://www.facebook.com/EdchatPLN This is a different type of group - #Edchat is Twitter based. In their own words, "#Edchat is a hashtag discussion among educators from all over the world on education related topics. It happens every Tuesday at Noon EDT and 7PM EDT. To join us simply follow the #Edchat hashtag on Twitter!" The Facebook Page keeps users up on discussion topics, and provides additional resources.

Both the discussion method (Tweet-chat) followed by private reflection and public writing, as well as the topic--design thinking are fascinating to me. Written by David Kelly on April 24, 2012. Is method of learning relevant to WLStudio?

Connected Learning, a new research-driven initiative was introduced at the Digital Media and Learning Conference 2012. This blog post by Jackie Gerstein discusses its essence and includes TED video of Henry Jenkins and separate video of Mimi Ito. See excerpt on core values and principals of connected learning: At the core of connected learning are three values: Equity - when educational opportunity is available and accessible to all young people, it elevates the world we all live in. Full Participation - learning environments, communities, and civic life thrive when all members actively engage and contribute. Social connection - learning is meaningful when it is part of valued social relationships and shared practice, culture, and identity (http://connectedlearning.tv/connected-learning-principles). This initiative is being driven by the following design principles: Shared purpose - Connected learning environments are populated with adults and peers who share interests and are contributing to a common purpose. Today's social media and web-based communities provide exceptional opportunities for learners, parents, caring adults, teachers, and peers in diverse and specialized areas of interest to engage in shared projects and inquiry. Cross-generational learning and connection thrives when centered on common interests and goals. Production-centered - Connected learning environments are designed around production, providing tools and opportunities for learners to produce, circulate, curate, and comment on media. Learning that comes from actively creating, making, producing, experimenting, remixing, decoding, and designing, fosters skills and dispositions for lifelong learning and productive contributions to today's rapidly changing work and political conditions. Openly networked - Connected learning environments are designed around networks that link together institutions and groups across various sectors, including popula

YouTube video by Skip Via, prof. at University of Alaska in Fairbanks on Personal Learning Network, 2010. Has a great image of his PLN. He itemizes the tools according to the functions he needs: 1. Find answers 2. Read blogs/news 3. Publish and share 4. Communicate 5. Collaborate 6. Follow colleagues 7. Aggregate resources All based on people who have expertise or need his expertise.

Linda Stone's blog, April 20, 2012. Runs something called The Attention Project. New terms: conscious computing, email and screen apnea, continuous partial attention Excerpt: "Thirty years ago, personal computing technologies created a revolution in personal productivity, supporting a value on self-expression, output and efficiency. The personal communications technology era that followed the era of personal productivity amplified accessibility and responsiveness. Personal technologies have served us well as prosthetics for the mind, in service of thinking and doing. Our focus has been on technologies as prosthetics for the mind, and human-as-machine style productivity. This has led to burn-out, poor health, poor sleep, and what I call email apnea or screen apnea. We wonder where our attention has gone. Turns out, it's right where we left it - with our ability to breathe fully. We can use personal technologies that are prosthetics for our beings, to enhance our lives. I call this Conscious Computing. We can use technology to help enable Conscious Computing, or we can find it on our own, through attending to how we feel. For advice from a musician on how to do Conscious Computing, I interviewed the organist, Cameron Carpenter. Conscious Computing with the help of passive, ambient, non-invasive Heart Rate Variability (HRV) technology is poised to take off over the next few years. It has the potential to help all of us learn the skills that musicians, athletes and dancers have, that immunizes them from email apnea."

Updated blog post by Linda Stone on screen and email apnea, Huffington Post, May 7, 2012. Eighty percent of us seem to have it. I broke the story about it in early 2008 on the Huffington Post, and called the phenomenon, "email apnea." Later in 2008, in talks and interviews, I referred to it interchangeably as "email apnea" and also, as "screen apnea." Definition: Shallow breathing or breath holding while doing email, or while working or playing in front of a screen. Excerpt: Recently, researchers, Gloria Mark, Stephen Voida, and Anthony Cardello, have made headway into formally validating the impact of email, using HRV. Why are we doing this? Our posture is often compromised, especially when we use laptops and smartphones. Arms forward, shoulders forward, we sit in a position where it's impossible to get a healthy and full inhale and exhale. Further, anticipation is generally accompanied by an inhale -- and email, texting, and viewing television shows generally includes a significant dose of anticipation. Meanwhile, the full exhale rarely follows. The stress-related physiology of email apnea or screen apnea is described in some detail in my 2008 post, linked to above. What's the remedy? A new way of interacting with technologies that I call: Conscious Computing. Technologies like the Heartmath emWave2, Huffington Post's GPS for the Soul, and a variety of optimal breathing techniques, can support us in using technologies in healthier ways. Instead of sending an email, call or walk over to your colleague's office. And there's always that other possibility: every now and then, just turn everything off. When you text or use email on your smartphone, when you check and respond to your email, are you breathing or do you hold your breath? Is it worse when you're using a laptop vs. an iPad? How might you incorporate some of the remedies?

blog by Chuck Thompson, June 2009, in Men's Journal. To improve your athletic performance and to feel clearer all the time, start with the most fundamental act of life. Excerpt: "We all come into the world with the ability to take full, unencumbered breaths, but as we get older we forget how to breathe properly," says Don Campbell, a journalist turned wellness expert who champions a new movement among doctors and athletes known as "conscious breathing." A host of challenges conspire against our breathing well, Campbell says: "Poor posture, restrictive clothing, bad habits such as smoking, diets that lead to high blood pressure and racing hearts, increasingly rapid and emotionally stressful lives, lack of exercise, multitasking, polluted environments, and slouching in front of computers are just a few of the things that literally take our breath away, creating a lifestyle that's incongruent with proper breathing." Modern life causes the average person to use about a third of his natural lung capacity, while drawing about 15 breaths a minute." Breathing exercises: Relearn How To Breathe Do this exercise five times a day and you'll start thinking and performing better in no time: 1. Inhale deeply 2. Exhale with a short burst (as if blowing out a candle). This helps activate your diaphragm, which most people don't use. 3. Exhale with a long, slow finish to empty the lungs. Breathlessness comes from not expelling enough CO2. 4. Inhale, filling your lungs from the bottom to the top, instead of taking short sips. Most use a third of their lung capacity. 5. Hold for a moment to allow oxygen to saturate the cells. 6. Exhale slowly and completely. 7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 for five minutes. Read more: http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/you-re-breathing-all-wrong-20130227#ixzz2t8BfTHcj Follow us: @mensjournal on Twitter | MensJournal on Facebook