Group items tagged

Subtext is a free iPad app that allows classroom groups to exchange ideas in the pages of digital texts. You can also layer in enrichment materials, assignments and quizzes—opening up almost limitless opportunities to engage students and foster analysis and writing skills.

The technologies we block in their classrooms flourish in their bedrooms. Students are growing networks without us, writing Harry Potter narratives together at FanFiction.net, or trading skateboarding videos on YouTube. At school, we disconnect them not only from the technology but also from their passion and those who share it.

And it's not you who has to change. It's me, the writer: One idea per paragraphHalf the word count of "conventional writing"! (Ouch!) Other stuff along these lines

If you want to beat the Internet, you're not going to do it by blogging (since even OK thinkers occasionally write a great blog post) but by offering a comprehensive take on a subject (thus saving the reader time from searching many sites) and supplying original thinking (offering trusted insight that cannot be easily duplicated by the nonexpert).

When we're really engaged in a text, it's like being in an effortless trance.

Read a book, magazine or blog post of personal (and school appropriate) interest. Work on an assignment for another class. Play a pre-approved game that builds skills related to the class. (If you find a game that you feel contributes to your learning, tell me about it and why you think it should go on the approved list.) Have a serious discussion with a classmate about a topic in the course using an approved discussion tool. Listen to an educational podcast or view an educational video. TED talks and Khan Academy videos are always OK. (Remember to use your headphones.) Organize your life by reviewing/updating your calendar, to-do list, or address book. Write in your personal journal.

meaningful sub-headings (not "clever" ones)

one idea per paragraph (users will skip over any additional ideas if they are not caught by the first few words in the paragraph)

Credibility can be increased by high-quality graphics, good writing, and use of outbound hypertext links. Links to other sites show that the authors have done their homework and are not afraid to let readers visit other sites.