Group items tagged

February 2009 | Volume 66 | Number 5 How Teachers Learn Pages 34-38 Learning with Blogs and Wikis Bill Ferriter Technology has made it easy for educators to embrace continual professional development. Few ideas about teachers' professional growth resonate with me more than those of Richard Elmore, professor of educational leadership at Harvard, who has gone as far as to argue that school structures make learning for adults unlikely at best and nothing short of impossible at worst. In a 2002 report for the Albert Shanker Institute, Elmore wrote, As expectations for increased student performance mount and the measurement and publication of evidence about performance becomes part of the public discourse about schools, there are few portals through which new knowledge about teaching and learning can enter schools; few structures or processes in which teachers and administrators can assimilate, adapt, and polish new ideas and practices; and few sources of assistance for those who are struggling to understand the connection between the academic performance of their students and the practices in which they engage. So the brutal irony of our present circumstance is that schools are hostile and inhospitable places for learning. They are hostile to the learning of adults and, because of this, they are necessarily hostile to the learning of students. (pp. 4-5)

Technology has made it easy for educators to embrace continual professional development. Few ideas about teachers' professional growth resonate with me more than those of Richard Elmore, professor of educational leadership at Harvard, who has gone as far as to argue that school structures make learning for adults unlikely at best and nothing short of impossible at worst.

Founded in 1943, ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) is an educational leadership organization dedicated to advancing best practices and policies for the success of each learner. Our 175,000 members in 119 countries are professional educators from all levels and subject areas--superintendents, supervisors, principals, teachers, professors of education, and school board members.

This blog entry provides us with very useful ideas of using Twitter in education.

I must admit that when I first heard about Twitter I thought it represented the apex of what concerns me about internet technology: solipsism and sound-bite communication. While I obviously spend a great deal of time online and thinking about the potential of these new networked digital communication structures, I also worry about the way that they too easily lead to increasingly short space and time for conversation, cutting off nuance and conversation, and what is often worse how these conversations often reduce to self-centered statements. When I first heard about Twitter I thought, this was the example par excellence of these fears, so for many months I did not investigate it at all.

This article describes ways to use twitter to enhance academic work. With twitter, the class goes on beyond the assigned class period because (i) the technology is appealing, (ii) students have much to say/ask, (iii) students can 'talk' without concern for "who's (physically) in class that might make fun of me", and (iv) students respond in their own time. Twitter has the dual benefits of quasi-synchronous and asynchronous communication.

For those who may be a bit unclear on how to use Twitter for a class, the article includes varied strategies. Some of the ideas have already been mentioned in our discussions and responses as we worked through the second module, but there are a few other points that may be noteworthy. Second, the article affirms some of the ideas already shared, especially for those of us who were initially unfamiliar with twitter's potential application.

I'm still not convinced I want to use Twitter in my classes, but this gives a lot of good information.

I must admit that when I first heard about Twitter I thought it represented the apex of what concerns me about internet technology: solipsism and sound-bite communication. While I obviously spend a great deal of time online and thinking about the potential of these new networked digital communication structures, I also worry about the way .....

Article about Academic Honesty which includes information about Securexam Proctor, used at Troy University in Alabama

Mostly about High School but I think still pertinent.

This is an interesting article about 8th graders. It applies also to most of high school students also, but I believe that mature adults can use it as a useful tool that enhances education. For many it is nothing more than an escape from the duties of the real world. I have found it to be both "All about me" and informative. Social media does need to be taught in the classroom if it's going to used.

Provides list of useful blogs about grammar and elements of writing

It's midweek at Anywhere State University. Jenny rolls out of bed at about nine a.m., as usual, and thinks about breakfast and her first class. As she's dressing and getting ready to go out, she fires up iTunes on her laptop and checks her podcast subscription.

Reaching agreement on the convenience of online classes is easy, but arguing in favor of a synchronous learning experience in a virtual classroom is harder. Debunking the top 10 myths about synchronous online teaching helps refute the arguments against it, while the transformational nature of online teaching can convert skeptics into supporters.

Reaching agreement on the convenience of online classes is easy, but arguing in favor of a synchronous learning experience in a virtual classroom is harder. Debunking the top 10 myths about synchronous online teaching helps refute the arguments against it, while the transformational nature of online teaching can convert skeptics into supporters.

I can't believe that people still believe all these myths. However I have colleagues that still resist even limited technology in hybrid classes.

There are benefits to newsrooms using solutions-based journalism, but it is not a cure-all for audience engagement. Read more -> The Engaging News Project provides news organizations research-based techniques for engaging digital audiences in commercially viable and democratically beneficial ways. I like this site to share with my students because they learn about new ways to learn about the new happening in major fields. My course is a research course, and I want my students to explore more things in there field. What ever it is that they want to be, this will give them an opportunity to learn about the new trends.

A new infographic from The Learning House offers insights into today's nontraditional student. Although online college enrollment continues to rise, some higher ed leaders still hold onto misconceptions about the types of students who pursue this alternative learning model.

Social media has given us a global revolution in communications and interconnectivity. We endlessly hear about the big benefits of social media and rightly so, but ... what about the dark side? I believe it's important to talk about the negative side of social media especially if we want to integrate it into the classroom.

Info about Diigo and uses

Info about Diigo and uses.

This is an interesting article from the TEACHING WITH iPAD IN A FLIPPED CLASSROOM blog about creative ways to use the iPad in teaching and ideas for engaging students through effective instructional methods and technology. "Computers are like a bicycle for our mind" (Steve Jobs)

"How I've tried to reinvent the classroom for the Digital Age" is an interesting article from the TEACHING WITH iPAD IN A FLIPPED CLASSROOM blog about creative ways to use the iPad in teaching and ideas for engaging students through effective instructional methods and technology. "Computers are like a bicycle for our mind" (Steve Jobs)

This is an excellent list of technology tools all educators should know about especially if they plan to deliver courses online

via Edudemic Technology and education are pretty intertwined these days and nearly every teacher has a few favorite tech tools that make doing his or her job and connecting with students a little bit easier and more fun for all involved.

More advice about teaching ESL

Cautions about medical use of Social Media.

We'll be updating this page regularly.Please check back for updates. Call it the year of the mega-class. Colleges and professors have rushed to try a new form of online teaching known as MOOCs-short for "massive open online courses." The courses raise questions about the future of teaching, the value of a degree, and the effect technology will have on how colleges operate.

The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education helps educators gain confidence about their rights to use copyrighted materials in developing students' critical thinking and communication skills.  Check out these exciting additional resources

The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education helps educators gain confidence about their rights to use copyrighted materials in developing students' critical thinking and communication skills.  Check out these exciting additional

Excellent FREE site for math and sciences. All grade levels. Short video clips using a blackboard with verbal direction. Great depth of content available. Would be helpful to post on course site, saving you from creating the videos.

Thank you for sharing this link. I just heard about these free videos yesterday and was quite impressed and curious about them. I'd like to find a similar great resource for my discipline of accounting.

From kindergarten to calculus, Khan Academy is here to help. You may have heard about our videos, but did you know that Khan Academy has fun interactive math exercises that cover skills ranging from counting to calculus, grade by grade? Every exercise has step-by-step hints, so your child can practice as much as needed.