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Abstract In something of a landmark for education Knowles (1970) suggested an important change in the way in which educational experiences for adults should be designed. The approach, known as andragogy, contrasts quite sharply with pedagogy which is the teaching of children. This paper suggests there is benefit in moving from andragogy towards truly self-determined learning. The concept of truly self-determined learning, called heutagogy, builds on humanistic theory and approaches to learning described in the 1950s. It is suggested that heutagogy is appropriate to the needs of learners in the twenty-first century, particularly in the development of individual capability. A number of implications of heutagogy for higher education and vocational education are discussed. top Heutagogy

Vesely, P., Bloom, L., & Sherlock, J. (2007). Key elements of building online community: Comparing faculty and student perceptions. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 3(3), 234-246. Vesely, Bloom, and Sherlock (2007) document that essential to the learning process is the student/student and student/teacher interaction, and building this community of learners is more challenging in online. Students in blended courses felt interaction may be better than in traditional courses. Students who feel silenced in onsite class discussions are more apt to contribute online. Seeking help can be a determining factor in successful learning. In the online communities, help is available virtually around the clock from the instructors and fellow classmates. Furthermore, through their experiences in the blended course, students would better understand the significance of managing their time, cultivating their study environment, regulating their effort, seeking appropriate support, and learning from classmates. In my experience, students reported that their online interaction with classmates had greatly assisted in their comprehension of course materials. Central to how they felt about blended learning was the quality and quantity of student and faculty interaction. In blended courses, students are often required to engage actively by reading and responding to discussion forum postings that become a permanent record of their participation and learning, rather than passively attending classes. Perceptions of interaction from faculty are also positive for blended courses. Faculty renovate their teaching methods by placing onsite lectures online and adding supplementary activities to aid student learning. Blended teaching and learning transforms education from "a command and control structure to a connect and collaborate environment" (Moskal, Dziuban, Upchurch, Hartman, & Truman, 2006) which is more student-centered than faculty-controlled. For faculty, the quality

This is a terrific article sharing tips about implementing new practices in your classes. Great primer on how to avoid common pitfalls, and help increase your chances for success. May the odds be ever in your favor!

A Comparative Content Analysis of Student Interaction in Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning Networks Chou, C. C. A Comparative Content Analysis of Student Interaction in Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning Networks. By comparing the student interactions in synchronous and asynchronous Computer-Mediated Communication systems, this paper scrutinizes the patterns of learner-learner interaction in a distance-learning environment. The study results showed the students spent more time in task-oriented interaction in asynchronous discussions than in synchronous mode.

This paper addresses the faculty's awareness of the benefits of Web 2.0 to supplement in-class learning and assess faculty's decisions to adopt these tools using the decomposed theory of planned behavior. In my experience, all assignments in our courses are taught and completed in computer labs, we are supposed to attend several hours or more of professional development, teaching assistants and faculty are encouraged to pursue a certificate in teaching with technology, and in addition, more experienced teaching assistants routinely share their knowledge and experience in working with different types of technology with their colleagues who are just starting. The attitude of faculty and their perceived behavioral control are the main concern to their intention to use the technology tools.

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 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)

A social Networking Tool that allows users to create polls and quizzes in an international setting via texting,twittering,and the web.

Audience response system that uses mobile phones, twitter, and the web. Responses are displayed in real-time on gorgeous charts in PowerPoint, Keynote, or web browser.

This was used in a class I took and I found it a fascinating tool to doing a poll or survey for a class. It allows students to use the tech that they generally already use to a great extent - such as responding by text from the phone using a code specific to that poll, responding via twitter, or on the PollEv.com site directly. I haven't integrated this yet into a class, but I can really see potential here after using it in a class

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

Recent article on using social media

TT1921 (M Oyeleye) Prof. Garrett, What a great article to read! I was intrigued with this question, which I have tweaked a bit - "How can we as educators make the best use of Twitter or Diigo to help connect our students with amazing, inspiring personalities in the various fields we teach"?. Please, I will be interested in any response or comment on this?

One of many good articles for this week's study. I especially liked the Facebook uses.

Students hate discussion boards and mostly feel like they don't get anything out of them. They go into check box mode and real dialogue is lost. How can we fix them?

I used discussion board for 2 full semesters. I received feedback from my students in both ways: course reflection and my performance evaluation. The feedback was very positive. The assignment for the discussion boards would include an actual company with specific operations (inventory, quality, process design, etc.). Students were free to answer any questions and required provide a feedback to at least one of the classmates answer. Students felt connected to their classmates, shared different views, had an opportunity to learn from each other.

The title is a bit misleading but some of the recommendations discussed can definitely spark some life into DBs. DBs are a good way to foster engagement but unless properly done can mostly be seen by students as a one and done exercise.

Millennials live and breathe on social media, so teachers are learning how to incorporate the medium into the classroom successfully. In doing so, teachers not only encourage students to engage actively in the material, but they also provide online communities for students that might not exist for them in real life.

Suggestions include: having students use Twitter, Facebook and Flickr to share work, using hashtags to live tweet, requiring students to blog, using LinkedIn to reach out to experts, using Google Hangouts for virtual office hours, post assignments and messages in Edmondo, conducting class in Second Life.

The faculty at my college have been discussing this current article that discusses how "at least 45 percent of undergraduates demonstrated no improvement in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing skills in the first two years of college, and 36 percent showed no progress in four years." To read Part 2 of the article copy and paste this link into the URL: http://chronicle.com/article/A-Perfect-Storm-in/126969/

Another blog from the Carnegie Foundation. I think that this site is a must read and bookmark for any instructor who is interested in the triple aims of educational improvement: - improving education for all students - effective in advancing learning - and efficient in its use of resources.

Sometime in June Sandy McAuley, Bonnie Stewart, George Siemens and I decided to apply to SSHRC for funding for researching the place of MOOCs in the digital economy. We did a little work creating videos to allow people to understand what was going on in a MOOC and decide if it was something they might want to do.

Teaching students in the 21st century has new implications for today's classroom at all educational levels. Accompanying these implications are expectations that faculty must engage students through instructional strategies and activities of value to students. Twenty-first century learners live in an age of new technologies and information sharing. Cell phones, laptops, handheld PCs, electronic devices, and social online communities are a few examples of students' constant immersion in technology (see Figure 1). The exception to this constant exposure can be found in the classroom. One might reasonably ask, "How are faculty integrating technology into the curriculum to enhance learning?"

This article provides a good global study of faculty, and addresses the needs, technology needs in particular, that are essential to faculty effectiveness as we transition to the 21st century classroom.

This is the summary that comes with the article. Social networking is a topic I have extensively covered here in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning during this year. I am also preparing an ebook about it which I will publish here in the next coming weeks. Why next coming weeks and not this week ?

Social networking is a topic I have extensively covered here in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning during this year. I am also preparing an ebook about it which I will publish here in the next coming weeks. Why next coming weeks and not this week ?

I could see using this in my College Success course. That class lends itself more to discussion in this forum.

#TT1921 - I got a better insight into synchronous interaction though this article. I think it is worth reading. Synchronous learning refers to a learning event in which a group of students are engaging in learning at the same time. Before learning, technology allowed for synchronous learning environments, most online education took place through asynchronous learning methods. Since synchronous tools that can be used for education have become available, many people are turning to them as a way to help decrease the challenges associated with distance that occurs in online education.

A survey of literature regarding use of Twitter in the higher education classroom finds substantial support and good advice regarding its usefulness in pedagogy. More research is needed to determine if Twitter can affect active learning, class participation, and learning outcomes.

A survey of literature regarding use of Twitter in the higher education classroom finds substantial support and good advice regarding its usefulness in pedagogy. More research is needed to determine if Twitter can affect active learning, class participation, and learning outcomes.