Valuable reading, as understanding how these cycles reinforce learning leads to better planning for blended learning. The Pedagogy and Technology Workshop employs a cycle much like the first few diagrams.
Not sure why he named it that, but it's an extension for Google Chrome that sends web pages to Pocket (nee Read it Later). Works great, and it's donationware so you can try it (or use it forever) for free.
A passionate and eloquent plea from a university lecturer, attesting to the continued relevance of the lecture as a learning tool. I value her point that a lecture promotes active listening, but I disagree with the notion that a technology that has worked for thousands of years should see continued use simply because it has worked in the past.[1] Given the multitudes of other means of delivery of information today (remember, the lecture was developed when the only other means to spread information was handwriting), the lecture as transmission of information is a tool, not THE tool.
She also equates books to lectures, and says that if we abandon one we move toward abandoning the other. A bit of tenuous logic, if you ask me.
Still, perhaps worth a read.
[1] See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptorium#Trithemius.27_Praise_of_Scribes
This one is worth reading, but not because it's necessarily worth following. It's a wrong-headed approach to tech integration, one that values the tools above the pedagogical goals -- because it assumes that the use of the tool is valuable in itself. What it omits is why any one of these scenarios can support learning... which would be a much more effective way to lobby a teacher to use it...
"GFW High school in Minnesota is really leading the race at this point. I read the blog Ed Galaxy by Kevin Cummins regularly. Kevin frequently shares great stuff. Today is a wonderful article, The Ultimate Guide to Using iPads in the Classroom. In that article, he links to the GFW iPad Policy, Procedures and information. It is chalked full of good information for any school thinking about 1:1 with iPads. So, I did a little diggin and found their school website, including the iPad initiative pages that has even more useful information. They are in their 2nd year of this, so, clearly they have a lot of the bugs worked out. No need to re-invent the wheel, take their lead and learn from them!! What more can I say, but WOW!!"
From the site:
"Adobe Youth Voices Essentials provides free curricula and tools for educators to inspire young people to create digital media on issues they care about. Based on the best practices of educators from around the world, our curricula promotes youth expression, creativity, and engagement, helping young people build critical 21st century technology and life skills."
"The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning
conditions performed modestly better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.... Analysts noted that these blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions. This finding suggests that the positive effects associated with blended learning should not be attributed to the media, per se."
"Although hundreds of studies have shown that clearly communicating instructional objectives has a positive effect on student achievement, not all techniques for doing so have the same beneficial effects. In a series of studies we conducted at Marzano Research Laboratory, we found that some approaches had no effect on student achievement and that others actually produced negative results-that is, students would have been better off if the teacher had not provided an objective."
"Educators must reevaluate the degree to which compliance has affected every aspect of the learning environment, including the use of established classroom assessments and grading systems to identify success. Many A students have earned high marks primarily because of their meticulousness in following directions, their knack for repeating procedures on cue, and their ability to expertly summarize other people's ideas."
"Just as effective teaching demands that teachers establish routines to guide the basic physical and social interactions of the classroom, so too thinking routines need to be established to help guide students' learning and intellectual interactions..."