The purpose of the template is for use as a starting point to help teachers plan and implement technology driven learning experiences that are fueled by Essential Questions and aligned to Common Core Standards. The template includes built in screencast tutorials to help students learn to use the technology. This allows teachers to focus on the content instead of being consumed by student questions about using the tech
From Library to Learning Commons
Printed books still play a critical role in supporting learners, but digital technologies offer additional pathways to learning and content acquisition. Students and teachers no longer need a library simply for access. Instead, they require a place that encourages participatory learning and allows for co-construction of understanding from a variety of sources. In other words, instead of being an archive, libraries are becoming a learning commons.
If we want to connect with the latest generation of learners and teachers, we have to totally redesign the library from the vantage point of our users—our thinking has to do a 180-degree flip.
This learning commons is both a physical and a virtual space that’s staffed not just by teacher-librarians but also by other school specialists who, like us, are having trouble getting into the classroom and getting kids’ attention.
specialists such as literacy coaches, teacher technologists, teacher-librarians, art teachers, music teachers, and P.E. teachers
In the physical space, we enter a room that’s totally flexible, where furnishings can be moved about to accommodate different functions and groupings.
experimental learning center,
the learning commons is both a giant, ongoing conversation and a warehouse of digital materials
—from ebooks to databases to student-generated content—all available 24/7 yea
Imagine a learning environment in which the multimedia world of information fed individual students’ needs, and where on-demand digital textbooks/multimedia/databases are available 24/7 and under the control of the user.
examples of one-way communication.
But in the new learning commons, homework assignments and library Web sites offer two-way communication.
Directive adults have been transformed into coaches; direct teaching has been transformed into collaborative inquiry.
On another day, parents may be invited to the learning commons to observe a jointly designed medieval art fair created by a classroom teacher, the art teacher, and the teacher-librarian.
The experimental learning center aims to improve teaching and learning by offering professional development sessions and resources that are tailor-made to each school’s greatest needs.
The teacher posts assignments on a blog that’s linked through an RSS feed to individual students in the class, each of whom can access the blog through an iGoogle page or another personal home page.
With a talent for helping others and teaching, becoming a trainer is the perfect career progression for me. To train myself and become recognised in my chosen field, I enrolled to get a Certificate...
With a talent for helping others and teaching, becoming a trainer is the perfect career progression for me. To train myself and become recognised in my chosen field, I enrolled to get a Certificate...
With a talent for helping others and teaching, becoming a trainer is the perfect career progression for me. To train myself and become recognised in my chosen field, I enrolled to get a Certificat...
"search the database for lesson plans by learning standards and indicators, content topic, grade-level, resources used, type of lesson or schedule, keyword and much more. In addition, registered users can bookmark lesson plans in a portfolio for future use, rate and comment on lesson plans in the community, print to PDF and socially share lesson plans on the web, and create and publish their own lesson plans in the database."
Feed readers
are probably the most important digital tool for today's learner because they
make sifting through the amazing amount of content added to the Internet
easy. Also known as aggregators, feed readers are free tools that can
automatically check nearly any website for new content dozens of times a
day---saving ridiculous amounts of time and customizing learning experiences for
anyone.
Imagine
never having to go hunting for new information from your favorite sources
again. Learning goes from a frustrating search through thousands of
marginal links written by questionable characters to quickly browsing the
thoughts of writers that you trust, respect and enjoy.
Feed readers can
quickly and easily support blogging in the classroom, allowing teachers to
provide students with ready access to age-appropriate sites of interest that are
connected to the curriculum. By collecting sites in advance and organizing
them with a feed reader, teachers can make accessing information manageable for
their students.
Here are several
examples of feed readers in action:
Used specifically as
a part of one classroom project, this feed list contains information related to
global warming that students can use as a starting point for individual
research.
While there are literally dozens of different feed reader
programs to choose from (Bloglines andGoogle Reader are two
biggies), Pageflakes is a favorite of
many educators because it has a visual layout that is easy to read and
interesting to look at. It is also free and web-based. That
means that users can check accounts from any computer with an Internet
connection. Finally, Pageflakes makes it quick and easy to add new
websites to a growing feed list—and to get rid of any websites that users are no
longer interested in.
What's even
better: Pageflakes has been developinga teacher version of their tooljust for us that includes an online grade tracker,
a task list and a built in writing tutor. As Pageflakes works to perfect
its teacher product, this might become one of the first kid-friendly feed
readers on the market. Teacher Pageflakes users can actually blog and create a
discussion forum directly in their feed reader---making an all-in-one digital
home for students.
For more
information about the teacher version of Pageflakes, check out this
review:
Martha Hickson on 19 Jun 13The purpose of the template is for use as a starting point to help teachers plan and implement technology driven learning experiences that are fueled by Essential Questions and aligned to Common Core Standards. The template includes built in screencast tutorials to help students learn to use the technology. This allows teachers to focus on the content instead of being consumed by student questions about using the tech
