UWCSEA Teachers

So Prensky was right the first time - there really is digital native generation? No, certainly not - and that's what's important about this study. It shows that while those differences exist, they are not lined up on each side of any kind of well-defined discontinuity. The change is gradual, age group to age group. The researchers regard their results as confirming those who have doubted the existence of a coherent 'net generation'. "We found no evidence for any discontinuity in technology use around the age of 30 as would be predicted by the Net Generation and Digital Natives hypothesis," says the report. What the reseachers do find interesting and worthy of further study is the correlation - which is independent of age -- between attitudes to technology and approaches to studying. In short, students who more readily use technology for their studies are more likely than others to be deeply engaged with their work. "Those students who had more positive attitudes to technology were more likely to adopt a deep approach to studying, more likely to adopt a strategic approach to studying and less likely to adopt a surface approach to studying."

A teacher from Shekou International School explains how they use Twitter as a part of their writing workshop and to learn about the world.

Gorgeous looking CVs and resumes

Great creative commons backgrounds for design/keynote/ibooks etc etc

Have Siri read your iBooks

European game information/rating site. Similar to ESRB. A good place to go to get information on games you are considering purchasing.

Nice article on balancing being a fun parent while maintaining control.

Gates & McArthur foundation looking to sponsor a version of Sim City for Educational use. 

"GlassLab is working with commercial game companies, assessment experts, and those versed in digital classrooms to build SimCityEDU, a downloadable game designed for sixth graders. Scheduled to be be released in the fall of 2013, it builds on SimCity's city management theme, but provides specific challenges to players in the subject of STEM. "The big pain point we've heard from teachers is that they cannot entertain their kids to the level that they are being entertained outside of the classroom," said Jessica Lindl, general manager of GlassLab. "They want to be able to create meaningful learning experiences and they just can't compete with the digital tools their kids are accessing all the time.""

A playlist of PSAs from the UN Economic & Social Council

Study showing multitasking improved by playing first person shooter games

... most schools in the U.S. are not adequately  preparing kids for success in the twenty- first century (e.g., Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2006 ) . Learning in school is still heavily geared toward the acquisition of content within a teacher-centered model, with instruction too often abstract and decontextualized and thus not suitable for this age of complexity and interconnectedness.

"we are educators, not nannies. We are educated professionals who work with kids every day and often see your child in a different light than you do. If we give you advice, don't fight it. Take it, and digest it in the same way you would consider advice from a doctor or lawyer. I have become used to some parents who just don't want to hear anything negative about their child, but sometimes if you're willing to take early warning advice to heart, it can help you head off an issue that could become much greater in the future."

iRead is a group of teachers in Escondido Union School District dedicated to the idea that digital audio can be a powerful learning tool for all students. iRead will give you a chance to create meaningful, curriculum-centered audio projects with your students. Teachers are using digital audio tools (iPods, mics, Garageband, iTunes, Keynote, etc. and various accessories) to improve reading processes. Teachers meet on a monthly basis to exchange ideas and strategies. We started in 2006-07 by collecting data about fluency rates - this proved to be very promising.

hHelping students learn how to learn: That's what most educators strive for, and that's the goal of inquiry learning. That skill transfers to other academic subject areas and even to the workplace where employers have consistently said that they want creative, innovative and adaptive thinkers. Inquiry learning is an integrated approach that includes kinds of learning: content, literacy, information literacy, learning how to learn, and social or collaborative skills. Students think about the choices they make throughout the process and the way they feel as they learn. Those observations are as important as the content they learn or the projects they create.

"Don't go crazy with your images. The last thing you need is get distracted by shiny new tools, and the last thing your fans need is too look at photos that look like an acid trip in Las Vegas. Keep it simple and sincere."

increases a child's memory capacity, computer and simulation fluency, helps with fast strategic thinking, hand eye coordination, benefits children with attention disorders, helps particular skill development 

Who's Connected and Who Isn't

Twitter has turned into such an important part of modern society. But just fast is Twitter growing? Which countries are using Twitter? How do people use Twitter? This visualization shows us exactly what happens on Twitter and where.