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Grant Wiggins, "The Futility of Trying to Teach Everything of Importance"

Nice student blog post on virtual reality, meditation, and nature.

Over the last decade, neuroscientists distinguished two systems of attention and associated thought. One is directed outward, as when you scroll through your email or play Candy Crush. The other is directed inward, as when you daydream, plan what you'll do tomorrow, or reflect on the past. Clearly, most digital activities call for outwardly directed attention. These two modes of attention work like a toggle switch; when one is on, the other is off. In fact, when attention is outwardly directed, the inwardly directed attention system is somewhat suppressed. Given the amount of time people spend with digital devices, that sounds ominous. Will we actually lose our ability to daydream? Let's hope not.

Yin Wah Kreher says: February 13, 2015 at 8:10 pm Edit I love how you are thinking. I can see your thoughts connecting from "I used to think…" to "Now I think…" There is also other dimensions of comparative thinking going on here. Keep on thinking and sharing your thoughts!

"We teach a lot that isn't going to matter, in a significant way, in students' lives, writes Professor David Perkins in his new book, "Future Wise." There's also much we aren't teaching that would be a better return on investment."

What sunshine is to flowers: A literature review on the use of emoticons to support online learning http://t.co/cPpZmX1yRE - Patrick Lowenthal (@plowenthal) February 3, 2015

Game making can be one of the best ways to get students thinking creatively while cultivating useful technical literacies, and there's a ton of absorbing tools that students won't tire of over the long break. Here are three options to choose from depending on the type of technology students have at home.

"Some may consider online learning to be the anti-classroom.  A rebellion against the chalkboard and the Blackboard in favor of virtual classrooms, avatars in sweater vests lecturing in a Charlie Brown monotone…  I simply look at it as a different kind of team approach to learning.  More opportunities for inputs.  If anything, it makes the scholarship more rigorous.  As both teachers and students, it is becoming increasingly difficult to hide behind airs of academia when the scholarship can be researched, published, evaluated and revised in a nano-second.  It makes educational leadership even more important when the skills necessary to synthesize information both in person and on line are changing, and changing quickly."

"Online Learning, like any educational tool, requires utilization, evaluation, reflection and modification.  We cannot engage in that process unless we actually DO IT. "

"I'd say the biggest observation I've come across in the last couple weeks, is that the online co-learning model breaks down the barriers of the traditional teacher/student relationship. Collaborating, sharing, and building ideas and understanding through open discuss instead bland lecture (here's the information, learn it, regurgitate it for a test). Creating the open platform to express ideas, and then expand upon them with easy reference to the information on the web (i.e., youtube videos, spotify, etc.). The responsibility then lies with each of us (student and teacher) to clearly express our meaning, intention, interpretation, and understanding of material, and back it up with an openness to build on criticism, and defend our viewpoint. And as we've discussed, they, the students, have full ownership of their work, so they may use it for future reference, when needed. In a way, it's like what Beethoven, Debussy, and punk rock have done with music. Each in their own right said, screw the "rules" I'm going to create the music I feel is necessary. The music inside me." h/t to Joyce

"What we have traditionally referred to as the "core curriculum" in reality is nothing less than cross-training for the brain."

Worth keeping mind . . . . "Originally, reading about the assignment for what we have to do for class on Wednesday I got kind of annoyed. I am not good at open ended assignments and they frankly frustrate me to no end."

As current and future student populations-made up of Millennials and Gen Zs, a generation collectively now referred to as Generation C-become even more digitally reliant, we'll see more students flock in record breaking numbers to flexible learning environments.

What's contributing to this growth? "Flex-classes," a preferred learning style among Gen Cs that offers "flex-attendance" options to join classes "in-person" or "online" throughout the duration of a course, allowing students to more efficiently, and affordably, learn anytime, anywhere.

In fact, if the current enrollment growth rate continues, nearly half of all college students will be enrolled in a flexible online learning course by 2020.

Technology Enhanced Active Learning