Group items tagged

This is a brief article that expresses the importance and convenience of communicating with technology in education.

In this article, "Role of Information & Communication Technology in Education", the author briefly discusses the benefits of technology in education. Because of the brevity of the article, most of the advantages were only skimmed over. However, the author does mention a point that resonates with me as I attempt to integrate technology into my classroom: "The ability to digitally record any data, from tests to transcripts, is a feature of information technology that has long-term potential to save money on both paper and ink as well as make organization and management simpler for administrators and teachers" (Page). The ability to streamline classrooms and to reduce the need for paper intrigues me. Also, her point about technology making "organization and management simpler" is key to sustainable implementation of technology in my future classroom.

In this article, "Role of Information & Communication Technology in Education", the author briefly discusses the benefits of technology in education. Because of the brevity of the article, most of the advantages were only skimmed over. However, the author does mention a point that resonates with me as I attempt to integrate technology into my classroom: "The ability to digitally record any data, from tests to transcripts, is a feature of information technology that has long-term potential to save money on both paper and ink as well as make organization and management simpler for administrators and teachers" (Page). The ability to streamline classrooms and to reduce the need for paper intrigues me. Also, her point about technology making "organization and management simpler" is key to sustainable implementation of technology in my future classroom.

This is an academic paper examining the reasons why an online learning group should 'move ... from cohort to community.' (abstract), and how students resources and strategies may be managed to accomplish this. The paper asserts that students in a distance learning situation are isolated from each other and the teacher, therefore it is of vital importance that the cohort needs to create a sense of community rather than simply exist alone in the virtual learning room. The article quotes Vygotsky's social development theory of 1978, Selznik's seven elements of community: history, identity, mutuality, plurality, autonomy, participation, and integration (1996), and how the author's of the article modified the characteristics to conform more with current online learning theory. I found this article particularly relevant to the current situation I find myself in. Even though I am happy in my own space and don't need the close interaction with others, I can see that it is important to push myself forward in the sense of gleaning the most benefit from the course and those many intelligent people out there. This is difficult for me because I find the time necessary to maintain so many contacts, and actually have something worthwhile to say and share goes against my slow, ponderous thinking and non-gregarious nature!

This article by Melissa Venable deals with the skills one needs to effectively communicate in an online class. Whether it is between the teacher and the student or student to student communication. This is a skill that needs to be developed especially for the online teacher. The 7 C's are - Clarity, Completeness, Conciseness, Concreteness, Correctness, Courtesy, and Consideration. She further points out that there may even be more C's that need to be part of this equation - Confident, Conversational, Coherent, Creative, Convincing and Check. Her basic message is "More effective communication practices lead to a more effective learning process."

While the Cs in the article are associated with online courses, they can also be applied to face-to-face instruction, as well as written and oral communication. In all forms of communication, it is worth striving for these Cs.

While online courses bring concerns for underdeveloped face to face skills, these courses help students develop a more effective communication. In this platform students are more aware of what they are saying. Students must present their thoughts in clear, concise, correct sentences. They must also take care to be considerate of their audience. That the written word doesn't allow for tone of voice or body language to help get their ideas across. Students must really think before the "speak."

Brandt discusses how schools in the U.S. are starting to use social media as a means to communicate effectively with the families and community.  She also discusses the regulations and policies that schools are implementing as a result.

How schools and families can partner to set boundaries with digital communication and make children conscience of how they use technology. 

Interesting view that schools have a powerful role to play..."Schools have taken on a more significant, all-consuming role in helping parents find the right language to communicate with children, especially in the digital realm." It is easy to forget that parents are looking for guidance about their children and effective technology use.

This article was very interesting. It indicated that grades meant different things to different people. If students received a C, some people would say that the teacher wasn't presenting the material correctly. Lessons should aim to motivate, and inspire students to learn. One professor began class by asking if all students would complete all assigned tasks. When they agreed, he told them they would all get As. He claimed that not one of his students fell back on their word and that work submitted was better than ever. They were more concentrated on learning and understanding rather than worrying about their grade. While this article does not directly relate to online communication, it does relate to how we communicate course expectatioins.

This article brought to light the number of students and parents that have smart phone and use them as their primary source of communication. At the conclusion of the article, it suggested that school districts need to adjust their method of communication with parents due to their overwhelming use of social media and smart phones. This article was focused on the role of social media in communication with parents rather than the use of social media instructionally in the classroom

A simple video to demonstrate communication, communication, collaboration, critical-thinking and creativity.

eSchool News presents the dilemma with the growing trends in online learning. Communication is key in the classroom and online/virtual teachers must possess the special skills necessary to enhance the learning process in the virtual environment.

Very interesting article. I think a lot of teachers diving into online teaching are not prepared for, or are surprised at, the intense level of communication required. Frequent concise feedback to students is the key. This article does a solid job at communicating this. Thanks for sharing it.

When looking for various assessments in relation to technology, I stumbled upon this article that discusses assessments, not only in relation to all students, but students with special needs.  Technology has really made a breakthrough with communication barriers among children with autism.  Technology assessments have helped with data collection, communication, and allowing various learning techniques to create new methods of retaining information.  In relations specifically to children with autism, the internet is a social network for them and allows them to communicate without the need for speech.  It is very interesting and worth a read through.

In order to give and receive information, it is essential to be aware of your openness to communication. Understanding the others in your "conversation" is the first step towards choosing media that will keep them engaged. A true-false quiz is linked to the post.

This article looks at online communication from a district's point of view. Using tools such as websites, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, online surveys, YouTube, and Pinterest, school districts are getting information out to a variety of constituents, not just parents and students. They are building a connection to the community.

This article provides four points to increase parent involvement and communication: 1) Make a case for increased parent involvement, 2) Reach out to parents who want to make a connection, 3) Find ways to involve families in school culture, 4) Make the commitment to join the conversation with other teachers and parents. Within each of these four points, there are various links to more actively engage with tips, articles, and discussion groups.

Every school has a need to increase parent involvement for a variety of reasons, with such intended results as a better sense of "community" among families, faculty and students, improved student achievement, and the like. This can be a challenge for all these entities. It's helpful from time to time to have reminders of strategies that work.

An Interesting article that focuses mainly on good Communication practices for online courses. However, having good "communication tools" is simply good practice in any learning environment. Having the right tools and using them in the right learning environment promotes Higher Order Thinking, building these skills is essential to success.

This article gives reasons why schools should encourage tweeting among their student body. It shows the benefits of connecting students to students, teachers, parents and the entire community. Reading this article could give the reader new ideas for communicating and connecting using a popular Web 2.0 tool.

This article has merit from the perspective of a district principal. The 12 reasons are aligned with the school mission statement and since Tweeter is free, it is accessible to all stakeholders in the school community. It suggests that parents receive training in the tool to build two-way communications. Tweeter will help build a Personal Learning Network (PLN) and allows for anytime, anywhere PD, and that it is easier to send a tweet than it is to correct a webpage. The last reason #12 actually seems to be the most important in that students can make a connection not with only one mentor but with "a million other mentors" to learn from using Tweeter.

This article describes the use of social media for communication following the east Japan earthquake. In a social studies classroom this could prompt a number of discussions about the usefulness of social media in terms of news or communication during emergencies. After all, many students learn about news from social media rather than traditional news reports or newspapers. It could also prompt some interesting comparisons between communication in earlier times and in our own...and the impact instant news or communication has on society.

I created a Mind42 map to show how Web 2.0 tools can support communications skills, and types of lessons where our curriculum can use these tools and skills. From a Career and Technical School, I focused on the Web 2.0 tools that the articles mentioned that focuses on communications such as videos, podcasts, interactive posters, voice thread, mixbooks, podcast and glogsters. I didn't add them all but just provided examples. These tools can all in some way or another be used to enhance basic work skills of reading, writing, listening and communications. For each skill, I identified type of activities and projects that can be created using these tools. For example writing can be enhanced by having students write procedures, memos or reports.

Interesting Infographic showing levels of intimacy in communication.

"As companies grow, in the age of the internet, they are drowning in electronic documents. Some people get so many e-mails each day that they don't even bother opening them. Official documents are nice, but they are no way to communicate." This article encourages and promotes the use of videos to communicate and tell stories.

This article offers interesting ideas on how to integrate social media into the classroom as a device for communication. Although the article focuses on MLK Day, it can be used for other lessons. It explains a variety of social media that can be used as resources and even offers ideas of how they can be used. They even go into the use of hashtags and liking Facebook pages. That will keep lessons current and motivating for students and teachers.