Mindmeister kicks Mind42's butt! A free account entitles you to three beautiful mind maps, complete with text, links, icons and images (Googled from the web).
This article gives a great example of how a librarian created a lesson that uses many web 2.0 tools while students demonstrated their media literacy skills.
By using libguide a Boston Librarian was able to create a lesson for students to learn about an oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. Using libguide allowed her to combine news links, a Delicious linkroll, an RSS feed, and a Google Map that compares the relative size of the spill to Manhattan, Paris, and other global cities.
School district implements common planning time and allows teachers to collaborate using a wike for lesson plans and web links to enhance classroom teaching.
Thank you for sharing that example of the wiki and teacher sharing. I may discuss this to be a possible option for a professional day for my own dept members as we look to design our own text.
the above url provides a link to a website called:
http://edu.critiqueit.com/
Here you can post articles and invite people to read them and give input. sounds like a great resource for virtually any high school class.
This article highlights schools that are integrating gps technology into the classrooms and the linking this to students being connected to the real world along with building critical thinking skills.
Joseph Kerski, the curriculum manager in Redlands California, is quoted as saying "From bus routing to airplane navigation to geocaching for recreational purposes, it's one of those technologies that's all around us now" . He goes on to say, "And it's not just the tool. It's about students' using those higher-order thinking skills and thinking critically about their world".
An earth science teacher , Jim Kuhl, explains how he pairs up reading and interpreting topographic maps with geocaching.
GPS can cost as little as $75 per unit and most data phones have a gps embedded.
Example provided was Monroe BOCES Stream Team Project where 10 schools are collecting gps and gis data about the quality of streams feeding Lake Ontario.
This article, from eSchool News, summarizes the features of two free social networking sites, Wiggio and Sophia. In Wiggio online groups can be formed and then users can communicate through email, voice, and text messages, and can share links and files. Teachers can use Wiggio to "set up chat rooms for after-school help" and for "peer-to-peer collaboration within group projects." Sophia "has been described as a mashup of Facebook, Wikipedia, and YouTube focused solely on education." It consists of user created "learning packets" on various subjects that use Web 2.0 tools. Each packet can also be rated on a five star system by the users as well as be given a "green checkmark" to be considered academically sound by experts in the appropriate field.
Many educational sites to check out this summer. There is a site of web 2.0 tools that can be accessed in "two clicks." Also a nice live binder link for how to use the web 2.0 tools. this site will take you to his recommendations for webinars, lesson plans and all sorts of internet sites. Updated regularly.
This article showcases some Web 2.0 creative media tools. Students should have the ability to create new media. The tools outlined in this Edutopia article are great suggestions to assist in creativity and student participation, as well as provide a showcase for their critical thinking. Also includes links to Parts 1 - 3 of Eric Brunsell's series.
Some useful strategies for creating effective presentations. While the audience this writer is addressing is creating presentations for adult professionals, there are many useful strategies that can be integrated by any teacher. This post covers not just how to create the presentation, but also strategies for delivery as well. It could be useful for helping teachers learn how to overcome the "traditional" Powerpointless presentation.
I found the suggestions useful but also really liked the link to places to get photos to use in presentations. Much more professional then google images.
This article attracted my attention due to my affiliation with Graduation Portfolios for our district. I loved the idea of students taking ownership of their Portfolio in terms of linking it to an electronic format they could *present* at the end of the school year. One of the apps listed ("Three Ring") sounded really interesting, and I hope to model it with next year's Seniors.
This article was great. Our high school students should be creating career portfolios and some of the programs like Evernote and Three Ring seem to be great ways of collecting and organizing career information. Employers are now looking at what students have accomplished over a paper resume. Some employers want to see you digital resume' with examples of a student's work. These two programs seem to be a great way to help students be prepared for the new way employers might require for job interviews. One other website is a great resource for Student Portfolios and that is MassCis. Not only does it have the ability to upload exemplars, but it has lessons teachers can use that are aligned with the standards to help students explore their career interests. Imagine, career information, career inventories, goal setting activities, resume writing, college and financial information, teachers' lesson plans and student portfolios all on the same website. Each student can create a portfolio and have it from the middle school through high school. Check it out: www.masscis.intocareers.com
A discussion of "disruptive innovations" and how online learning can be used in brick and mortar schools to engage students in richer, more complex learning experience and increase student/teacher interactions.
Example of prezi presentation. Also at the top are tabs to learn how to make a prezi presentation and an explore tab showing other prezi presentations and reasons to make one. Good background for anyone to learn more about Prezi.
Nowadays IPAD is being used in the classrooms for more and more functions. This article introduced APPs offering 5 new software and assistive technology for special needs kids.They have a lot of other options for a child's particular needs. I am sure IPAD(APPLE) will keep their great contribution in the education in the future.
"We believe the more connected students are with their peers and instructors, the more likely they are to enjoy the overall experience and successfully complete their course. Decades of research from scholars such as Lev Vygotsky and Gabriel Tarde indicate that by making groups more interactive and social, student learning experiences can become more productive and fun. We are working hard to evolve the online learning process from markedly remote to highly collaborative."
Original article site: http://adaptcourseware.com/adapt-courseware-delivers-new-social-learning-tools-to-improve-student-engagement/
Online homework is beneficial to students. They get feedback promptly, even more promptly than that provided by very conscientious instructors. Online homework can also be designed so that it allows students to work on areas that frequently cause trouble and/or on areas where the individual student is having difficulty.
Original Article site: http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/instructional-design/online-homework-systems-can-boost-student-achievement/
This brief article points out that many new online teachers focus on two of the three critical elements identified by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) that support instruction and learning: cognitive presence and teaching presence. The third, social presence, might be overlooked. The article's author, Dr. Oliver Dreon, offers five ways to build social presence in an online class, many of which are familiar to the VHS community.
While this article is about 'flipping' in general, it also describes a team-based learning approach to flipping. The author used this approach at the university level by grouping students into heterogeneous and permanent teams of six or seven. The students then used the author's templates to explore course material.
This article fully explains implementation of blogging in a classroom. The teacher explains: expectations; use of blog posts for classroom discussions, and decorum. She highlights that student blogging enables her to bring to the classroom, without pinpointing a particular student: "insightful responses, inaccurate interpretations, good questions, and lively exchanges". Excellent Information!
This is actually one of the most useful blog things I've seen. It's a solid reminder that teaching an online course is not a checkout for the teacher. Students really want constant feedback - because many things are not verbally explained and the students have to break them down into steps for themselves, it can be overwhelming. They want to know "Am I doing this right? Is this what you're looking for?" so constant feedback and grading reinforcement in more necessary online than in f2f.
This blog really hits home with me. I do get overwhelmed at all the different places I have to navigate to get my work done, so it is important, as the article stated to have an easy-to-access-course - design. Trying to tab to resources , clicking on links, then opening up different websites. I love the videos, which help me, because I am a visual learner. As stated in the article, it is difficult for the teachers to be present all the time.to answer questions, but if students and teachers work together the class can work out. Some students take longer to master a new process than other, so good communication is the key here.
The article explains the importance of Problem-Based Learning in Education. It is crucial to create lessons that incorporate interesting, safe and useful activities.
I read this and thought how true it is that giving feedback to students taking an online course...or working on a website etc. is as important as feedback we give on essay writing, reading, speaking and listening. Feedback is a key communication tool for students to know where they stand. As is any feedback - provided it is constructive.