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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.

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.

A comprehensive adaptive online curriculum resources that individualize each student's learning experience, It is a new social learning tool. The tool promote increased online collaboration among students and with instructors. The goal is an approach to community-based learning is to deliver a more engaging educational experience where each student can benefit from a high level of support and interaction.

Quizlet allows the teacher to make all sorts of games that students can play to improve vocabulary, spelling and grammar. Plus its mobile. Computer, tablet and phone.

An excellent piece on the relationship between Web 2.0 and the development of high-order thinking skills. The article describes a project by EDC to train teacher-trainers in Indonesia via Web 2.0 tools. The article describes in very concrete detail how specific Web 2.0 tools promote thinking skills in the upper realm of Bloom's Taxonomy. The article includes a useful chart linking applications like Diigo and Voicethread to the specific skills they promote. It also explains why Web 2.0 tools are more conducive to higher-order thinking than less interactive Web 1.0 tools.

threading and tagging

The Webinar about Bullying takes place this May 30th at 3:00pm Eastern time. It appears to be about bullying in general, but perhaps it includes a part on Cyberbullying. You need to register for the webinar to participate. A webinar is a good opportunity for using interactive, collaborative technology with peers around the nation (world?). If the webinar includes cyberbullying, that also is an added plus. The rest of this press release is a plug for the company sponsoring it.

The original link, found in the vhs newsstand, is essentially a bookmark. I post the destination URL here. This site teaches the skill of observation and that of reading for comprehension. I would use it for small group collaborative work at problem solving.

A timeglider is a web-based timeline software for creating and sharing history and project planning. Our computer apps students learn about the history of computers and technology. The timeglider I looked at could incorporate video sound and images. I also think the timeglider would be fantastic in a history class. It could make the lesson so much more interactive and engaging, rather than just listening to a teacher lecture.

This is a How-To guide for using Acrobat to create, edit, and interact with assessments. This includes adding and commenting on video and audio elements in the document. We have this program on our school computers so it may be worth giving this a shot!

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 articled details the efforts being made by New York's DOE to limit inappropriate online communication between teachers and students, while still allowing for constructive and appropriate use of social media in schools. It offers examples of teachers and students who had inappropriate interactions via social media such as facebook but also notes that students need to be taught to use such tools appropriately.

This article deals specifically with how online writing through the use of either asynchronous or synchronous tools can enhance the traditional classroom. The use of a blog to discuss ideas and debate issues may not be as dynamic or interactive as some of the other Web 2.0 tools we have been discussing and using. However, this article makes the point that using blogs can make content more engaging, provide a way for students to be reflective, allow them the opportunity to practice presenting ideas and arguments and finding their voice. The author, Robert Baird from the University of Illinois, argues that these discussion tools are not used up to their potential. I resonated with this article because as a teacher of an online course that uses discussion threads extensively, I completely agree that students level of engagement and understanding of issues, as well as becoming better thinkers, finding their voice and being forced to use evidence in their answers is remarkable.

Being a student of the PRS (Personal Response System) ideals through the UMASS/NSF Funded program, I have personally embraced and concur with so much of the data and thought process of using digital forms of assessment, that it has become a cornerstone in determining the understanding and competency of my students through both Formative and Summative assessments. If the life of a teacher is not going to change, and more is to be placed on the plate, something either needs to be removed or made simpler. Digital assessment offers a solution to teachers struggling with the load and tasks of being a reflective and responsive teacher. By keeping students more in the loop on progress and using the data to determine many of the factors associated with duration and direction of lessons, teachers can remain most informed and proactive.

This article outlines the notion of flipping the classroom to ensure there is more time in class "doing" your discipline and working on skills together, rather than "listening" or "looking" at how it is done. Being selective about what media you ask students to consume for HW, having them do blogs or discussion posts as HW and then using class time to work in groups and go deeper with the analysis of bias, perspective, sourcing, etc. is a great model. If we want to push the thinking further on the media literacy, we need to have class time to do this work with them.

Similar to the flipped classroom, "The essence of the JiTT pedagogy is timely pre-instruction assignments, usually called warm-ups that inform the upcoming lesson by encouraging the students to examine their prior knowledge and seek information about the upcoming topic before coming to class." When lessons are done well using JiTT, students are more actively involved in their learning and are able to attain metacognition, thereby building higher order thinking skills.

Sarah D. Sparks in her article above, suggests that recent research indicates that 'video-chat or avatar environments' actually can lead to natural engagements between students. To View the complete article you can either subscribe or sign up for a two week free trial.

This article supports the argument that no one education method is the best on its own. The blend of social media, technology and face-2-face interactions help students to effectively communicate and form bonds with their classmates.

Jason Bretzmann is a teacher who founded The Bretzmann Group that runs courses online through MTI for teachers. The courses carry graduate credit. I have his book 'Flipping 2.0' which is an excellent resource. I also took a course with Jason this past March - it was very informative and interactive. I Highly recommend taking a course with Jason!

This article highlights how little social media is used in the classroom. Many teachers see potential benefits with social media but are unsure of using it in the classroom. One issue highlighted is setting clear boundaries for how to use social media when interacting with students and parents.

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.

I have never been a fan of lecturing during class...for either the high school or college classes I teach. If there is information I need to share, I will always use a Power Point (or something similar) and then make those files available for students to download. But even when presenting information in this manner, I continue to engage students with questions, asking for real life examples, etc. And I limit the time, or break it up with another activity. It seems to work pretty well and the ideas from this article pretty much confirm what I have always felt about the lecture style class.