Web 2.0: Enhancing Education Through Technology

This article talks about teacher created digital content and the confusion when it comes to copyright, sharing and ownership. The 3 must-knows (Know the concepts, know what the law says and doesn't say, know your policy options) about teachers and copyright are explained in detail.

This article explains that critical thinking skills are needed everywhere in life - not just in the classroom. As teachers, we need to help our students realize that just because information exists, doesn't mean that it's correct. Using web tools can help students do this by having them take information and present it in a different form, or by having them create their own presentation based on correct information gathered.

I agree with you that students need to question what they read and be able to see through the writers agenda. I think that is why I worry about the websites that students are getting their information. As teachers we need to help students'analyse and question each source they use before they accept what the web articles have posted. I also need to align my curriculum with standards that include critical thinking. It will be the next step in my journey from guidance counselor to teacher.

Describes the efforts of the student group known as White Rose

This article speaks about the importance of challenging the students growth in life. This article shows that changing the identity of the student and pushing the students in a way that they never were pushed will carry much more weight then just regular classroom instruction. This collaborative method pushed the students ingenuity and brain power in much more then the basic course. This article also shows that a student who takes control of his or her own learning will establish a much deeper connection that can be used to have a better understanding of the foundations of learning.

Many educators are looking for more outside the box methods to learning and understanding. Many teachers have tried implementing more technology inside the classroom or tried to create a more blended classroom. This article shows another method of instruction that brings higher order of thinking and that is using games to differentiate instruction. Our students have been playing games since they were no more than 2 years old. Why not implement a learning method that they are already accustomed to. This has transformed classroom learning into a more interactive learning style that has shown great success. The articles talks about the importance of moving your lessons to the students strengths so why not lean them towards what they know best? Using games for higher learning is no different then a classroom review. It is no different then a quiz. The only difference is that it is more interactive and it is electronic. This style of high order thinking or critical thinking creates a learning environment that is geared to challenge the students in a way that they want to be challenged.

This article is about how the Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning has changed. The new higher order thinking is the following. Creating, Evaluating, Analyzing, Applying, Understanding, Remembering. The article also includes the three domains of learning: Cognitive, Affective, Psychomotor.  As stated in the article, Bloom's Taxonomy was create in 1956 and the old taxonomy included the following: Evaluation, Synthesis, Analysis, Application, Comprehension and Knowledge. The auther feels the new taxonomy , "reflects a more active form of thinking and is perhaps more accurate".- See more at: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html#sthash.BeAdOInN.dpuf. Questions to ask are how does the new technology fit into the new definition of "Bloom's Taxonomy". At what stage will all education require technology as the main component and source for educating students?

This is great article about how new technology must also incorporate new teaching methods. The "old wine in new bottle" metaphor is used, that if we use the same type of materials and they are just dressed better (on iPads, Smartphones, Smartboards, etc.) then there may not be any genuine higher order thinking going on in the classroom.

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.

This great article from the BBC in February of 2014 talks about The Last Places on Earth without Internet Access. As you can imagine, they are few and far between but I found the *why* of the explanation very interesting. And the conclusion deals with something I feel everyone needs to do every day -- unplug. Oh, and I can add one more place where they don't have Internet access - in the guest rooms at the Luxor in Las Vegas. Speaking from experience. Linda

This may sound strange but after reading the article it made think of "Internet Free Zones" like we have smoke-free environments. We are so connected everywhere we go that it seems fine now. But all things in moderation, right. In the future I can see internet free environments happening to help peoples health :) I am sure like everything we overconsume, this will be bad for us too. Great article.

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.

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.

For anyone who is interested in literary theory and philosophy, this is an interesting article about Facebook and how it related to Foucault's concept of heterotopia. My AP students have had discussions about how social media changes our view and perspectives on time.

Project-based learning, and especially examples such as this, require the students to create so much of their own learning both mentally and physically, a top priority to higher-order thinking. These were younger students, but how can we apply ideas such as this in upper-ed?

Multimedia allows for students to express their creativity and show their understanding of material in a fun way. Multimedia is also a great way for teachers to represent information and allow their students to take in information an alternative way (compared to the traditional textbook, powerpoint slides, etc.). This site highlights some great apps for educators and students to make their own media!

This article emphasizes how PBL can be effective, and help students think critically and not just memorize the facts. According to the article, PBL is not just for gifted students, and can help all students, at every learning level, achieve higher order thinking skills.

This article by Vicki Davis, author of the book Reinventing Writing and the blog post "Cool Cat Teacher Blog," is for educators who have decided to use Twitter in the classroom. Davis provides "the essential apps, hashtags, and tips to help." Davis discusses 100 ways to use Twitter in the classroom, safely and for maximum benefit. She discusses apps that allow teachers to manage classroom Twitters (Hootsuite) and create schedules (Buffer) as well as offering 14 tips for writing Twitters. Lastly, she offers three valuable hashtags for classroom use.

This is such a great little video that hits on so many possibilities of Pinterest. It may seem a little tempting to merely think of this tool as a bit lightweight compared to other collaboration tools, but I think this informercial may change some minds. Pinterest - to my mind hits on so many of the buzzwords beginning with "c". It is creative, communicative, collaborative, colorful, curative (is there such a word?!) and it is definitely cool!

Introducing Guided Search: Find what you're looking for and make a few discoveries along the way.

This is a fascinating article to read about a NJ school that took on the Google Platform. Much of what is documented in the article reminds me of why school district went with Google. The ease of emails, calendars, saving documents and designing websites through one platform is so helpful. What I found interesting is that the principal of the school operates with a BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) policy. Her arguments being that as soon as schools make investments in iPads, or laptops etc. the "hardware" is obsolete in no time. She advocates a "learn anytime, anywhere on any device" approach - which I find refreshing and so innovative. At my school, there are many teachers who want to outright ban all personal electronic devices in school - well...for students! This article is a powerful reminder that with guidance and careful, thoughtful planning and implementation, we can make use of everything students bring to school with them - including personal electronic devices.

Blogger Raleigh Werberger, a high school history and humanities teacher, describes a PBL unit that flipped a class from 'just good enough' to creating a working business model and seeking funds to launch a startup. The creative approach to teaching students on multiple levels, including how to market a start-up, and how to make sure students have genuine vested interest in success shows a great way for students to be engaged in their own learning. As the article points out, "[Students'] social media use took on more significance and had a more authentic stake for them, as students began communicating with web journals and community organizations to expand their online presence and gain 'endorsements' for their products." This is a great way to bring students together for a project that demonstrates real life lessons.

This article explains which interview questions you should not be asked and why,