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By popular request, here are all our "how to" guides for using Google+ effectively, whether for business or personal use, in one convenient listing.

Three weeks ago I added another layer to our digital writing workshop:  I introduced students to Google Docs, and with it learned the power and potential of yet another space that again is changing writing instruction as I know it.

When we conceive of learner as knowmad, the traditional roles assigned to teacher and student become less relevant, necessary, and linear.  The knowmad is mobile and learns with anybody, anywhere, anytime.  As such, the place we now know as school may be too small and perhaps unable to contain the range of learning engagements necessary for those with nomadic tendencies.  Rather, think of the extended community--one that is physical, virtual, and blended-- as potential learning spaces that our knowmadic traveler composes, accesses, participates in, abandons, and changes.

A look across the not-too-distant border from us here in Albany, GA. One has to ask what the country-wide figures might be. And how soon will these 14-15-yr.-olds be in college, and what literate skills will they develop before then, or not at all?

This article does not touch on writing "per se," but we here at Albany State in Georgia are an HBCU school, so I wanted to share this mildly optimistic news with our faculty.

Now I KNOW this article is about MATH and not writing, but please skim/read it over and apply what is being said here to what we know about the teaching of English -- grammar and writing -- and how we have our favored "old" way of learning and teaching and how that often contrasts with new and "improved" methods that we see.

I'm not familiar with this term "Educanto," but the article hits a concept that is close to us--assessment. If "grades" don't reflect a grasp of "basics," then what is it that we want to measure?

According to Leuf and Cunningham, a wiki is "a free expandable collection of interlinked webpages, a hypertext system for storing and modifyinh information, a data base, where each page is easily edited by any user." A Wiki can be thought of as a combination of a web site and a Word document. At its simplest, it can be read just like any other web site, with no access privileges necessary, but its real power lies in the fact that groups can collaboratively work on the content of the site using nothing but a standard web browser. The Wiki is gaining  traction in education as an ideal tool for collaborative work.

"Students and teachers need the terminology of grammar so they can discuss sentences easily, so they can talk about the parts that don't fit together and the parts that should be moved around. And it is such discussions about sentences, along with lots of reading and writing, that help students write correctly and well - and maybe land a job." -- Let's consider putting this quote up in a prominent spot in our writing labs!!

Let the discussion ensue!!

So the question becomes, according to Seimens (Laureate, 2008), "How do we change an assessment model based on individual learning to a model based on collaborative learning?"

Educational transformation is coming not because of the increasing ineffectiveness of schools in meeting society's needs - though that is certainly a good reason - but due to their growing unaffordability. We now see student-teacher ratios in some urban settings climbing to unworkable levels of 40 plus, even 60 pupils per class (Dolan, 2011; Dillon, 2011). This is not a temporary financial dislocation due to an economic downturn, but a permanent sea-change that has already happened in every other service sector of our economy.

Some great reading here - for those rainy afternoons.

Connected Learning is " when you are pursuing knowledge and expertise around something you care deeply about, and you're supported by friends and institutions who share and recognize this common passion or purpose".

A return to heaven . . . or to hell??

This blog might be too long for use in classes, but I would seriously consider shortening it and distributing at least part of it to students. Maybe we will make some version of it available in our labs and on our Web site. Thanks for reading and commenting!

If you are beginning to investigate what a Flipped Classroom is, with the thought of possibly trying some kind of Flip yourself… then this is also the right place. I have researched and tried to find you the very best resources to get educators in all positions thinking about what a Flipped Classroom" really is"? I know that if you take a look at the resources provided you will walk away with a better understanding, and a well thought out implementation.