Big Thinkers: Judy Willis on the Science of Learning Judy Willis: Hi, I'm Judy Willis and I am a neurologist. I've been a neurologist for 15 years and after the 15 years my patient practice really changed. I started getting so many referrals for kids whose teachers thought they had ADD, obsessive compulsive disorder, staring spells, seizures petit mal epilepsy, and the increase was huge and yet the kids had no greater incidence of it. And I saw the notes were coming from the school so I visited the schools. The problem was that the way they were being taught was lectured. There's a part of the brain that is an emotional filter. So if a person is in a state of stress, the amygdala gets highly active. So we need to keep that switching station in a state of low stress. So if there is something new in the classroom, a new picture, a great bulletin board, something that's interesting, something that captures their curiosity. So how do you get students to focus their attention? The other one I'll use is color. What else does a videogame do?
Situating Connectivism This page originally authored by Tim Ireland (2007) Questions about connectivism abound. “What is it?” Proponents’ Placement The title of the 2004 propositional paper by George Siemens,Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age, clearly indicates where Siemens wants connectivism situated; that is, he wants it to keep company with other prominent learning theories. Conversely, by recognizing the importance of connections between knowledge entities (nodes) instead of the entities themselves, connectivism provides a flexible model that can expand and contract as the nodes expand and contract. Support for Siemens’ propositions comes from fellow Canadian Stephen Downes (2005), who cites Siemens' notions of connections and pattern recognition as vital aids that learners need in order to make sense out of the chaos that tends to hide knowledge and meaning. Critics’ Placement In his article—Connectivism: a new learning theory? What is a Learning Theory? Ongoing Dialogue Application
A Day in the Life of a Connected Educator – Using social media in 21st century classrooms One of our main goals at Powerful Learning Practice is to turn educators into 21st Century educators. That is, teach them how to use social media and other powerful Web 2.0 tools to transform their classrooms into learning environments that are ready for today’s iGeneration students. One of the most common questions we get is, “But where do we find the time to use all this new technology?” To answer that question, we developed this infographic – A Day in the Life of a Connected Educator to show that using social media in your classroom and in your life can be integrated, easy, and fun. Scroll down and take a look or click for a larger version. Get connected Would you like to become a connected educator? Explore more about the life of a Connected Educator and 21st Century teacher & learner in The Connected Educator: Learning and Leading in a Digital Age by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and Lani Ritter Hall. Tweet all about it What does a typical day in a 21st century classroom look like?
8 cosas que deberías saber sobre “Aprendizaje Conectado” 1 ¿Qué es? La educación superior está entrando en una fase nueva y evolutiva que se define por las conexiones entre todo y todos; es un ecosistema altamente conectado de tecnologías que apoyan el compartir, la colaboración y los vínculos globales para especialistas y estudiantes en todas las áreas de actividad. El aspecto clave de esta etapa educativa está yendo más allá de la noción que califica a las tecnologías de la información simplemente como medios para ofrecer contenidos y e-learning. Lo que emerge hoy es el énfasis en la integración, que permite a todos los participantes en la educación superior ensamblar componentes de una forma única, con el fin de construir las vías necesarias para lograr sus metas educativas. Este cambio en la educación superior permite al estudiante integrar únicamente las conexiones personales, las experiencias en clase y fuera de la clase, las colaboraciones y otros recursos de todo tipo. 2 ¿Cómo funciona? 3 ¿Quién lo está haciendo?
7 Speed Reading Tricks by a Former Book-Hater I was never a big fan of reading… I blame it on the education system, of course. (Well, it can’t be my fault, can it?) You see, it’s difficult to enjoy reading when every book your teacher throws at you is of no interest to you whatsoever. Then I finished school and went my own path. It is obvious that there are only so many hours in a day, so if I want to be able to read more I have to learn to read faster. 1. This is the thing that really slows us down. 2. The idea is simple. 3. This may sound obvious but it’s worth mentioning here. 4. Here’s what you do: start reading each line on the third word, and end each line on the third word from the end. As an example consider such a line of text: “Marry had a little lamb but she ate it for supper.” The words in bold indicate the focus points. 5. The easiest way of doing this is to read from a bigger distance (like 2ft). 6. This is a very common problem. 7. Start reading too fast to be able to comprehend everything comfortably.
Education 3.0: Students as Connectors, Creators, & Constructivists The way that users have utilized the Internet has changed since its inception. References to Web 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 allude to an evolved relationship with online information and interactivity. Web 1.0 refers to a primitive Internet that did nothing more than connect the world with information assembled and published by a select group of experts. Web 2.0 is an iteration of this which provides us with the opportunity to interact with the Internet and even create our own content to share with others. Like the Internet, our education system has experienced its own paradigm shifts throughout history as the needs of society have changed. Education 1.0 embodies an approach to learning where meaning is dictated and pre-determined curriculum is taught by the teacher to his or her students with a focus on rote memorization. Education 2.0 adapted the previous model to become one where meaning is socially constructed and the teacher is no longer viewed as the sole dispenser of valuable knowledge.
Connected Learning Principles We are living in a historical moment of transformation and realignment in the creation and sharing of knowledge, in social, political and economic life, and in global connectedness. There is wide agreement that we need new models of education suited to this historic moment, and not simply new models of schooling, but entirely new visions of learning better suited to the increasing complexity, connectivity, and velocity of our new knowledge society. Fortunately, we are also able to harness the same technologies and social processes that have powered these transformations in order to provide the next generation with learning experiences that open doors to academic achievement, economic opportunity, and civic engagement. What would it mean to think of education as a responsibility of a distributed network of people and institutions, including schools, libraries, museums and online communities? At the core of connected learning are three values:
Hybrid PD supported by online ‘communities of practice’ With the many professional educational technology resources available to the K12 community today, it’s imperative that we transition from episodic and ineffective models to an interactive environment that is digitally-based and connected 24/7. This “learning powered by technology” is the approach outlined in the DOE’s National Education Technology Plan (NETP), which calls for applying the advanced technologies used in our daily personal and professional lives to our entire education system to improve student learning; accelerate and scale the adoption of effective practices; and use data and information for continuous improvement. Online professional development environments are the key to helping teachers everywhere achieve this goal. Online communities of practice. CoSN’s activities, and those of other educational technology partners, have already shown school technology leaders the benefits of the growing role and impact of online communities. Accessing knowledge. Gordon K.
Pourquoi le Mindmapping est-il si efficace pour étudier ? Pourquoi dit-on que le Mindmapping peut aider les étudiants ? Est-ce vraiment si efficace ? Et si oui, pourquoi ? La vue : le sens dominant d’une majorité de personnes Une étude de Linda Kreger Silverman, Docteur en psychologie de l’Université du Colorado, menée sur 750 élèves, a démontré qu’environ 30% d’entre eux utilisaient fortement le canal visuel-spatial, 25 % d’entre eux utilisaient principalement le canal auditif-séquentiel, et 45% utilisent les deux ensemble. Ce qui veut dire que l’enseignement actuel, basé principalement sur les mots, répond vraiment aux besoins de 25% de la population scolaire! Répartition des canaux sensoriels dominants Une méthode qui sollicite tous nos sens ! Le Mindmapping est une des rares méthodes qui réconcilient nos deux hémisphères cérébraux et qui sollicitent autant de sens en même temps : avec sa structure en arbre, ses couleurs, ses images, sa disposition spatiale encourage l’utilisation du canal visuel-spatial. Réconciliez la synthèse et l’analyse
How to Learn on Your Own: Creating an Independent Scholar Resource Plan One of the most challenging and gratifying parts of learning alone is the opportunity to search for and select your own learning material. Students in traditional classrooms usually don’t get to decide how they are going to master course content. Instructors decide for them in the form of textbook selection, quizzes, tests, group projects, etc. As an independent learner, you can make your study time more effective by using only the learning methods that work for you. A resource plan is a document used to brainstorm the learning material you can use when you begin your studies. Before you write a step-by-step schedule, think of every resource that is available to you (such as books, websites, knowledgeable people, etc). This article will show you how to create a resource plan to use in your independent studies. Step 1: Set a Goal The first step to creating a resource plan is to decide on a single goal. Step 2: Collect Materials Step 3: Make Connections Step 4: Take Action