Nov. 1998: "It takes a whole village to raise a child." - Igbo and Yoruba (Nigeria) Proverb
African Proverb of the Month November, 1998 It takes a whole village to raise a child. Igbo and Yoruba (Nigeria) Proverb Explanation: This Igbo and Yoruba (Nigeria) proverb exists in different forms in many African languages. The basic meaning is that child upbringing is a communal effort. In general this Nigerian proverb conveys the African worldview that emphasizes the values of family relationships, parental care, self-sacrificing concern for others, sharing, and even hospitality. The multiple uses of this Nigerian proverb show the timeliness and relevancy of African proverbs in today's world. The Anglican Archbishop John Sentamu of York, England at a consultation in Swanwick, England in September, 2005 stated: "As It takes a whole village to raise a child so it takes the whole global village to eradicate poverty . Rev.
Digital technology trends in education
One of the difficulties for school and educational leaders is to develop strategies for innovation and change, writes Gerry White in DERN. There is no doubt that digital technologies used professionally and with skill can improve student and professional learning engagement and performance. A concise, succinct explanation of trends and successful strategies that have been tried and tested carefully over time can be very useful at such a time. The State Educational Technology Directors Association External Links icon (SETDA) in the US produces an annual report of the trends and efforts of school districts that innovate using of digital technologies. is a rich analysis of trends with a compendium of successes. National Educational Technology Trends: 2012 report is structured to amplify four major trends in using digital technologies in education. • Ensuring an infrastructure for learning• Educator effectiveness• Innovative learning models, and• College and career preparation (p. 1). .
Elearnspace
Interdependent Catalysts for Transforming Learning Environments ... and the Faculty Who Teach in Them (EDUCAUSE Quarterly
Key Takeaways Designers of technology-rich interactive learning environments must consider the interdependent factors of physical and virtual spaces, faculty, students, and institutional infrastructure to create an effective setting for teaching and learning. Faculty learning to use active learning environments benefit from an interdisciplinary team approach involving instructional designers and IT support staff. The Faculty Fellows Program at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, supported five faculty in a transformation process that explored the possibilities and affordances of emerging learning technologies and active learning classrooms. The lessons learned from the faculty fellows' projects can contribute to the national transformation of education through increased learning effectiveness and a shift from content-centered to student-centered learning. Key chapters of the EDUCAUSE e-book Learning Spaces1 celebrate new models of learning environments. As Amy put it:
How to Create a Robust and Meaningful Personal Learning Network [PLN]
This post describes how educators can develop a personal learning network that supports meaningful and relevant learning. The MOOC, Education Technology & Media, etmooc, is used here as a working example of how to develop a PLN. “My Personal Learning Network is the key to keeping me up-to-date with all the changes that are happening in education and how technology can best support and engage today’s students.” Brian Metcalfe: teacher, blogger at lifelonglearners.com A visual image of participants in an open, online course- etmooc, which shows the potential to find and create personal connections as part of one’s PLN. (image credit: Alec Couros) I wrote a post recently about how to develop a personal learning environment [PLE], the need and benefits of doing so, for educators in particular. What is a PLN? Twitter 6×6 (Photo credit: Steve Woolf) Logo for etmooc from etmooc.org In the etmooc we are primarily using Google+ Community , Blackboard Collaborate and Twitter to interact. Resources
Learning Environments Research
IT@UMN > Services Overview > All Services > Academic Technology Support Services > Academic Technology Consultation Academic Technology Consultation Academic technologists are available to help faculty and staff explore how to effectively incorporate technology into their academic practice to advance their teaching, research, and outreach goals. The service includes:
#ETMOOC | A MOOC about educational technology & media – Coming January 2013
Personal Learning Networks for Educators: 10 Tips - Getting Smart by Dr. Mark Wagner - edchat, EdTech, PLN
By Dr. Mark Wagner I often begin my workshop on personal learning networks (PLN) for educators by asking these questions: Who is in your learning network? Who do you learn from on a regular basis? Who do you turn to for your own professional development? Some educators are lucky enough to learn from their coworkers or colleagues at their site. I usually ask these questions at conferences, which are frequently only annual events – and rare treats for many educators. Learning to Network and Networking to Learn 1. 2. 3. 4. Networking Tools and Anecdotes The four tips above are the core activities of building a personal learning network, and they can be applied using various tools to connect with others online. 5. 6. 7. 8. Final Thoughts These final two tips will help keep your initial frustrations in perspective, and help you avoid the temptation to focus on unimportant metrics as you grow your network. 9. 10. Note: I’ve also been writing about this topic for some time.
Spigot
