TBR Elearning Initiative Information Skills for a 21st Century Scotland - Home Google China Creating a Game-Based Online Class One of the things that I like the most about the field of instructional design is the opportunity to think about that hard to quantify meta-level where you are teaching someone how to teach someone else. The most effective way to do this is to have your learner live the experience that you are trying to teach them to create. Unfortunately, the medium of a blog post does not permit me to teach you how to create a game-based curriculum by experiencing it. Step 1: Define your Objectives This is exactly the same process you should undertake at the beginning of planning for any class. Content knowledge objectivesDiscipline-specific knowledgeDiscipline-specific technical skillsOther technical skills (technology skills)Other academic skills Be as specific and detailed as possible in your objectives. Step 2: Brainstorm Game-based Ideas This may best be accomplished with a colleague, student, or other thoughtful confidant. Image: dream designs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Demos | Publications The internet is the greatest source of information for people living in the UK today. But the amount of material available at the click of a mouse can be both liberating and asphyxiating. Although there are more e-books, trustworthy journalism, niche expertise and accurate facts at our fingertips than ever before, there is an equal measure of mistakes, half-truths, propaganda, misinformation and general nonsense. Knowing how to discriminate between them is both difficult and extremely important. Truth, Lies and the Internet examines the ability of young people in Britain to critically evaluate information they consume online. The report reviews current literature on the subject, and presents a new poll of over 500 teachers. This pamphlet recommends that teaching young people critical thinking and skepticism online must be at the heart of learning.
The Whiteboard Blog - Supporting the use of technology in the classroom Writing as a process not a product: How can we engage boys in writing? - jimsweetman's posterous When we start to think about why boys don't like writing in school the simple answer is that they are - self evidently - bad at it. They go to school too young and they start writing too young and they start reading too young and they see the girls do better because their motor skills, capacity to concentrate and intellect are developing at a different pace and in different directions. Boys are bad at embroidery too. When we want to engage them in independent writing, particularly at key stage two where it is a worry for other reasons, they are still writing more slowly so test conditions are particularly trying. Talk to them about the task and you will get equally interesting reactions from both sexes but when boys start to write they know they are conditioned to fail and, of course, they are right. It goes on throughout education. And, the opposite feeds back with boys into a further reluctance to write. My suggestion would be less focus on writing and much more on thinking.
How to Use Google Search More Effectively [INFOGRAPHIC] Among certain circles (my family, some of my coworkers, etc.) I'm known for my Googling skills. I can find anything, anywhere, in no time flat. My Google-fu is a helpful skill, but not one that's shrouded in too much mystery — I've just mastered some very helpful search tricks and shortcuts and learned to quickly identify the best info in a list of results. Sadly, though web searches have become and integral part of the academic research landscape, the art of the Google search is an increasingly lost one. That search process also included determining when to rely on Google and when to utilize scholarly databases, but on a fundamental level, it appears that many people just don't understand how to best find the information they seek using Google. Thanks to the folks at HackCollege, a number of my "secrets" are out. Infographic via HackCollege Image courtesy of iStockphoto, LICreate
Google kills off seven more products including Wave 23 November 2011Last updated at 12:44 Google develops many products, not all of which are hits with the public Google has announced that it is dropping seven more products in an effort to simplify its range of services. The out-of-season "spring clean" brings an end to services including Google Wave, Knol and Google Gears. It is the third time that the US firm has announced a cull of several of its products at the same time after they had failed to take off. Experts said the strategy might put off users from signing up to new services. Google announced the move in its official blog. "We're in the process of shutting a number of products which haven't had the impact we'd hoped for, integrating others as features into our broader product efforts, and ending several which have shown us a different path forward," said Urs Holzle, Google's vice president of operations. "Overall, our aim is to build a simpler, more intuitive, truly beautiful Google user experience," he added. Wave goodbye Lessons Focus