Paper Circuitry Illuminates ‘Writing as Making’ There has been a great deal of buzz lately about "making" and production-centered learning. As a professor of literature and writing, I have been enthusiastic about the role "making" might play in the classroom. (Even those classrooms or courses that don't inherently seem to lend themselves to making in the most obvious sense.) But the truth is, this new found enthusiasm is sometimes an uphill march. On July 9, the National Writing Project and the Educator Innovator network helped launch "Hack Your Notebook Day," which featured a special writing-engineering-art "make" challenge. Could this artful hands-on approach to writing serve pedagogic goals in any significant way? What was intriguing during the "Hack Your Notebook Day" was the transformative power of this work. What a revelation to consider the palpable frustration we experienced when we couldn't make the circuits work (and the feeling of rising failure that might overcome us if we couldn't make it work). #1. #2. #3. #4. #5.
How Teachers Use Technology: The Latest Research Back in 2011, I wrote a post about the "New Digital Divide." Based on Pew Research data from 2011, it was apparent that, while many previously marginalized populations now had more access to the Internet, these populations were accessing the Internet mostly through mobile devices, which are limiting, especially when trying to build and create online or access job applications or opportunities. Just this past week, Pew released a new study called How Teachers Are Using Technology at Home and in Their Classrooms. It explores how teachers use the Internet for their own professional learning, with their students and for communicating with families. Who's Connected and Who Isn't As a member of a large online community of educators through Twitter and other social media outlets, I know how much of an impact the Internet has had on educators and their classrooms across the world. Same Old Digital Divide
Using Dropbox in the Classroom When I mention Dropbox to friends and colleagues, I usually get one of two responses – a knowing smile and nod, or a puzzled and quizzical look. Whether you know what the program is, you have likely heard the name. But really, what is Dropbox? Dropbox is many things — a multifaceted tool that’s so powerful, you’ll continue to discover new ways to use it. How Dropbox works So, how can you use Dropbox as an educator? Additionally, many applications that you likely use (Evernote, Things, 1Password, Elements, to name a few) have a Dropbox sync option. Using Dropbox with students In addition to making your life a lot easier, Dropbox can be a great teaching/learning tool – and this is why I introduce it to my students. You can call this folder anything. Next step: Put your mouse over the folder and click on the arrow to the right – a drop-down menu will appear. Next, you will get the window shown below. Once you have invited students, this becomes a “Shared Folder.” Students catch on quickly
How To Help Your Students Embrace Failure through Game-based Learning How To Help Your Students Embrace Failure Through Game-Based Learning By Justin W. Marquis, Ph.D. Whether our students fear the dark, monsters, heights, some other imagined horror, or something more real such as family troubles or bullying, everyone is afraid of something. For students in our schools those fears probably include something that is an inherent part of our society and our educational system – failure. In our society the fear of failure pervades everything we do in our work, our relationships, and in education. The movement to incorporate games and game-based learning in our schools is gaining momentum, but another fear prevents educators from fully realizing the full potential of game-based learning. One way of overcoming these fears, and thus helping students to learn from their failures, is to develop an understanding for how to actually use games in the classroom, and how to take advantage of the failure process that they rely on. 1. 2. 3.
Game Blocks offers free, open-source game creation for novices Game Blocks Library Released The open-source Game Blocks library marks its first public release today. The library allows first-time game developers to quickly create games in the BYOB visual programming environment. Created by game developer and writer Sheldon Pacotti, for a course at the University of Texas' Radio-Television-Film program entitled "Writing and Narrative Design for Video Games," the Game Blocks enable first-time developers to build nonlinear interactions and narratives with minimal effort. Features include: * simple blocks for common game functions: movement, inventory, dialogue, cut scenes, cartoon animation, level transitions, physics. * example programs for common game types: platformer, 2D adventure, point-and-click adventure, arcade shooter, and simulation. * Over four hours of online video tutorials, covering the entire system of blocks and game-specific applications. The library is being hosted by New Life Interactive, LLC:
Evernote: A Great Tool for Organizing Teachers & Students! If you are not familiar with Evernote, now is the time. Evernote is a free web tool and application that helps you to organize your notes, emails, images, and, well…. everything. It’s hard to describe, but this 50-second video highlights some of the key features and abilities. Evernote can be a great application for teachers, both to keep yourself coordinated and to facilitate student learning. I want to highlight a few ways that I have employed Evernote not only to make my life a little easier as a teacher, but to help my students and my classroom stay more focused and organized. First, if you need to familiarize yourself with a quick tutorial, try out the “Getting Started Guide For Teachers.” Organizing myself Teachers have tons of “stuff” on our plates. The key to Evernote success is that you set up some basic parameters first. Using Evernote with students Evernote is also a great tool for students to organize all of their own content. Should you go Premium? Concluding thoughts
Crowdsourcing as a Class with Blogger The first few days of school can be a bit of a blur for students who are bombarded with syllabi and class rules. One of the ways I like to break the cycle of “sit and get” that first week of school is to use a crowdsourcing activity to put the responsibility of establishing expectations on my students. Instead of telling them what I expect, I ask them questions like: What would make this class feel like a community? My students have been in school for 10 years by the time they get to my class, so they have a pretty good idea of what makes a classroom a welcoming and safe community. The second day of school, I asked them to discuss what they thought was polite versus rude when engaging in different forms of communication. The challenge is that I don’t have enough wall space or white board to capture all of their incredible ideas. Instead of crowdsourcing on the board, which is temporary, students post their ideas directly to our class blog. Using Blogger to Crowdsource You’re all set!
Bridging the New Digital Divide As the cutting edge of technology has moved from getting computers into the classroom to digitizing textbooks to fully and seamlessly integrating technology into pedagogy, the role of superintendents and other district leaders has needed to shift to ensure teachers and students are reaping the benefits. But that cutting edge has been evolving ever more swiftly in recent years, and at the same time, the roles of school district leaders have been expanding and becoming more complex, which has added to the challenges. On the technology side, the answer of what districts will have to do in five years is still elusive, but leaders still have to prepare. “It’s hard for everyone to stay ahead of the curve. In this complex role that leaders serve in schools, how do you get technology on the front burner?” says Brian Lewis, CEO of the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE). Echoing Carter’s comments, he adds, “How can we keep these kids engaged? Taking Risks A Simple Understanding
Update to Adding Video into Evernote | TRUE Learning Since I posted my original findings on getting video into Evernote. Our school has tried a few similar methods. One was to use the Photo Transfer App to more easily move videos taken and compressed on the iPad to a computer for attachment into a note. This was definitely faster than the Dropbox method referenced in my first work around post. However, this update includes instructions for what seems to be the most direct route to getting video into Evernote using the app Video Slimmer ($1.99). Here is what you need to know. Side note: You’ll notice that John’s blog is created with the Postach.io blog platform. Directions for using Video Slimmer to get videos into Evernote: Record your video. The video will be created in a new note in your default notebook.
Appendix B, What's an Exemplar? - CORElaborate Chris Gustafson A couple of years into work with the Common Core State Standards, there’s still confusion around the purpose of Appendix B: Text exemplars and Sample Performance Tasks. Bloggers still criticize the lack of current texts listed – what’s with all those public domain choices? Tweeters are alarmed about districts who are taking items from the examplars list, purchasing class sets, and using them as the basis of their curriculum. A lot of the controversy around Appendix B of the Common Core State Standards could have been avoided by applying some close reading strategies. The following text samples primarily serve to exemplify the level of complexity and quality that the Standards require all students in a given grade band to engage with. The words that catch my eye are “exemplify,” “suggestive,” and “guideposts.” So why do districts and schools continue to skim the first paragraph, read on down to the materials list, and copy and paste it into their book orders?
An Updated COPPA, A Liberated Textbook Catalog, and (Of Course) More MOOCs Law and Politics The FTC unveiled the latest version of COPPA (the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) this week. I covered this news a bit in my recent look at the “politics of ed-tech” because certainly some of the wording here is a result of lobbying from the Internet tech industry. The FTC says it’s updated the language to strengthen privacy protections, but it looks like Facebook, Google, and Apple are winners here. Michican governor Rick Snyder vetoed a law this week that would have allowed concealed guns to be carried in schools. Another legislative win for OER is pending with the State of São Paulo passing a law this week that, according to Creative Commons, “establishes a policy whereby educational resources developed or purchased with government funds must be made freely available to the public under an open copyright license. Penguin has settled with the U.S. Launches and Upgrades The foreign language-learning app Triplingo has launched a redesigned app. Funding MOOCs
How 21st Century Learning Fits Into The Common Core At a time when many teachers and parents (and students!) can feel overwhelmed by the seeming overabundance of standardized tests and educational standards more generally, it falls to the teacher to help the students and parents understand how all of this fits into the larger picture of what students will need to know and be able to do to be successful in the future. This means helping them understand how educational standards fit into 21st century learning, a concept that to many seems contradictory. The handy infographic below takes a look at how the common core standards can be pathways to success in the 21st century (though obviously they are not the only path, just a part of it). The left side of the poster with the blue background explores six 21st century skills that teachers are helping students develop through their teaching with the standards. 21st Century Skills Taught via CCSS The CCSS teach students to be: Must-Have 21st Century College and Career Skills
What Teachers Really Think About Game-Based Learning Game-based learning may be one of the bigger buzzwords of the year along with the likes of project-based learning and MOOCs. We’re starting to get a picture of how teachers, students, and others feel about PBL and MOOCs thanks to some pretty extensive press coverage. But what about game-based learning? We covered it in one of the first issues of Edudemic Magazine and it’s been going strong ever since. So how do you know what teachers really think about the popular trend of deploying gamification and games to enhance retention and learning? See Also: How 10 Colleges Are Using Game-Based Learning Right Now They put together this handy visualization and came up with some key facts. Would you try out game-based learning in the upcoming year?