A blog about blogging! Such a sense of irony to be blogging about blogging… but it is how it is when I’m so deeply entrenched in the content. So my blogging diet is protein based. It’s like I’m in training. Sometimes I feel like I’m writing around the clock to feed the need for content – whether it is writing about blogging in my book or producing content for 2 different blogs…. but it hasn’t always been this way. I, like I’m sure many of you, dragged my feet for quite some time before allowing the blogging bug to bite. There were many reasons I didn’t do it…. I didn’t have time to write (although I was writing often enough in a notebook)No one wanted to read what I had to say, so what was the point? Anyway, in the beginning, someone else did it for me. I don’t recommend this approach. Here’s what you need to do if you want to start, but you don’t know how: Pick a platform that will meet your needs (what do you plan on using the blog for?) What fears are holding you back?
Classroom Manager Classroom control, management, and collaboration at the click of a mouse Now available for: Evaluate student comprehension Administer surveys, quizzes and tests Use keyword tracking to ensure comprehension Distribute and collect assignments digitally Listen and record language lessons Encourage collaboration Record results and progress with Digital Journals Form chat groups to discuss topics Share student work across all systems Interact via virtual whiteboard Monitor student activities Restrict website and application access Single click launch of website and applications Screen and device locking Block or limit printing to reduce ink usage Easily support teachers Message teachers 1:1 or en masse in a matter of seconds Provide teacher support through direct chats with IT Monitor and access devices Communicate & Collaborate Save Time
Educational Web Sites Twitter Cybrary Man is a Twitterbrarian! My Twitter Friends My RebelMouse Wording by @sjunkins Sign by Maureen Devlin @lookforsun Sign by @sjunkins Differentiate content in the classroom Essential Question: How can I use Pearltrees to differentiate content in the classroom? Using Pearltrees reminded me of making an interactive poster using Glogster. I could click anywhere in the poster and it would take me to a new video, picture, or note. Pearltrees does the same thing, but adds the extra element (I think, since I only made one interactive poster) of opening another webpage. Pearltree would give students a central spot to keep all of their resources in one place and therefore more organized. I believe that if I took classes in high school, like history or writing, that utilized an interactive online tool like Pearltrees, that I could have wanted to put more effort in, therefore remembering more. This would also allow integration of different content areas and teachers could do team collaboration projects that didn’t fizzle out. I think that this would be a great way to introduce younger students to an online tool that brings a project together.
Twitter Chats - The ins, outs and my top 8 chats Every opportunity I can get I involve myself in the 1 hour twitter chats that surface themselves in my twitter feed. It gives me the opportunity to connect and collaborate with like minded educators, network with the best in the business and pick up new and interesting things to use to make me a better educator. PD in the palm of my hands (literally). For those that don't know what I am talking about - let me give you the low-down. Twitter chats take place on twitter at a certain time every week (click here for a complete list of education related twitter chats and their times). To get involved in a twitter chat - you need to follow the hashtag. Here is a list of my 8 favourite education related chats, the hashtags, a short description and when they are on: #whatisschool - an edchat space where people can express an unbiased response to questions about schooling, where educators have a voice in shaping the future through their experiences, recommendations and interests.
Pearltrees Social Library – Collate and Collaborate Posted on September 2, 2013 by R Chambers So this holiday I have developed a new addiction! Pearltrees! Pearltrees is a fantastic visual and collaborative social library tool with great potential in education! You can synchronise your account with other social networking tools, namely Twitter and Facebook – broadcasting new pearls added (you have to enable this feature so you don’t have to do this) or collecting new pearls when a link is added. When you create an account and pearltrees, these are public, however there is a premium option for creating private pearltrees and private collaborations which enables you to control your privacy settings should you wish. Here are links to 3 of my Pearltrees which may be of use: 1. iPads in Education 2. I will developing these further during the academic year. Like this: Like Loading... Related Filed under: Uncategorized |
EduClipper Launches Its “Pinterest For Education” Back in 2007, Adam Bellow launched a site called eduTecher to aggregate and surface the best educational resources and content on the web. A high school teacher, Bellow set out to highlight new technologies and educational tools that could be used in the classroom to improve the learning experience. When a new generation of community curation tools began to take hold on the web, like Pinterest, Bellow decided to leverage the increasing popularity of crowdsourced curation to take eduTecher to the next level. This week the teacher-turned-entrepreneur officially launched eduClipper, a platform that allows teachers and students to explore, share and contribute to a library of educational content. In both function and design, it’s essentially a Pinterest for education, with one notable difference: Because eduClipper is built exclusively for teachers and students, unlike Pinterest, you probably won’t find it blocked by your local school. For more, find eduClipper at home here.
Assessing 21st Century Skills at school Recently, one of the teachers who is participating in our district’s 21st Century Learning grant project came to talk with me about assessing 21 century skills – one of the expectations for teachers in this project. Her observation was that students frequently practice the skills when engaged in research or project based learning. The thing she was struggling, with, though, was how to “grade it.” Assessing skills like collaboration, information literacy, creativity, self-direction, and critical thinking seems like a difficult task–when you think of assessment as “grading.” To understand what is meant by assessment of 21st century skills we need to examine the term “assessment.” So to effectively assess skills and habits of mind –we must design a performance task for the students. One of the most difficult tasks of designing an effective formative assessment tool for 21st century skills is deciding what criteria should be included.
Top Cloud Collaboration Services for Education Written by Leana Thorne Digital revolution has significantly transformed traditional teaching and learning practices, allowing educators to introduce latest technologies into their classrooms and enable students to learn more efficiently. One of the most important tech trends of the decade is definitely cloud computing that created a vast space for innovation in different industries. Cloud computing is a complex concept but it may generally be defined as a type of technology that delivers software tools and applications via the web. Cloud-based services store users’ data on remote server farms and enable constant access to important files from multiple devices simultaneously. The following cloud-based services are increasingly being implemented in educational institutions worldwide and they drive modernization of traditional learning and teaching methods. Google Drive Google Drive is probably the best-known app from this set. Box SkyDrive Leana Thorne (1 Posts)
Starting the Year on a Positive Note Back in May, I asked readers to think of five things they'd done well over the last school year. I followed it up with a post on my personal blog reflecting on what I thought I did well. Now it's time for the school year to rev up again, and I'm hoping to not only keep doing what I did well, but also set some goals for the coming year. As this blog is a tech integration blog, I want you to think about something you want to do better or something new you want to try this year. As I have stated in many previous posts, the worst thing you can do when trying to bring new technology into your classroom, whether it be a simple web-based tool or a piece of hardware, is try to do too much. With the proliferation of Web 2.0 tool lists, blogs about successes teachers have had with particular endeavors, webinars, wikis, online communities and more, it can be easy to get overwhelmed. Don't Try to Be a Superhero Some Ideas for Implementation see more see less
Deeper Learning: A Collaborative Classroom is Key What's ideal when it comes to collaboration in our classrooms? Here's one coveted scenario: several children gathered at a table engaged in a high-level task, discussing, possibly debating an issue, making shared decisions, and designing a product that demonstrates all this deeper learning. As teachers, we'd love to see this right out the gate, but this sort of sophisticated teamwork takes scaffolding. It won't just happen by placing students together with a piece of provocative text or an engaging task. In preparing our students for college and careers, 21st century skills call on us to develop highly collaborative citizens -- it's one of the 4 Cs, after all. So how do we begin this scaffolded journey? Establish Group Agreements Deciding on group norms, or agreements, right at the get go will give each student a voice and provide accountability for all. Accountability is an important factor in group working agreements. Teach Them How to Listen Teach Them the Art of Asking Good Questions
20 Options for Real-Time Collaboration Tools About ETR Community EdTechReview (ETR) is a community of and for everyone involved in education technology to connect and collaborate both online and offline to discover, learn, utilize and share about the best ways technology can improve learning, teaching, and leading in the 21st century. EdTechReview spreads awareness on education technology and its role in 21st century education through best research and practices of using technology in education, and by facilitating events, training, professional development, and consultation in its adoption and implementation.