Connected Learning

Connected Learning

Force Field comments about Gamification from EduCause pre-conference I attended

#r infrastructure

#c engaging

#r games aren’t for learning

#r games are too juvenille for the academy

#r youngsters only

#r learning should be serious

#r doesn’t align with curriculum

gaming doesnt get work done

#c innovation for short attention span

#C ability to personalize instruction

#c motivates low performers to succeed

#r lack of funding

#c method to engage students

#r lack of IT infrastructure

#r lack of proactive planning to put GBL into place

#r who is going to “certify” badges? who will determine whether or not the badge is worth it?

#c Khan Academy pioneers

#c Mozilla Open Badges

#c many big schools are using it

#c critical mass of users

#c Students are very comfortable using games to learn

#c big money invested

#r the only thing that likes change is a wet baby

#c badges encourage positive addiction to learning

#c Bb Achievements

#c Jacksonville State University leader board and gamification

#r we have to go through hoops to get building blocks approved for our LMS (Blackboard)

#r The technology can’t be trusted ala Second Life starting big, and then flopping.

#r faculty do not have the “time” to learn one more thing

#r Gamification = ‘gamer’ stereotype, whatever that is.

#r games are either puzzles or shoot ’em up scenerio viewpoint

#r never going to get to where we want to be

#r having to learn how to use new tools in the learning environment

#c cloud technology = good

#r cloud technology = bad because of FERPA

when there is a correct answer Exercise in creative thinking

Call for Submissions: Voices for Social Justice in Education: A Literary Anthology

Call for Submissions:Voices for Social Justice in Education: A Literary Anthology
Editors: Julie Landsman, Rosanna Salcedo, & Paul Gorski

Deadline for submissions: Midnight, January 15th, 2014

What we are looking for: Poetry (including spoken word), creative non-fiction, memoir, short stories, images of visual art, and other types of writing or visual art that paint a picture of what justice and injustice look like in our schools.

Please read this Call for Submissions in full and, if you choose to submit one more manuscripts, email them as Word documents, following the specifications below, to:
voices@edchange.org

Project Description and Guidelines
The use of narratives in examining issues related to equity and social justice is a central component of many of the critical theories that drive scholarship and practice in social justice education today. Many readers respond more openly to, and are able to connect with the experiences of, individual people when they read their stories rather than reading only traditional scholarship about multicultural or social justice concepts. It is through narrative, through the organic voices of marginalized people, that stories—often called “counter-stories”—emerge in response to the dominant narratives that paint marginalized groups as deficient or unworthy.
The editors of this anthology intend to assemble a broad and diverse collection of writing by people who are, or have been, in the field of education as students, teachers, administrators, parents, counselors, or in any other capacity; by people who will draw in readers, engage their imaginations, and help them see how educational inequities and social injustice affect individuals, viscerally, rather than theoretically, raising consciousness about these issues, and inspiring hope for change.
Guidelines and Specifications for Contributors:
(1) Poets may submit up to 5 poems at once
(2) Prose writers may submit up to 15 pages
a) Times New Roman 12-pt font
b) Double-spaced
(3) Images of visual art should be submitted in .pdf or .jpg format
(4) Include author/artist name(s) and email address(es) on each piece submitted
(5) Remember, we are looking for work explicitly about education and schools, so great work about social justice that is not explicitly relevant to education schools will not be considered

Please feel free to share this Call for Submissions widely!

RP: 50 Education Technology Tools Every Teacher Should Know About

This is a re-post — A great list of tools for education: [found here]

 

50 Education Technology Tools Every Teacher Should Know About

Posted by Ross Crockett on

“You want some great ed tech tools to use in your classroom? You got em’—50, to be exact! This article written by the folks from Edudemic features an extensive list of some of the most awesome technological tools you can find for teaching and learning. There’s lots to explore here, so have fun!”

 

via Edudemic

Technology and education are pretty intertwined these days and nearly every teacher has a few favorite tech tools that make doing his or her job and connecting with students a little bit easier and more fun for all involved.

Yet as with anything related to technology, new tools are hitting the market constantly and older ones rising to prominence, broadening their scope, or just adding new features that make them better matches for education, which can make it hard to keep up with the newest and most useful tools even for the most tech-savvy teachers.

Here, we’ve compiled a list of some of the tech tools, including some that are becoming increasingly popular and widely used, that should be part of any teacher’s tech tool arsenal this year, whether for their own personal use or as educational aids in the classroom.

Social Learning

These tools use the power of social media to help students learn and teachers connect.

  1. EdmodoTeachers and students can take advantage of this great tech tool, as it offers a Facebook-like environment where classes can connect online.
  2. GrockitGet your students connected with each other in study sessions that take place on this great social site.
  3. EduBlogsEduBlogs offers a safe and secure place to set up blogs for yourself or your classroom.
  4. SkypeSkype can be a great tool for keeping in touch with other educators or even attending meetings online. Even cooler, it can help teachers to connect with other classrooms, even those in other countries.
  5. WikispacesShare lessons, media, and other materials online with your students, or let them collaborate to build their own educational wiki on Wikispaces.
  6. PinterestYou can pin just about any image you find interesting on this site, but many teachers are using it as a place to collect great lesson plans, projects, and inspirational materials.
  7. SchoologyThrough this social site, teachers can manage lessons, engage students, share content, and connect with other educators.
  8. QuoraWhile Quora is used for a wide range of purposes, it can be a great tool for educators. It can be used to connect with other professionals or to engage students in discussion after class.
  9. NingNing allows anyone to create a personalized social network, which can be great for both teachers and students alike.
  10. OpenStudy:Encourage your students to work together to learn class material by using a social study site like OpenStudy.
  11. ePalsOne of the coolest benefits of the Web is being able to connect with anyone, anywhere. ePals does just that, but focuses on students, helping them to learn languages and understand cultures different from their own.

Learning

These educational tools can help you to make lessons fun, interesting, and more effective.

  1. Khan AcademyMany teachers use this excellent collection of math, science, and finance lectures and quizzes to supplement their classroom materials.
  2. MangaHighMangaHigh offers teachers a wealth of resources for game-based learning in mathematics.
  3. FunBrainIf you’re looking for a great collection of educational games, look no further than FunBrain. On it, teachers can take advantage of fun tools for math and reading.
  4. EducreationsEducreations is an amazing online tool for the iPad that lets teachers (or students) create videos that teach a given topic. Perfect for studying or getting students to show off their knowledge.
  5. AnimotoAnimoto makes it simple to create video-based lessons or presentations for the classroom and to share them with students or anyone else.
  6. SocrativeAvailable for computers, mobile devices, and tablets, this student response system engages students through games and exercises on any device they have on hand. Even better, teachers can easily assess student progress and track grades.
  7. KnewtonAdaptive learning has been a hot topic in recent months, and with Knewton it’s something that any teacher can access and use. The site personalizes online learning content for each student according to his or her needs.
  8. KerpoofOn Kerpoof, students can get creative with their learning with games, interactive activities, drawing tools, and more that are both fun and educational.
  9. StudySyncWith a digital library, weekly writing practice, online writing and peer reviews, Common Core assignments, and multimedia lessons available, this site is a fully-featured tool for teaching and learning that can be a big help in the classroom.
  10. CarrotSticksOn this site, teachers can take advantage of a wide range of math learning games, giving students practice while they have fun.

Lesson Planning and Tools

Use these tech tools to pull together great lessons and design amazing and memorable student projects.

  1. Teachers Pay TeachersHave great lessons to share? Looking for something to add to your classes? On this site you can do both, selling your own class materials and buying high-quality resources from other teachers.
  2. PlanboardMake sure your lessons are organized and that your day runs smoothly with the help of this amazing online tool designed just for teachers.
  3. TimetoastTimetoast is a pretty cool for student projects, allowing them to build sleek, interactive timelines in minutes.
  4. CapzlesThere are so many different ways that Capzles can be used in the classroom, there’s bound to be an application that fits your needs. What does it do? Capzles makes it simple to gather media like photos, videos, documents, and even blog posts into one place, making it perfect for teaching, learning, or online projects.
  5. PreziWant to build presentations that will wow your students? Make use of this online tool that makes it simple to do all kinds of cool things with your lessons, even allowing collaboration between teachers.
  6. WordleCreate stunning word clouds using Wordle, a great complement to language lessons of any kind.
  7. QR CodesQR codes (or quick response codes) are showing up with greater frequency in education. If you’d like to get in on the trend, you’ll need a tool to create and manage the codes like Delivr and one to read codes, like any of those listed on this site.
  8. QuizletQuizlet makes it easy for teachers to create study tools for students, especially flashcards that can make memorizing important information a snap.
  9. MasteryConnectHow are your students performing with regard to state and common core standards? MasterConnect makes it simple to track and analyze both, as well as other elements of student performance.
  10. Google DocsThrough Google Docs, teachers can create and share documents, presentations, or spreadsheets with students and colleagues as well as give feedback on student-created projects.
  11. YouTubeNot all schools allow YouTube, but they are missing out as the site contains a wealth of great learning materials for the classroom. There’s even a special education-focused channel just for teachers and students.
  12. TED-EdTED isn’t just a great place to find inspiration anymore, the site also contains numerous videos that are organized by subject and can help you to teach everything from how pain relievers work to Shakespearean insults.
  13. Glogster:Glogster is a social site that lets users mash up music, photos, videos, and pretty much anything else you’d like. It’s a great way to create learning materials and a handy tool for creative student projects.
  14. CreazaWant to bring your student projects into the 21st century? Creaza can make that possible, offering tools to brainstorm, create cartoons, and edit audio and video.
  15. Mentor MobOn Mentor Mob, you or your students can create a learning playlist, which is essentially a collection of high-quality materials that can be used to study a specific concept.

Useful Tools

These tools can help you to stay connected, organized, and increase the ease of building multimedia lessons and learning tools.

  1. EvernoteCapture great ideas, photos, recordings, or just about anything else on your Evernote account, access it anywhere, and keep it organized. A must-have tool for lesson planning.
  2. TwitterThere are so many ways Twitter can be used in education. Teachers can connect with other educators, take part in chats, share their ideas, or even use it in the classroom to reach out to students.
  3. Google EducationGoogle offers a number of great edtech resources for teachers, including email and collaborative apps, videos, lesson plan search, professional development, and even educational grants.
  4. DropboxEasily store, share, and access any kind of data from anywhere with the easy-to-use and free Dropbox service.
  5. DiigoDiigo lets you treat the web like paper-based reading material, making it simple to highlight, bookmark, take notes, or even add sticky notes.
  6. Apple iPadOne of the most widely used, though expensive, tech tools being used in today’s classroom is the Apple iPad. With a host of educational apps being developed for the device, it’s become a favorite of teachers and students alike across the nation.
  7. AviaryAviary is a suite of tools that make it easy to edit images, effects, swatches, music, and audio or to create and modify screen captures.
  8. JingIf you’re teaching kids about tech or just about anything else, a great screenshot program is essential. Jing is one great option that allows teachers to take screenshots as images, record up to five minutes or videos then edit and share the results.
  9. PoppletYou and your students can use Popplet to brainstorm ideas, create mindmaps, share, and collaborate.
  10. Google EarthFrom geography projects to learning about geological processes, Google Earth can be an amazing and fast way to show students anywhere in the world.
  11. DonorsChooseNeed funding for a classroom project? You can get it through this site that hooks up needy teachers with willing donors.
  12. SlideShareWith SlideShare, you can upload your presentations, documents, and videos and share them with students and colleagues. Even better, you can take advantage of materials that other have uploaded as well.
  13. LiveBindersLike a real-life three ring binder, this tech tool allows you to collect and organize resources. Much better than a binder, however, the site also comes with tools to connect and collaborate and a virtual whiteboard.
  14. AudioBooThrough this tool, you can record and share audio for your students or anyone else.

What Colors Mean in Different Cultures | Visual.ly

What Colors Mean in Different Cultures | Visual.ly.

In honor of my sister, Jessica…

10 Infectious YouTube Clips of Babies Laughing at Dogs

10 Infectious YouTube Clips of Babies Laughing at Dogs.

יום הזיכרון לשואה ולגבורה Holocaust Remembrance Day

From the archive: 100 things to eat in Iowa before you die | The Des Moines Register | DesMoinesRegister.com

From the archive: 100 things to eat in Iowa before you die | The Des Moines Register | DesMoinesRegister.com.

Yes please!