The New Classroom

coursekit: The Wikipedia Education Program works to help...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:55:45 -0500

The Wikipedia Education Program works to help students build out their classroom curriculums using wikis. With the help of program ambassadors, students learn to cite sources, enter pages into creative commons, and to measure their project stats.

The line between writers and readers is blurring, particularly with students. This project goes to show that the classroom is about to get much, much bigger.

(Source: GOOD, via gjmueller)

What Does Teaching Creativity Look Like?

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:16:51 -0500

What Does Teaching Creativity Look Like?

"Just let me declaim: The idea of a public secondary school system that nurtures creativity and..."

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:17:55 -0500

“Just let me declaim: The idea of a public secondary school system that nurtures creativity and reflection and also encourages young people to discover animating passions is on the brink of annihilation by a machine that wants every person to become an automaton for the perpetuation of an unsustainable American economy built on nothing less than a house of marked cards.”

- Oregon’s overreach: Are teachers the troops in a war on individualism? | OregonLive.com (via adventuresinlearning)

The Real Reason Kids Are Missing From School « Cooperative Catalyst

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:00:24 -0500

The Real Reason Kids Are Missing From School « Cooperative Catalyst:

In my district, the causes of absenteeism are more complicated than anything Education Week has pointed out. Within the context of the Maryvale community (a low-SES enclave of Phoenix), absenteeism is rooted in larger, systemic injustice that goes beyond simply “more officers” or “reach out to parents.”

If it were my survey in my community, I would add the following options:

Quit treating student absences as a criminal act and assuming that the state knows better than the parents how to raise a child. Quit criminalizing the victims of social injustice and help parents instead.

Provide better jobs for parents (many of our students move frequently because they live transient lives)

Provide a pathway to legal citizenship for immigrant families (families are fleeing to and from states out of fear of deportation, despite working hard and providing for their families)

Daycare for parents with young children or a living wage so that families can live off of one income (many of our students miss school to watch younger siblings)

Universal healthcare (many of our students miss school because they are not getting the preventative care that they need.)

What Education Week fails to grasp is that when you limit your options to fixing behaviors, you offer choice without freedom.

(Unrelated note: for the next few days, you can download any of my books for a dollar on Amazon.com)

Envisioning a Post-Campus America - Megan McArdle - Business - The Atlantic

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:49:00 -0500

Envisioning a Post-Campus America - Megan McArdle - Business - The Atlantic

Harvard Seeks to Jolt University Teaching - Teaching - The Chronicle of Higher Education

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:46:13 -0500

Harvard Seeks to Jolt University Teaching - Teaching - The Chronicle of Higher Education:

“A growing body of evidence from the classroom, coupled with emerging research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, is lending insight into how people learn, but teaching on most college campuses has not changed much, several speakers said here at Harvard University at a daylong conference dedicated to teaching and learning. …”

37 Ways Teachers Should Use Pinterest

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:17:18 -0500

37 Ways Teachers Should Use Pinterest :

kbkonnected:

Great ideas!

"There’s an education bubble, which is, like the others, psychosocial. There’s a wide public buy-in..."

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:55:14 -0500

“There’s an education bubble, which is, like the others, psychosocial. There’s a wide public buy-in that leads to a product being overvalued because it’s linked to future expectations that are unrealistic. Education is similar to the tech bubble of the late 1990s, which assumed crazy growth in businesses that didn’t pan out. The education bubble is predicated on the idea that the education provided is incredibly valuable. In many cases that’s just not true. Here and elsewhere people have avoided facing the fact of stagnation by telling themselves stories about familiar things leading to progress. One fake vector of progress is credentialing—first the undergraduate degree, then more advanced degrees. Like the others, it’s an avoidance mechanism.”

- Paul Higgins: This is a big issue for something which is seen as a long term investment. As career changes and job changes have become more frequent the value of the initial piece of paper has reduced. I think that value for fundamental skills education with a bit of paper on the end of it will continue to have value. However the rise in “just in time” skills transfer, the creation of all sorts of new jobs in a rapidly changing world, and multiple sources and channels for education are rapidly devaluing the specific skill qualification.

i don’t always agree with Peter but he’s spot on about education

A Conversation with Peter Thiel - The American Interest Magazine (via pegobry)

Photo

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:15:48 -0500

"If you really want to be good, here are some things you should do. Work with one or two good people..."

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:54:51 -0500

“If you really want to be good, here are some things you should do.
Work with one or two good people on significant projects on a regular basis. Find your complement at any cost.
Always have a project to work on. Always. ALWAYS. Even if you’re not working on it Right Now.
Study things that matter. Actually spend time in a quiet room reading, thinking, and working through examples. Study more than the instructor tells you to.
Overachieve on every course project you ever do.
Don’t stay immersed in one monoculture. Experience as much of humanity as you can. You’re going to be the one saving these people, and you won’t know how to save them if you don’t know what they need and how they feel. It will make you a better person.
Ask for things. People like to give them to you and in fact often feel bad when they can’t give you what you want. This goes for jobs, keys, grades, swag, and dates.
Have some confidence. Lack of self confidence is an epidemic among smart programmers, and humanity in general. If you doubt your skills, work on a harder project. When you finish it you’ll be better and you’ll know you can learn. The people you are competing with probably aren’t as good as you’re afraid they are.
Don’t agonize over what “kind” of hacker you are. Figure out who *you* are, and be that.”

- category: unknown: Notes from a Hacker Society talk (via lifeandcode)

DJ Your Classroom: The Digital Playlist

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:28:20 -0500

DJ Your Classroom: The Digital Playlist:

gjmueller:

world-shaker shares:

A fascinating concept.

One feature of digital learning that our family has adopted is the concept of the playlist. School of One (So1) first promoted the idea of the playlist in education more than three years ago. When students arrive to So1 each day, they are greeted with a personalized “playlist” that is developed by a learning algorithm.

Mindshift’s Tina Barseghian writes:

“What makes School of One a contender to watch is its re-conceptualization of the school day. Students arrive at school in the morning and receive a “playlist” — a schedule adapted to each student’s level of progress … . Based on the students’ progress — daily quizzes, other assessments, and teacher input — a new playlist is created for the next day.”

Solve for X: Michael Crow on higher education impact (by...

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:50:52 -0500

Solve for X: Michael Crow on higher education impact (by wesolveforx)

Solve for X is a forum to encourage and amplify technology-based moonshot thinking and teamwork. http://www.wesolveforx.com G+: http://goo.gl/T3qQo

Moonshot thinking is great, but where does it come from? Academia and entrepreneurship are both fields it can come from, but quite often does not. What would it take to create a moonshot factory? A place that was dedicated not to publications or patents or profits but directly to the idea of radical thinking, radical problem solving, and driving radical levels of positive impact. Now try to imagine taking one of the world’s largest universities and turning it into such a place.

Michael Crow is president of Arizona State University. He is designing the transformation of ASU into a new highly innovative, high speed adaptive knowledge enterprise which combines academic excellence, inclusiveness, and societal impact - a model he terms the “New American University.”

STEM Video Game Challenge: PBS KIDS Stream

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:02:06 -0500

STEM Video Game Challenge: PBS KIDS Stream:

PBS KIDS, in partnership with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is participating in the 2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge, an annual competition to motivate interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning among America’s youth by tapping into students’ natural passion for playing and making video games. The contest is open to four different categories: Middle School students (5th grade – 8th grade), High School Students, College students and Teachers/Educators. Participants who wish to produce games as part of the PBS KIDS stream are encouraged to develop games for children ages 4-8 that focus on early math skills. This site is designed to provide information and resources to help guide game production. This project is part of the Ready To Learn Initiative, and funded by a grant from the U.S Department of Education.

gjmueller: What’s Blended Learning? Ask Salman Khan Here, Khan...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:46:41 -0500

gjmueller:

What’s Blended Learning? Ask Salman Khan

Here, Khan uses his trademark “chalkboard” sketching approach to explain how the idea of blended learning — combining technology like online videos and software with classroom instruction — works.

(via A Tech-Happy Professor Reboots After Hearing His Teaching...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:38:52 -0500

(via A Tech-Happy Professor Reboots After Hearing His Teaching Advice Isn’t Working - Technology - The Chronicle of Higher Education)

teachingtoday: You tell ‘em Lisa

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 09:29:56 -0500

teachingtoday:

You tell ‘em Lisa

20 Twitter Hashtags Every Teacher Should Know About

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:08:07 -0500

20 Twitter Hashtags Every Teacher Should Know About:

world-shaker:

Here are the first five:

These Twitter chats cover anything and everything in education, and represent a great jumping off point for those just getting started in Twitter education chats.

#edchat – Talk to a variety of educators around the world through #edchat, Tuesdays at noon and 7 p.m. EST.

#lrnchat – Every Thursday night from 8:30-10 p.m. EST, you can connect with other educators and discuss learning.

#edbkchat – On Wednesdays at 4 p.m. EST, you can discuss educational books and topics in learning and pedagogy.

#spnchat – Find out about successful practices in education and education reform through #spnchat Tuesdays at 9 p.m..

#ptchat – Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST, parents and educators around the world can open the lines of communication on #ptchat.

Great list of technology/programs used to flip a classroom...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:12:26 -0500

Great list of technology/programs used to flip a classroom...:

revolutionizeed:

Great list to check out with plenty of stuff I never saw before!!

Who really benefits from putting high-tech gadgets in classrooms?

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:49:42 -0500

Who really benefits from putting high-tech gadgets in classrooms? :

latimes:

How much genuine value is there in fancy educational electronics? Don’t let companies or politicians fool you, says columnist Michael Hiltzik.

Top Five iPad Note Taking Apps for Students

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:16:00 -0500

Top Five iPad Note Taking Apps for Students:

wirescrossedblog:

By Henry Furman

As the iPad continues to trickle into every little niche of productivity you never thought it would, more and more students, from grade school to grad school, are finding it conducive to learning. Whether it’s Apple’s launching of iBooks…