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Thursday 27 February 2014

Addressing Our Needs: Maslow Comes to Life for Educators and Students | Edutopia



In Abraham Maslow's original Hierarchy of Needs pyramid, the bottom two levels reflect basic needs, the next two reflect psychological needs, and top reflects self-fulfillment needs. 

Image Credit: J. Finkelstein via Wikimedia Commons


In the mid-1950s, humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow created a theory of basic, psychological and self-fulfillment needs that motivate individuals to move consciously or subconsciously through levels or tiers based on our inner and outer satisfaction of those met or unmet needs. As a parent and educator, I find this theory eternally relevant for students and adults, especially in our classrooms. After studying it over the past couple of years, my graduate and undergraduate students have decided that every classroom should display a wall-sized diagram of the pyramid, as students and teachers alike place pins and post-its on the varying tiers based on their own feelings, behaviors and needs. What do actual brain-compatible strategies look like on this pyramid?

By

Lori Desautels Professor in the School of Education Marian University


Read all in 
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/addressing-our-needs-maslow-hierarchy-lori-desautels?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=blog-maslow-hierarchy-image



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The 7 Values That Drive IDEO | LinkedIn





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ExamTime: How to create a Mind Map





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Wednesday 26 February 2014

Tuesday 25 February 2014

Google Enterprise/ Entrepreneurs/Business Toolbox (or all you need for a EdTech startup)

Photo


By Denis Labelle

A real Swiss Army Knife for Business and Entrepreneurship



11 EdTech Math Tools

Photo: Calling all #math teachers (and parents!). This list of virtual tools reveals some cool ways to get hands-on with math: http://bit.ly/1akcN3g.#edtech



Calling all #math teachers (and parents!). This list of virtual tools reveals some cool ways to get hands-on with math: http://bit.ly/1akcN3g.



More and more classrooms are gaining access to technology that can be used with students. Whether you're modeling a lesson, creating stations or working in a one-to-one classroom, virtual tools can promote student engagement while increasing academic success.
Here are some free apps for iPads -- along with a few other tips -- that can transform your daily lessons and are definitely worth checking out!



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Monday 24 February 2014

A 60 Seconds Guide to The Use of Blogging in Education


Facebook, edX team up to release education app abroad



By  
Education DIVE

  • Facebook is rolling out a pilot online education program in Rwanda, and edX is working with the company to provide localized material.
  • The telecom company Airtel will give free educational data for a year to those who sign up; Nokia will offer discounted smartphones.
  • The collaboration is part of Internet.org, the partnership between Facebook and mobile telecom companies meant to expand Internet access.




Top 10 Common Business Writing Blunders & 5 Everyday Grammatical Mistakes (Infographic)

Top 10 Common Business Writing Blunders & 5 Everyday Grammatical Mistakes (Infographic)An infographic by GrammarCheck

Resources and Downloads for Global Competence

Creativity on the Run: 18 Apps that Support the Creative Process

Oscar week special - seven teaching activities resources on film literacy

Designing Science Enquiry

Technokids India Computer activities

http://www.technokidsindia.com/

TechnoKids Computer Curriculum is a collection of technology projects full of Microsoft Office activities.

Cover photo

Friday 14 February 2014

HarvardX Working Papers | HarvardX

mitx-harvardx-course-icon-all



On May 2, 2012, the presidents of Harvard University and MIT stood side by side to introduce edX, a jointly owned, not-for-profit venture to deliver open online learning opportunities to anyone around the world with an internet connection. The goals of the enterprise include increased access to educational opportunities worldwide, enhancement of on-campus residential education, and research about effective technology-mediated education. The respective university efforts to achieve these goals are known as HarvardX and MITx.

The first two HarvardX courses launched in October of 2012, and four more courses launched in Spring 2013.  As of this date, 14 new and returning courses are slated to launch in the winter and spring. Now that data for the first six HarvardX courses have been delivered and analyzed, this is an opportune time to examine these first offerings, in order to inform ongoing course design and research. 
HarvardX is pleased to make these initial reports available to the public (in tandem with the respective MITx courses). They address simple questions across multiple courses: Who registered?  What did they do?  Where are they from? 



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HarvardX - World map of enrollment

 CLICK ON THE PRINT SCREEN FOR FULL INTERACTIVE MAP

Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning


Training Teachers to Teach Critical Thinking | Edutopia

How KIPP educators instruct their colleagues to enhance their classroom practice.



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Thursday 13 February 2014

Top 20 Free Video Conferencing Tools 2013










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The Use of Social Media in School

social

The Use of Social Media in School - a study by  Best Masters In Education 

Teens are actively Tweeting, Posting, Liking, and Commenting all across Social Media and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. Increasingly, teachers and schools are attempting to leverage the engaging qualities of Social Media for use in the classroom and beyond - connecting students, teachers, and parents better than ever before.
The use of social media in school can't be left to chance; it needs to be mediated.


IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM, JOIN 'EM - SOCIAL NETWORKING STATS:

- 96%: of students with internet access report using social networking technologies
- 75%: of 7th through 12th graders have at least one social media profile
- 63%: increase in the amount of time kids ages 2-11 spent online between 2004-2009 3
- 59%: of students who use social networking talk about education topics online2
- 50%: of those who talk about education topics online, talk specifically about schoolwork 2
- 35%: of schools have student and/or instructor-run blogs 2
- 46%: of schools have students participate in online pen pal or other international programs 2
- 49%: of National School Boards Association (NSBA) schools participate in online collaboration with other schools 2
- 59%: of schools say their students use social networking for educational purposes 2
- 27%: of schools have an online community for teachers and administrators 2
- 69%: of American high schools have banned cell phones 3
Skype, YouTube, and Facebook are the most popular social networking sites used in schools 2


BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE CLASSROOM:

Student Benefits: 1

- Enables students to see how their social networks can influence school activities, and vice versa.
- Increase the use of "academic" or "educational" networking - connecting their work socially and academically to a wider world
- Make connections between online participation and the digital footprint left behind - responsibility, safety, reputation, good citizenship
- Brings additional voices to the classroom to help stimulate engagement, discussion, and understanding (ex: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Skype)
- Learn collaboration - a universally accepted quintessential skill for students in the 21st century - students critique and comment on each other's assignments, work in teams to create content, and can easily access each other and the teacher with questions or to start a discussion 3
- Development of 21st century skills needed in higher education and their future careers
- Nurture a positive attitude towards the use of technology in their education and their life as a whole 4

Educator Benefits: 4

- Professional community of educators
- Encourages collaboration in dealing with everyday teaching related issues
- Easy exchange of information, ideas, and "best practices" in a friendly environment
- Exposure to technology-based ideas for the classroom
- Helps to encourage professional engagement, training and continuing education
- Promotion of inter-cultural and cross-cultural dialogue on education

Parental Benefits:

- Increase communication between teachers and students
- Involvement in the classroom and the curriculum
- Understanding class and teacher expectations
- Transparency for schools and districts


EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL MEDIA AT WORK IN THE CLASSROOM:

Facebook Classroom Page (managed by teacher - viewed by students and parents): 5

- Post homework assignments - both students and parents know what is expected for the next class (reducing excuse-making for students)
- Share updates, changes, humorous stories, etc
- Increase the feel of community in classroom
- Increase communication between teachers and parents

Teaching Ideas:

- Historical Figures - create fake Facebook pages for famous people to "get to know" them and their contribution to history - listing likes, interests, status updates, etc.

Twitter Classroom Account (managed by teachers - received by parents and students): 5

- Reminders - test, assignments due, field trips, conferences, supplies needed
- Lesson recaps
- Answer homework questions
- Connect students to other classmates and the teacher
- Increase communication between teachers and parents

Teaching Ideas:

- Have students tweet their teacher what they learned that day in class in 140 characters or less 6
- Class discussions over Twitter - studies show that engagement increased more than twice as much for students that were asked to contribute to class discussions and complete assignments using Twitter over a semester, than those students that were not 4

Pinterest Classroom Account (managed by teachers - viewed by parents and students): 5

- Show and tell for teachers and students to parents
- Pinning students work and classroom projects

Classroom Blog (moderated by teachers - written by students - read by teachers, students, and parents) 5

- Writing practice - requires students to map out their thoughts and express themselves
- A broader application beyond a writing assignment for the teacher - writings to be read by parents and classmates as well 3
- Private blogs can restrict to approved or invited subscribers such as teacher, parents, students and administrators
- Writing access can be restricted to the classroom
- Create a community feeling by providing a record of the year

Teaching Ideas: 6

- Most interesting essay or submission on the weekly topic will have their work published on the classroom blog - giving a sense of achievement and inspire hard work for the future reward of online publication.
- Create a friendly competition between classes for the best essay or paper
- Free tools with classroom settings include: Kidblog.org, Edmodo and Edublogs 3


SOCIAL MEDIA PILOT PROGRAM - PORTLAND, OREGON: 3

- 20%: of students school-wide were completing extra assignments for no credit
- 50%: increase in grades
- 1/3: reduction in chronic absenteeism - the school met its adequate yearly progress goal for absenteeism for the first time in its history
- 35%: improvement in chronic absenteeism by texting wake up or "running late" messages through "Texts on Time" program which didn't cost the school anything

Sources

- 1 - http://www.technewsdaily.com/421-teachers-embracing-social-media-in-the-classroom.html
- 2 - http://www.edudemic.com/2013/05/how-and-why-schools-are-encouraging-social-media-use/#sthash.y2P5MGyO.dpuf
- 3 - http://mashable.com/2010/09/29/social-media-in-school/
- 4 - http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/05/teachers-comprehensive-guide-to-use-of.html
- 5 - http://www.edudemic.com/2013/04/improve-school-communication-using-social-media/
- 6 - http://www.socialnomics.net/2013/03/11/how-can-social-media-be-used-in-education/

The use of Social Media in School

The Use of Social Media in School

Image source: www.bestmastersineducation.com
Education Technologies and Media:



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How to Share Infographics on Social Media – Best Practices [Infographic]

Posted in InfographicSocial Media By Ashley Faulkes On February 2, 2014


Thursday 6 February 2014

Ed Tech Challenge, a self paced scaffolded technology integration course for educators

Ed Tech Challenge

If you're asking yourself "How do I engage students with technology?", you're asking the wrong question.

Our Core Beliefs

#1- Teaching effectively is not "innovative" or "new"

We have been researching and refining how to personalize learning for decades. 

#2- Technology is not pedagogy

It is nothing more than a tool that should only be implemented when it increases efficiency and effectiveness.

Ed Tech Challenge is a self-paced, scaffolded technology integration course for educators. This course was the collaborative effort of school districts all over the nation- and the content for this course was created by technology integrators, classroom teachers, Google Apps Certified Trainers and Teachers, and ISTE award winners. You can read more about the people who created this course hereAll of the suggestions we give are grounded in practice- they are techniques we actually use and we know work! We've flipped this course so that you can learn when you have time, and we've created templates, videos, and resources so that you can start using those tools right away.

The main components of the Ed Tech Challenge are:
  • A technology integration survey that gives teachers an individualized report on their current comfort level with the ISTE-NETS, personalized learning elements, and digital age work.
  • A self-paced course that includes six units of online tutorials (lessons focus on increasing efficiency / effectiveness of teaching practices)
  • A website template for classrooms (districts can link their individual template to the course)
  • A template to create personalized learning plans for educators (again, districts can link their templates to the course)
  • A framework to help a district move towards a shared vision of education technology
By signing up as a district, administrators will have access to the survey tool, the classroom website template, and personalized learning plans for their educators.


Krista Moroder is the Micro-Credentialing Project Manager at Digital Promise. She is the founder of Ed Tech Challenge, a technology integration framework and professional development curriculum that supports school districts in their systemic shift towards learner-driven environments. Her work with this project led to her being named the 2013 Outstanding Young Educator by the International Society for Technology in Education. 

You can read her blog at www.edtechcoaching.org or network with her through Twitter (@edtechcoaching). 

Think Pedagogy First, Technology Second infographic





You can find an editable version of the graphic (under CC licensing) here.



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Think Pedagogy First, Technology Second






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Innovative Ideas for Using Google Forms




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You can now share your edX success on your LinkedIn Profile!

LinkedIn and Bright.com join forces





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