10 steps to better lesson plans — iLearn Technology

Students Solve Math Mysteries in Sackboys and the Mysterious Proof — from spotlight.macfound.org with Kan Yang Li

Spotlight talks with Kan Yang Li about games-based learning and the new math-related adventure level he created for the popular video game “LittleBigPlanet.”

How would you assess this? — from Education Stormfront

Excerpt:

The good news is that we are entering a golden age of learning.  A time where the Yeols of the world will be able to connect with people who will appreciate, encourage and foster their gifts.  It will be an explosion of personal expression, where everyone can  finally reach their full potential.  The resulting massive outburst of creativity will reshape the planet like nothing since the Renaissance.

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From DSC:
The other day, I was lamenting that the love of learning gets lost waaayyy too quickly in our youth. With drop out rates in the 25-30% range nationwide, we must turn this around.

A piece of that turn-around picture involves the opportunity for students to collaboratively create things (in a cross-disciplinary sort of way). This is why I am a big fan of multimedia-based projects:

  • One student can write the script.
  • Another can do the filming.
  • Another can take pictures for still shots.
  • Another can do the film and/or image editing.
  • Others the acting or singing or playing music.
  • Others can create the artwork or use their knowledge to create props
  • Etc.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The film below discusses the dark side of our culture as it involves schools and education. But the topic is not just related to schools, but to our society in general. That is, we’ve been sold a bill of goods. We believe that you must earn a lot of money to be successful and happy…and that whomever dies w/ the most toys wins.

This competitive streak is a worldly way of looking at things…but is a powerful current to fight. In fact, coming from a competitive background and being a Christian (in faith) myself, I’ve often asked myself whether I believe competition is a good thing or a bad thing. I don’t think I’ve arrived at the final answer to that question, as sometimes I think it can be good (as it can be helpful in developing characteristics of discipline, perseverance, character, integrity, etc.) and sometimes it can be bad. Check out the video/trainer here to see what I mean.

racetonowhere.com

Presentation from Nancy Duarte, HOW, and PicScout:

Mac version- http://bit.ly/9qhWTK
PC Version- http://bit.ly/aubGb3

Also see:

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That Resonates with Me! From Nancy Duarte.

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From DSC:

This was a great presentation by Nancy Duarte that is very much worth checking out for anyone who regularly communicates information to others. I especially appreciated the slide on the need for all of us — in our organizations as well as for each of us as individuals — to constantly reinvent ourselves.

Here are some example slides:

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EDUCAUSE Review Magazine, Volume 45, Number 5, September/October 2010

Attention, Engagement, and the Next Generation


Howard Rheingold

If we want to discover how we can engage students as well as ourselves in the 21st century, we must move beyond skills and technologies. We must explore also the interconnected social media literacies of attention, participation, cooperation, network awareness, and critical consumption.

Danah Boyd
The future of Web 2.0 is about streams of content. The goal today is to be attentively aligned—”in flow”—with these information streams, to be aware of information as it flows by, grabbing it at the right moment when it is most relevant, valuable, entertaining, or insightful.
Malcolm Brown, with Mark Auslander, Kelly Gredone, David Green, Bruce Hull, and Walt Jacobs
How can faculty use technology and innovative pedagogical methods in their courses to make their students’ learning experiences richer and more meaningful—to capture, retain, and sustain student engagement?
Veronica Diaz, Cindy Jennings, Kelvin Bentley, P. B. Garrett, Barron Koralesky, Christina Royal, and David Starrett
Electronic books, mobile computing, and open content are three mature, robust, and quite approachable technology innovations holding much promise for attracting students’ attention and thereby supporting deeper student engagement with learning.
Diana G. Oblinger
Improving college readiness and completion for the next generation is a grand challenge for society. Although there are many ways to approach this challenge, applying the innovative capabilities of information technology must be one. We have many of the tools, policies, and technologies in hand.

Learning powered by technology — from ednetinsight.com
Karen Cator, Director, Office of Educational Technology, U.S. Department of Education

The vision and model of learning articulated in the National Education Technology Plan, Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology, was informed by the ideas, case studies, research, and involvement of thousands of teachers, parents, students, researchers, professors, and policymakers. The model posits that in order to transform American education, we need to leverage modern technologies to create a massively customized, superpowered learning environment tuned for this generation of students.

We are seeing more and more examples of effective and compelling learning opportunities in and out of classrooms using digital resources and online collaborative environments to engage and inform teachers and students. There are countless articles published, stories told, and student work displayed showcasing global interactions, presentations of creative solutions to complex problems, and professional grade works done by students and worthy of a wide audience. We are observing teachers challenging students with interesting assignments that allow for exploration and practice using technologies to do their work.

We see increasing inclusion of social and participatory experiences coupled with online learning. And alongside this advent of social networking technologies comes the ability to access presentations, lectures, and interviews with experts; repositories of highly produced media; and a wealth of museum, national, state, and local park resources and library and reference materials previously available only in physical locations. All of this is “at our fingertips” and “on the go” in our increasingly mobile-enabled world. These existing and emerging technologies, resources, and interactions combine to create what should be the golden age of teaching and learning.

So as we manage this transition from a predominantly print-based classroom to a digital learning environment, we have been launching a number of initiatives. Here are a few worth mentioning…

‘Action!’ Student-generated video web site teaches visual communications skills — from The Journal by Denise Harrison

Teachers have free access to virtual field trips and other digital educational resources through Meet Me at the Corner, a repository of educational videos that’s moderated to ensure relevance and educational value. It also helps train kids to produce their own video podcasts and create documentaries they can share with their peers around the world.

While looking at the video for Sonos Controller for the iPad, I wondered…what if we could replace the selection below — i.e. the word music with the words “educational providers” — and then control which room received which signal/content?

Wow…talk about a home dedicated to learning!   🙂

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Mind Map of the Digital Age — from fastcompany.com by Richard Watson

A new map showing how the digital era is changing our minds and in particular about how new digital objects and environments are re-wiring our brains. Best viewed by people aged 35+ with full-time jobs and teenage kids.

http://www.google.com/tv/

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Also see:

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http://discover.sonystyle.com/internettv/

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Addendums:

10-5-10– from Google announces TV deals with HBO, NBA, others

“One of our goals with Google TV is to finally open up the living room and enable new innovation from content creators, programmers, developers and advertisers,” Ambarish Kenghe, developer product manager for Google TV, said in the post.

10-6-10 — Logitech set-top box for Google TV to cost $299

The changing landscape of teaching — from EdReformer.com by Tom Vander Ark

Now that anyone can learn anything and learning professionals can work anywhere, a learning ecosystem is being created around the formal public delivery system—sometimes supporting, sometimes competing, sometimes infiltrating.

Online learning is full and part time option for millions of students.  Massive foundation and government programs are pushing data driven-instruction and teacher evaluation.  The combination of direct intervention and the surrounding web of opportunity means a slow decline in traditional education employment and strong growth in non-traditional roles

Like doctors, lawyers, and accountants, learning professionals can freelance, start a business, build a nonprofit, or join a public delivery system.  Welcome to the new learning landscape.

We use Lynda.com and the feedback has been excellent. Back in 1997, I took a 1-day seminar from Lynda Weinman out at SFSU’s Multimedia Studies Program. I learned more from her in a few hours then I have in many courses. She knows how to make things very understandable…and she’s a great teacher. If she doesn’t know the topic, she selects people who know how to explain that topic in easy-to-understand terms.

So when I saw this item — Connect@NMC: Panel Discussion Led By Laurie Burruss of Lynda.com – Implementing Lynda.com Campus-Wide — I felt that I should pass it along.

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The September 2010 issue of Academic Commons is now online.

Charting the New Knowledge Terrain is our third collaborative issue with the National Institute for Technology in the Liberal Arts. Here you’ll find profiles of innovative projects taking place on NITLE-member campuses, written by the people who are making them happen.

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In this issue, you’ll learn about:
* A collaborative website project produced by a professor, college students, and a community partner that helps parents make sense of school choice options in their area
* Creating simple animations with Google Earth to help students visualize landscapes as they existed thousands of years ago
* Creative problem-based projects in map-making that engage students in thinking about how to represent their own collective experiences with study abroad programs.

Our next collaborative issue with NITLE will be published in spring 2011. The theme will be ‘Digital Humanities and the Undergraduate.’ For the most up-to-date information on NITLE’s Community Contribution Award program, please visit the NITLE website.

Enjoy!
The Editors at Academic Commons

YouMedia: A new vision for learning — from dmlcentral.net by Akili Lee
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YouMedia: A New Vision for Learning  Blog Image

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In July 2009, YouMedia launched as an ambitious attempt to re-imagine the library as a more relevant learning resource for today’s teens. Understanding that the landscape has changed how teens learn, socialize and self-identify, how do we remix the public library experience so it can truly engage teens in a way that supports its core mission? A partnership between the Chicago Public Library and the Digital Youth Network, YouMedia took on this task through the creation of a unique 21st century physical learning space and an innovative online space to connect learners 24/7. The 5,500-square-foot space is open seven days a week to any Chicago teen, where they have access to more than 100 laptops and desktop machines, professional grade cameras and software, and a full music studio all at no cost.

From the “About Us” page at YouMedia:

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YOUmedia is an innovative, 21st century teen learning space housed at the Chicago Public Library’s downtown Harold Washington Library Center. YOUmedia was created to connect young adults, books, media, mentors, and institutions throughout the city of Chicago in one dynamic space designed to inspire collaboration and creativity.

High school age teens engaging with YOUmedia can access thousands of books, over 100 laptop and desktop computers, and a variety of media creation tools and software, all of which allow them to stretch their imaginations and their digital media skills. By working both in teams and individually, teens have an opportunity to engage in projects that promote critical thinking, creativity, and skill-building.

More here…

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