• Bridging Differences: Why Are People So Gullible About Miracle Cures in Education?

  “The quest for the mythical great teacher—the one we must stalk like some rare beast of unsurpassed beauty—is tinged with contempt for the large majority of teachers” via Stephen Downes

  tags: teachers

• Learnlets » Slow Learning

  I had a conversation yesterday with another long term post-secondary teacher about how the system has changed teaching/learning by making it increasingly sterile and impersonal. I believe slow learning may be the most effective and ultimately the most efficient way to share knowledge.

  tags: learning

• Cell Phones – Time to Lift the Ban on Mobiles in the School Setting? — Open Education

  “The study focused on the basic question: Is there a positive side to mobile phones in schools and if so, how might they be used to support learning? The researchers came away with a yes verdict and offered some specific ways in which cell phone technology could support learning.” The list of possible uses of cell phones in classrooms is very interesting.

  tags: cell_phones, mobile_phones

• Higher Education – Potential Financial Disaster for Students? — Open Education

  Student debt is bad economics; debt-ridden graduates can’t support the economy by purchasing houses and cars. via Stephen Downes

  tags: student_debt, education

• Top Tech Trends for 2009 « Ed Tech Journeys

  How technology is developing and how it will affect schools, students, & teachers. via Stephen Downes

  tags: edtech, education, netbooks, cloud_computing

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

• YouTube – Networked StudentQT.mp4

  Where education is (should be) going – learning how to use the web as the ultimate educational resource! (I’m not forgetting or ignoring books – guess where I find and buy many of mine!) via Alec Couros

  tags: netpedagogy, networking, connectivism

• LIFE photo archive hosted by Google

  A history of photography and an American sociological history. A wonderful resource. via Alec Couros

  tags: photos, history, archive

• GeoGebra

  For math teachers – and NOT for me ;-> via JulieLinsay on Twitter

  tags: math, geometry, algebra, software, opensource, education

• Explainist » Blog Archive » If It Looks Difficult, It is Difficult…

  Why the font you choose is important. If it looks hard to read, readers perceive it as hard to do!

  tags: font, readability, usability

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

• Shmoop Literature: Summary, Analysis, Themes, Characters, Paper

  The authors write entertainingly, and in a manner that doesn’t invite plagiarism. (Maybe I’m maligning other professors, but the joking tone just doesn’t seem like the expected essay tone.) I think students would find it a helpful introduction to various poems and novels. (I don’t know about the US history section – not my area.) via Twitter

  tags: literature, english, poetry, education

• Search : eLearning Technology

  Going beyond Google in searching! via Work Literacy

  tags: search, Tony_Karrer, research

• The Wiki Toolbox: 30+ Wiki Tools and Resources

  I love wikis for their versatility and usefulness and this list has my 3 favorites in the top 4 listed. via Work Literacy

  tags: wikis

• Information Architecture for Audio: Doing It Right – Boxes and Arrows: The design behind the design

  “[T]he inclusion of audio often results in usability issues that make it difficult for users to access and understand content. That is why we need new tools to organize linear content like audio. Luckily, a wide range of techniques employed in information architecture, journalism, usability engineering and interface design are available. All that’s required is the knowledge to combine them effectively. This article presents a practical framework for designing and implementing audio-based content, such as podcasts.” via Work Literacy

  tags: audio, audio_recording, WRI330, usability

• World Names Profiler – Annotated

  Could be used for a classroom activity connecting names and geography. I was surprised to see where my name was most common.

  tags: surname, search, geneology, geography, world

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

• Christopher D. Sessums :: Blog :: Investing In What Works, pt 2: Surmising New Possibilities

  More on Games & Education.

  tags: sessums, games, edugames

• Christopher D. Sessums :: Blog :: Driven to Distraction: Notes on Young Adults Living and Learning with New Media

  On the subject of learning and social media – “Prior to taking my course, very few of my students read or authored a weblog, used a wiki beyond exploring Wikipedia, or even heard of social bookmarking applications. Clearly, educators have tremendous influence and responsibility in setting learning goals, particularly on the interest-driven side where adult hobbyists and educators can serve as role models. Like the authors of the Living and Learning with New Media report, I am wondering what would it mean to truly take advantage of “the potential of the learning opportunities available through online resources and networks? What would it mean to reach beyond traditional education and civic institutions and enlist the help of others in young people’s learning” (Ito, et al, 2008)?”

  tags: SocialMedia, leaerning, education, sessums

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

• The Chronicle: 3/10/2006: A New Way to Grade

  Essential reading for all writing teachers. A fascinating experiment – the article is from 2006 and my quick shallow search didn’t find more up-to-date info. I am ambivalent as I believe strongly that writers should write for specific audiences (i.e. their teacher) and, contradictorily, that writing teachers should be coaches not judges &/or markers. I also see this quote from the article as an accurate description of many freshman comp. courses:
  “Before ICON, says Mr. Kemp, the system for teaching freshman composition was rife with inconsistency. Or rather there was no system. Instructors drawn from creative writing, technical communication, rhetoric, and literature could not agree on either the content or criteria of good writing. Some instructors had students writing haiku and short stories, while others assigned lengthy research papers. At the beginning of each semester, says Mr. Kemp, the department dealt with wholesale movement between sections, while his office turned into a “complaint desk” for students carping about the program’s inequities.” via Stephen Downes

  tags: writing, teaching_writing, techlearning, composition, technology, marking

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

• Christopher D. Sessums :: Blog :: Media Literacy Education Heuristic

  I really like this media literacy heuristic, especially as it is becoming very clear to me that without the gatekeepers of edited and published books and librarians, it is absolutely necessary that we teach our students this form of critical thinking.

  tags: medialiteracy, heuristic, criticalthinking, sessums

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

• Digital Research Tools Wiki

  “This wiki collects information about tools and resources that can help scholars (particularly in the humanities and social sciences) conduct research more efficiently or creatively. Whether you need software to help you manage citations, author a multimedia work, or analyze texts, Digital Research Tools will help you find what you’re looking for. “

  tags: research, wiki, digitalresearchtools, academicwork

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

• Clive Thompson on How More Info Leads to Less Knowledge

  How the ‘net, which I love, causes “agnotology. Derived from the Greek root agnosis, it is “the study of culturally constructed ignorance.” Why teaching critical thinking is increasingly important.

  tags: Thompson, Wired, criticalthinking, web-literacy

• Is Technology Producing A Decline In Critical Thinking And Analysis? – Annotated

  “Learners have changed as a result of their exposure to technology, says Greenfield, who analyzed more than 50 studies on learning and technology, including research on multi-tasking and the use of computers, the Internet and video games.” This connects, IMHO, with the Clive Thompson Wired article on “More Info … Less Knowledge”, linked below.

  tags: research, visual_literacy, criticalthinking

• Academic Earth – Video lectures from the world’s top scholars

  By “top scholars” they mean “top American scholars” but it’s a way to sample the university teaching/learning experience in a variety of subjects.

  tags: academic, lectures, education

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

• YouTube – Lost Generation

  Fascinating demonstration of the way words can be turned around! Via HPCA – Judy Snyder

  tags: youtube, words, prediction

• 12 eLearning Predictions for 2009 : eLearning Technology

  How will technology impact on education in 2009? An expert predicts …

  tags: 2009, Tony_Karrer, WorkLiteracy

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.