Should Every Teacher in the World Really be on Twitter? - Read Write Respond So often it is said, teachers must be on Twitter. For example, Peter DeWitt’s provides 3 Reasons You Need Twitter More Than It Needs You! while Mark Barnes gives 5 Reasons Every Person in the World Should Be On Twitter. The question though is whether Twitter is the answer? Teachers are encouraged to develop their own personal/professional learning network, but does this automatically equal Twitter? When I started my PLN, content and connections came via Twitter. Feedly is not the only aggregator out there. An alternative to aggregation and syndication is social bookmarking. There are other alternatives when it comes to curation, such as Delicious, Pinterest and Evernote. One of the complaints about Twitter is that due to constraints it does not properly grasp the personal and limits depth of dialogue. An alternative to Voxer is Google Hangouts. Going beyond this list, what interests me is why just Twitter? Like this: Like Loading... Related Signals, Noises and Relationships July 8, 2014
Free Tools to Easily Record and Share Audio Messages with your Students Sharing audio messages with your students on your blog or classroom website is an effective way to maintain communication with them and their parents. We have compiled some awesome tools that can allow you to easily record a short audio message and share it online without any need for signing up . 1- Vocaro This is basically a free service that allows you to record short audio message without having to install any software or register for any account. All you need to have is a built-in microphone and head over to its main page and click on record then grant access to Vocaroo and start talking. 2- Audio Pal This is another awesome tool where you can record audio message and share them with others. 4- Record MP3 It allows users to easily and instantly record short audio messages to share with others.
21st Century Librarian 6 Great Videos for Teaching Media Fluency There’s no denying the influence of digital media in our daily lives. Media consumption is everywhere, and it’s got us plugged in pretty much constantly. Our passions are shared with, our opinions are shaped with it, and our emotions are fed by it. Sometimes we control it, and sometimes—well, it kind of controls us. Does this mean we’re in danger of our brains melting? No, of course not. It also benefits us to find out how we can strike a healthy balance between being connected and being unconnected. A snapshot of the chart is featured below, indicating where the primary focuses are. Source: www.statista.com One of the crucial 21st Century Fluencies is Media Fluency, and it’s important to understand what it’s all about. Media Fluency is not about “bashing” digital media. To help you with this, you’ve got a list of videos below that explain much about media and how it works in our lives today. Media Smarts: Media are Constructions Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century
Free Technology for Teachers A New Way of Looking at Public Library Engagement in America The Pew Research Center’s Internet Project has intensively studied the changing world of public libraries for the last three years. The first stage of our research explored the growing role of ebooks, including their impact on Americans’ reading habits and library habits. Our second stage examined the full universe of library services, as well as what library services Americans most value and what they might want from libraries in the future. In March, we released a report from our third and final stage of research—the fruits of a representative national survey of 6,224 Americans ages 16 and older. It explores public libraries’ roles in people’s lives and in broader American culture—how libraries are perceived, how they are valued, and how people rely on them. provision of digital content is certainly a key element of the services that make libraries useful. This approach is a little new for us. The table above (PDF) provides an overview of the typology groups. Other insights in the data
The “WHY” Guide to #Edchat topics – EDUWELLS Although many educational models and pedagogies can seem like a conveyer belt of fads sometimes, many of them at least focus on one or two key educational concerns. Regardless of whether you think it a passing fad, many of them have an aim that you should know about and be considering as a teacher in the 21st Century. I must admit though, as busy teachers, it is understandable that to fully implement a number of them is unrealistic. So here’s my summary of the key take-aways from each model that you should aim to implement in your teaching. It’s not about lessons becoming homework. I don’t have enough face-to-face and/or practical time in the classroomI struggle to get through all the contentStudents just don’t listen or are distracted by others or are away too often.I wish I had time to stretch my more gifted studentsHere’s my post on Flipped Teaching. There is some confusion over SAMR but it does make teachers reflect on the impact tech is having in their classroom. Like this: Related
QR Codes in the Classroom & Library, Too! UPDATED! THE PIPELINE: Influence--7 Rules (And You Can’t Just Do One!) They always say that in polite company we don’t talk about politics, religion, or sex. Because, well, it runs the risk of offending someone and sparking fights and passionate opinion. I never believed that, and I love engaging in the good fight for the rights associated with the basic human condition. That said, when we talk about school library funding, you can get a similar reaction. Some say it’s like the weather: Too many people talk about it but few really do anything about it. I believe that school libraries are a human right—plain and simple. In today’s world, access to information, learning, and technology is a human right in an advanced civil society and especially in a democracy where an informed and educated electorate is critical. Nearly everything we do requires more influence and oversight than it used to. So, here’s a short list of what leaders have built and tried in our profession to influence the success of libraries for learners: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. So What Could Help? 1.