2 Simple Ways To Use QR Codes In Education QR codes are a great and easy way to share digital materials and resources within your classroom. I use it in 2 different ways. 1. From the teacher to the students: Since I have my assignment sheet as a live Google Document, I created a QR code and then printed them as stickers that students can easily put in their agenda or notebook. See Also: Why You Should Start Using QR Codes In Your Classroom I also use QR codes when I want to quickly share a video I created using Explain Everything or an online assessment created by Google Forms. 2. Using the QR code feature, my students created ‘mural portfolios’ where they can easily share and make available to the entire class their work for review and comment. Example of a QR portfolio:
The 10 Skills Modern Teachers Must Have The above image is 8.5×11″ so you can print it out. PDF is available here . There’s been a lot of talk about 21st century learners, 21st century teachers, and connected classrooms. There’s a daily influx of new technology into your inbox and your classroom feels woefully behind the times even if you’re flipping your 1:1 iPad classroom that’s already online and part of a MOOC . What are modern teachers to do with all this jargon and techno-babble being thrown at them all day long? Simple. In my experience, I’ve seen teachers attempt to integrate 30 iPads into their classroom by handing them out and then trying to figure out which apps are worth using. In order to do this, you’ll need skills modern teachers must have. 1) Build Your PLN Whether you call it a ‘personal learning network’ or a ‘professional learning network’ is not important. 2) Establish Real Relationships Whether it’s online or offline, the ability to establish real relationships is critical to any modern teacher. 7) Slow Down
Implicit Learning: Researchers Uncover How to Learn Without Trying It’s rare that a computer science lab brings us a scenario worthy of a spy novel, but that’s what happened earlier this month when Hristo Bojinov, a researcher at Stanford University, divulged his latest project. Here’s the setup: Imagine an operative has been entrusted with top-secret computer files. He needs a password to enable him to access the information — but what if he falls into the hands of the enemy, and they force him to reveal the code? Bojinov and his colleagues concocted the perfect solution: a password that the spy could use any time he needed it, but which was not available to his conscious mind. (MORE: Born to Be Bright: Is There a Gene for Learning?) As cloak-and-dagger as it sounds, the technique the Stanford scientists have developed takes advantage of a common phenomenon known as implicit learning. Although the rest of us don’t have access to Bojinov’s technology, there are ways to improve our implicit learning. (MORE: Can You Learn Everything “On the Job”?)
36 Things Every 21st Century Teacher Should Be Able To Do What should every teacher in the 21st century know and be able to do? That’s an interesting question. After just now seeing this excellent post on educatorstechnology.com, I thought I’d contribute to the conversation. I added the twist of ranking them from least complex to most complex, so novices can start at the bottom, and you veterans out there can skip right to 36. 36 Things Every 21st Century Teacher Should Be Able To Do 1. Whether you choose a text message, email, social media message, Skype session, or a Google+ Hangouts depends on who you need to communicate with and why—purpose and audience. 2. Email won’t always work. 3. Hit the Print Screen button near your number pad on a keyboard on Windows. 4. Know what it means to be Rick Roll’d, the difference between a fail and an epic fail, why Steve is a scumbag, and who sad Keannu is. 5. Not everyone loves technology. An RT as an olive branch. 6. 7. Tone is lost when you type. 8. This is dead-simple, but you never know. 9. 10. 11. 12.
A Printable Guide To Creative Commons Something you probably see a lot of these days as you browse the internet is Creative Commons licensing. You’ll see many graphics that say something like ‘shared under a Creative Commons license’, or you’ll see a little rectangular graphic with some signs in them. Since we live in an age where most of our information comes from the internet in some way or another, its useful to know when and how it is ok to use something that you’ve found. These licenses allow you to easily give others the opportunity to share your work.
In Cisco's Classroom Of The Future, Your Professor Is Just An Illusion There were a few strange things about the event I attended in a classroom at the San Francisco branch of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Instead of students, the room was filled with Cisco executives, professors, and journalists. There were cameras trained on us from all angles. But most noticeably, the man speaking to us in the front of the room wasn’t really there. Neither were the people sitting in the back of the room. We were at Wharton for a demonstration of the Cisco Connected Classroom, a new way of using Cisco’s telepresence technology to make it possible for one branch of an MBA program to hold classes with another branch across the country in real-time—and even bring in guests from elsewhere. The result is a set-up that’s remarkably smooth and immersive. Multiple Cisco executives told me that one of the big reasons it launched this program with Wharton is because of the school’s bi-coastal executive education programs.
Born to Learn ~ You are Born to Learn Augmented Reality: Coming Soon to a School Near You? Digital Tools Teaching Strategies In “Dow Day,” an augmented reality game, middle school students walk the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus using mobile phones to view footage of Vietnam war protests that occurred in the same campus locations. By Sarah Jackson David Gagnon is talking to a group of educators about how to use mobile devices for learning. In his work as an instructional designer with the University of Wisconsin’s ENGAGE program, Gagnon has given this workshop many times. But these days, he says, things are starting to change. “How many of you are currently using an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch?” What happens next demonstrates how the availability of communications technology has grown exponentially in recent years: 89 percent of this group owns a mobile device, and they want to know how to use it in their classrooms. “Two years ago, when we would do a workshop with 20 people, we would have to bring 10 devices. Gagnon and his team may be able to help. Jim Mathews Related
OER Commons Owen How Teachers Feel About The 10 Biggest EdTech Trends Figuring out the biggest edtech trends is a great first step. We’ve taken it many times . Figuring out how teachers actually feel or care about those particular trends is a whole other story. A new infographic sheds light on what 100 teachers from North America and Europe feel about edtech trends identified below. Granted, that’s a super small sample size but it gives a little insight into how teachers and admins feel these days. The EdTech Trends In the interest of explaining the infographic a bit more (some of the words are basically written upside down!) Web-Based Tools for Educational Purposes Online Educational Resources Digital Literacy Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) Blended Learning Social Media Education E-Moderation Mobile Learning Digital Games In Education Interactive Whiteboards How It Works So how do teachers (at least the 100 or so teachers polled) feel about these various trends? How do you fall in with these feelings? Click the infographic below to enlarge
Youtube 4 Teachers VIDEO IS THE NEW PEN! (…and it’s mightier too!) The thought makes many people think the world has ended but for 21st Century kids, videoing their thoughts and creations and experiences and then publishing it to the world is as easy as picking up a pen. In fact, most are more likely to have a device ready to film, edit, add subtitles and music than a pen or pencil. MANAGING THE NEW PEN’S SCRIBBLINGS (How to manage all the video) The new issue that everyone in education is how to manage and share all this video content. Recorded by their iPadsRecorded by Student iPads (Teacher Logs-in, uploads, logs-out)Explain Everything (App) whiteboard lessonsVideo tutorials for practical tasksYoutube videos discovered on Youtube itself and added to course “Playlists” This allows the teachers to manage all the videos from one place. Like this: Like Loading...