http://learningrevolution.com/
RSCON 2014 We hope you were inspired by the Reform Symposium Free Online Conference (RSCON) events that took place July 10-13th. The online global event featured 50+ presentations, 11 keynote speakers, 3 panel discussions, and a tech/app swapalooza. Our plenary, Dean Shareski, began the conference by challenging us to spread joy in our practice. Our keynotes came from 9 countries and our presenters from over 15 countries. Topics included mobile learning, gamification, differentiation, writing web tools, passion based learning, maker education, teaching english language learners, demand high teaching, Chess, puppets, Minecraft, digital portfolios, and much more! Two of our keynotes were students who started their own companies and one of our presenters was a 10 year-old Youtuber who walked us through machinima and Mindcraft.
The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education In 2011 — So Far I usually just do a year-end list on Web 2.0 Applications For Education and many other topics, but it gets a little crazy having to review all of my zillion posts at once. So, to make it easier for me — and perhaps, to make it a little more useful to readers — I’m going to start publishing mid-year lists, too. These won’t be ranked, unlike my year-end “The Best…” lists, and just because a site appears on a mid-year list doesn’t guarantee it will be included in an end-of-the-year one. But, at least, I won’t have to review all my year’s posts in December… As usual, in order to make this list, a site had to be: 9 Characteristics Of 21st Century Learning The label of “21st Century learning” is vague, and is an idea that we here at TeachThought like to take a swing at as often as possible, including: –weighing the magic of technology with its incredible cost and complexity –underscoring the potential for well thought-out instructional design –considering the considerable potential of social media platforms against its apparent divergence from academic learning
The Real Revolution in Online Education Isn’t MOOCs Data is confirming what we already know: recruiting is an imprecise activity, and degrees don’t communicate much about a candidate’s potential and fit. Employers need to know what a student knows and can do. Something is clearly wrong when only 11% of business leaders — compared to 96% of chief academic officers — believe that graduates have the requisite skills for the workforce. It’s therefore unlikely that business leaders are following closely what’s going on in higher education. Even the latest hoopla around massive open online courses (MOOCs) amounts to more of the same: academics designing courses that correspond with their own interests rather than the needs of the workforce, but now doing it online. But there is a new wave of online competency-based learning providers that has absolutely nothing to do with offering free, massive, or open courses.
Who is taking MOOCs? Teachers, says MIT-Harvard study A new MIT-Harvard study released on Wednesday finds that nearly 40 percent of learners who take open online courses are teachers. That finding has researchers wondering whether they can better design online courses once predicted to upend students’ experience to meet teachers’ needs. The study describes two years of open online courses launched on MIT and Harvard’s non-profit online initiative, edX. The 'F' Word - 10 Tips To Get More Out Of Facebook In Education Even the mention of the word ‘Facebook‘ is enough to send a shiver down the spine of many educators. Privacy risks and ‘friending’ students scares many teachers off using Facebook for education. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The Facebook community, whether we like it or not, is enormous and it can be used in schools to do great things. Over the past few years, the social network has grown so far beyond just “adding friends”. There are many ways to connect without having to ‘friend’ students, not to mention the hundreds of ways Facebook can be used to connect the school community (parents, relations, friends, etc.) and build your PLN.
PBL – the best teaching method in the 21st century instruction Let me start this article with what Obama says in a speech at the Center for American Progress : “ Let’s be clear — we are failing too many of our children. We’re sending them out into a 21st century economy by sending them through the doors of 20th century schools.” This is a true statement issued from the lips of a political person rather than an educator. There is a profound disconnect between what students are being taught and what the actual world is demanding of them as adults.
Competency-based education arrives at three major public institutions Competency-based education is going upmarket. Three brand-name, Big Ten-affiliated institutions are now offering degrees in this emerging form of higher education. Yet the new programs at the University of Michigan, Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin System are not aimed at the vast numbers of undergraduates who come to those campuses for the traditional college experience. They are narrow in scope, experimental and not all that sexy. The Wisconsin System’s “Flexible Option” is the most extensive and established of the programs. Its five competency-based, online credentials, which range from a certificate to bachelor’s degrees, are designed mostly for adult students with some college credits but no degree.
MOOC Completion and Retention in the Context of Student Intent Key Takeaways MOOC critics are concerned about low overall completion rates, but these rates are typically evaluated without accounting for student intentions. This study, based on survey and log data from nine HarvardX courses, investigates how completion and attrition rates differ based on students' self-reported intentions about course participation. The study found that, on average among survey respondents, 22 percent of students who intended to complete a course earned a certificate, compared with 6 percent of students who intended to browse a course. Efforts to personalize MOOCs based on self-reported intentions should be conducted with care: many students who do not intend to complete a MOOC do so, and most who do intend to complete a MOOC are not successful.
Atlantis Remixed Transformational play involves the use of virtual worlds to help people learn and grow in a context where they can fail safely. Theory At its core, transformational play is a learning and empowerment philosophy that is grounded in the belief that each one of us is capable of, wants to, and deserves to achieve, great things.