No More Moocs

Jack, Gordon

Levinson, M. (2014, March 4). No More MOOCs: Pay Attention to Beyonce. Edutopia. Retrieved March 5, 2014, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/no-moocs-learn-from-beyonce-matt-levinson?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EdutopiaNewContent+%28Edutopia%29&clReload=7844bd28

Summary

In this article, Levinson makes the analogy between changes in the music industry with changes in education.  Just as listeners are buying singles rather than a whole album, Levinson recommends that educators allow students to assemble pieces of information themselves instead of taking an entire course.  He states the weak completion rates of most online MOOCs as evidence that today’s student doesn’t want an “album” of curriculum.  Instead, more and more learners are gravitating to YouTube to select the “singles” of content they are most interested in.

The article suggests that educators take note of this phenomenon and crowdsource their course content.  “When the learning experience is constructed for students to find problems, generate questions and devise solutions to authentic challenges,” Levinson writes, “then the need surfaces for students to seek information.”  Levinson quotes Dr. Mark David Milliron who suggests that educators “turn students loose” on a topic and let them gather all the material they can from any source they can and then share the resources they used.  From there, the teacher can “create customized playlists for units of study.”

Evaluation

I don’t quite buy Levinson’s music analogy to education.  Some of the best music on an album isn’t always the hit singles, just as some of the most important information isn’t the kind students will easily find.  Also, sometimes a song needs to be heard in the context of the entire album to appreciate its value, just as parts of class only become significant in light of the other information presented in the semester or year.  Still, I appreciated his suggestions for making learning more meaningful to students by engaging them with compelling topics and questions and allowing students’ curiosity to drive their information seeking behavior.  I think this is a great way to hook kids, present a variety of content, and make learning more relevant.  From there, the teacher needs to help organize this information to give it some coherence and meaning.

Steps to Create a Virtual Learning Space

Anna Taylor
Buerkett, R. (2014). Where to Start? CREATING VIRTUAL LIBRARY SPACES. Knowledge Quest, 42(4), E23-E27.

We now know having a virtual space within the library is a key component in communication, information, and collaboration. But what is the best way to get one up an rolling? Rebecca Buerkett, an elementary school librarian in New York, has provided 6 Steps to make this dream a reality.

STEP 1: Choose a Virtual Platform
Will you be using your school's existing platform? It may be easier since you do not have to create one from scratch. Just make sure the website is able to handle web enhancements like Widgets.
If you choose your own, make sure it is included within the school's website.

STEP 2: Decide What Resources to Include
Take a look at other school virtual learning commons and find what works and what doesn't.
What learning platforms are you going to include? Edmodo? Dropbox? A blog?
Create an appealing look and easy access to important links and pages.
Add Widgets like Facebook, Twitter, and GoodReads.

STEP 3: ASSESS
Get a survey around and ask for feedback from students and teachers. Encourage feedback through incentives- for both groups!

STEP 4: Tweak Constantly
Update to mobile capability. Add and delete information as needed. Decide if pages and widgets are being used and replace them with tools that will. Test the whole website to make sure all links and widgets are properly functioning.

STEP 5: Jump In!
Get students involved through tweaking, collaboration, and upkeep. 
Remember: this is a tool for technology and is always a work in progress.

PLE on an iPad

Chambers, Julia

Blooms Taxonomy With Apps. (2014). TeachwithyouriPad [Web]. Retrieved from http://teachwithyouripad.wikispaces.com/Blooms+Taxonomy+with+Apps

This is an interesting piece about using Blooms Taxonomy to organize apps on an iPad. The apps are categorized into Blooms’ six different levels of thinking: Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating. The Remembering section includes apps such as Flash Cards, Spelling Bug, Life Cycles. Analyzing includes such apps as Noterize, DataAnalysis, and StatViz. Creating includes Comics Creator, iMovie, and Build a Story. It refers to another Website called bloomsapps that offers even more detail and suggestions for this type of organization.

Evaluation: I was really interested in this idea as a model for student PLEs. In the 1-to-1 school where I work, students all have iPads. Some have organized their apps into folders, others seem to have no organization at all. If students were to develop thematic app screens or thematic folders, they would begin to curate their own learning environment with their primary information tool. However, as appealing as the Bloom Taxonomy approach is to me, I don’t think it makes sense as a model for a student’s PLE because students don’t think to organize this way. They might not think that using an online mindmapping tools is a tool for “Understanding” or “Applying”. They just use it because they are required to or because they find value in it for certain tasks. A better form of student organization for iPad apps might be by task (note-taking; reading; gaming; visual productions) or by course (math facts; stats calculator, fractions, etc.)

For Better Or Worse? Technology and Student Writing

Michelle Windell

How Do Tech Tools Affect the Way Students Write? http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/07/how-do-tech-tools-affect-the-way-students-write/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

The recent PEW Research report presents data collected from almost 2500 teachers on how they see technology impacting students’ writing. On the positive side, technology fuels students’ creativity and enthusiasm. Students are writing much more now than their teachers did in middle and high school. They are more inclined to be thoughtful in their writing, because new technologies give them a wider audience. They are also more inclined to improve their writing, based on peer feedback in shared documents. A downside of technology on student writing is that it tends to be more informal than in the past...a carry over from facebook? Also, students have shorter attention spans, and they struggle with writing longer pieces. And of course there is the matter of citing one’s sources, which most students do not do well. This issue is difficult for teachers to address, as they are often unclear themselves on proper citation of digital resources. In spite of the negatives, most teachers view affects on student writing favorably, and are willing to address the negatives. This article didn’t hold any surprises, but we would expect to be the case is now supported by this research.

What Does 21st Century Learning Look Like in an Elementary School?

Duncan, Laura

Jukes, I. (2013, June 18).  What does 21st century learning look like in an elementary school? [Web log comment].  Retrieved from http://fluency21.com/blog/2013/06/18/what-does-21st-century-learning-look-like-in-an-elementary-school/?utm_source=Committed+Sardines&utm_campaign=deaddffec8-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f244ccc9d2-deaddffec8-188994535

The author notes that tech integration is often focused on high school and middle school settings but is an equally important topic for elementary schools.  The article argues that teachers must emphasize Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking to students, ensuring that students are actively participating in their education rather than "consuming passively."  Technology has a big role in these goals, as it can connect students to each other and the outside world, to share and participate in the creation of ideas.  Further, the author argues that technology allows students to learn according to their own needs and learning styles, rather than forcing students to all learn via one unchanging route; it allows for the differentiation of instruction.  Thanks to the presence of technology, a fifth goal (in addition to the 4 C's listed above) is to get students producing and consuming content that provides a meaningful connection to the greater world.
The author provides a brief list of resources about teachers who have focused on this last goal, such as teacher blogs.  He encourages the teacher to integrate his/her integration of technology instruction according to the availability of tech tools, the curriculum and the students' needs.  Teachers are encouraged to enact a few small steps that won't break the bank, such as using just a couple tech tools for a couple subjects to get started.  Further, teachers should make use of websites like Google, which provides a wealth of free tech services.

This is an inspiring little article about how to start thinking like a 21st century doer and helping your students to in that mindset, too.  It offers some practical tips about implementing ideas in the classroom and also emphasizes the broader goals that teachers should keep in mind as they set their goals and directions.

Six Big Tech Trends in Education to Follow

Duncan, Laura

Schwartz, Katrina. (2013, June 5).  Six big tech trends to follow in education.  [Web log comment].
Retrieved from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/06/six-big-trends-in-education-to-follow/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

This article summarizes the NMC Horizon Report of 2013, K-12 edition.  Schwartz explains the big take-aways follows:  First, due to the ever-increasing presence of the internet in students' lives, there are more opportunities for blended and online learning classroom models.  Further, print and digital textbooks are suffering as open-source content becomes better-known and utilized.  The increase of the internet's presence has also decreased teacher isolation and increased collaboration and discussion thanks to social media.
Second, these changes are making some educators feel uncomfortable, as they struggle to keep up with technology's evolution and broadening role in education.  Some teachers are resistant to adapting and professional development has had trouble keeping up with the vast changes.
Next, the report predicts that in the next year, the demand for cloud-based computing in schools will increase and mobile learning may move to foreground, as the market for educational apps continues to grow exponentially.
Learning analytics (using real-time data from digital learning platforms to inform teaching approaches) will also increase, according to the report.  More high-quality open content will also become readily available over the next few years. Lastly, the report predicts that 3-d printing will eventually become part of the educational movement, as these printing devices become less expensive.

In all, this article was fascinating and useful.  Technology's integration into the classroom is moving at an increasingly rapid speed, and it's essential that we prepare and inform ourselves so that we can stay ahead of the curve in our work and keep our school libraries on top of the trends.  This is a great article for a brief summary of what's to come.