Author: abendelow
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"E-learning" blends well with the traditional kind
according to this notice in Science Daily. A University of Illinois researcher has found that, among other benefits, e-learning increases student responsibility for learning. “Since there’s an emphasis on more learner-centric activities than traditional lecture-based classroom learning, the teacher is more of a facilitator in an online classroom,” [researcher Caroline Haythornthwaite] said. “Not only does…
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"Student-centric" learning technologies
are here with web 2.0, but not yet widely used in US schools.That’s according to Christensen, Horn, and Johnson (2008), whose Disrupting Class: How disruptive innovation will change the way the world learns is my first “must read” book of the new year. The authors point to places where, right now, the benefits of the…
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"Whenever you're ready to learn something new…
…education (via web 2.0 apps) will be there, freely accesible to all learners. And via ipod-based lectures, discussions, workshops, and other programming students customize their learning. With all sorts of metrics, educators can assure themselves that a 2.0 student’s curricular content is sound and meaningful. Apple’s iTunes U is organizing it delivers a customized education…
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Education, like politics, is always "local, " isn't it?
That is, apart from national and global arguments on the best pedagogy, education has always comes down to a transaction arising between participating human beings. Public schools were designed to efficiently house that learning. One teacher was expected to simultaneously transmit skills and knowledge to groups of 20-60 young people. I’ve heard that nuns could…
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Writopia: an English teacher's dream?
In literature, Utopias are entirely bogus, their name meaning “no place.” Did you spend time at Walden 2? You won’t find it on any map. But utopias are useful fictive models of human societies organized along better rules than those prevailing. “Wouldn’t the world be improved,” they ask, “if these particular ways were changed?” A…
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In the "cloud" — the computing of White House data?
An NPR report today discusses the efficiency gains and relative security of open-source, clouds of data. These might be expected from Obama’s team of proven 2.0 practicioners, who could go beyond the 1.0 Bush White House, with its private, highly encrypted software on secure machines. According to the report, it is possible that security will…
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Wiki-based "soul formation" – students self-imposing their educations
Plato could certainly appreciate the benefits of dialogical inquiry–Socratic method, etc. It put Socrates‘ stooges–stand ins (i’m like old Agathon myself) for the rest of humanity–into the dialog. It universalized (or the 4 c equivalent of “globalized”) education. Thus soul-formation was made accessible to all who could read. What an ethical thing to do for…
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How can wikis improve the "formation of souls"?
In a platonic sense, education = “forming” souls. In the Republic, individuals with quality “soul formations” (educations) are empowered to lead lives of virtue within the republic. Being clear about a republic’s goals will help educators minister more conscientiously to public needs. Diane Ravitch lays out the desired features of the soul-shaped, educated young person:…
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World Language learning, "situated" in the virtual world
thanks to Web 2.0 tools. Think of it. No more artificial contextualization for second language learning. It can happen in Second Life at no extra cost. Who needs a trip to Europe anymore? It used to be that a foreign language teachers had to “virtualize” learning environments for students. Engaging them in situated “languaging” took…
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For a K-12 school district: some ideas on going 2.0
In the event that a K-12 district administrator were to ask me about moving education into the 21st century, I’d suggest the following: *Before anything the district needs to decide on and roll-out a district-wide platform that is flexible, free, and easy to use. Where there competing applications are, so is confusion. With an easy…
The Wikiness 