Wednesday, November 27, 2013

The Path to Digital Citizenship

edutopia.org - I've written and taught about digital citizenship for several years. And, while the term is new in our lexicon, the meaning spans generations. The simple acts of carrying oneself in a civil, appropriate manner are skillsets that have been integrated into every classroom since the very first school. Many would argue that digital citizenship is simply a buzzword and nothing dramatically new. While the underlying meaning is familiar, the medium by which adults and students interact has changed dramatically.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

The Complete Visual Guide To Generation Z

edudemic.com - There’s always discussion happening out there about generational differences, especially when it comes to internet and technology usage . Much of this discussion tends to divide people into two (very rough) groups – of older and younger, superusers and reluctant users, and a very very large grey area in between. That’s not to say that there’s nothing out there that breaks it down more, but for the most part, we don’t see as much detail as we see generalizations.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Weekly Giveaway: Science Experiments in a Box

edutopia.org - Many would agree that for inquiry to be alive and well in a classroom that, amongst other things, the teacher needs to be expert at asking strategic questions not only asking well-designed ones, but ones that will also lead students to questions of their own.

I also learned over the years that asking straightforward, simply-worded questions can be just as effective as those intricate ones. With that in mind, if you are a new teacher or perhaps not so new but know that question-asking is an area where you'd like to grow, start tomorrow with these five:

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Connected Educators: 5 Ways To Build Your PLN Online.

blog.remind101.com - By Clara Galan

As we pass Connected Educator Month and move through November, it’s time to reflect on the importance of online connections and their role throughout the rest of the school year. How does “being connected” empower teachers and improve their instruction? Many teachers often feel isolated by their classroom walls, and may have little time for peer support or content feedback. It’s so important to remember, you’re not alone!

Facebook won’t like this new teenager privacy bill

digitaltrends.com - Should Internet companies have the right to track and analyze the Web activity of kids under 16 years old?That’s the question posed by a newly introduced bill called the “Do Not Track Kids Act of 2013,” which would extend federal anti-tracking protections under the Children’s Online Protection Act (COPPA), which applies to kids 12 and under, and to children ages 13 to 15. The bill would also create an “eraser button” that allows teens and parents to delete publicly available personal information when “technologically feasible.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Protein interplay in muscle tied to life span

medicalxpress.com - Fruit flies are notoriously short-lived but scientists interested in the biology of aging in all animals have begun to understand why some fruit flies live longer than others. They have documented a direct association between insulin and life span, for example, and have observed a tradeoff between prolific reproduction and longevity. A new study, which may have broad implications across species, ties those findings more closely together by tracing an insulin signaling cascade through to protein quality control in muscle tissue and shortened life span.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Eye cells could help diagnose Alzheimer's disease

m.bbc.co.uk - Changes to specific cells in the retina could help diagnose and track the progression of Alzheimer's disease, scientists say.

A team found genetically engineered mice with Alzheimer's lost thickness in this layer of eye cells. As the retina is a direct extension of the brain, they say the loss of retinal neurons could be related to the loss of brain cells in Alzheimer's. The findings were revealed at the US Society for Neuroscience conference. The team believes this work could one day lead to opticians being able to detect Alzheimer's in a regular eye check, if they had the right tools.

Scientists decipher how the immune system induces liver damage during hepatitis

medicalxpress.com - Viral infections are the primary cause of liver inflammation or hepatitis, affecting hundreds of millions of people all over the world, and they represent a public health problem worldwide. The acute condition can cause irreversible damage to the liver, and if not cured can become chronic, leading to serious diseases such as cirrhosis or cancer.A study published today in the online edition of The Journal of Clinical Investigation , and carried out by Erwin Wagner's team, Director of the BBVA Foundation-CNIO Cancer Cell Biology Programme and holder of an ERC Advanced Grant, shows how the immune system 'attacks' liver cells during hepatitis by using the AP-1 gene JunB.

Researchers apply new technique to manipulate virus, make it a possible cancer treatment

medicalxpress.com - (Medical Xpress)—Purdue University researchers successfully eliminated the native infection preferences of a Sindbis virus engineered to target and kill cancer cells, a milestone in the manipulation of this promising viral vector."This virus had been known to be a good vector for delivering therapeutic cargo, however it naturally infected all kinds of cells, and these diversions would compete with what we were instructing it to target," said Richard Kuhn, the Gerald and Edna Mann Director of Purdue's Bindley Biosciences Center.

Monday, November 11, 2013

This script shows you how Facebook ranks all your friends

thenextweb.com - Have you ever wondered how Facebook ranks your friends for you? The company keeps a score for everyone you interact with on the social network.This affects the order of results when you start typing a name into the search box, the people that appear in your Friends pane when someone visits your profile, whose content shows up in your News Feed, and pretty much any list that displays who you interact with on the site.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Learner Experiences with MOOCs and Open Online Learning




The Ultimate D.I.Y. Guide to eLearning Design




Survey on OER quality and pedagogy in higher education

Educators and researchers working in the field of Open Educational Resources (OER) are invited to participate in a survey aimed at developing and validating a set of quality and pedagogical guidelines for the use of OER in higher education.



Studying an Education Management PhD Online


Education management PhD online degrees are particularly useful if you want to progress in a career in school or college management. This page provides more details ...


How to Practice Project-Based Learning Using Technology?


Let’s learn about some great practices of Project-Based Learning with the use of technology.


Laptop U: Has the future of college moved online? | The New Yorker


Many people think that massive open online courses, or MOOCs, are the future of higher education in America.


Connectivism as a Digital Age Learning Theory

George Siemens and Stephen Downes developed a theory for the digital age, called connectivism, denouncing boundaries of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Their proposed learning theory has issued a debate over whether it is a learning theory or instructional theory or merely a pedagogical view.



8 Must Have iPad Apps to Boost Students Learning


Now that your students have settled back in and the learning process started gaining momentum, you might be thinking of some powerful apps to boost your students learning. There are in fact hundreds of selections to choose from and this overabundance of apps makes it even difficult for one to get their hands on the good ones. I have already shared several reviews of educational apps to use in your classroom but in the list below , I am  sharing sort of  reminder list of 8 important apps you should definitely try with students. This is a follow up to my list of " my favourite apps as a teacher".

 



Personalize Learning Newsletter - September 2013




Find Out More About Online Learning


Find out more about online learning or elearning - using audio and video-conferencing, email, chat, and completing an online degree or certificate by distance.

 

Read more at:  http://onlineanddistancelearning.com/about-online-learning



Google + for Schools and other tips


Free resource of educational web tools, 21st century skills, tips and tutorials on how teachers and students integrate technology into education


Programs in TESOL | Online and Distance Learning


Find out more about programs in TESOL, especially TESOL online and distance learning certificates and TESOL masters programs online.

 

Read more at: http://onlineanddistancelearning.com/programs-in-tesol



Twitter Literacy (I refuse to make up a Twittery name for it) ~ Howard Rheingold


by Howard Rheingold

 

"Twitter is one of a growing breed of part-technological, part-social communication media that require some skills to use productively. Sure, Twitter is banal and trivial, full of self-promotion and outright spam. So is the Internet. The difference between seeing Twitter as a waste of time or as a powerful new community amplifier depends entirely on how you look at it – on knowing how to look at it.

 

"When I started requiring digital journalism students to learn how to use Twitter, I didn’t have the list of journalistic uses for Twitter that I have compiled by now. So I logged onto the service and broadcast a request. “I have a classroom full of graduate students in journalism who don’t know who to follow. Does anybody have a suggestion?” Within ten minutes, we had a list of journalists to follow, including one who was boarding Air Force One at that moment, joining the White House press corps accompanying the President to Africa."



Study a PhD in Elementary Education and Take a Leadership Role in Education


This page is about PhD elementary education programs. It provides information on what is studied and where you can study these programs.

 

Read more at: http://onlineanddistancelearning.com/phd-elementary-education



2013 Middle School iPad Orientation


This is the Middle School iPad Orientation video for both Hill Country and West Ridge Middle schools in the Eanes Independent School District. If you are a s...


Studying an Online Masters in Secondary Education


Find out about masters in secondary education online programs, where you can take them, the career and salary prospects, and more ...

 

Read more at: http://onlineanddistancelearning.com/masters-in-secondary-education



What is the Future of Knowledge Management?


The next era of Knowledge Management practice will see the field complete its migration from a traditional tools-led approach to a competence/capability-led approach.

 

Knowledge Managers will have to absorb insights from approaches to adult learning, business psychology, decision science, cognitive science, artificial intelligence and natural science disciplines.



Online Learning Modules Will Play a Big Role in Common Core Implementation Across the U.S.


More than 50,000 math, science and English teachers will benefit from web-based training modules in the 2014-2015 school year



DALLAS, Aug. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National...


CSIRAC: Australia’s first computer


Australia's first computer, CSIR Mark 1 (later called CSIRAC, the CSIR Automatic Computer), was the fourth in the world to be built. It filled a room the size of a double garage, required enough electricity to power a suburban street and had only a fraction of the brainpower of the cheapest modern electronic organiser. But it was a technological marvel of its time.

It was built in the late 1940s by CSIR scientists Dr Trevor Pearcey, Mr Maston Beard and Mr Geoff Hill, which put Australia at the forefront of computing. It revolutionised everything from weather forecasting to banking. It even played what is thought to be the first ever computer music.

 

Read more at: http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/ICT-and-Services/National-Challenges/CSIRAC.aspx

  

My Name is America and I’m a Dataholic


Let us not pass over America’s surveillance addiction in silence. It is real; it has consequences; and the world would do itself a service by sending America to a Big Data rehab.

 

Photo credit: André Leit/iBureauet



Are MOOCs the answer? An Indian Perspective


They are the buzzwords in the education sector. The popularity of these open courses is gaining steadily, with thousands of students across the globe enrolling online.