Showing posts with label educational technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label educational technology. Show all posts

The Tools for Successful Online Teaching Review

The Tools for Successful Online Teaching
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The Tools for Successful Online Teaching Reviewi found this book to be an excellent research reference for online teaching. It provides solutions that the author has personally used and integrated into her teaching methodology.The Tools for Successful Online Teaching Overview

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High-Tech Teaching Success A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Innovative Technology in Your Classroom Review

High-Tech Teaching Success A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Innovative Technology in Your Classroom
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High-Tech Teaching Success A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Innovative Technology in Your Classroom ReviewHigh-Tech Teaching Success tells teachers how to bring technology into the classroom, offering keys to using Google Earth, blogs, digital diaries, Facebook and other popular online sites in the teaching process. From classroom web sites to digital teaching, this is an excellent review of how technological opportunities can integrate into any classroom teacher's objectives.
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Empower English Language Learners With Tools From the Web Review

Empower English Language Learners With Tools From the Web
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Empower English Language Learners With Tools From the Web ReviewLori Langer de Ramirez's EMPOWER ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS WITH TOOLS FROM THE WEB shows how web 2.0 tools can help English language learning, and comes from a nationally known expert on ESL teaching and curriculum development. Classroom strategies explored here provide step-by-step guidelines for using a range of Web tools and activities and make for a powerful survey.
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Leading 21st-Century Schools: Harnessing Technology for Engagement and Achievement Review

Leading 21st-Century Schools: Harnessing Technology for Engagement and Achievement
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Leading 21st-Century Schools: Harnessing Technology for Engagement and Achievement ReviewI read this book for as required reading for an Instructional Technology Leadership graduate class that I am enrolled in. As a future elementary special education teacher, this is not a book that I would typically seek out. However, I think this book is possibly more useful for an individual like myself, than someone who is already a technology leader or the educator with a technologically oriented mindset. The book is well organized and easily accessable even for someone like myself with limited tehcnological expertise.
The book is divided into three sections. The first section is dedicated to presenting information on why it is so important to move towards a more technologically focused education system. The second section concentrates on what can and should be included in this new vision of education. This section strongly emphasises the great potential that the Web 2.0 tools has for educators and students. The final section presents topics relating to the practical considerations involved in being a leader int the 21st Century school.
The book makes a strong case for the importance of changing the focus of the traditional school to include 21st Century skills and technologies. More importantly, the book includes tools, and several real examples to assist the educators who want to play a part in leading their schools in this direction. I often felt mildly inspired and strongly motivated by the examples that the authors presented. I found my mind racing to find ways to implement the tools and strategies in a special education setting. I look forward to using this information in my education career.Leading 21st-Century Schools: Harnessing Technology for Engagement and Achievement Overview

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Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age Review

Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age
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Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age ReviewReinventing Project based learning by Susie Boss and Jane Krauss is a well organized compendium of journalism and communication on the leading edge of current technology trends. They have used the most current Web 2.0 trends of communication and collaboration on the web. The book is a great snapshot in time of the current web development state. It appears that the authors believe authentic learning happens when you examine your ideas from all sides and from other points of view. New tools like Blogs, flikr, skype, wikis, and del.icio.us that support reflection and collaboration, give learners the opportunity to shape and revise their work, and expose the work to the analytical feedback of other people. The main direction of the book seems to be to collaboratively create knowledge with others. The content is divided up as follows.
SECTION I Anticipation
*Chapter 1 Mapping the Journey--Seeing the Big Picture
*Assess your readiness to begin teaching with technology-rich, authentic projects.
*Technology Focus: Social Bookmarking
*Chapter 2 Creating a Professional Learning Community
*Engage with colleagues, near or far, to build collaboration into project design and enrich your teaching practices.
*Technology Focus: Online Communities
SECTION II Packing Up
*Chapter 3 Imagining the Possibilities
*Establish the conceptual framework for your project. Why do "big ideas" matter in project design?
*Technology Focus: Why Use a Wiki?
*Technology Focus: Essential Learning with of Digital Tools, the Internet, and Web 2.0
Chapter 4 Strategies for Discovery
*How do you begin designing a project? A guided design process helps, whether you build a project from scratch or adapt an existing project plan to meet your needs.
*Technology Focus: Track Assets Online
*Chapter 5 Project Management Strategies for Teachers and Learners
*Teachers and learners alike benefit from improving their project management skills.
*Technology Focus: Project Management with Technology
SECTION III Navigating the Learning Experience
*Chapter 6 Project Launch--Implementation Strategies
*Get your project off to the right start by generating curiosity and preparing students for the active learning ahead.
*Technology Focus: Screencasting
*Chapter 7 A Guiding Hand--Keeping a Project Moving
*Consider the critical roles of classroom discussions, technology use, and troubleshooting strategies in keeping the project moving forward.
*Technology Focus: Podcasting
SECTION IV Expanding Your Circle
*Chapter 8 Building Connections and Branching Out
*Successful projects may take off in directions you did not anticipate.
*Imagine the possibilities for extensions and connections.
*Technology Focus: Online Collaboration
*Chapter 9 Making Assessment Meaningful
*Near the end of the project, you put your formal assessment plan to use.
*With 21st-century projects, teachers are incorporating new approaches to make assessment more meaningful.
*Technology Focus: Online Grade Books
*Chapter 10 Celebrating and Reflecting
*Culminating activities remind learners of where they have been and what they have gained along the way.
*Technology Focus: Photo Sharing
SECTION V Unpacking
*Chapter 11 Bringing It Home
*Build time for reflection and sharing into the project life cycle to make the most of your investment in meaningful curriculum design.
Have I found the book useful? Probably not, as it is not as much about project-based learning as I had hoped. It is more about communication and collaboration and current learning trends than it is about project-based learning. It is however, a wonderful book and a must read for anyone trying to get up to speed in our web dependent world. Read this book now, as it will be out of style after a few years.
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iWrite: Using Blogs, Wikis, and Digital Stories in the English Classroom Review

iWrite: Using Blogs, Wikis, and Digital Stories in the English Classroom
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iWrite: Using Blogs, Wikis, and Digital Stories in the English Classroom ReviewI recommend this book to teachers who are "afraid" of technology and its ever-changing facets. Our students come to school and sit in classrooms where teachers who do not know a lot about RSS, blogs, wikis, and online social networking outside the realm of Facebook or MySpace. We teach the same old ways and balk at new methods while our students yawn or secretly text at their desks.
This particular book helps teachers explore the parts of computer and Internet technology that can enrich the lives of their students by presenting content in a context/format that their charges understand. This book can help teachers step up to the challenges of using technology to teach, helping students who do not have a lot of online opportunities, and meeting students halfway in the learning continuum by using the platforms they know so well. There are many ways to get derailed when teachers have very limited time to evaluate the world wide web, but this book is like an Internet Road Atlas. If you know how to check your email, attach a document to a message and send it to somebody--and you have an open mind to explore possibilities, try this book. After you explore on your own, go to school with a list of safe sites you could use in your classroom and start a conversation with your IT coordinators so that your students can discover the positive, thought-provoking facets of the Internet.iWrite: Using Blogs, Wikis, and Digital Stories in the English Classroom Overview

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Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms Review

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms
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Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms ReviewBlogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms is a good book on how to use web 2.0 tools in a educational setting. Richardson gives a good introduction to the book by talking about how technology has changed in the recent years and how it is continuing to grow. The idea that the gap in the understanding and knowledge of technology between teachers and students is an obstacle still to be overcome is a good point. Richardson describes the more experienced teachers as "digital immigrants" and the current students as "Digital natives" to describe the gap. This description gives the reader a good idea of how technology has exponentially grown in recent times.
Richardson does a great job in his book to describe and how the web 2.0 tools can be implemented in the current classroom. Richardson divides each chapter by a different web 2.0 tool. He takes the time to give a good description of the tool and how it can be utilized in the classroom. After he has given the reader the information needed about the web 2.0 tool and how to use it in the classroom, he then gives good resources to find these tools. Richardson gives his opinion on these different sites and positives and negatives of each site. This is one of the most useful parts of the book, once I read about the tool I immediately had examples to go look at as I was reading. Many of the sites that Richardson suggests are what he says they are and are very helpful in learning the new tool.
I recommend this book for teachers and higher education students who want to get a good introduction of these tools. Richardsons's book is a easy to read book with very helpful and useful sources. The sources compliment the book nicely and are very useful in beginning to use the web 2.0 tools described in the book.
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RSS for Educators: Blogs, Newsfeeds, Podcasts, and Wikis in the Classroom Review

RSS for Educators: Blogs, Newsfeeds, Podcasts, and Wikis in the Classroom
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RSS for Educators: Blogs, Newsfeeds, Podcasts, and Wikis in the Classroom ReviewWhatever happened to Web 1.0? Readers of John Hendron's (2008) book, RSS for Educators, will quickly realize the speed at which web technology has evolved. From its humble Web 1.0 beginnings of one-way, read-only applications on the information highway, we now have two-way, read-write RSS (Really Simple Syndication) apps and tools in a new revolutionary freeway of innovations of computer commuters networked by information using blogs, podcasts, newsfeeds, and wikis. This can be about everything, be from anywhere, happen everywhere, and on all kinds of devices (Wesch, 2008)
For someone who has an older one-way computer background, John Hendron's book is an eye-opener not only for techies, but also especially for educators who must merge into the new-era of Web 2.0 information travels. The new features of this highway are succinctly defined with helpful diagrams picturing Client/Server/Local User paradigms to help us understand where we are located in this interactive information highway called the Internet. For someone who had little background on Web 2.0, this book was very readable with new technologies clearly explained. Much of the author's discussion of blogs, wikis, etc. seamlessly interact with his classroom experience as a teacher and liaison to district administrators and parents, in bringing them together to experience and benefit from the slew of technologies available to help them communicate and better education.
The strength of the book is in its balance of presenting Web 2.0 technologies in a readable but also very technical fashion. Teachers can quickly make progress by using the recommended websites to start blog accounts, wikis, etc. A brief range of the most popular and powerful technologies are presented for the consumer to choose from depending on his/her situation. Whether it is blogs, wikis, podcasts, VoIP, or newsfeeds, the author usually surveys the most effective tools, always giving attention to both platforms, whether it is PC or Macintosh. His only weakness is his unhidden bias for Macs. However, the detail of his interaction with the technology is fair. His treatment of these is up-to-date and current.
In relation to Wikis, John gives helpful examples of using wikis for department meetings, notes, minutes, and even curriculum development. Here is where the "Ah Haa" moments echo where he provides specific uses of wikis from his own educational experience. The technology of Web 2.0 is not confined to the classroom, but transcended by things like videoconferencing, and also usable in teacher business as well as district business. The two-way roads of technology are expanding to the many facets of education.
When it comes to blogging, the author adequately surveys the popular blog resources available to begin web 2.0 applications. Again, both PC and Macintosh platforms are represented. The section does seem overly technical for educators, but as an educator with computer background, I found it very helpful. What I appreciate about Hendron's treatment is the balance of adequate technical help with the creativity of the Web 2.0 applications. Especially eye-opening were the classroom lesson plans using blogging technology to accomplish educational objectives. What administrator would not drop his/her jaw to see this kind of technology used in the classroom to engage and bring much needed collaboration to the classroom using technology? The lessons were replete with collaborative ideas using engaging technology. The only criticism is that the lesson plans did not include a single math lesson. This reviewer is a secondary math teacher.
In the final analysis, the esoteric technical title of the book is actually a rich and readable ride into the revolutionary Web 2.0 technology of not the future, but the present. It's explained clearly across both platforms and surveyed across the most popular tools. This is an excellent primer on information travel for Web 2.0.
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Making the Most of the Web in Your Classroom: A Teacher's Guide to Blogs, Podcasts, Wikis, Pages, and Sites Review

Making the Most of the Web in Your Classroom: A Teacher's Guide to Blogs, Podcasts, Wikis, Pages, and Sites
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Making the Most of the Web in Your Classroom: A Teacher's Guide to Blogs, Podcasts, Wikis, Pages, and Sites ReviewAs a novice technology using teacher, this book was just what I needed. It has given me a solid overview to help me start building my knowledge and skill. I appreciated the various examples on how to use the Web in my classroom. I have recommended this book to others I work with who are trying to ramp up their skills for using the web in their teaching.Making the Most of the Web in Your Classroom: A Teacher's Guide to Blogs, Podcasts, Wikis, Pages, and Sites Overview

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Blogs, Wikis, MySpace, and More: Everything You Want to Know About Using Web 2.0 but Are Afraid to Ask Review

Blogs, Wikis, MySpace, and More: Everything You Want to Know About Using Web 2.0 but Are Afraid to Ask
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Blogs, Wikis, MySpace, and More: Everything You Want to Know About Using Web 2.0 but Are Afraid to Ask ReviewThis book is a handy guide to Web 2.0. Burrows explains what exactly is Web 2.0 and how to make the most of it. He describes earlier websites as static and Web 2.0 as interactive. In each chapter, Burrows addresses some new interactive, exciting way the Web in now being used. For example, Burrows has a chapter about blogging. He explains what blogging is, the evolution of blogging, how to start a blog and websites where you can actually get started. He uses the same approach in chapters about creating podcasts, sharing videos, social networking and more.Blogs, Wikis, MySpace, and More: Everything You Want to Know About Using Web 2.0 but Are Afraid to Ask Overview

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Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms Review

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms
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Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms ReviewIf you are looking to add technology into your classroom, Will Richardson's book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, is a good place to start. The book takes the reader through a journey of possibilities to using web 2.0 tools in education. Each chapter was dedicated to a web 2.0 tool, from Weblogs to Social Networks (and many in-between)! Each chapter describes the web 2.0 tool and then gives examples of how others have used the tool in their classroom. On top of that Richardson also has examples you can actually go to on the Internet! I found that the real life examples reinforced the idea that teachers all over the world are incorporating technology into their classrooms. And it was nice to see how others were doing that.
I like how Richardson wrote the book for educators and he understands that not everyone is an expert at using technology. He constantly is mentioning that before jumping into using this in the classroom, you must first become involved yourself in the technology. Which is so true; you must first understand how to use technology and what this all means in the education world before expecting your students to. He provides guidelines and steps of how to incorporate web 2.0 tools into your classroom.
From this book I have built upon what I already know about web 2.0 tools and learned some new things. In fact while reading this book, a colleague of mine should be how to use Jing and Screencast to record and share a video from my computer. When I went home to read the next chapter of Will's book I learned even more about Jing and Screencast and how other teachers were using it. There was however one chapter that was completely new to me which was chapter five RSS. Like the other chapters in this book, Will starts off by explaining what RSS is and then gives suggestions of how to get involved with RSS. I have not had a chance to try setting up an RSS feed for myself, however it is something that I will be doing in the near future.
I do not consider myself an expert on technology, however I do feel comfortable using it, and believe one hundred percent that my students need to be taught how to use the technology we have available to their advantage. As Richardson points out in his book, we need to prepare our students for their future, they need to learn to read, write, and collaborate using the web. The web is a place that Richardson defines as a Read/Reflect/Write/Participate Web. Another point Richardson makes is that students are using these tools at home and they may not be using them properly. If taught in the classroom how to read, write, and collaborate with others properly, students are going to be successful in the future. Teachers do not need to become experts but they should have a general idea of the tools out there and how to use them in the classroom to benefit students.
This book is a great resource to build upon what you are already doing in the classroom or for teachers who are just starting to incorporate technology. I hope that you read this book and find at least one web 2.0 tool that you find so incredible that you want to try and then you will bring to your classroom and use with your students.Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms Overview

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Wikipatterns Review

Wikipatterns
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Wikipatterns ReviewWikis are one of those "Web 2.0" applications that seem to be right on the edge of jumping into mainstream adoption. If your workplace is anything like mine, you've been spending more time lately answering the "what's a wiki" question than you have in the past. If you're starting to approach the point where you're ready to try one out in your organization, here's a good place to start your planning... WikiPatterns - A Practical Guide To Improving Productivity and Collaboration In Your Organization by Stewart Mader. Rather than a "do this, this, and this" instruction manual, Mader gets into the whys and whats of wiki adoption in the workplace, complete with case studies and real-life examples.
Table of Contents:
1. Grassroots is Best
Case Study: LeapFrog
2. Your Wiki Isn't (Necessarily) Wikipedia
Case Study: Johns Hopkins University
3. What's Five Minutes Really Worth?
Case Study: Sun Microsystems
4. 11 Steps to a Successful Wiki Pilot
Case Study: Red Ant
Case Study: A Conversation with a WikiChampion: Jude Higdon
5. Drive Large-Scale Adoption
Case Study: JavaPolis
Case Study: A Conversation with a WikiChampion: Jeff Calado
6. Prevent (or Minimize) Obstacles
Case Study: Kerrydale Street
7. Inspirational Bull****
Case Study: Constitution Day
Case Study: Peter Higgs: Using a Wiki in Research
Appendix - Questions and Answers
Index
Stewart Mader is the Wiki Evangelist for Atlassian Software, who also happens to be the creator of Confluence, an enterprise Wiki software package. But don't let that little bit of disclosure put you off. He is a well-known personality in the wiki community, and he's done the evangelism gig with many a company and organization prior to joining Atlassian. As such, the material is pretty vendor-neutral in terms of what you should and shouldn't be doing. You don't have to worry about sitting through a long sales pitch.
The book is designed to be used in conjunction with the website [...]. That site lists and explores a number of "patterns" and "anti-patterns" that come into play when launching and running a wiki site. Furthermore, it's split up into people and adoption issues. So as you're reading through the book, you'll see references (especially in the case studies) to patterns and anti-patterns that influenced the successes and difficulties of many of the projects. As the wikipatterns concepts are still evolving, the case studies didn't necessarily set out to follow and implement a certain set of behaviors. Quite often, the patterns are seen only in hindsight. But you have the benefit of being able to observe the patterns at work before you get started on your own project. This should help increase your odds of success at the start, or at least give you a clue as to what might be going wrong before it gets too messy to correct.
I personally am at the point where this information is *exactly* what I need at work. We've got a number of people who are ready to start a wiki pilot project, and the only reason I've put it off is due to some other higher-priority projects. But armed with Mader's wisdom, I think I'll have a much better chance of pulling off a successful pilot. I also saw some great ideas for taking the DominoWiki OpenNTF project and extending it (like with page templates) to make the software even more useful and easy to implement.
If you simply want to roll out a wiki for your own use, you'll probably see most of this information as overkill. But if you want to help lead the way to wiki adoption at your company, you could consider this the "teacher's guide" edition of the textbook. Not only will it ground you in the cultural aspects of wiki adoption, but it will establish you as the "go-to" person when it comes to this particular branch of the collaboration software tree.Wikipatterns Overview

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