EDU 653 - Week 8 (Post 2) - Seven Web Based Tools for Delivering Flipped Lessons

Flipped classroom has become the latest buzz phrase in the eductional world, and we have companies like the Khan academy to think for it. Personally I think the flipped classroom is totally awesome, and one of the largest shifts in pratical educational practice sense the invention of the chalk board. Having said that, it's a big tech jump for anyone thinking of doing it. For us (most of my readers being either tech experts or students in the Educational Technology program) this wouldn't be a huge problem because we're comfortable with technology, but I wonder how to make the extreme cases use the benefits of a flipped classroom...

Of course this brings up a larger range of issues, including how to have a non-digital native generation use technology effectively. How to promote comfort and ease of use tools among a petrified and paranoid users group, and how to generally re-assure them that the computer will not explode if they hit the wrong button. Generally, I've found teachers to be enthusiastic in this regard, they want to help students learn and are willing to take risks to help. However, I've often found that the success they have tends to be won or lost in the planning phase. What happens between "neat" and "OK class, today we're going to" is critical to the success of the digital lesson.

Having said that I think cloud based tools are a great way to accomplish a lot of our goals, they're reliable and managed professionally, easy to use and very accessible regardless of device. Huge win all around and seven great tools.

Article Source: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2014/08/seven-web-based-tools-for-delivering.html

EDU 653 - Week 8 (Post 1) - Many Many Posts about Games

It would appear it's game launch season yet again...pretty good marketing really, get the kids and the parents right around back to school time "summer's over, have a video game" Anyway the rash of new games and system advertising that's shown up on my Feedly this week makes me wonder (again) if there's a place for gaming and gaming systems in Education. Many many scholars have written and researched extensivly on the topic, and most have found it to be a likely way to engage students who might otherwise be difficult to involve. I tend to agree with this thought, that when used properly video games can be a real educational tool. Having students that stuggle with literacy play a video game and then keep a blog about their experences is an exersise I've run myself many times, all with fairly good results.

I'm skeptical about placing xboxes in classrooms, and I don't think this is a good solution, but I wonder if this might be a good place for game worlds to be headed as a way to engage students who might otherwise struggle with reading and writing. I think in this case structure is the key, otherwise it will simply become an exercise in gaming for gaming sake, but overall might not be a bad place for Special Education to consider going. 

EDU 653 - Week 7 (Post 2) - 7 Things you should know about LuLu

Does anyone remember the days in elementary school when it was "make your own book" day? Clearly a win with most students as it touches upon creativity, gives them something to bring home and show grandma and lets them have a little fun too. In our schools growing up when this activity was done we always laminated and bound our "books" together, which made them last for years and years. It was also great fun to look back years later and wonder what in the name of god I was thinking when I wrote the book, but that's a different topic altogether.

Despite this exercise being a popular favourite with elementary school teachers, the practice seems to drop off in high school, which is a little bit puzzling. No doubt fuelled by the lack of crayons and construction paper in most high schools, I also think the whole process is a little "kiddish" for the high school masses (although, they'd probably have fun doing it) what's really interesting though is there's no lack of students interested in creative writing in high school, yet the works they produce, many of which are extremely high quality are just printed and stored in a three ring binder.

LuLu is a service that can offer students the ability to see their work in print, experience publishing and even get an ISBN number if they like. The article referenced talks at length about academic credibility (bla bla bla) and that's a fair point, but I think offering an older student the chance to see their work in print is something that is super cool and could easily be a real win with students interested in creative writing.

If my supervisors ever take leave of their senses and get me to teach an English course, this may just end up being one of the assignments

Article source: http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/7-things-you-should-know-about-lulu

EDU 653 - Week 7 (Post 1) - 8 Tips and Tricks to Redesign Your Classroom

When originally viewing this article, I thought it would be mostly about changing the learning focus of a classroom from a traditional method to something more along the flipped concept. Although I was wrong, this article is particularly interesting as it discusses a re-model of your classroom and how to make it work. When thinking about any classroom centered project, particularly with technology, I've come to the conclusion that most of the success or failure happens in the prep work. The same is true for any project, particularly when you're dealing with kids.

This article goes in deep to help you come up with a classroom re-design plan that makes sense by not only supporting the students but making them part of designing their own learning space. With the popularization of "remodel" and "remake" shows on TV, I think a classroom facelift can be a great idea to really help engage and excite the students. This article goes a long way to helping support and making that project successful. Worth a read!

Article Source: http://www.edutopia.org//blog/8-tips-and-tricks-redesign-your-classroom