I did a lot of reading and highlighting the other night, which is why this is so long. I’ve been bookmarking a lot of articles (about 400 at the last count) over the past 6 months or so, and will be trying to get through them over the next few months. There might be more long posts like this one (aggregationsof Diigo highlights) as a consequence.
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I truly believe that a combination of actively influencing a story line in combination with a reaction upon the decisions taken would make learners feel more appreciated or valued if you will and encourage them to continue learning with that program instead of only getting negative feedback in from of a summary assessment when a chapter or course is finished
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#PLENK2010 Curation and Balance « Jenny Connected
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According to Rita Kop PLE is a UK term and PLN an American term. Dave Cormier questions whether the term personal should be used at all. Stephen Downes points out that personal is an OK term if you think about [Personal Learning] Network as opposed to [Personal] Learning Network – and similarly for PLE
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the words are not as important as the process
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Learnadoodledastic: HOLD THE FRONT PAGE – PLE’s need Teachers
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a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) is more concerned with tools and technology and that Personal Learning Networks (PLN) are more concerned with connections to people
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The PLE takes me to my PLN through various gates and paths
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they’re the ticket and ride, not the destination
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The PLN is then more akin to a community, but with much looser connections, described in the literature as “weak ties”
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possible roles involved in networked learning that the teacher may be classified as (Expert: Someone with sustained contribution to a field, Teacher: experts with authority, Curator: play the role of interpreting, organizing, and presenting content, Facilitator: able to guide, direct, lead, and assist learners, not necessarily being a subject matter expert
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why focus on PLEs? Shouldn’t we be trying to figure out how to make PLN work better?
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Development of your PLE is about working with technology, refining your use of tools to give you more keys or more efficient access to your network of people and resources
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Education Needs a Digital-Age Upgrade – NYTimes.com
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“Pundits may be asking if the Internet is bad for our children’s mental development, but the better question is whether the form of learning and knowledge-making we are instilling in our children is useful to their future.”
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we can’t keep preparing students for a world that doesn’t exist
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The contemporary American classroom, with its grades and deference to the clock, is an inheritance from the late 19th century. During that period of titanic change, machines suddenly needed to run on time. Individual workers needed to willingly perform discrete operations as opposed to whole jobs. The industrial-era classroom, as a training ground for future factory workers, was retooled to teach tasks, obedience, hierarchy and schedules.
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Teachers and professors regularly ask students to write papers. Semester after semester, year after year, “papers” are styled as the highest form of writing.
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And yet they will probably never have to communicate anything in that format ever again…unless they also become academics
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question the whole form of the research paper
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“What if bad writing is a product of the form of writing required in school — the term paper — and not necessarily intrinsic to a student’s natural writing style or thought process?”
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A classroom suited to today’s students should de-emphasize solitary piecework
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That classroom needs new ways of measuring progress, tailored to digital times — rather than to the industrial age or to some artsy utopia where everyone gets an Awesome for effort.
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Advantages Of Blended Learning
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Blended learning lets designers split off prerequisite material from the rest of a course
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Blended learning lets instructional designers separate rote content focusing on lower-order thinking skills, which can be easily taught online, from critical thinking skills, which many instructors feel more comfortable addressing in the classroom
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Learners can have more meaningful conversations about these topics because they have developed a familiarity with basic management policies and procedures and have had time to integrate what they know into their thinking
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Blended Learning Model: Gives Students Time to Think | Catlin Tucker, Honors English Teacher
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We cannot have it both ways: quality of thinking and speed are anathema to each other.
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Covering content is daunting enough, but providing the time necessary to indulge in the quality conversations that make learning truly engaging is almost impossible
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the challenge of articulating thoughts quickly
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post two dynamic questions online each night. These questions have many possible answers, require analysis of content and the creation of unique ideas
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when we revisit these discussions in the classroom, students have a plethora of ideas to share. They are no longer scared to speak out because they have a confidence born from their online discussions and the validation of their peers
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weave those online conversations back into the classroom
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- “Some students have great ideas, but they experience difficulty expressing those ideas clearly.
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SEVEN PRINCIPLES FOR GOOD PRACTICE
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Good practice in undergraduate education:
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We address the teacher’s how, not the subject-matter what, of good practice in undergraduate education. We recognize that content and pedagogy interact in complex ways.
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An undergraduate education should prepare students to understand and deal intelligently with modern life.
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1. Encourages Contact Between Students and Faculty Frequent student-faculty contact in and out of classes is the most important factor in student motivation and involvement. Faculty concern helps students get through rough times and keep on working. Knowing a few faculty members well enhances students’ intellectual commitment and encourages them to think about their own values and future plans.
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2. Develops Reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students Learning is enhanced when it is more like a team effort that a solo race. Good learning, like good work, is collaborative and social, not competitive and isolated. Working with others often increases involvement in learning. Sharing one’s own ideas and responding to others’ reactions sharpens thinking and deepens understanding.
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3. Encourages Active Learning Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves.
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4. Gives Prompt Feedback Knowing what you know and don’t know focuses learning. Students need appropriate feedback on performance to benefit from courses. When getting started, students need help in assessing existing knowledge and competence. In classes, students need frequent opportunities to perform and receive suggestions for improvement. At various points during college, and at the end, students need chances to reflect on what they have learned, what they still need to know, and how to assess themselves.
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5. Emphasizes Time on Task Time plus energy equals learning. There is no substitute for time on task. Learning to use one’s time well is critical for students and professionals alike. Students need help in learning effective time management. Allocating realistic amounts of time means effective learning for students and effective teaching for faculty. How an institution defines time expectations for students, faculty, administrators, and other professional staff can establish the basis of high performance for all.
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6. Communicates High Expectations Expect more and you will get more. High expectations are important for everyone — for the poorly prepared, for those unwilling to exert themselves, and for the bright and well motivated. Expecting students to perform well becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when teachers and institutions hold high expectations for themselves and make extra efforts.
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7. Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning There are many roads to learning. People bring different talents and styles of learning to college. Brilliant students in the seminar room may be all thumbs in the lab or art studio. Students rich in hands-on experience may not do so well with theory. Students need the opportunity to show their talents and learn in ways that work for them. Then they can be pushed to learn in new ways that do not come so easily.
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Presentation Zen: Storytelling lessons from Bill Cosby
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tell real stories from your own life in a way that is relevant and engaging to your audience. If more people could just remember that great speeches or presentations leverage the power of the speaker’s own stories
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we must not talk ourselves out of being who we really are
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People do not care about your excuses, they care only about seeing your authentic self
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People crave authenticity just about more than anything else, and one way to be your authentic self and connect with an audience is by using examples and stories from your own life that illuminate your message in an engaging, memorable way
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