Friday, February 3, 2012

Edu app news: apps, ebooks, and sites for your classroom #mlearning 02/03/2012

Posted by ultralitemp3

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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Learning about Learning: Research and Edreform News and Views 02/03/2012

Posted by ultralitemp3

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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Thursday, February 2, 2012

Learning about Learning: Research and Edreform News and Views 02/02/2012

Posted by ultralitemp3

  • Crowdsourcing the Curriculum - ICT - TES

    This heated conversation happening over at TES shows just how heated the response is to the UK's Michael Gove requiring ICT in schools. I've added my own response because sadly, the way ICT has been defined in most school is as a lower-order step 1, 2, 3 type activity when it should be so much more. The ICT is today is probably not what it needs to be. Great conversation.

    tags: education edreform learning

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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Eracism Project Forming now: Applications Open

Posted by ultralitemp3

Eracism Project 2012 Forming Now

Press Release February 1, 2012.

Announcing, the Eracism Project 2012 - a global student debate that joins diverse cultures and includes authentic debate for global competence and international mindedness.

Fact based debate is a very essential skill with students who often equate the term "debate" with argument.  The Eracism project: A Flat Classroom ProjectTM was envisioned by the winning student team from the 2009 Flat Classroom Conference held in Doha, Qatar and their concept was to hold debates using Web 2.0 tools to improve cultural understanding.  

Schools selected for the Eracism Project 2012 will be asked to enter a 4 person debate team, with the remaining students in the class being researchers around the topic,

"Government regulation requiring immigrants to adopt the beliefs, habits, and language of the dominant culture does more harm than good."  

The initial debates will be held asynchronously but in what organizers are calling a "simulated synchronous" environment with the final winning teams debating live in a virtual world.  This project was carried out in 2009 and is being run again starting in March 2012. A limited number of applications will be taken.

We welcome applications NOW from teachers and their classrooms around the world. We also need judges and volunteers to help with debate coaching. To apply for this project as a class or judge or volunteer or request to be involved in the teacher information meeting, please complete this form.

Classrooms in Upper Primary, Middle and High School are encouraged to apply (students of age 11 and above). Organisers will create two strands in this project based on demand.

Application deadline is February 29, with announcement of project classrooms by Friday March 2, 2012.

The first teacher online meeting will take place near March 5, 2012. Actual date and time to be advised.

Tentative Timeline

This project has a planned start date of March 5, 2012 with debates beginning March 25 and  concluding with the final debate held in a virtual world (and to be streamed live) in May 2012.  Schools applying must specify their school holiday dates so that they can be best placed in the project on the debate grid.
Phase 1 - Research & Coaching
This will happen at the school level as classrooms research the topic and practice debate at their local level.
Phase 2 - Asynchronous Debate Round
Students will use VoiceThread to debate with each round taking approximately one week.  
Phase 3 - Synchronous Debate
The top two teams will debate live in a virtual world with the debate streamed live on the web for students and educators around the world to watch.  
Phase 4 - Reflection
Students and teachers will reflect on ways to improve the methods for  global debates.

Process
Due to the asynchronous components used, Eracism will use a hybrid debating style that is based on Conflict or Initiative Debating.  

The teams prepare their cases; they present their arguments and evidence; and, they rebut the other team's arguments and evidence. The debate cycle will generally align with the Middle School Public Debate Program found at http://www.middleschooldebate.com

Each debate will be adjudicated by 3 judges and the winning team advances to the next round.

Most of the debates will be carried out on VoiceThread with the final debate being streamed live in a virtual world.

Thank you to the sponsors of this project: Voicethread, Wikispaces, Blackboard Collaborate. (Virtual world platform to be announced soon.)

Co-founders of Flat ClassroomTM Projects, Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis, have been planning for two years to once again run this ground breaking and inspirational global collaborative project. The project opens eyes and hearts as students debate on an issue that will bring together diverse ideas, develop transferable skills and create lasting friendships.

More information about Eracism: http://www.eracismproject.org
Application Form for Eracism 2012: http://tinyurl.com/eracism2012
Flat Classroom Projects: http://flatclassroomprojec.net
Contact us: fcp@flatclassroom.org
Directors, Vick Davis and Julie Lindsay
For more about the pedagogy and benefits of adding global collaboration to your curriculum, buy Julie and Vicki's book Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds from Pearson Publishing.  www.flatclassroombook.com

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Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock #teaching 02/01/2012

Posted by ultralitemp3

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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Edu app news: apps, ebooks, and sites for your classroom #mlearning 02/01/2012

Posted by ultralitemp3

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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Do we really get happier when something big happens?

Posted by ultralitemp3
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I came flying into the house with a low grade fever to have my 10 year old put his ipod touch in my face and ask for the password (I have to approve his purchases) and my 6'1" model sized daughter exclaim that she had to be at the school by 4:30 or the bus would leave her. My 17 year old 6' 5" bellowed in his deep bass that it was his birthday and did I have time to go to the courthouse to pay his tags because he'd forgotten.

All of this at once. But time stopped.

I saw it. A large box. On the kitchen table. I took the keys in my hand that had opened the kitchen door just seconds before and with a quick flick opened the box and it got quiet.

"Here's Mama's book, guys."
"Congratulations, Mom," said my 10 year old. "Will you type in the password for me now?"

And bedlam started up again.

And I thought to myself. Is this is what it's like? When your life changes and you have a dream that you've had since you were 12 finally happen - the world just keeps going. The kids keep yelling. Nothing really changes and yet you know that something has changed. That this moment is a defining moment in your life and yet life doesn't seem to really change. You're the same you and you keep going.

I think it again reinforces that being happy wherever you are is important. I have to be happy with or without a book or with or without a blog because having something new isn't going to make me any happier.

Funny thing, I read that people who are happy people are also happy even after a trauma happens. Kind of like our body has a set point for weight, I think we sort of have a happiness set point.  Just as we can change our body's set point for weight, I think we can also effect our set point for happiness.

The point is, I wasn't going crazy with my kids inundating me. I kind of enjoy that they are all there around me, even if it is crazy. And opening the book didn't have any effect on me and how I handled things.

So, as happy as I am about the book coming out and the kind notes and reviews you're sending in, I'm just as happy as I was before.

Perhaps it is time to learn to be content with what we have. To work to be better but to know that when we have a great breakthrough not to expect that to be the magic pill to our utopian happiness. There is no such thing.
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