Think and Dream in English: 01/03/09

27 Things To Do Before a Conference | chrisbrogan.com

27 Things To Do Before a Conference | chrisbrogan.com:

"If you’re attending events over the next several months, you might give some thought to a quick checklist that might help you better accomplish your goals. As I’m not entirely sure of your goals, I’ll list a bunch of ideas, and you can just narrow it down to what you think works best for you. Feel free to add more ideas to the comments section.

I should note that this post presumes we’re talking about more modern conferences and/or events where people might be even vaguely connected to the Internet."

Bringing Learning Systems to the Students, Pt. 1 | Learning Management System, Learning System, and Courseware Development Blog

Bringing Learning Systems to the Students, Pt. 1 | Learning Management System, Learning System, and Courseware Development Blog:

"Why should educators consider integrating Web 2.0 technologies like social networking sites into their learning systems? According to the Nielsen survey or users habits, social networking sites have now eclipsed email use in popularity. In the UK, one in every six minutes of the average web user is spent at a social site, the report found. ”Social networking has become a fundamental part of the global online experience,” said John Burbank, chief executive of Nielson Online.
If social networking has become the most popular and fundamental part of the global online experience, why shouldn’t it be part of our 21st century learning systems?

How do/would you incorporate these media into a classroom or LMS-hosted learning system?"

In-class laptop use sparks backlash, possibly lower grades - Ars Technica

In-class laptop use sparks backlash, possibly lower grades - Ars Technica:

"In recent years, there have been a number of high-profile programs that provided laptops for all students within an education system, some of which have equipped an entire state's student population with portable computers. With laptop prices plunging in recent years, college students have adopted the laptop as their platform of choice at the same time that many universities have been rolling out campus-wide wireless Internet access. Recent studies of the educational value of in-class computer use, however, are suggesting that it's difficult for these programs to improve classroom performance, and there are some signs that a backlash may be brewing."

Substitute Folders | Creating a Substitute Folder

Substitute Folders | Creating a Substitute Folder:

"Substitutes have a tough job. They enter a class, often with no clue of the mix of student personalities or what type of disruptions with which they might be faced. You should attempt to give them the best chance possible to succeed. One way to do this is to create a substitute folder that is always on your desk each day when you leave. This folder would provide them with important information that will help them approach your class with a level of confidence.

First make sure that you clearly mark the front of your folder as the 'Substitute Folder.'"

100 Tips, Apps, and Resources for Teachers on Twitter | Online College Degree

100 Tips, Apps, and Resources for Teachers on Twitter | Online College Degree:

"Twitter can be at first glance a strange phenomenon and many don’t understand its purpose right away. However, Twitter is a powerful tool that is growing in popularity as word spreads of its potential capabilities. The idea of writing small blog posts of 140 characters or less to a group of your followers is actually a revolutionary new way to bring communities together, learn from each other, and keep updated with all that is happening. Busy teachers may feel that taking the time to learn how to use Twitter isn’t worth the return for the students benefit, so that’s why this list of 100 tips, apps, and resources is worth browsing. Find out how to get started with Twitter, ways to use it in an educational setting, and tools to help you use it better with these resources below."

Learning with 'e's: Teaching with Twitter

Learning with 'e's: Teaching with Twitter:

"10 top uses of Twitter for education:

1. ‘Twit Board’ Notify students of changes to course content, schedules, venues or other important information.

2. ‘Summing Up’ Ask students to read an article or chapter and then post their brief summary or précis of the key point(s). A limit of 140 characters demands a lot of academic discipline.

3. ‘Twit Links’ Share a hyperlink – a directed task for students – each is required to regularly share one new hyperlink of to useful site they have found."

Cloud Computing in Plain English

jokaydia.com - Virtual Worlds, Education, Community, SL Rentals

jokaydia.com - Virtual Worlds, Education, Community, SL Rentals:

"Coming up this weekend is the huge and amazing Virtual Worlds - Best Practice in Education Conference - happening in Second Life from the 27 - 29 March 2009.

If you havent been to a big event in SL before, you really should check this out, as all the innovative educators and their projects will b e displayed at poster sessions, shared at presentations, discussed at panel sessions or demoed at workshops."

Trouble with Twitter

Computer Software in Plain English

Stephen and Blogs - The rol of bloggers and today's media.

The rol of bloggers and today's media.

Lenny Kravitz - Again

I've been searching for you
I heard a cry within my soul
I've never had a yearning quite like this before
Now that you are walking right through my door

All of my life
Where have you been?
I wonder if I'll ever see you again
And if that day comes
I know we could win
I wonder if I'll ever see you again

A sacred gift of heaven
For better, worse, wherever
And I would never let somebody break you down
Nor take your crown, never

All of my life
Where have you been?
I wonder if I'll ever see you again
And if that day comes
I know we could win
I wonder if I'll ever see you again
And everytime I've always known
That you were there, upon your throne
A lonely queen without her king
I longed for you, my love forever

All of my life
Where have you been?
I wonder if I'll ever see you again
And if that day comes
I know we could win
I wonder if I'll ever see you again

All of my life
Where have you been?
I wonder if I'll ever see you again
And if that day comes
I know we could win
I wonder if I'll ever see you again

All of my life
Where have you been?
I wonder if I'll ever see you again
And if that day comes
I know we could win
I wonder if I'll ever see you again

I wonder if I'll ever see you again
I wonder if I'll ever see you again
I wonder if I'll ever see you again
I wonder if I'll ever see you again

I wonder if I'll ever see you again
I wonder if I'll ever see you again
I wonder if I'll ever see you again

Noam Chomsky

For the past forty years Noam Chomsky's writings on politics and language have established him as a preeminent public intellectual and as one of the most original and wide-ranging political and social critics of our time. Among the seminal figures in linguistic theory over the past century, since the 1960s Chomsky has also secured a place as perhaps the leading dissident voice in the United States.

Noam Chomsky is Institute Professor emeritus of linguistics at MIT and the author of numerous books including Chomsky vs. Foucault: A Debate on Human Nature, On Language, Objectivity and Liberal Scholarship, and Towards a New Cold War (all published by The New Press). He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

This event took place on April 22, 2008 at the Google Cambridge office, as a part of the Authors@Google series.

Digital Learning: Take a Laugh at Twitter

Justine has a great blog: http://digitallearningnz.blogspot.com

Her last post on Twitter is great, I can't find better words to describe what twitter is.

"I really enjoy using Twitter. It puts me in touch with other like minded individuals that are interested in education and the use of technology and web2.0 applications with students. Each day people in my PLN share links, problem solve and sometimes just ramble or comment about what we are doing/learning. Today this link popped up today which is really funny. One of the characters in this short 4minute clip reminds me of the reaction I sometimes face when I try to tell people about twitter... it's good to be able to laugh at yourself, and this is for all those out there that love twitter too!"

Digital Learning: Take a Laugh at Twitter: Go there and watch the video.

Steven Pinker on "The Stuff of Thought"

Renowned linguist Steven Pinker speaks at Google's Mountain View, CA, headquarters about his book "The Stuff of Thought." This event took place on September 24, 2007, as part of the Authors@Google series. For more information about Steven Pinker, please visit:
http://pinker.wjh.harvard.edu/books/stuff/index.html

"I Want to Break Free" by Queen (with lyrics)

Some of my students (boys) did this at school a couple of years ago. It was hilarious. Everybody laughed so much that cried.

Virtual Social Worlds and the Future of Learning

Improv Everywhere

High Five Escalator:

Frozen Grand Central:

No Pants Subway Ride 2009:

Fear of youth is worse than ever, says says psychologist and TV presenter Tanya Byron | Education | The Guardian

Read the whole article is very interesting.

Fear of youth is worse than ever, says says psychologist and TV presenter Tanya Byron | Education | The Guardian:

"Schools need support and resources to individualise teaching again. We need to have the courage to see child development from the perspective of difference, not sameness. Outcomes in terms of Sats and league tables show nothing more than a herd approach to attainment, and push the focus away from the individual child."

Learning Styles of the Net Generation

Is £10,000 enough to keep me at this school? In a word, no | Education | guardian.co.uk

Read the whole article. It's very interesting.

Is £10,000 enough to keep me at this school? In a word, no | Education | guardian.co.uk:

"Good teachers really do make a difference to the future of a child. For teachers to be kept long-term in inner-city schools, there are more important issues than money. Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, hit the nail on the head when she said that disruptive and challenging behaviour was an important deciding factor when teachers consider leaving a school or leaving teaching. Strong school leadership is needed to tackle behaviour problems and keep staff turnover at a minimum."

History of St Patrick's Day

Use Flickr to Spice Up Your Lessons

Use Flickr to Spice Up Your Lessons:

"Flickr can add visual spice to your lessons - and you can use and adapt many of these resources under the Creative Commons licensing scheme. This lesson plan goes into the details of using Flickr with a Creative Commons license to help prepare students for their oral examinations such as those on Cambridge FCE, CAE and Proficiency exams."

21st Century Pedagogy | 21st Century Connections

21st Century Pedagogy | 21st Century Connections:

"Even if you have a 21st Century classroom (flexible and adaptable); even if you are a 21st century teacher ; (an adaptor, a communicator, a leader and a learner, a visionary and a model, a collaborator and risk taker) even if your curriculum reflects the new paradigm and you have the facilities and resources that could enable 21st century learning - you will only be a 21st century teacher if how you teach changes as well. Your pedagogy must also change."

Autoestima

No Future Left Behind

International Society for Technology in Education - ISTE Second Life

Eating The Elephant (that is ICT) and eating it one bite @ a time!

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Eating The Elephant (that is ICT) and eating it one bite @ a time!

View more presentations from rachelboyd.

Social Bookmarking for Educators

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Social Bookmarking for Educators

View more presentations from jstearns.

Second Life Links

De profesores y héroes

PROFESOR EN LA SECUNDARIA: De profesores y héroes:

"El pasado 3 de febrero del 2009, compareció en la sesión ordinaria de la Comisión de Educación y Universidades del Parlament de Catalunya la profesora de Pedagogía de la universidad de Lund (Suecia), Inger Enkvist, especialista en la comparación entre sistemas educativos como son el nórdico, el anglosajón, el propio de los países hispánicos, Francia... Comparecía a petición de la comisión para dar su valoración sobre el proyecto de Ley de Educación de Cataluña.

Su intervención fue de altísimo interés por los temas abordados y no me cabe duda de que a todos los docentes les planteará serias reflexiones que derivan de su mirada inteligente, ajena y no partidista sobre cuestiones de la educación en España en comparación con otros modelos educativos. En el enlace da conexión a lo que fue su primera intervención de quince minutos, las réplicas posteriores de los grupos parlamentarios, y su respuesta final de cinco minutos que no tiene desperdicio. Sus intervenciones, así como las de los grupos parlamentarios son en castellano.

ENLACE A LA COMPARECENCIA DE INGER ENKVIST

Destaco, entre otras, algunas ideas apuntadas por la profesora sueca:

La Ley de Educación de Cataluña no corresponde ni da respuestas válidas a los problemas ni a la situación en que se encuentra dicha región europea.

No hace ningún hincapié ni plantea ningún entusiasmo por la calidad de los conocimientos ni por la curiosidad por un mundo futuro. ¿Dónde está ese interés por el conocimiento? Le sobra intención de controlar a los adultos y le falta amor a los niños y el conocimiento.
Es falso el conflicto entre escuela pública y escuela concertada. Para equilibrar esta dicotomía en favor de la enseñanza pública, hay que mejorar la calidad de la pública. "

Pattie Maes & Pranav Mistry: Unveiling the "Sixth Sense," game-changing wearable tech

This is a great TED conference.

Pattie Maes researches the tools we use to work with information and connect with one another.

This demo -- from Pattie Maes' lab at MIT, spearheaded by Pranav Mistry -- was the buzz of TED. It's a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment. Imagine "Minority Report" and then some.

virtually living - a second life blog

A great blog full of tips for newbies in Second Life: http://virtuallyliving.wordpress.com/

About « virtually living - a second life blog:

"I’m Shynee Jewell, a fairly recent resident of Second Life. When I first began exploring Second Life, I kept discovering handy tips, shortcuts and advice from other SecondLifers, so I started to keep a little digital notebook of them… but then I realised how silly it was to keep all that useful info to myself. So I am using this blog as a reference, and hope others might find it useful, too. In addition to tips for newbies (and not-so-new-bies, too!), I am also blogging to keep track of all the places, people and things I discover while exploring this virtual world. I hope you find something useful, interesting or fun while you’re here.

I always wanted to be a food critic, so reviewing things and identifying the ingredients of what makes something successful (or not!) is in my nature. So I’ve decided to rate and review all the places, shops & things to do - as I was already doing so in my little offline notebook, anyway. Every review is on a scale of 1-10, and when I have the time, I’ll be sure to include a breakdown of the features so it’s a more detailed rating."

JavaScript Encryption and Decryption - Instructions

JavaScript Encryption and Decryption - Instructions:

"To put encrypted text in your own site:

1. Add the decryption JavaScript code (see below)
2. Encrypt your text on the encryption page
1. Type the password for the encrypted text in the Key box (be sure to remember the key!)
2. Enter whatever you want to encrypt in the Plain Text box
3. Click Encrypt
3. Copy and paste the code in the HTML Code box into your website or blog"

What's a VoiceThread anyway?

Crying Game

No hay que dejarse chantajear por el llanto de un niño:

Igualdad

Evan Williams on Listening to Twitter Users

Igualdad de Género

Think Before You Post

Piensa Antes de Publicar / Think Before You Post

Los peligros de internet: cuando publicas algo en internet, lo compartes con todo el mundo, incluso con los que no quieres.

Dave Eggers Makes His TED Prize Wish: Once Upon a School

How to Present While People are Twittering | Pistachio

How to Present While People are Twittering | Pistachio:

"People used to whisper to each other or pass hand-scribbled notes during presentations. Now these notes are going digital on Twitter or via conference-provided chat rooms.

Up until now, this back-channel has been mainly confined to the Internet industry and technology conferences. However, a survey of leadership conferences from Weber Shandwick shows that there is a significant increase in blogging and twittering at conferences.

So the next time you present at a conference, instead of being confronted by a sea of faces looking at you, you may be phased by a sea of heads looking down at their laptops. The challenge is how to adapt to presenting with the back-channel."

Taking a Course on Second Life

I've just started a course on Second Life. Second Life has lots of applications in Education and I want to know some more about it.

Some information about Second Life:

Introduction to Second Life:

Introduction to Second life. Meant as an explanation for people from the business world not as familiar with virtual worlds, or second life.

Greater IBM and Second Life Video Introduction:

TOP SECRET. Greater IBM and Second Life Video Introduction. Unique and funny. Seinfeld fans will like it. IBMers, alumni, and everyone, start here!

Intro to Second Life:

A 150-second machinima introduction to the 3D virtual world of Second Life, by Giff Constable (aka Forseti Svarog in SL) of The Electric Sheep Company. http://blogs.electricsheepcompany.com

77 videos on this list about Second Life and Education: I hope you find them useful.