I've designed a course for the North West Service Coop called (tentatively) "The 20 Apps and Sites I Couldn't Teach Without." Twitter is high on that list, so when I saw how college professors are using Twitter in their classes I was very interested.
I really like the idea of live question and answer sessions. I think that has real potential for high school teachers as well.
The idea of personal branding is also interesting. By having a blog, for example, that perspective employees can share with employers, which has a live Twitter feed on it that actually contains professional and informative tweets goes a long way to showing how passionate one is about their profession.
Finally, this didn't make the list but it's one of the reasons I use Twitter, building relationships. Over 15 years of teaching, today's learners learn at their own pace and on their own time. That didn't happen in my generation. Once the bell rang, my mind shifted from school mode to free time mode. I struggled late in the evening to get it to shift back to school mode so I could get some homework done. But this current generation (believe it or not) doesn't think like that. Twitter helps them stay in contact with teachers and ask questions or state ideas any time they want. Same way if I see something that reminds me of a discussion we're having in class or a topic a student is writing about, I'll tweet them a link or picture. It makes them know that I'm thinking about them and their work. That helps cement the relationship these millennials crave in their schooling.
Annotexting
Ah, the world of the millennials. Isn't it amazing? Annotating - in my day - meant actually writing in the book. Maybe using a Post-It note.
But not anymore, thanks to what is called 'annotexting':
Annotexting is a process that involves the collection of thoughts, observations and reactions to reading that show evidence of critical thought. These annotations, rather than being on paper, can be collected with different web tools so that students can collaborate, both locally and globally,around the conclusions that they will ultimately draw from their reading.
Students submit their annotations via their smart phones or other digital devices, and then analyze each other’s notations collectively. They could be looking for main ideas, thematic and literary elements, or big ideas from the work. They could be looking for evidence of connections to other texts, their own experiences, or world issues. They could simply be searching for meaning to support them when reading complex texts.
In addition, students could reflect on the collective evidence as a metacognitive activity to assess their own learning. Perhaps the collaborative exercise raised new questions for them or offered them new ways of thinking about the text. Perhaps there is something else the
student wants or needs to know?
How cool does that sound? Just imagine if we're reading "Young Goodman Brown" in College Comp at the same time as an American Lit class is reading it at a university. Using this approach, we could share ideas and commentary.
Or we could contact a local author about a piece she/he had written and then mark it up as a class and share it with him/her to see their reactions.
Here is an example of an online discussion via corkboard me using sticky-notes to talk about William Blake's "Tyger, Tyger."
What a flat world it has become!
Since I'm helping administer the state writing test today, I thought this link was pretty spot on!
http://astore.amazon.com/constructivistconsortium-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=33
Life Lessons Learned from Gaming.
I love this. We all hear the video games create violent individuals. But as a colleague of mine is quick to state whenever he has a chance, "we live in the safest time in human history. Ever."
Just think what "The Greatest Generation" had to take part in during World War II (and they had no video games to make them violent): storming the beach at Normandy or Iwo Jima, taking part in a bombing mission (taking out churches and hospitals and schools) with literally a thousand plans darkening the sky, dropping the atomic bomb . . . TWICE.
Yet, they were able to save the world from the Nazis and still return home and help make this country into a world leader . . . and they never whined or complained about it. Oh yeah, and they ended up living a more fruitful and wealthy life than they could ever have imagined!
Yet, they didn't have video games.
So how do video games make this generation violent? They don't. It's just the older generation not understanding an obsession of the younger generation (kind of like rock and roll).
Plus, as one who grew up with an Atari system in my home (and later a Ninendo and SEGA Genesis), the mental effort it required to win at PONG or even Space Invaders is minimal compared to what it takes to endure Skyrim or Mass Effect.
Why can't more schools be like this Blue School?
How often does this exercise or type of learning even occur at high schools?
So young children at the Blue School learn about what has been called "the amygdala hijack" - what happens to their brains when they flip out. Teachers try to get children into a "toward state," in which they are open to new ideas. Periods of reflection are built into the day for students and teachers alike, because reflection helps executive function - the ability to process information in an orderly way, focus on tasks and exhibit self-control. Last year, the curriculum guide was amended to include the term "meta-cognition": the ability to think about thinking.
And how much fun would developing an assignment like this be? (as opposed to sitting still in your seat and listening to a teacher drone on and on and on . . .)
Teachers ask questions but rarely offer answers, instead helping students learn from one another. "Learning is not an individual act," David Kelly, the school's director of curriculum, said. "It's a social act."
In November, Shanon Greenfield asked her first graders what they wanted to study. Sharks and leaves each developed a strong following. Over weeks of discussion, the students decided they should go to an aquarium to learn more about one of the topics they had picked. Ms. Greenfield posted a road map for their research. What do they know? What do they want to know? How will they find it out?
The students set goals: Pick an aquarium, figure out how to get there, plan what to do while there and afterward. By mid-January, they were pondering transportation options: school bus (free) or ferry (one student thought it was most direct). They set a deadline for the trip, and in February visited the New York Aquarium in Coney Island - by bus.
"The end goal is not facts about sharks," Ms. Greenfield said. "It's not to recreate anything. The end goal is the process."
12 Most Critical Reasons Students Need to have a Clean On-Line Presence
The title says it all. While these millennials are great to have in class, they rarely hesitate to think about what they share instantaneously on the internet. And it can really cost them down the road. This is one reason employers are now asking perspective employees to cough up their Facebook passwords during the interview process.
Scary? Yes. An invasion of privacy? Maybe. But what boss or CEO wants to invest their money in an employee who blatantly bashes every other former employee on Twitter? Or who shamelessly airs their dirty laundry about their exes on Facebook?
This is my favorite quote from the article - and one we all can learn from:
10. What you say on social media sites should reflect the REAL you
If you won’t say it face to face, don’t type it, post it, or tweet it. You are YOU, no matter how much you may desire to be someone else. The internet is a wonderful way to gain knowledge and make connections. Find positive people and learn from them!
The is still such a thing as privacy. But not when you put it on-line. This current generation will learn that lesson the hard way.
And here is an example of someone who was fired before their first day of work for something they put on their blog.
Keep a Creativity Notebook.
I couldn't agree more. The margins and fronts and backs of dozens of books I've kept on my bedside table over the years have notes scribbled in them. Fragments of dreams. Ideas that struck me while I was about to fall asleep. Titles of stories I'd like to write. Ideas for lessons and assignments. It's all ripe with potential. If not now . . . maybe someday down the road.
I love this comic
Source: gocomics.com via Larry on Pinterest
No comments:
Post a Comment