Koondis works in traditional large introductory lecture classrooms, blended classes and fully online courses that often are filled with students enrolled from various disciplines who are required to be there for their majors.
Described as a “social homework system,” a “discussion forum that puts students in small groups” and even a replacement for the campus learning management system, Koondis is showing great promise as a pill for student satisfaction.
The idea is that Koondis eliminates the need for teachers to read all of the posts. The program even counts posts for the instructor for grading purposes, and alertsthe faculty member to do follow-up when a student isn’t participating.
When it comes to downloading digital music, there is free and then there is legal, but seldom can you have both from the same site, and make money too.
MOOC promoters continually claim that their products provide technologies that have never appeared in face-to-face classrooms. While I don’t disagree that my courses have lacked fun ways to draw molecules (because I teach in the humanities), I do find their insistence that traditional higher ed lacks technological advances to be odd. If you took the MOOC prophets seriously, it would seem that all real-time professors do is lecture to bored students. – See more at: https://chroniclevitae.com/news/768-teaching-and-the-university-of-tomorrow#sthash.RuCJxbAU.dpuf
What I believe Kelly Backer [intentionally?] misses to say is that MOOC claims to be progressive, meaning “a new mode/model” of teaching, but it relays on the old (from medieval times) values: the attempt to put “skin in the game” or pay for certificates, fails, since, according to Backer, the employers don’t care about those certificates. It is not sufficient to “move” the teaching process in the “future,” if the evaluation process remains in the medieval terms.
possibilities for a formal Renaissance-Man-Liberal-Arts education remain limited to the elite. The average, or common, student is encouraged to choose majors and institutions that track into a specialized vocation.
MincraftEDU and SimCityEDU provide flexible options for integrating familiar games with traditional classroom curriculum.
The ability to apply knowledge across disciplines is important, but it is not enough. It is important to combine that knowledge with strong social and emotional skills that serve as the foundation for good citizenship in the 21st Century.
in the latest news about scandals regarding technology acquisition for schools, it is only fair to ask ourselves: how much involved do we WANT/NEED to be in the decision making process regarding such timely issue. How much do we need to educate ourselves on 1. technology? 2. application of technology in education? compatible choices of technology, including performance, prices and brands? Do we discuss such issues or just let people above us and/or elected by us make the choices? What is your opinion?
What is your opinion about open source and alternative mobile devices?
This past week, I had the privilege of introducing US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, as a guest moderator for #edtechchat, an educational Twitter chat that I founded with four members of my personal learning network (PLN). Over the course of 60 minutes, almost 2,000 people from around the world, shared about 10,000 tweets in response to the Secretary’s six questions related to being a Connected Educator. Secretary Duncan (@arneduncan) and his Office of Educational Technology (@officeofedtech) deemed October “Connected Educator’s Month” for the second straight year. To close #ce13, Secretary Duncan used the #edtechchat forum to engage in conversation with educators from all over the world.
In reflecting on the chat, many people asked how to get started, and how to possibly follow such a quick flow of information. For one, 10,000 tweets in an hour is by no means typical; but then again, neither is the opportunity to interact with the US Secretary of Education. Although this particular chat with the Secretary may be an extreme example of what possibilities can arise when connecting with others online, each week there are over 160 chats that occur. Virtually all topics are covered in some fashion. Whether you’re a 4th grade teacher (#4thchat) in Maryland (#mdedchat), a principal (#cpchat) in Arkansas (#arkedchat), a new teacher (#ntchat) in Rhode Island (#edchatri), or a parent (#ptchat) connecting on a Saturday (#satchat), there’s something for you.
Start small. Choose a chat that peaks your interest. Lurk, listen, and learn. When you’re ready, jump in head first. Grow your PLN and get connected through a Twitter chat this week! Your students will benefit.
