blogs

How do I use Posterous for education?

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:15:10 +0100

When choosing any "sharing platform" educators need something powerful and flexible yet easy to use from the practitioner down to the student/learner level.

Why does Posterous shine in an education setting? This "How do I..." blog post provides a few reasons...

Take a look and have a read at http://howdoi.posterous.com/how-do-i-use-posterous-for-education.

Recollections of a career in film

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:27:59 +0100

For those looking for first-hand experience of the early days of documentary film making and/or are engaged in Media Studies or 20th Century history, then Terence Gallacher's Blog is "a must look at".

On October 1st 1945, Terry walked through the front door of British Movietonews at 22 Soho Square to start a career in the news and documentary film business. He had been offered £2. 10s. 0d per week, which he accepted; fifty-six years later, he retired.

The blog is a regular series of articles on documentary film making and, at the time of writing this, the website has articles and images covering the following categories...

1930s (7)
1940s (13)
1950s (26)
1960s (33)
1970s (9)
1980s (4)
ABC (17)
British Movietonews (32)

and many more.

Find out more by visiting http://terencegallacher.wordpress.com/.

Although not very old, I was in the crowd for this posting http://terencegallacher.wordpress.com/2011/06/03/the-coronation-1953/.

Is Social Media Ruining Students? - Edudemic

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 13:34:45 +0100

...are students more or less distracted because of the Internet? Does social media help or hurt learners?

Some interesting info-graphics that are well worth a closer look...

Visit http://edudemic.com/2011/04/social-media-students/ to read the full article and/or to view the info-graphics.

36 Tools to Digitise Activities

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 21:37:26 +0100

Nik Peachey has created a document showing 36 different ways practitioners can use web based tools to enhance the things they do in a learning environment and make learners assignment options more interesting and communicative.

View Nik's publication at http://www.scribd.com/doc/53030128/36-Tools-for-Digitising-your-ELT-Course-Book.

Note: Presentation slides are available at: 36Tools for Digitising Your Coursebook

Using the Four Types of Feedback Effectively

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 18:14:54 +0100

When you deliver feedback it should be balanced. This statement suggests that practitioners should strive to give learners a balance of positive and negative feedback.

This Blog entry points out that there isn't just two types of feedback, there is in fact four...

Negative feedback;

Positive feedback;

Negative feedforward; and

Positive feedforward.

Visit http://bit.ly/dYtzmd to read the full article about five balancing strategies to help practitioners use the four types of feedback in a way to help learners to improve performance.

"I'm not an idiot!" – A Letter from an Agonized Adult Learner

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:48:35 +0100

Thank you Stephanie Dedhar for 'Tweeting' this link...

"Next time, try engaging my mind rather than my fingers" - I, like Stephanie, also love this 'letter from an agonized adult learner' posted by Geeta Bose.

Visit http://geetabose.blogspot.com/2011/03/im-not-idiot-letter-from-agonized-adult.html to read the full blog post.

The Whiteboard Blog

Sun, 06 Mar 2011 19:12:29 +0100

The Whiteboard Blog is produced by Danny Nicholson, a freelance educational consultant and PGCE science lecturer.

He informs us that his main speciality is the use of Interactive Whiteboards, but is also interested in lots of different bits of technology that are now being used in the learning environment.

Interactive whiteboards (IWBs) are popular with learning providers because they're a big symbol of technology. Unfortunately, they're often installed without providing a budget to teach users how to use them effectively. That's where Danny Nicholson's "The Whiteboard Blog" comes to the rescue.

In The Whiteboard Blog visitors will find dozens of video tutorials and printable help sheets; both providing help for those wanting to learn how to use an IWB and develop lessons.

Visit http://www.whiteboardblog.co.uk/ to access IWB support.

4 Big Ideas That Will Change The World Of Training

Sun, 27 Feb 2011 21:13:44 +0100

"The field of training doesn't change quickly. Even though technological innovation occurs at rapid speed and new learning theories emerge from cognitive research, large and entrenched training organizations move like slow dinosaurs."

This blog entry looks at...

Connectivism;

Collaborative Learning;

Situated Learning;

Informal Learning;

Read the full article at http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning2-0/big-ideas-that-will-change-training/.

Recording Skype: eAssessment potential

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 17:41:33 +0100

VoIP-Sol.com, based in the UK, is an independent blog covering the VoIP market, web 2.0 and related technologies.

The main focus of the blog is to provide impartial reviews on phones and services as well as offering insightful comparisons.

Two posts are worth a closer look, especially those learning providers who are using, or considering using, Skype for improved communication and/or remote observations /assessments/job knowledge interviews/etc.

15 Apps for Recording Skype Conversations http://bit.ly/fmlOX5; and

The Best Tools to Record Skype Video Calls http://bit.ly/fxACay.

Why not take a look at their home page at http://www.voip-sol.com/.

Every Teacher's Must-Have Guide To Facebook

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 10:38:51 +0100

In their words...

"You can't swing a stick in social media without hitting something on Facebook. Same goes for education. You can't talk about how technology is revolutionizing education without mentioning Facebook. It's a simple service to figure out but what about once you become a regular user?"

This blog post includes...

Bernadette Rego's Facebook setup guide with a teacher-centric focus; hosted on Scribd;
A YouTube Clip on "How to (Not) Suck @ Facebook;
Some DON'Ts and DOs; downloadable as pdfs;
Types of people to avoid on Facebook; I particularly like this section and can put a name to each one; and
Important Resources and Recent News

Read the full blog post at http://edudemic.com/2011/01/every-teachers-must-have-guide-to-facebook/.