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The Daily Round Up - June 12th, 2013

6/12/2013

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Welcome back!  And settle in, because we've got a long one today!  First up, Audrey Watters at Hack Education has an excellent new article on "Data, Surveillance, and Teaching Machines."  Watters discusses the recent NSA news and the student data collecting which is currently being done by companies like inBloom.  She's raises the important questions that should be asked here like "Who decides what is appropriate" and "Who actually has oversight over all this?"


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Emerging Ed Tech has a new post on "The Evolving Use of Badges in Education."  For those not familiar, badges are "visual representations of a skill or achievement" and can be quite motivating, even when they're only digital.  The article discusses how virtual rewards are beginning to displace costly physical rewards and what that means for education.


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Lisa Nielsen at The Innovative Educator has a great new article discussing "Where Does World-Changing Fit into the #CCSS?"  Nielsen discusses the disconnect between making schools a place where you can inspire "world-changing" all year round, but still have a place for the Common Core Standards.  It's a great read and Nielsen covers a variety of awesome organizations aimed at getting students to help change the world.


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Getting Smart has a new post entitled, "Scapbook Showcases a Year of Gains for Virtual Learning."  The post is in response to PublicSchoolOptions.org's report on virtual learning from last week.  The report shows that "State by state, more parents are gaining the option to send their child to a full-time public virtual school."  The scrapbook has a collection of stories and schools from all across the US, showcasing virtual learning.


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Free Tech 4 Teachers has four new posts up from today, all of which are excellent resources worth checking out:
  • Create Magazines with Flipboard (great tool!)
  • Share Ideas for Using Padlet (also a great tool!)
  • StoryToolz - Writing Prompts and More
  • Coffee Time Edu - Ed Tech Tutorial Videos


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Edudemic has a new article discussing "How the 'Library for All' Project May Revolutionize Learning in Developing Countries."  For children growing up in developing countries, having access to books and library materials is many times a complete impossibility.  The goal of Library for All is to "harness the power of technology and mobile phone networks...to give low-cost access to a digital library" for these children across the world.  Check out the Kickstarter for more.

Edudemic also has a write up on "The Great Wall of Awesome" which is "an online space that aims to enhance what you are doing as an educator and facilitate the rich learning of your students."  The goal of the project is to have teachers share one great experience from each week so that over time, the wall of awesome becomes enormous and... well... awesome.  


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Wesley Fryer at Moving at the Speed of Creativity has a new guide on how to "Create a Narrated Slideshow on an iPad with Haiku Deck and Explain Everything."  In the post, he provides a complete walkthrough on how a student can use this combination of apps to create an awesome (and self-narrated) presentation.  Both are great tools and worth checking out if you're not familiar.


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Keely Tenkely over at iLearn Technology is back with a guide to using "Evernote as an ePortfolio: Postachi.io, Voice2Note, StudyBlue."  In the article Tenkely reviews several new add-on apps to Evernote (Evernote is a software suite that helps you store notes, pictures, ideas, pretty much everything).  Tenkely also discusses how a teacher could use these apps to create an awesome, digital, ePortfolio. 


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Ed Reach has a new write-up on "Boundless: Disrupting the Textbook Industry."  The article discusses the current problems with the textbook industry (over 80% of the market is controlled by the top 5 publishers) and introduces an alternative: Boundless.  The goal of Boundless is to create low-cost, high-quality digital textbooks from the best open sources on the internet.  If only this had been around when I was an undergraduate...


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And, of course, we have our daily post about Gamification with Teach Thought's article on "Game-Based Learning is Probably Worth Looking Into." It's an excellent write up on the basics of game-based learning, the hidden-learning that can be embedded within games, and the potential drawbacks of using game-based learning.

Teach Thought also has an interesting read on "The Jarring Collision Between Digital Screens and Close Reading."  The article discusses the importance of "deep reading" and not just clicking from link to link in an endless loop, hyperlinking ourselves to death.  There are some incredibly important points to consider in the article and it's definitely worth your time, especially for reading and language educators.

And Teach Thought also has a brief discussion over a "Diagram of 21st Century Pedagogy."  I've embedded the image below and you can check out the article for a short conversation (you can click for the full-size image).

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If you've been reading the Round Up for a while, you know Jamie Forshey at EduTech for Teachers is a big fan of ThingLink (a tool used to creative interactive/hyperlinked images).  In her post today, "Introducing a Multimedia Mash-Up Masterpiece" Forshey discusses using Thinglink, Animoto, and InstaPlace to create a class project from a recent field trip.  Check out the post for some great ideas!


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And...Finally...If my fingers can keep typing...We've got three new posts from Educational Technology
  • An Infographic on Games vs. Gamification
  • 5 Great Web Tools for Creating Online Quizzes
  • 3 New Video Tools for Teachers


We made it!  What a Round Up!  I'm outta here until tomorrow and if you missed my review from earlier today on Soo Meta, it's a great application  for creating flipped lessons and worth checking out!
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The Daily Round Up - June 11th

6/11/2013

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Today the Round Up begins at Getting Smart with an article entitled, "New Tools for Next-Gen Schools from NGLC & iNACOL."  The article is basically a brief summary of the new 30 page "toolkit" released by iNACOL and NGLC to help teachers navigate blended and competency-based learning.  If you've got an hour this week, the full report is definitely worth a read, especially if you're looking for new ideas and resources to help implement technology in your classroom, school, or district.


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The Daily Round Up - June 10th

6/10/2013

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Today we start over at User Generated Education with Dr. Gerstein's fabulous post on "Education 3.0"  In the article, Gerstein describes the importance of developing an Ed 3.0 environment where students are creators of content and where learning is more self directed.  She also provides a great timeline on how education, ed tech, and the role of the teacher have changed over the past few decades.  Plus much, much more, definitely check out the when you have a minute.


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The Weekend Round Up - June 9th

6/9/2013

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Welcome back!  I hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing weekend!  Last Thursday I wrote a little bit about Obama's announcement of the new ConnectEd program.  If you haven't heard yet, the program's goal is to bring high speed internet to 99% of America's students, as well as provide funds for teacher technology PD.  For all the details and logistics, Edudemic has a new article from the weekend.

Edudemic also has a new article on "Teacher-Led Professional Learning: The Latest Revolution in Education."  All around the country teachers are teaching their peers through twitter, google, and edcamps.  It's absolutely awesome to see all these educators putting in so much time to help others, and I'm glad to see this has become a growing trend in education.

Finally Edudemic has a post entitled, "EdX Wants YOU To Improve their Online Learning Platform."  edX is one of the newest and largest MOOCs (massive open online course).  The organization offers an enormous variety of high quality online courses for free.  And now, they've released their site's source code to the internet in an effort to get educators, programmers, and computer scientists involved in improving the quality of their user experience.


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The Daily Round Up - June 6th, 2013

6/6/2013

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Happy Friday-eve!  Today's Round Up begins at Free Technology for Teachers with some succinct advice on "Protecting Devices in 1:1 Programs."  In the post, Byrne argues that one of the major causes of damage to laptops, netbooks, or tablets is student neglect.  Schools and teachers need to enforce policies that require students to be responsible for their new technology to ensure that damage does not occur.

Next up, Free Tech has a short review of a new online game, "Play Thingdom and Learn About Genetics."  Produced by the London Science Museum, Thingdom is an online game that helps students learn about genetics.  In the game, students select a "thing" and then try to find a way to create that "thing" by selecting various traits.  The game is part of a larger exhibit called Who Am I?  that uses animations, videos, and text to teach students about genetics.

Free Tech also an article covering "30 Free Teacher PD Courses."  The post talks about Coursera and their new collection of Professional Development Courses.  All the classes are free and they cover a wide range of topics from the foundations of education to integrating art and inquiry into your curriculum.

Finally, Free Tech has a short review of PAT, a "Free, Open Source, Portable Atlas."  Developed by Ian Macky, PAT is a collection of free maps which include every country in the world.  The collection is an excellent resource for social studies and history teachers in need of high-quality maps.


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The Daily Round Up - June 5th, 2013

6/5/2013

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Welcome to the Round Up!  Today we begin at T.H.E. Journal with a new article outlining the "6 Technology Challenges Facing Education."  I posted a recent editorial over this topic as well , but their article also discusses the unique challenges posed by MOOCs and the failures of personalized learning.  The article is in response to a new report from the New Media Consortium and does an excellent job summarizing the main points and ideas.


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The Daily Round Up - June 4th, 2013

6/4/2013

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Welcome back to the Round Up! Today we'll start over at Teach Thought with a post about "Teachers and Social Media: Finding Your Comfort Zone."  For those teachers who are just beginning to break the social media ice, this is an excellent article to start with. The post covers some basic resources on social media tools and advice on how to get started. 

Next up, if you haven't yet heard of the new service Vine, or considered how it could be used educationally, then check out "What Is Vine and What's It Doing In My Classroom?"  Basically, Vine is twitter but for videos, really short 6-second videos, but videos nonetheless.  The article goes further in depth and offers some suggestions for integration.

Finally, Teach Thought has a repost of a Getting Smart article from a few weeks back, "10 Significant Trends in Education and Online Learning."  If you didn't catch it the first time around, it's your lucky day!


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The Daily Round Up - June 3rd, 2013

6/3/2013

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Today the Round Up begins at Ed Tech Magazine, with "The 2013 Honor Roll: EdTech's Must Read K-12 IT Blogs"  proudly featuring... The Ed Tech Round Up!  A special thanks to Mr. Ricky Ribeiro for including this site on the list.  Aside from the Round Up, there is an excellent collection of sites and blogs from teachers, administrators, writers, technologists, and students.  


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The Weekend Round Up - June 1st & 2nd, 2013

6/2/2013

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Welcome back!  I hope everyone is in the middle of a relaxing weekend or, AT THE START OF SUMMER BREAK!  Woo!  Today's Round Up starts off with tons of new content from Edudemic.  First, "How Technology Inspires Creativity in the Classroom."  This post is mainly for those teachers who remain unconvinced that technology can be anything more than a distraction in the classroom, but it also has some useful tips for those teachers who are comfortable with tech as well.

And on the flip-side, we've got "The 4 Negative Side Effects of Technology."  This post considers how the rapid acceptance and integration of technology into our lives and classrooms is not always a good thing.  They discuss how technology can, when improperly used, lead to elevated exasperation, deteriorated patience, declining writing skills, and a lack of physical interactivity.  These issues are incredibly important for educators to keep in mind when encouraging classroom technology use.

Next up, Edudemic has an article on "Why Urban Students Have a Learning Advantage."  I think it goes without saying that many urban schools are often faced with enormous disadvantages in funding, resources, and teachers; however, this article argues that "what urban children have by the boatload is grit." The post goes on to outline how the "courage and persistence" that is prevalent in many urban schools will be exactly what will "help our nation prosper int he 21st century."

Edudemic continues with ideas on "5 Ways to Really Connect with Online Students."  This post emphasizes the importance of being engaging and available, assigning group work, providing timely feedback, and developing a personal connection.  When teachers forget these principles, online learning can quickly become a hollow, unrewarding experience.

Plus, Edudemic also has a new write-up comparing "South Korea vs U.S. Education."  I actually spent two years teaching in South Korea, and I'll have an editorial up soon about my personal experiences with their education system (or you can check out my old blog posts), but this particular article examines the results of Person's new global report on education.  The main difference they found was that in SK parents spend around 25% of their income to supplement their children's education with private classes, tutors, and learning materials.  

Finally, Edudemic closes with three new infograhpics:
  • How (And Why) Schools Are Encouraging Social Media Use
  • 18 Things to Know About Education in the U.S.
  • A Visual Guiide to Staying Safe on Social Media


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