Important URLs

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/01/26/creating-the-21st-century-classroom-3/

This URL is important to me  because today’s mobile technology enables children to have nearly 24-hour media access, and many students are spending close to eight hours per day using entertainment media, according to new research from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Yet, when students enter the typical K-12 classroom, they’re forced to “power down” in order to learn. But it doesn’t have to be that way. And, in a growing number of schools that have embraced 21st-century teaching and learning, it’s not.

Voice amplification systems, digital projectors, document cameras, interactive whiteboards, personal response systems, and other handheld devices; these are among the many technologies that are quickly becoming essential tools for helping 21st-century teachers engage their students’ interest and make learning more interactive.

 

 

http://www.techlearning.com/assessment-&-testing/0034/21st-century-skills-will-our-students-be-prepared/45157

This URL is important because it discuss Learning for the 21st Century, a report from a new public-private coalition known as the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (www.21stcenturyskills.org), articulates a vision of how schools can best prepare students to succeed in the first decades of the 21st century.

 

 

http://newlearninginstitute.org/film-series/a-21st-century education/technology-and-21st-century-learning

This URL has a film that looks specifically at the ways that the latest digital and mobile technologies can potentially transform the ways that young people communicate, collaborate, and learn. Each film looks specifically at the ways in which the latest technologies including the mobile and digital technologies that are at the heart of the Mobile Learning Institute program can potentially transform young people's educational experience. Each leader begins from a personal frame of reference, arguing for the urgency of releasing students from traditional American models of schooling. Each also suggests that the key to transforming contemporary education rests in giving kids the tools to produce, share, and evaluate their own knowledge.

Chapter 1 Definitions

1. Distance education is now often defined as institution-based, formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructors. (Schlosser & Simonson, 2006, p. 1)
2. Distance can mean geographical distance, time distance, and possibly even intellectual distance.
3. Synchronous Distance Learning is satellite, compressed video, and fiber-optic systems are increasingly used for same-time, different-place education.
4. Asynchronous Distance Learning in other words, learners choose when and where to learn and when and where to access instructional materials. Recently, World Wide Web courses have been offered to learners anywhere they have access and whenever they choose.
5. Tele- means “at a distance,” so in its simplest form.
6. Telemedicine refers to medicine at a distance.
7. Telelaw refers to law at a distance.
8. Internet Protocol the rules used to send information over the Internet.
9. Diploma Mill has the following characteristics: no classrooms, untrained or nonexistent faculties, and unqualified administrators with profit as their primary motivation (Noble, Schneiderman, Herman, Agre, & Denning, 1998).
10. Remote Consultation is the most common telemedicine application and what most refer to when they use the term telemedicine. This application implies one health care provider seeking the advice of a professional colleague or subspecialist to resolve a patient’s problem.
11. Remote Monitoring is a longstanding application where the most common use is to access a patient’s vital signs at a distance using telecommunications technologies.
12. Remote Education is increasingly important as the geographically concentrated expertise of a medical unit is redistributed to isolated practicing professionals and professionals in training.

 

 

 

 

Important URLs

IMPORTANT URLs




http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=2684543
This URL is important to me because it talks about the challenge of technology, introductory remarks on knowledge, learning, and teaching, the role of media and technology in education, a framework for selecting and using technology, the organization of teaching with technology, Planning for teaching with technology, approaches to the design of technology-based learning, course development and maintenance, supporting technology-based learning, change and stability in teaching with technology and Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education; how it draws on current research and best practice to show how to integrate technology into teaching in higher education. It provides a comprehensive theoretical and pedagogical foundation for helping instructors make critical decisions about the use of technology within curriculum. This practical and much needed resource discusses the relationship between knowledge, learning, teaching, and the nature of media, and shows how this information should inform the use of technology in a teaching environment. The authors introduce a decision model that is based on key criteria for selecting appropriate technologies for teaching in higher education. They also provide guidance for developing and delivering a course using electronic technology and discuss the organizational and technical support structures that are needed to back up instructors using technology.






http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=3632132
This URL starts off with an Introduction: It's TIME: technology integrated into meaningful learning experiences. It describe varies attributes of meaningful learning using technology and provides teaching for meaningful learning with new technologies. It has suggesting for WISE teachers: using technology and inquiry for science instruction. It displays curriculum-focused professional development: addressing the barriers to inquiry pedagogy in urban classrooms and allows you to see the meaning "hidden" in history and social studies teaching. It maps the terrain for meaningful learning using technology in social studies. It defines technology and teaching: a new kind of knowledge.






http://blog.simplek12.com/education/technology-21st-century-classroom/
This URL had an articles that engage students while considering the role of technology in the 21st Century Classroom. It discusses the process of adopting new technology into the classroom. I believe technology assists in developing all of these characteristics. As opposed to viewing new technology as a threat to the classroom environment, educators and schools must embrace technology and use it to enhance the learning experience. Educators using and integrating current technology tools in their learning curriculum are better preparing their students for higher education and the everyday workforce.

Chapter 2 Definitions

• Distance Education as institution-based, formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructors.
• Telecommunications is defined as “communicating at a distance.”
• Open Learning is a new way of looking at education in a quickly changing and diverse world. He indicates that distance education and open learning are two distinct approaches to education.
• Virtual is defined as something quasi, or pseudo. Virtual is often a potential state that at some time might become “actual.”
• Virtual School tends to be used most often in K–12 education.
• Marco Factors in this area of education there was a need to describe and define the field, to discriminate between the various components of the field, and to identify the critical elements of the various forms of learning and teaching.
• Theory is taken to mean a set of hypotheses logically related to one another in explaining and predicting occurrences.
• The Foundations of Distance Education, Keegan (1996) classified theories of distance education into three groups:
  1. Theories of independence and autonomy
  2. Theories of industrialization of teaching
  3. Theories of interaction and communication
• Independent Study distance education at the college or university level. Charles Wedemeyer believed that outdated concepts of learning and teaching were being employed, and that they failed to utilize modern technologies in ways that could alter the institution.
• Guided Didactic Conversation falls into the general category of communication theory. Holmberg (1985) noted that his theory had explanatory value in relating teaching effectiveness to the impact of feelings of belonging and cooperation as well as to the actual exchange of questions, answers, and arguments in mediated communication.

 

 

Positive Reflections

http://passionforlearningandteaching.blogspot.ca/
Parent Tech Night was a great blog. Parents joined and learned how to use technology in innovative ways to enhance their child’s literacy program. They had an opportunity to learn from their child and see how tech allows for the creation of new tasks previously unimaginable. This hands-on networking session, showed parents how the apps that the teacher used to promote creativity, opportunities for differentiated learning, personalized learning and collaboration with the world. Parents had an opportunity to discovered how throughout the day, technology is embedded in their child’s learning in a meaningful way.
Kinder Twitter Night was a success too! Kindergarten parents and children were invited to join in to learn all about one of the most popular social media on the planet: Twitter! Their child shared with them how they use Twitter in the classroom and also helped them set up a Twitter account.

http://edupln.ning.com/video/teaching-in-the-21st-century

This is a wonderful presentation. It really helps teachers get their head           around the 21st century concept. This hits many of the challenges we are facing as we move toward and the changes due in teaching.

 

http://www.edutopia.org/reinvent-assessment-21st-century
The 21 century technology in the classroom. I believe that students beneficiate a lot of a lesson that used technology as a tool of learning. We need to prepare them to go to a 21 century world that operates everything with technology and changes very quickly. Mixing the curriculum, time, and technology is the challenge. It is very interesting to have projects that include picture taking, videos, mp3, and research. All these activities need more time and it is hard to finish some of the requirements in a school year as it is. I believe that the assessments need to be change but until then we can start with little steps.

 

http://www.21things4teachers.net/index.html
Building educator skills will help students upgrade their own skills through modeling, and the inclusion of technology helps brings learning to a global level as it builds 21st century learners. Everyone plays a role in online learning, and the successful launch of an online experience involves being knowledgeable about all aspects of online learning.

 

http://teacherofthe21stcentury.blogspot.com/
Problem solving is definitely a 21st century skill and allowing our students to struggle a little when trying to figure something out is okay (this isn't only true of technology, but anything). When technology fails encourage your students to figure it out on their own and allow them to fail.

 

http://teaching21c.blogspot.com/
I enjoyed the being creative with your photos. Whether you and your students are into scrapbooking or digital storytelling or just having fun with photos and video and audio, that application is worth investigating.

 

Advatages and Disadvantages on Distance Education Technologies

ADVANTAGES OF DISTANCE EDUCATION TECHNOLOGIES

Freedom & adaptability

Irrespective of the medium or channels used in delivery, one of the greatest benefits of distance education centers on its individualized approach. Whether you are accessing the inputs of knowledge by means of post or online process; the connection is developed between you and the course material. This accessibility gives you better freedom to deal with your study material. You can choose and have the learning process thrashed out according to your convenience, as most distance learning methods are flexible involving little or no involvement of fixed schedule.

Self-motivation

Due to the imposing absence of a traditional teacher, as a student you learn to motivate yourself, when the learning environment comes under your control. The development of the streak of self motivation is also an important aspect of your growth. The self directed aspect of distance learning method in turn helps cultivate this streak.

Flexibility of choice

If you are a part of the traditional learning system, you need to follow the set schedule of a given course or curriculum. But with the availability of distance education, you can come back to the learning process even after being cut off from the regular learning scheme. It gives you a greater flexibility to opt for a course of study even after long spells of separation.

Better accessibility

In case, you are separated from mainstream education because of distance, time and other relevant reasons. You can fall back upon distance education on merit of its accessibility. If you go for the online learning method, you only need to have a computer with an internet connection. Similarly if you choose for a correspondence course as one of tools of distance education, you need to ensure connection by means of postal delivery. This aspect of accessibility helps you to continue education despite being professionally employed.

You can earn as well as learn

For those employed and in need for professional advancement, distance education is particularly beneficial. For the advancement of qualification, you need not give up your job. The adaptability of distance education will help accommodate both learning & learning.
Saves time & money
You need not travel across to a new region or country for availing of the benefits of a course. You can have it accessed by means of online method of distance learning. This not only saves time but also cuts down on financial expense. Moreover, most courses offered as part of distance learning method are cheaper than their regular counterpart.

DISADVANTAGES OF DISTANCE EDUCATION TECHNOLOGIES

Absence of a teacher/instructor

Freedom involved in distance learning may prove to be beneficial for some, but harmful for many. In the absence of a teacher or a guide, you may find yourself left between devil and the deep sea while handling the course material. You will need to rely solely on your grasping power. So for students lacking in respect of independent study, distance education is not a preferable idea.

Absence of a proper learning environment

Ambience or feel of the campus helps improve learning standard. It also has a role or two to play in respect of adding to the learner's strength. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the distinctive drawback of distance learning method because neither can it generate the campus spirit nor can it cultivate a proper class room situation.

Lack of motivation

If you are one of those needing constant cheer and jeer, it is better not to opt for distance education because you will awfully miss the source providing the same. Having embarked upon a distance learning course, there will be none to coax and cajole you into realizing your target. You will have to motivate yourself.

Cannot generate as an alternate learning method

Distance education is often dependent on the use and development of high class skills and technology. So for learners lacking in the knowledge of them, it can't provide an alternate solution. Moreover, neither can it evolve as a permanent learning method for learners of all age and kinds. Student depend on the same needs maturity, acumen and self learning temperament.