The culmination of my quest for more powerful learning grounded in theory and research came when recently I conducted an experiment in pushing constructionism into the digital age.
Constructionism is based on two types of construction. First, it asserts that learning is an active process, in which people actively construct knowledge from their experience in the world. People don’t get ideas; they make them. This aspect of construction comes from the constructivist theory of knowledge development by Jean Piaget. To Piaget’s concept, Papert added another type of construction, arguing that people construct new knowledge with particular effectiveness when they are engaged in constructing personally meaningful products.
Imagine my surprise and joy when I realized that I had arrived at constructionism prior to knowing that such a theory even existed. I believe that thousands of other educators are unknowingly working within the constructionist paradigm as well. Although many within the Maker movement are aware that it has it’s roots in constructionism, the movement is gaining impressive momentum without the majority of Makers realizing that there is a strong theoretical foundation behind their work.
After I came to understand this connection between my practices and the supporting theoretical framework I was better able to focus and refine my practice. Even more importantly, I felt more confident and powerful in forging ahead with further experiments in the learning situations I design for my learners.
Download Ghostery, free for any browser and on mobile, here: www.ghostery.com/download. Ghostery shows you the invisible tracking going on as you browse the ...
We've heard of the term 'digital footprints' where companys track your movements around the web. Check out and download this eye-opening Ghostery video free. Ghostery will track all the 'ghosts' that follow you. Look at the video to see how this simple web app does it. The web stalker that I am, I need to erase some of those digital footprints. Mek we go (Let's go) check it it out now.
One way to design a transfer task is to imagine what someone in “the real world” might do with that knowledge and skill – what kind of work would they be doing?
Then, build a plausible scenario where students can be in those roles, and/or make it real by having their final product, thinking, and ideas shared with an authentic audience.
The Syrian Electronic Army has hacked Viber, and published information about its users.
The notorious Syrian Electronic Army has claimed credit for an attack against the free phonecall and texting app, which has seen Viber’s Support and Knowledgebase website commandeered by the hacking group, and private data about users published on the web.
All of these sites focus on learning and curation, but could one of them really be the "Pinterest of education"?
As one of the fastest-growing social networks, Pinterest's popularity can be attributed to its ease of use and vibrant Pinboards. Recently, a number of similar social curation sites developed specifically for students and teachers have popped up, emulating Pinterest in key ways while focusing on learning. In some cases, they have even made improvements.
Here are five such sites that could be contenders for the title "Pinterest of Education"
“Blended learning is about engaging students in ===> deeper learning <===,” says Ron Cramer, senior learning technology consultant. “It’s about blending online and face-to-face activities together in a thoughtful way.”
This article talks about how a type of learning called blended learning has been created to put minds at ease. It was created to help engage students in a deeper type of learning than the usual shallow learning implemented in a classroom. It relates because students are allowed to discuss their success without feeling the pressure of failure.
As an emerging leader in the digital age, connecting with people is also about being visible in the 'social media' milieu ~ here's a very helpful infographic about some of the potential dangers of being active in social media.
There's a lot of buzz out there about STEM - not only in the realm of teaching and learning, but in terms of job growth and potential, too.
According to the Smithsonian Science Education Center (the makers of the handy infographic), People who understand science and technology are smarter, more competitive, more productive, and more engaged global citizens.
According to the Smithsonian Science Education Center (the makers of the handy infographic), People who understand science and technology are smarter, more competitive, more productive, and more engaged global citizens.
Paul Salopek and Ahmed Kabil Writing will always be important, but weaving text, images, sound, and presentation together can give students more and diff
Constructive uses of social media in education is becoming an integral (and one might venture inevitable) part of the learning experience. Here’s a look at how so, at every stage of the game.
If you can do it with paper why use a digital alternative? Because for some of students, it makes the difference between engagement and being switched off. Of couse finding the activities that you just can't do with paper...that's the real power of a digital solution.
Don't be afraid of social media when you can learn how to use it in your classroom. This reasource is a great find for educators that may want to use social media but just do not know where to incorporate it.
Learning to create, manage and promote a professional learning network (PLN) will soon become, if it’s not already, one of the most necessary and sought after skills for a global citizen, and as such, must become a prominent feature of any school curriculum.
Collaboration can be both a formal structure for learning activity but also an underpinning framework for engagement and fostering life-long learning. Learning networks are part the new learning ecosystem and should be recognised and supported.
Agency positioned itself to collect from among millions of accounts, many belonging to Americans.
The MUSCULAR project appears to be an unusually aggressive use of NSA tradecraft against flagship American companies. The agency is built for high-tech spying, with a wide range of digital tools, but it has not been known to use them routinely against U.S. companies.
The MUSCULAR project appears to be an unusually aggressive use of NSA tradecraft against flagship American companies. The agency is built for high-tech spying, with a wide range of digital tools, but it has not been known to use them routinely against U.S. companies.
Yo vivo en Argentina y estoy segura de que me están espiando los de mi propio país, los Estados Unidos de América, los Chinos y probablemente los Rusos. También pienso que me están espiando ladrones informáticos y más de un hacker entrometido y aburrido. El problema, me encuentro casi impotente para actuar en este nivel.
When we first began our blogging journey with eight year olds, two years ago, a HUGE amount of groundwork was laid prior to our very first post. Looking back, those first building blocks seems SO insurmountable … but … we’ve done it, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it! Learning WITH the world has proven to be a POWERFUL way to personalize and DEEPEN our curiosities.
Prior to beginning this “new” way of learning, we spent a great deal of time exploring other class blogs to see all the “possibilities” and to get a sense of our hopes for our new blog. You see, this was a pilot project – the very first classroom blog in our system. We knew that, if it was going to be a success, we needed to be VERY clear about what success would LOOK like!
As I write this post, I see this process much like the steps needed to build a strong, durable, long-lasting structure. There is the “planning stage” … drafting the vision out; it is an extensive AND intensive process that is necessary to ensure a successful project. Next, there’s the building stage … from the ground up.
Check this ===> After a few tears, and an AMAZING conversation about WHY … we began to “problem solve” together. They fully understood the importance of safety and the responsibility we ALL shared for being safe and thoughtful bloggers … SUCH amazing eight year olds! In the end, I ended up paying for a yearly subscription to our amazing flag counter. It has been worth EVERY penny to continue our learning AND our safety! <===
LEARNing has to involve change…change in the way the LEARNer thinks, feels and acts. It’s not just about LEARNing “stuff” or it shouldn’t be.
The “stuff” we are creating these days is growing at exponential rates…and if our goal, as TEACHers, is to simply TEACH this stuff, we might as well just pack up and go home – and leave it all to the tech we now have!
LEARNing has to involve change…change in the way the LEARNer thinks, feels and acts. It’s not just about LEARNing “stuff” or it shouldn’t be.
The “stuff” we are creating these days is growing at exponential rates…and if our goal, as TEACHers, is to simply TEACH this stuff, we might as well just pack up and go home – and leave it all to the tech we now have!
It's not surprising that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of mobile malware attacks, but SecurityCoverage claims that this year we'll see an unprecedented amount.
There's a lot of buzz out there about STEM - not only in the realm of teaching and learning, but in terms of job growth and potential, too.
According to the Smithsonian Science Education Center (the makers of the handy infographic), People who understand science and technology are smarter, more competitive, more productive, and more engaged global citizens.
According to the Smithsonian Science Education Center (the makers of the handy infographic), People who understand science and technology are smarter, more competitive, more productive, and more engaged global citizens.
Using Technology to Connect Students & the Environment illustrates how technology can further STEM learning through the environment, both in nature and in the classroom.
The video demonstrates how the students of Islesboro Central School in Maine use technology to help document the ecological condition of nature preserves near their school. Islesboro, Maine is just one example of a school district using technology outdoors; educators across the country are harnessing student interest and skills in using technology as part of new creative strategies for engaging today’s students in environmental learning.
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We learn by doing, so teaching should ask us to do.