RSS Feed Week 8

This is a great article about how students can learn from mistakes. As the author says "[e]very time a student errs, or steps outside the rules, or transgresses community norms and expectations, there is a golden opportunity to connect with this young person, his or her family and the teaching team to build stronger relationships through trust and partnership." Teachers facilitate the process of learning through mistakes.

Levinson, Matt. School Change: Make Room for "Wrongdoing".(2013, August) Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/school-change-room-for-wrongdoing-matt-levinson

7 Things You Should Know About Second Life

I learned about Second Life years ago when it was first introduced about ten years ago and briefly created an account and explored the Second Life world. Since that initial foray into the Second Life world, I haven't given it a second thought. After reading this article, I am amazed at how the virtual world has expanded and am really interested in how colleges and universities are using it. As the article states "[v]irtual worlds allow students to interact in 3D spaces that are comfortable, facilitating educational exercises such as virtual field trips or visiting a gallery of student created art. The social dynamic builds rapport and exposes students to teamwork, and the sense of presence encourages students to explore and engage in informal, self-directed learning."

Link to article.

RSS Feed Week 7....or Mmmmm Bacon

Ok, I love bacon. So when I saw the title of this article in my RSS Feed, I had to read it. While the article went in a different direction than I thought (no free bacon), it highlighted some great educational ideas. The author's school uses project based learning. This article is about a project that involves bacon. As the author says, "when a student pitches an idea, he or she knows that it's about to turn into a magical tour-de-force of all the science and math I can shove into the process of curing, smoking and serving one of the most storied preparations of pork. The school was designed to facilitate this kind of give-and-take between our students and faculty. Students pitch ideas knowing full well that they might be half-baked or even parboiled. They trust their mentors and teachers to help bloom and culture rigorous projects as a team -- we firmly believe in co-designing curriculum" (Cornally, 2013). To me, this is a fascinating approach to education.

Cornally, Shawn. A Bacon Apart. (2013, August). Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/a-bacon-apart-shawn-cornally?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EdutopiaNewContent+%28Edutopia%29

Link to article.

7 Things You Should Know About Google Aps

Prior to starting this degree, I had only used Google as a search engine. Over the past year I have found so many useful applications that Google has created. I have switched to Chrome as my go to browser, use Google docs, calendar, Gmail, Blogger, Google drive, and Feedly. This article highlights some of the interesting implications for using Google apps in education. As the article states, "[wh]ile the financial incentives to use Google Apps might compel a university to try it, the benefits for building a more collaborative teaching and learning environment could be the reason to stay. These benefits potentially include peer review of academic work and the ability to observe and participate in the creation of scholarly material."

Link to article. 

New Baby!!!

Katherine Morrigan Daley made her debut the morning of 31 August at 0245....She is 7 lbs 5oz...and we are all healthy and exhausted....We are so blessed.