Promoting Autism Research in Schools

The frustration is a familiar one in autism research: A new behavioral therapy works great when study participants come into a laboratory or academic clinic. Not so well in classrooms where teachers and therapists try to put the intervention into action.
In 2011, Autism Speaks organized a special session of the International Meeting for Autism Research to explore the gap between research and application in real-world classrooms. From this meeting came this month’s special issue of the journal Autism: “School-based Research on Autism Spectrum Disorders.” Autism Speaks sponsored the issue’s publication.

Read more at: http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science-news/promoting-autism-research-schools

Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge

The Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge model or TPACK for short has been around for some time. It builds upon the work of Lee Shulman and extends his idea of Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Matthew Koehler and Punya Mishra expand upon this in much more detail on their site http://tpack.org and on the site there are lot of links to other scholarly articles related to this topic.
In my work, I’ve been trying to apply these three things in order to bring about use of technology in lessons that doesn’t dictate that technology is at the heart of everything we do but there as something which will enhance the PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge) based learning that is happening.

Read more at: http://ictevangelist.com/technological-pedagogical-and-content-knowledge/

Studying for an Educational Leadership Administration Doctorate

Most people who choose to specialize in educational leadership administration at doctoral level are already licensed teachers or school administrators wishing to further their career in administration.  Indeed, a doctorate in this subject is required for principal or superintendent licensure in several states of the US.
This page provides information on what is studied and where you can study such programs online.

Read more at http://onlineanddistancelearning.com/educational-leadership-administration-doctorate

5 steps to using self-assessment in the classroom

Student: ‘Teacher, am I going to pass this course?’
Me: ‘What do you think? Do you have any thoughts about your performance so far?’
Implementing some kind of self-assessment is a very good thing, as it enables learners to judge the quality of their work. I’ve done this on an ad-hoc basis at times in the past, but using a formal instrument or procedure can work wonders, even if it has no official bearing on the final outcome. According to ‘Student Self-Evaluation: What Research Says and What Practice Shows’, an excellent article by Carol Rolheiser and John A. Rosself I uncovered while thinking about this subject, understanding how to use such tools will help you incorporate self-assessments into your learners’ learning process and enhance their understanding of they are doing. Here are 5 steps to bringing self-assessment into your classes.

Read more at: http://www.teachthemenglish.com/2013/05/5-steps-to-using-self-assessment-in-the-classroom/

On the Move: Mobile Learning for Development

Edited by:
Wanjira Kinuthia, Georgia State University
Stewart Marshall, The University of the West Indies

This a recently published book on how some educators have embraced the opportunities afforded by mobile learning in developing and resource challenged contexts.
The book will appeal to elected public/government representatives, public service agencies, community groups, regional development bodies, researchers, educational technologists and others interested in mobile learning. Students on senior undergraduate or postgraduate courses in educational technology, education, development studies, information technology, information systems, business, health, and social work will find this book useful in their studies related to the application of mobiles in learning and development.

More details: http://onlineanddistancelearning.com/mobile-learning-book

5 Tips to Minimize Final Exam Anxiety

Final exams can be stressful, but here are some tips that can help make exam season go smoothly.

Read more at: http://blogs.psychcentral.com/always-learning/2013/05/5-tips-to-minimize-final-exam-anxiety/

Bill Gates: Teachers need real feedback

Until recently, many teachers only got one word of feedback a year: "satisfactory." And with no feedback, no coaching, there's just no way to improve. Bill Gates suggests that even great teachers can get better with smart feedback -- and lays out a program from his foundation to bring it to every classroom.

See on YouTube: http://youtu.be/81Ub0SMxZQo

Tips for learning online: Three things to do, two things not to do, and one "no-no" for learning online

Tips for learning online - Here are three things you should make sure you do, two things you shouldn't do, and one thing that is absolutely forbidden, if you are wanting to learn online.

read more

Tips for learning online: Three things to do, two things not to do, and one "no-no" for learning online

Doctors online: learning using an internet based content management system

 Author: Darren Pullen, University of Tasmania, Australia

Abstract
The past century has seen spectacular gains in the breadth and depth of medical knowledge, but the potential of these gains has been hampered by a slow system of disseminating knowledge. Over the course of medical education numerous technologies and methods have been used to deliver continuing medical education (CME) to health care professionals (HCPs). These methods have included postal correspondence, two-way radio conferencing, video conferencing and in the last decade the Internet. The emergence of the World Wide Web (WWW) in the early 1990s, coupled with increasing computer processing power, reduced computing costs and more creative content management systems have led to more CME materials and resources going 'online' which has greatly sped up the dissemination of medical knowledge. This study assessed the pedagogical and instructional design (e-pedagogy) effectiveness of online CME courses offered by one large Australasian continuing education provider.

Read full article at: http://ijedict.dec.uwi.edu//viewarticle.php?id=1561

My Educational Technology Blog: A Place of Resources and Tools for Educators

From Moodle Mania (From Moodle Mania http://t.co/yEamPNsIWk)

Postgrad: your advice for surviving the unexpected move home

Week one: just in time for graduation season, we're asking our student network for tips to enduring the move back to the nest.
With student debt skyrocketing and uncertain job prospects, more and more college graduates are moving home after graduation.
A recent Pew report found that 39% of adults ages 18 to 34 say they either are living or have lived with their parents in recent years. The share of Americans living in multigenerational households is at its highest level since the 1950s.

Read more at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/may/15/postgrad-survival-guide-week-one

46 Education App Review Sites For Teachers And Students

Katie and I can't cover the entire education app industry by ourselves. Luckily, there are dozens of other sites specifically devoted to education app reviews for teachers and students.

Read more at: http://edudemic.com/2013/05/46-education-app-review-sites-for-teachers-and-students/

26 Teacher Tools To Create Online Assessments

Need to create online assessments for a flipped classroom or for a blended learning environment? Here are 26 tools to get you started.

See it on Scoop.it, via Studying Teaching and Learning

IJEDICT Weekly News

"IJEDICT Weekly News", by Stewart Marshall: A free, online newspaper with a curated selection of articles, blog posts, videos and photos about education and development using ICT.

Read and subscribe free at: http://paper.li/f-1325685118

These Brands Define Advertainment

When advertising and entertainment collide, "advertainment" is born. Here are a few must-see examples by Red Bull, Spotify, American Idol and Mike and Ike.

Read more at: http://mashable.com/2013/05/14/advertainment/

Five Free Web 2.0 Tools to Support Lesson Planning

  via Edutopia "Teachers need to integrate technology seamlessly into the curriculum instead of viewing it as an add-on, an afterthought or an event." -- Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Educational Consul...

“These lesson planning supplemental tools profiled by Lisa Michelle Dabbs in the following Edutopia article are invaluable. I'm hoping these will be useful to all you creative and forward-thinking educators out there with us!”

Read more at: http://fluency21.com/blog/2013/04/15/five-free-web-2-0-tools-to-support-lesson-planning/

This Is What Happens When You Block Someone on Facebook

While Facebook offers a wonderful way to keep in touch with friends and family, as with any social network, there is potential for people you'd rather not be in touch with to contact you.
If this happens to you on Facebook, you can easily "block" someone. We've taken a look at this process, how to do it and what it actually means once you've done it.
 
Read more at: http://mashable.com/2013/05/01/how-to-facebook-block/

100 Ways To Use Twitter In Education, By Degree Of Difficulty

These days, Twitter is a powerhouse for marketing, communication, business, and even education, letting people from around the world work together, share ideas, and gain exposure.
It has become a staple at many online colleges and campuses as well, leaving many academics wondering just how and if they should be using Twitter both in the classroom and in their professional lives. So we’ve revised our our original 2009 list to get you started or up to date.
Whether you’re an academic or just interested in building your Twitter profile, keep reading to learn some tips and tricks that can help you take the first steps towards using Twitter for coursework, research, building a professional network, and beyond.

Read more at: http://edudemic.com/2012/04/100-ways-to-use-twitter-in-education-by-degree-of-difficulty/

Online Teacher Certification Programs

In order to teach in public schools in the US, you need to have passed a suitable program of study and obtained teacher certification (licensure).
Online teacher certification programs are an excellent way to qualify for a teaching career. This page gives details of the programs and where they can be found.

Read more at: http://onlineanddistancelearning.com/online-teacher-certification-programs

Should university students use Wikipedia?

Most academics look down on the open source encyclopedia, but does it really hinder students' studies?

Despite Wikipedia's drawbacks, students will continue to take advantage of the resource – and the default response of academics to simply advise against using the site is unlikely to have much effect. Lancaster lecturer Dr Catherine Easton says students must develop an ability to analyse the nature of the source material within Wikipedia, adding that the educator should ensure there is "a strong, continuing focus on the need to support academic work with references to acceptable scholarly sources".

Read more at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/may/13/should-university-students-use-wikipedia
 

3 Comics to Help You Procrastinate Until Graduation

Is graduation so close, yet so far away? Add some laughter to your procrastination with these comics from Toothpaste For Dinner.

See it on Scoop.it, via Studying Teaching and Learning

Ken Robinson: How to escape education's death valley

Sir Ken Robinson outlines 3 principles crucial for the human mind to flourish -- and how current education culture works against them. In a funny, stirring talk he tells us how to get out of the educational "death valley" we now face, and how to nurture our youngest generations with a climate of possibility.

See video at: http://youtu.be/wX78iKhInsc

Get your CE units with Online Nursing Continuing Education

With the rapid changes and increase in knowledge, continuing education (CE) is necessary for every profession.  Taking nursing continuing education online is a useful way for nurses to stay up-to-date in their profession whilst continuing with their employment.
Find out more about online nursing continuing education, what's involved in the programs, where you can take them, the improved career prospects, and more ...

Read more at: http://onlineanddistancelearning.com/online-nursing-continuing-education

Get a rewarding career with an Online Early Childhood Degree

Early childhood education is usually taken to be the education of children from birth to age 8. This page provides information about online early childhood degrees, what is studied in the programs, where you can study them, and more ...

Read more at: http://onlineanddistancelearning.com/online-early-childhood-degrees

Open Educational Resources: Innovation, Research and Practice

NOW AVAILABLE:

Perspectives on Open and Distance Learning:
Open Educational Resources: Innovation, Research and Practice

Rory McGreal, Wanjira Kinuthia and Stewart Marshall, Eds. May 2013

Published jointly by the Commonwealth of Learning and Athabasca University, Canada (UNESCO/COL Chair in OER) as CC-BY-SA and freely available to all: www.col.org/psOERIRP. Available in PDF and epub formats.

This book is one in a series of OER resources published by COL. It describes the OER movement in detail, providing readers with insight into OER's significant benefits, its theory and practice, and its achievements and challenges. The 16 chapters, written by some of the leading international experts on the subject, are organised into four parts by theme:
OER in AcademiaOER in Practice:Diffusion of OERProducing, Sharing and Using OER
Instructional designers, curriculum developers, educational technologists, teachers, researchers, students, others involved in creating, studying or using OER: all will find this timely resource informative and inspiring.

Seven simple tricks to impressively speed up slow iPads - AcademiPad

Is your iPad getting slow? Check out these 7 tricks to speed up your iPad. This post delivers long-term results, and it explains what does NOT work as well.

See it on Scoop.it, via Studying Teaching and Learning