Friday, January 30, 2015

New Zealand Yellow-eyed Penguins - endangered species


New Zealand Yellow-eyed species of penguin is endangered. With an estimated population of 4000, it is considered one of the world’s rarest penguin species. The main threats include habitat degradation and introduced predators. It may be the most ancient of all living penguins.

 


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Thursday, January 29, 2015

Open Access, Open Source and Open Educational Resources


Open access (OA), open source software (OSS) and open educational resources (OER) share a common heritage and philosophy – they are about giving everyone access and permission to use, change and re-use material.

OA, OSS and OER share the same benefits:

Low or no cost to users, as products are generally free to access and download;Shorter development cycle due to the collaborative, parallel efforts of developers;Adaptability to suit own conditions.



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Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Education technology investment hits new record - Masters and PhDs


2014 was a record year for investment in education technology companies – there were record highs for accelerator and venture capital firm investment in startups and more established companies.

Market research firm Ambient Insight tags global edtech investment at $2.34B, the first time it’s put the total at more than two billion dollars, and up from the earlier record $1.64B last year.



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Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Why online learning needs to get serious about apps


One of the main problems preventing the widespread use of mobile phones for education is the need for longer interactions/communications than is typically available. So, will online education rise or fall based on our ability to reengineer learning for bursts?

Ryan Craig, University Ventures, writing for VentureBeat thinks not ....



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Sunday, January 25, 2015

From Visible Thinking Routines to 5 Modern Learning Routines


I have been a fan of Visible Thinking Routines which were developed by Project Zero from Havard, for a while now. I have used these routines with students, as  blogging routines and in professional...


Saturday, January 24, 2015

3D Printed Sculptures Look Alive When Spun Under A Strobe Light


Using an amazing blend of art and mathematics, John Edmark, who teaches design at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA., has created these magical sculptures.

 



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Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Helping the Poor in Education: The Power of a Simple Nudge


The enormous financial inequalities in the United States are mirrored in education participation and completion rates: A child born into a poor family has only a 9 percent chance of getting a college degree, but the odds are 54 percent for a child in a high-income family. Whilst it may be difficult to change the financial inequalities, it is possible to provide some educational assistance to the disadvantaged by providing motivational “nudges” at appropriate times.

 



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Using Technology To Redefine The Way Schools & Communities Connect


Technology, so far, hasn’t healed the disconnect between schools and communities, but that could be because we’re selling it short for what it can do—which might start with not seeing its potential fully. Today, popular uses are sharing grades, missing work, test dates, snow days, and basic school announcements. This isn’t nearly good enough.

Terry Heick discusses "How To Connect Schools And Communities Using Technology", including:

Solicit mentoring relationships

Connecting students to the artists, architects, engineers, makers, writers, farmers, cooks, and other “roles” for the purpose of mentoring and apprenticeship is one way to begin to repair the disconnect between schools and communities.

Connect with community leaders

This one is closely related to the idea of “mentoring” in the sense that it connects students with people outside of the classroom from their community. But rather than for the purpose of mentoring, it could be less involved—topical but authentic communication between those leading the community, and those living in it, and social media is the perfect way to make it happen.



Sunday, January 18, 2015

Gone Home: A Video Game as a Tool for Teaching Critical Thinking Skills


A video game that is classified as a storytelling experience is taking the place of traditional text in some classrooms to teach students critical thinking skills.



Wednesday, January 14, 2015

(Infographic) STEM and STEAM - Daily Genius


There is a lot of talk about the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in education. Schools, governments, and businesses are hoping that today’s STEM students can solve tomorrow’s global issues. The importance of a quality education has not been lost on me. I’ve gone from a liberal arts university to some highly-technical professions and back (and forth). This has left me with a well-rounded amount of experience in all the STEM subjects.



But there’s more to education than getting a STEM job. A lot more.

That’s why a new term is gaining *ahem* steam. It’s called STEAM and it’s the idea of incorporating arts into a STEM-based curriculum. In other words, let’s help students think more creatively and better understand the problems they’re already working to solve


Excellent Video Tutorials to Help You Sketchnote on iPad


"After posting about top iPad apps for creating sketchnotes, I received a couple of requests for sharing video tutorials on sketchnoting on iPad. The videos below are probably the best tutorials you would find out there.  These are the videos I used myself when I first started learning about sketchnoting. There are also some other great resources where you would find more materials and helpful guides on how to create electronic sketchnotes. The first thing I would recommend in this regard is Mike Rohde's book " The Sketchnote Handbook". It is a short book which you can read in a single reading session. This book is particularly useful for beginners who have just started muddling their way through sketchnoting. Another great resource is Kathy Schrock's sketchnoting page which contains a lot of links, tutorials and examples of excellent sketchnotes. You can also use twitter hashtag #sketchnotes to browse through links and resources sketchnoters share their."



Sketchnoting


Sketchnoting, in its purest form, is creating a personal visual story as one is listening to a speaker or reading a text. I also believe the interactive notebook, which includes the process of taking...


Saturday, January 10, 2015

10 inexpensive ways to get children’s books for the classroom


A well-stocked classroom library encourages self-selected independent reading and can also serve as a great place for children to enjoy some down time during the school day.


Howard Rheingold: The Peeragogy Handbook



Thursday, January 8, 2015

Teachers Will Embrace Students’ Smartphone Addiction In 2015


The year 2014 saw some impressive education technology disruptions, e.g., in the “crowd-sourcing” of education and the role of corporations in educational provision. So what will 2015 bring?

Joe Mathewson, who cofounded the learning platform Firefly when he was 14, gave his predictions in TechCrunch:



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Tuesday, January 6, 2015

An Illustration of Flipped Classroom: The Full Picture


The Flipped Classroom: The Full picture is not about watching videos as homework.



Saturday, January 3, 2015

10 Free Plagiarism Detection Tools


Whether you are a teacher who wants to check students’ work for copied material or you are a writer who want to make sure that your content is plagiarism free, these free online plagiarism detection tools will be extremely handy for you. Below, we have presented a list of top 10 free plagiarism detection tools that will help you detect that the content is copied and not original.

Plagiarism is the act of taking someone else’s idea or work and passing it off as your own, and with the growth of digital technology plagiarism has become a serious concern, not only for the academic professionals but also for the writers as well. Feel free to share your opinions and comments with us via comment section below.


4 Sites that Rate Education and Instructional Technology Products and Services


These Sites Offer a Variety of Approaches and Depth in Their Education Technology Resource Reviews Who doesn't appreciate online reviews as a potential source


Friday, January 2, 2015

Diploma in Basic English for Business and Tourism


This free ALISON online Diploma in Basic English for Business and Tourism course is ideal for business, tourism and hospitality students who wish to advance to an intermediate level of English with a focus on the travel and hospitality industries.

Business English language skills are in great demand around the world as more and more businesses and organisations conduct their international business operations through the medium of the English language. English is also essential for people working in the tourism industry.

 


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Online Masters and PhDs

Online and Distance Learning