• Watch People Learn

  Great article that uses the TV show MythBusters as an example of watching people learn versus watching people teach.

  “…Now to Mythbusters: Don’t watch guys teach you. Watch guys learn. They don’t know the answer. We’re in the journey together. Now the audience are participants. And we see not only the result but the process (which is the story)”

  The power of technology to easily document learning enables me to have insights into their process not easily done without. This also needs to be modeled. That’s what the mythbuster guys do better than most. Their passion is palpable. I really don’t have much of a scientific background at all but their pursuit of understanding is gripping. Watching them learn always elicits more questions for me and usually inspires me to dig around, look for answers and start conversations.

• Okay, High-Stakes Testing is Bad… But What Else Is There?

  Dan Brown asks the question: what are the alternatives to high-stakes testing?

  Why shouldn’t classwork (projects, portfolios, presentations) count? They do a much better job of activating students’ finest efforts and measuring 21st century skills. The only real argument against “counting” classroom work is that teachers can’t be trusted to implement and support quality assessments. That kind of mistrust of teachers is a suicide pact for public education; teachers are the lifeblood of the whole operation.

• Tweeting Your Way to Better Grades

  A US News & World Report article that suggests Twitter can actually be a helpful study tool.

  [One] possibility is to use Twitter as a type of interactive reading response journal. As students read an assigned text, they record their impressions and questions to allow their fellow classmates to give their input. I do this using Edmodo, a microblogging website designed specifically for schools, but students could do it more informally on their own…

  But the point is not Twitter, because something else will come along to challenge and replace it. It’s the various forms of communication students need to master and the knowledge of which one, when, why, and how to use it effectively. Kids in today’s world need to be able to communicate the same idea and content in 3,000, 300, 30, 3, 1, and no words (using an image instead) and to do so on a sheet of paper, a computer screen, or a presentation screen, using words, images, sounds, and infographics as needed.

• Twitter in the Classroom: How Dr. Monica Rankin Uses Technology to Enhance Discussion

  Dr. Monica Rankin, PhD in Mexican History and Professor at University of Texas: Dallas, has implemented Twitter in the classroom as a conversational utility to enhance seminar discussions.

  The class was a large U.S. History course that enrolled 90 students from all educational backgrounds. Taking into account the size of the class, Dr. Rankin sought to find a tool that would allow for more efficient seminar discussions on the subject matter. Posting to forums and continual moderation was considered, but Twitter was ultimately chosen for its ability to engage all students through laptops, mobile phones or hand-written notes.

• Wiki Wisdom: How to Use an Online Classroom Clearinghouse

  A teacher offers tips on using Wikis with students.

  You don’t need to be a technology whiz to bring the power of wikis to your classroom, says Punxsutawney Area High School teacher Louise Maine. In a year and a half since discovering the educational potential of this Web tool, she has learned enough to use a wiki as the hub for almost everything she and her science students do.

  All it takes, she says, is the curiosity to explore new possibilities and the determination to search for help (whether online, from colleagues, or from students) when there’s something you can’t figure out how to do.

• Ditching the Textbooks

  Donelle O’Brien says it’s time to ditch the textbooks. Read why. (And don’t forget to read the comments section – as always, there’s good discussion going on in the comments.)

  I don’t want to use those pacing guides I have to work on, traditional textbooks and worksheets with students. I want to use innovative teaching methods and integrated technology, to engage students in lifelong learning habits, while preparing them in 21st century skills. I would love to work collaboratively with others to create project learning and thoughtful assessments.

• If No Textbooks, Then What?

  Kelly Hines posts a followup to Donelle’s article about ditching textbooks, giving specific examples of how she’s ditched textbooks in her class.

  Because textbooks are written to be mass marketed, the curriculum covered in them is actually much more broad than what most state-standards require at a particular grade level. In our school’s science text, we could only use three of the eight units that are published in the book and it doesn’t include one unit goal that I am required to teach. Our social studies book is specifically designed to teach about our state, but it does so in a static and unengaging manner. Why would I want to use these materials?

Who/What I’m Following on Twitter

Added in the last several weeks: @mediaprince, @theresawhite, @libraryms, @StephenFarmer, @webpredator, @blairteach, @ShiftParadigm, @barbarafeldman, @funnelbrain, @jcbreed, @bonnieroskes, @BarbInNebraska, @jsuzcampos, @aoakes4, @nalibrandi, @dpeter