Kaleidoscope Learning

A free, online, live video maker. I tried it. It’s pretty easy to use. I think my daughter will enjoy making videos this way to share. Could be really neat for collaborative projects too!

fraserbaker:

The idea that Mozilla have tried to create with PopCorn, is to enable people to produce live video which can change depending on the information put into it. Twitter feeds, google maps and facebook posts can all be added for example. Not to forget links and wikipedia definitions of keys…

Can the creative impulse behind the “maker” movement also be tapped for student learning? A new project funded by the National Science Foundation and co-directed by Kimberly Sheridan aims to find out:

“Kimberly Sheridan, an assistant professor at George Mason University’s College of Education and Human Development, and her colleague Erica Halverson from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, recently received a grant from NSF for a project called ‘Learning in the Making: Studying and Designing Makerspaces.’

They are working with the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and its one-year-old ‘MAKESHOP’—a space that brings together digital media and the DIY culture—to study environments that foster creative doing and learning.

By studying how maker communities emerge, function, and create opportunities to learn, the project aims to produce research that informs other environments—classroom or otherwise—and lead to new ways of supporting student learning.”

Ready for the best ipad STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) apps for kids? These can be great for summer learning, too.

Just remember that most ipad apps, with a few exceptions, won’t instruct your child. They will however, give him or her practice, repetition, and reinforcement. Which is great for stopping the summer slide!

Read more…

Education is currently at a crossroads as traditional methods and tools are changing as a result of advances in technology and learning theory. We are beginning to see some schools across the country take the lead in merging sound pedagogy with the effective integration of technology. These schools and educators, whether they realize it or not, are not only enhancing the teaching and learning process, but they are also providing their learners with essential skill sets pivotal for success in today’s society. These skill sets include critical thinking/problem solving, media literacy, collaboration, creativity, technological proficiency and global awareness. The ultimate result with this shift has been increases in engagement as well as a sense of relevancy and meaning amongst learners, all of which are foundations for improving achievement.

Even as we are seeing more schools and educators transform the way they teach and learn with technology, many more are not.  Technology is often viewed either as a frill or a tool unworthy of an educator’s time. Opinions vary on the merits of educational technology, but common themes seem to have emerged, and some of the reasons for not embracing technology have to do with several misconceptions revolving around fear.

Read More…

By Eric Sheninger, APRIL 20, 2012

I love Pinterest for organizing all kinds of information. I think it could be a great tool for visual learners!

Thanks to world-shaker:

There are some really cool ideas in here (I’ve included two below), but don’t forget about the copyright concerns with Pinterest!

Current Events
Several large news and information sites, including the Wall Street Journal and National Geographic, are members of Pinterest, and have active boards. Simply by choosing to follow them, you can keep your class easily up to date on the most recent breaking stories and finds. These stories can then be used to prompt further classroom discussions or debates, and even lead in to larger projects.
If you are teaching higher level courses, such as those for college students, you can post Pins and have students comment below to create an online discussion board.

Project Ideas
If your students are struggling with project ideas, Pinterest is a great place to go. Create a board on Pinterest exclusively for classroom projects with several Pins of different project ideas. Your students will be able to actually see previous projects, and get a better understanding of what you are looking for and what they can do to create a successful project.

By Richard Louv on April 6th, 2012

Understand, I recognize the benefits of technology, otherwise I wouldn’t be using the Internet or refrigerating my food. And the Internet has certainly been essential for building the children and nature movement.

But consider a few recent findings, reported here in the Twitter tradition of 140 characters, more or less:

…

What to do? Match screen time with stream time. Research suggests that the best antidote to the downside of electronic immersion will be an increase in the amount of natural information we receive. And let’s go one step further: children and adults can develop “hybrid minds” by seeking the benefits of both virtual and natural realit