May 2008
May 30, 2008
Listen and Write
Listen and Write is a new web tool that I think has a lot of potential for English Language Learners. A user first chooses a text he/she wants to hear read to him/her.
Listen and Write - Dictation : BETA
Paulsen Quote
Speech synthesis in online education: The recent development in speech synthesis has made it so understandable and user-friendly that more learners may benefit from it. These include blind students, dyslectic students, and students who for example spend much time in a car. It is conceivable that in the future it would be just as easy and inexpensive to “speech” a text as it is to print it.
M.F. Paulsen
May 29, 2008
A Pearl of Wisdom
The following is a pearl of wisdom from the conference I am currently attending. It is a conference on innovation and one of the speakers was Arnold Wasserman and he said to help one innovate it is necessary "Sometimes you have to get out of your own Sandbox".
Arnold Wasserman is the chairman of the Idea Factory in San Francisco and Singapore.
Quote of the Day
Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.
Unknown
May 26, 2008
I like and believe this statement.
Those who dare to teach must never cease to learn.
Taken from Teaching Online.
Learning to change
This is one very interesting video
Paulsen Quote
Text and e-learning: Even though we have experienced tremendous developments in online education during the last 15 years, it is interesting to observe that written communication, perhaps the most important part of online teaching and learning, has not changed much. Most communication still consists of plain text, and the time it takes to turn on the computer, receive e-mail and compose messages has not been reduced.
M.F. Paulsen
May 23, 2008
Saskatchewan Distance Education Courses
Here you will find all of the distance education courses being offered in Saskatchewan.
To search by School, Course Title or by delivery method.
Saskatchewan Distance Education Courses
The Future of Online Learning
Online learning is in its infancy. As pioneers struggle with new technologies and new practises, the discipline evolves almost daily. An online course that was considered state of the art twelve months ago is today considered to be out of date. Technology employed only by early adopters last fall is this summer in wide circulation and in danger of becoming obsolete by the fall semester.
Just In Time Resources On Demand (JITROD) for Nursing Education
Paulsen Quote
E-learning evolution: All are evolutionary developments that were visible 15 years ago and not really hard to predict. The only really revolutionary development in online education during this period was the introduction of the Web. This technological development, which nobody foresaw, emerged as the development with the largest impact on online education.
M.F. Paulsen
May 22, 2008
English Trailer
Students can watch movie trailers for popular films and then complete various language development activities related to them. It's free.
Science Resources
This is one great group of science resources.
Interactive Education on the Web
Zephyrus is a team of four. We are all graduates with experience in research and education. We regularly update our site, which is part of Zephyrus Education.
We have created a site mainly concerned with science suitable for children aged between 8 and 14.
We provide information, puzzle and printable worksheet sections, together with a homework help site with a rapid turn-a-round for answers. We also have many links to other sites.
We are an independent company and have no connection with any schools, colleges, universities or education authorities and are totally self-financed.
Zephyrus Interactive Education Website
Free worksheets for Home Education
FREE Printable Alphabet, Math, Science, and More!
Student Environmental Education Sites
Links on this page are to EE-related information, activities, and games for students interested in the environment.
Student Environmental Education Sites
Free educational resources of Adrian Bruce.
May 21, 2008
Paulsen Quote
Educational collisions: …the universities will need seamless and powerful integration of their online learning environments and their student management systems. [We] will see two worlds collide in this process: The world of the teaching staff and the world of the university administrations.
M. F. Paulsen
May 20, 2008
10 Genius Inventions We're Still Waiting For
Though much has changed since humankind fled the wilderness for civilized comforts, one thing hasn’t: We still clean ourselves with water. Yet traditional showers take time, waste resources and don’t necessarily get the job done. Instead, we should take a lesson from doctors who sterilize surgical instruments through techniques such as high-pressure, high-temperature autoclaves, ethylene oxide gas and ultrasonic vibrations. While these methods aren’t exactly “people-friendly,” a little research may enable modern humans to step out from under the indoor waterfall and give up the last of our caveman-like ways.
10 Genius Inventions We're Still Waiting For - Popular Mechanics
INNOKEN Games
"Innoken's mission is to combine creative energy and programming logic through leading edge technologies to create engaging and innovative games that generates customer delight."
|::::: INNOKEN GAMES :::::|- Flash Online Games, Advergames, and Learning Games from India
Adams Learning E-learning materials
With the exception of no. 8, all these materials were created with Flash 5 and Flash MX.
Does anyone know the artist...
I am trying to track down the artist for this alien...I would like to use the image in our pod as the trainer for our virtual training center. If you know the artist, can you drop me a comment.
Thanks in advance.
They say Elephants never forget
In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Peter approached it very carefully.
He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Peter stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away. Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.
Twenty years later, Peter was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Peter and his son Cameron were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.
Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant. Peter summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Peter legs and slammed his stupid butt against the railing, killing him instantly.
Probably wasn't the same elephant.
Math Slice
Some great online math resources.
Free Math Worksheets @ MathSlice
New Survivor Show
Subject: New Survivor Show... (Teachers note:)
Next Season on Survivor
Have you heard about the next planned 'Survivor' show?
Three businessmen and three businesswomen will be dropped into an elementary school classroom for 1 school year. The business people will be provided with a copy of their school district's curriculum and a class of 28 - 32 students.
Each class will have a minimum of five learning-disabled children, three with A.D.D., one gifted child, and two who speak limited English. Three students will be labeled with severe behavior problems.
All business people must complete lesson plans at least 3 days in advance with annotations for curriculum objectives and modify, organize, or create their materials accordingly. They will be required to teach students, handle misconduct, implement technology, document attendance, write referrals, correct homework, make bulletin boards, compute grades, complete report cards, document benchmarks, communicate with parents, and arrange parent conferences.
They must also stand in the doorway between class changes to monitor the hallways. In addition, they will complete fire drills, tornado drills, and [Code Red] drills for shooting attacks each month.
They must attend workshops, faculty meetings, and attend curriculum development meetings. They must also tutor students who are behind and strive to get the 2 non-English speaking children proficient enough to take all of the state tests.
If the business person is sick or having a bad day, he/she must not let it show. Each day they must incorporate reading, writing math, science, and social studies into the program and must maintain discipline and provide an educationally stimulating environment to motivate students at all times.
If all students do not wish to cooperate, work, or learn, the teacher will be held responsible. The business people will only have access to the public golf course on the weekends, but with their new salary, they may not be able to afford it.
There will be no access to vendors who want to take them out to lunch, and lunch will be limited to thirty minutes, which is not counted as part of their workday. The business people will be permitted to use a student restroom, as long as another survival candidate can supervise their class.
If the copier is operable, they may make copies of necessary materials before or after school. However, they cannot surpass their monthly limit of copies. The business people must continually advance their education, at their expense, and on their own time.
The winner of this season of 'Survivor' will be allowed to return to his/her job.
Pass this to your friends who think teaching is easy and to the ones that know it is hard.
Larry Felazzo: English resourses
All these sections are specifically designed to assist adults and children who are learning English as their second language.
Paulsen Quote
Instructional imperialism: In the US, online educators tend to perceive the Internet as their home market. In the Nordic countries, educators regard it as an opportunity to study online courses from the United States. If these countries do not change their attitudes, they may soon experience a disturbing form of, American instructional imperialism. The Nordic countries are in several ways ahead of the US with regard to online education. Still, it is quite possible that American online tutors will dominate online education in the Nordic countries, just as American textbooks already dominate Nordic higher education.
M.F. Paulsen
May 14, 2008
Dancing with the Devil.
So have I gone over to the darkside and am I going to recommend the Open University switches from Moodle to Blackboard? Hmmm…not right now I haven’t. For one thing, talking to some of the delegates, they want their hands on this stuff now and are going to have to wait a year or so for some of it.
Virtual Learning � Dancing with the devil: a view from Blackboard’s European conference
Paulsen quote
Learning Management System loyalty: The institutions do not seem to be especially loyal to, or dependent on, one LMS system. The majority of the institutions had changed system, planned to change system, or operated secondary systems.
M.F. Paulsen
May 13, 2008
Greatest Benefits to E-Learning
The success of most educational systems is still determined by using the traditional standards such as cost benefits, and flexibility. Although valuable, they pale in comparison to an educational system's ability to meet the needs of the information age students. Since the clients of the learning system have changed the approach must change, the educator must change and the measure of success must change. The client changes are clarified by Dudfield (2003): “These children have new needs, new capabilities, new capacities; they are significantly different in nature from children born before the existence of the 'wired' world” (¶ 2). These groups of “wired” students are accustomed to having personal interest information at their finger tips and like the challenge of lifelong learning. Creating a lifelong learner is the new goal of twenty first century education and can only be achieved by an educator who shares the lifelong learner characteristic. Bearisto (2000) states "we must all develop the aptitudes and dispositions of lifelong learning if we are to thrive in our dynamic and pluralistic age" (p. 1). He further explains that being a lifelong learner will allow one “to thrive as a knowledge worker who surfs the wave of change in our information age" (p. 6). This environment will allow the students to move from students to learners. Anderson (2007) clarifies by stating "students are individuals who get taught. But learners are more actively involved in the learning process. Learners have active curiosities and take initiative" (¶ 5). The online teacher is a guide on the side. Teaching online is akin to teaching in the largest library in the world. The internet is just a click of the mouse away. The sage on the stage pales next to this resource. It allows teachers to remove themselves from being the focus of the education and allows the students (learners) to be the center of the process. According to King (1993) it allows learners to actively participate in thinking and discussing ideas while making mean¬ing for themselves. (¶ 4) McKenzie (1998) states “student-centered learning can be time-consuming and messy, efficiency will sometimes argue for the Sage"(¶ 13). 1) The online method of course content delivery is perfectly suited to allow the instructor to be more of a guide. The content, instruction and assignments are delivered via the computer so the teacher’s role is naturally more of a guide. “The best teacher is the one who suggests rather than dogmatizes, and inspires his listener with the wish to teach himself” (Bulwer-Lytton, 2007 ¶ 4)
Anderson, E. (2007). Becoming Your Own Best Teacher and Learner. Retrieved December 6, 2007, from Baylor University: http://www.baylor.edu/strengths/index.php?id=27352
Beairsto, B. (2000). What Does it Take to Be a Lifelong Learner? Retrieved December 8, 2007, from School District No. 38 (Richmond): http://public.sd38.bc.ca/~bbeairsto/Documents/LifelongLearning.pdf
Bulwer- Lytton, E., & Carruthers, T. (2007, October 17). Great Teachers Become Unnecessary? Retrieved December 9, 2007, from Thought for the Day: http://kirkweisler.com/t4d/2007/10/16/great-teachers-become-unnecessary/
Dudfield, A. (2003, December 1). Literacy and Cyber Culture. Retrieved February 3, 2008, from Reading Online: http://www.readingonline.org/articles/dudfield/main.html#author
King, A. (1993). From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side. Retrieved December 6, 2007, from Questia: College Teaching Journal:
Virtual Schooling Glossary
This past semester the group of graduate students that form the K-12 online learning research group and I have been working on a glossary of virtual schooling. Basically, it’s purpose is to collect all of the terms that we can think of related to virtual school and to define them (based upon existing definitions in the literature or by creating our own definitions).
At this stage, we are ready to announce the glossary:
http://virtualschool.wikispaces.com/glossary
In addition to announcing the results of our efforts, we would also like to encourage feedback from the virtual school community. So, if you have comments about any terms that we may be missing or any definitions that you’d like to suggest revisions to, please e-mail me at mkbarbour-at-gmail-dot-com or post a comment to this blog.
Thanks to Michael K. Barbour
ToTLoL
Totlol is a brand new community-moderated video website designed to be enjoyed by those between the ages of 6 months and 6 years.
Totlol is in early testing phases and this means that at most times, most things, will work as most would expect. But sometimes, some things may not work as some would hope.
Totlol - Video for Toddlers, Infants, Preschoolers and Parents
Paulsen Quotes
Spread of e-learning: Evidence of the worldwide spread of e-learning in recent years is easy to obtain. In April 2003, no fewer than 66,000 fully online courses and 1,200 complete online programs were listed on the TeleCampus portal…
M.F. Paulsen
May 12, 2008
Shodor
Our Mission: To advance science and math education through the use of computational science, modeling and technology.
Shodor Education Foundation, Inc.
Take a Challenge
The rigors and demands of our increasingly complex, technologically dependent society have made high student achievement in mathematics a top priority among educators, policymakers, and employers. Todays citizens need more than basic computation and rote mathematical skills. They must master the higher-level concepts and approaches to problem solving that are key to success in work and everyday life.
To meet this need, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, in cooperation with the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Widmeyer Communications, and the Learning First Alliance, launched Figure This!
Figure This! Math Challenges for Families - Challenge Index
The Futures Channel
The Futures Channel was founded in 1999 with the goal of using new media technologies to create a channel between the scientists, engineers, explorers and visionaries who are shaping the future, and today’s learners who will one day succeed them.
Paulsen Quote
Virtual professors and parenthood: You are going to work harder in teaching a course online, at least the first time.... Being a “virtual” professor is a little bit like parenthood. You are “on duty” all the time, and there seems to be no end to the demands on your time and energy.
M.F. Paulsen
May 9, 2008
Microsoft has finally entered the field
E-learning Microsoft style.
Way way cool..check it out....
Sanctity of print
But is requiring print sources of information in a paper or project desirable, practical or effective in 2008? Why is print - a format - considered sacred by so many teachers and librarians? Should we automatically assume that the quality of information in a book or magazine is superior to that "found on the Internet?"
Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog - Blue Skunk Blog - Sanctity of print
Edublogger Etiquette - Student Blogging
Al Upton has been blogging for years with his students. Upon attempting to take his student blogging to the next level, he invited the educational blogging community to mentor his students. The idea was for the adult mentor to occasionally visit the student blogs, leaving a positive comment.
Drape's Takes: Edublogger Etiquette - Student Blogging
Mobile phones in the classroom…. again
’m so fed up with these arguments. Paper clips are a distraction. Spiral notebooks are a distraction. And as we’ve seen recently, students certainly do NOT need a cell phone to cheat on an exam.
So off the top of my head, I decided to rattle off a few things that cell phones could be good for.
Mobile phones in the classroom…. again - Teach42
10 facts about learning that are scientifically proven and interesting for teachers
In comments after my post ‘BBCs Paxman Demolishes Brain Gym’ I was challenged to provide 10 facts about learning that are scientifically proven and interesting for teachers. The problem I had was whittling it down to ten!
Paulsen Quote
E-learning bells: In traditional education and training allocation of resources is controlled by the “ringing of the bell”.
M.F. Paulsen
May 8, 2008
Why we need education...
I see my son in this picture.
Distance Learning Resources
Dr. Maria Puzziferro is one of my professors at NorthCentral University and has a great collection of resources.
Maria Puzziferro - Distance Learning Links and Resources
Quote of the Day
"When you follow your bliss... doors will open where you would not have thought
there would be doors; and where there wouldn't be a door for anyone else."
-- Joseph Campbell
Paulsen Quote
Online teacher workload: In correspondence courses, teachers are accustomed to mail carriers who deliver mail once a day. Online teachers, however, may receive e-mail 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This online immediacy results in student demand for swifter responses and, hence, a heavier workload for teachers.
M.F. Paulsen
May 7, 2008
Paulsen Quote
Online students have better grades: Both studies show that online students have better average grades and a lower percentage of failing grades. This does not necessarily show that online courses were better than traditional part-time courses, but it shows that online learning seems to work very well for students who have chosen to study online.
M. F. Paulsen
Time to Review with gas prices climbing
All these examples do NOT imply that gasoline is cheap;
It just illustrates how outrageous some prices are....
You will be really shocked by the last one!!!!
Think a gallon of gas is expensive?
This makes one think, and also puts things in perspective.
Diet Snapple 16 oz $1.29 ... $10.32 per gallon
Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz $1.19 ..........$9.52 per gallon
Gatorade 20 oz $1.59 .... $10.17 per gallon
Ocean Spray 16 oz $1.25 ......... $10.00 per gallon
Brake Fluid 12 oz $3.15 ......... $33.60 per gallon
Vick's NyQuil 6 oz $8.35 ... $178.13 per gallon
Pepto Bismol 4 oz $3.85 .. $123.20 per gallon
Whiteout 7 oz $1.39 ...... . $25.42 per gallon
Scope 1.5 oz $0.99 .....$84.48 per gallon
And this is the REAL KICKER...
Evian water 9 oz $1.49..........$21.19 per gallon!
$21.19 for WATER
And the buyers don't even know the source .
(Evian spelled backwards is Naive.)
Ever wonder why computer printers are so cheap?
So they have you hooked for the ink.
Someone calculated the cost of the ink at................
You won't believe it...................
But it is true........................
$5,200 a gal. (five thousand two hundred dollars)
So, the next time you're at the pump,
Be glad your car doesn't run on
Water, Scope, or Whiteout, Pepto Bismol, NyQuil
Or , Printer Ink!!!!!
May 6, 2008
The Webby Awards
Webby Honorees, Nominees and Winners truly represent the best of the Web. They are but a small percentage of total entries and have been chosen by members of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences based on a number of creative and functional criteria. See them all here.
Students turn to web plagiarism
Plagiarism by university students across Bristol and Bath is on the increase, according to figures obtained by the BBC.
BBC NEWS | England | Students turn to web plagiarism
And so the day begins
The day started well, a new challenge...and....
Paulsen Quote
Flexible education and learning: Today’s students often have full-time jobs and families to take care of and many are reluctant to participate if it means relinquishing high-quality family life and job achievements. They need flexible education: education that allows them to combine job, family, and education in a manageable way.
M.F. Paulsen
May 5, 2008
Hieroglyphs
Paulsen Quotes
Sustainable e-learning: Sustainable online education is characterized by its ability to persist when extraordinary internal or external funding stops. Unfortunately, it seems to be a rare phenomenon. In most cases online education is sustainable when it generates an economic surplus or reduces costs.
M.F. Paulsen
May 3, 2008
We asked our Teacher/Developers.
Question asked in a Discussion Board
Is it necessary for every course in SCCS to contain a discussion board?
Justify your answer.
Here's what we discussed:
Discussion Board Positives-
-A great place to promote and encourage communication
-For students' opinions and thoughts, and the defence of them
-Still some opportunity for use even with the 150 day schedule
-helps instructor guide and evaluate learning process and provides feedback for students
-There is a place for private discussion boards
Discussion Board Negatives-
-150 day schedule is not conducive to meaningful discussion
-tedius to monitor
-subject sensitive (math)
-burden on an already content-heavy course
-forced disucssion worse than none at all
Extras-
-shouldn't be mandated, but should still remain an option
-new tech? Voice discussions?
-One online teachers states: he is a lover, not a typer. He would rather call just to hear your voice...
"Maybe after this CIF... I may learn something..." Another online teacher.
Thanks to Ryan for summarizing.
Quote of the Day
Our age of anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do today's jobs with yesterday's tools.
Marshall McLuhan on Technology
May 2, 2008
Wired Safety
Information Literacy is the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information efficiently and effectively. The Internet has a wide range of information. The quality and purpose of the information spans the spectrum from garbage to top notch and from expert to intentionally misleading.
Being able to evaluate the quality and purpose of information you encounter online can prevent a bad grade, but in the case of information you encounter through contacting people online evaluating the quality of that information can prevent a bad or life threatening experience. The activities contained in this section will help you develop critical evaluation skills in your students that will make them Cyber Safe and Information Literate.
Wired Safety
April CIF was all about using webcams
He uses a blog, he has tried wikis (communal programs that let students edit one another's work), and he records his lectures and offers the recordings online for review. But he says the most effective aspect of the experimental teaching project so far has been his "video solutions."
Instead of a talking head, these videos show a talking pen. In most of them, Mr. Berger writes out the answers to problems on the screen of his tablet PC, while screen-capture software records the action. As he writes, he narrates his thought process, and a microphone attached to his computer picks it up to provide the video's soundtrack.
Film School: To Spice Up Course Work, Professors Make Their Own Videos - Chronicle.com
We are into budget time.
I think this image is a great one showing the education dollar in our society.
Quote of the day
"Learn from the past, plan the future, live in the moment."
Three things to unlearn from school
I’ve sometimes worried that school had a bad influence on honor students. It seems worrisome to be as ready as some honor students are to take as your own the agenda of whoever is at the front of the room.
The Good Place (Michael L. Umphrey on gardening, teaching, and writing)
Paulsen Quote
Student dreams and teacher nightmares: Online education offers students excellent opportunities for individual communication with their tutors. They can be contacted via e-mail 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Few learning environments provide such opportunities for individual access to teachers. It is obvious that online students appreciate always having a personal tutor available. It is the students’ dream, but it could soon become a nightmare for the tutors.
M.F. Paulsen
May 1, 2008
Think Bank
Interactive Whiteboard Resources
Think Bank Ltd - Training, Design, Consultancy
Big Brown Envelope
Big Brown Envelope was set up to allow teachers to share their resources with others around the world.
Teachers, and trainers, are continuously reinventing the wheel when it comes to teaching materials. This is often unnecessary since someone out there probably has already got something that meets the need. On this site we hope you will find useful materials to help with your classroom teaching.
Welcome to the Big Brown Envelope
NAACE
aace is the professional association for those concerned with advancing education through the appropriate use of information and communications technology (ICT). The Association was established in 1984 and has become the key influential professional association for those working in ICT in education.
NAACE Primary: Curriculum Support
IDEAS FOR INTEGRATING ICT
IDEAS FOR INTEGRATING ICT INTO THE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CLASSROOM.
CLICK ON THE SUBJECT OF YOUR CHOICE
Jewish - Holocaust
166 links to learn about the Holocaust. Site languages include English, Hebrew, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. All 166 links have been reviewed
Jacob Richman's Hot Sites - Jewish - Holocaust
May Resources
Paulsen Quotes
Online students are lurkers: An online teacher once complained jokingly that he had too many lurkers in his discussion forums and that too few online students dared to expose themselves.
M.F. Paulsen
