May 10, 2012 – by Adam Renfro

The art of collaborating is a fine art, and most of the time we are really just just having students do group work when we think we are having them collaborate.

As educators, we have to crack the collaboration code. Studies and surveys have indicated that collaboration is an essential and sought-after skill in the job market. Strategists predict that corporations will operate much more like the film industry in the future. When a film is made, contractors from numerous fields (camera crews, art departments, writers, directors, actors, set design, marketing, finance, etc.) collaborate for weeks or months at a time to work on the film project. The rise of super-structured organizations, new media ecology, smart machines, and a globally connected world will make future graduates’ collaboration abilities a make-or-break job skill.

Collaboration vs. Group Work

True collaboration in school can be like herding cats. Marshalling a bunch of 6th graders into basic group work can be a task in itself. Actually, marshalling a bunch of teachers into productive work groups at the end of the day is an equally difficult task after those teachers have spent all day trying to do the same with said students. Adults need to have team building exercises that lead up to jumping out of an airplane together before they feel confident enough to really work together.

Collaboration is an advanced level of group work, and it is a learned skill. It involves sharing knowledge, learning, building consensus, planning, and implementation. Anthropologists suggest it’s why we built civilizations and apes did not. But unless we learn how to collaborate, unless it is modeled for us, we are not very good at it. In schools, when we put six kids together for group work, it pretty much pans out this way: One does the work, one marginally helps a little, one manages to look busy, and three totally sluff off. But our directions for these unskilled collaborators are often something like this:  Okay, now we’re going to work in groups.

So why are we surprised at the results? We need collaboration to have instructions, be modeled, and be monitored.

21st-Century Collaboration

If you really want to collaborate, you need to bring together different skills sets and expertise. You can’t just lock six accountants together in a room and expect the taxation burden in the U.S. to be solved. It’s more than getting the numbers in the right order. When they assembled the The Avengers, they didn’t just go out and get six Scarlett Johanssons. And while that might sound like a pretty good idea, Marvel knew they needed a diverse skill set to save the world.

Similarly, if you really want to collaborate at your school, it needs to be across disciplines to reflect a real-world environment. Bring together a math, science, music, foreign language, art, and history student into the same group.  This will be a great opportunity for them to showcase those class skills outside of classroom with a real-world problem. This is a goal we should have with all of our classes, and what an exciting opportunity it is.  This will take some coordination, but the process will be worth students going through, and results will be more meaningful.  And . . . hopefully . . . the students will go back to their classroom teachers to bug them with real-world applications for what they are studying.

Creating a Collaboration Plan

Here’s a sample strategy on how to roll out a real, 21st-century collaborative project at your school.

1. Get departments to agree that if students take part in the school’s collaborative project, all teachers will accept the participating students’ project grades as an extra credit grade or actual grade in their classes. So even before you get the students to collaborate, you will need to get teachers to come to a consensus. The project will be directly related to a student’s class, so that should make it more palatable for each department.

2. Establish a range of collaboration topics for which students can sign up. Give the students a chance to determine their own paths here. Here’s a popular list of grand challenges, but tailor it to fit your needs or to better reflect your community.

3. Have students register for their favorite topic by using something like Google Forms to collect registration information. Students must pick one class in their schedules from which they will bring that class’s expertise or skill set to the project. This is the class in which they will get their extra credit or additional grade. If it’s for their French class, for example, they will use their French skills in the project. If it’s for their math class, they will apply their math skills. If they are in a leadership class or SGA, then they can have a great opportunity to lead the group. Music and art students will add those layers to the project and so on.

4. After students have registered, you need to create their groups for them. Be sure to get a diverse mix of disciplines in each group, just as if you were assembling your own Avengers team.

5. Have students meet in their groups. Since they are in different classes, have them meet online in something like Join.me or a Google+ Hangout. This can even happen during school hours as students won’t have to leave their classroom to meet with their collaboration partners.

6. Teams can use a Conceptboard to plan their strategy for tackling the grand challenge.

7. Have students research their grand challenge by using Google’s new WDYL search engine. The “What Do You Love” search engine searches across Google’s channels and delivers all the results on one page.  It’s a great place to start a research project. Give it a try now if you’ve not used it before. Here’s a WDYL search on collaboration.  Remind students that they have to relate their project work back to their courses. Each student wears a specialized hat for this project.

8. Have students share their search results via Twitter, short blog posts, or on Delicious. If you’ve not used Delicious  or if you’ve not used it since the YouTube guys bought it, you need to check it out.  It’s a great place to curate and tag what you find on the Internet. Blogger is a free and easy place for the blog posts. Although, if your school has a portfolio program, use that!

At this point in the project, students are not working on a solution for their grand challenge. They are just defining the problem and sharing their knowledge via the social networks.

9. It’s time for the group’s first publication. While continuing to meet via the net or occasionally in person, students should now clearly define and publish what the problem is. This polished publication can go on Blogger or in the school’s portfolio. A video or Slideshare will work just as well, or a combination of all three is even better.  Students should go global and local in defining the problem. If there are students from a foreign language class in the group, that language is where the global focus should be.

10. Market the publication by creating an amped up video on Animoto. In a short period of time, students can create a powerful music video that will bring attention to their cause.

11. It’s now solution time. Students should create solutions for their grand challenges on the local and global level or they can endorse and promote solutions that others have already launched. The solution phase should include an awareness campaign that motivates others to become involved. Back to Blogger for this final showcase and don’t forget a new Animoto marketing video!

by K. WALSH on AUGUST 28, 2011
I found myself wondering how the iPad might work as a Digital Whiteboard, to project, as well as to use collaboratively. I also wondered if there might be some free apps that provide this kind of functionality (there are so many decent free apps for the iPad).

First step, hit the App Store and search for “whiteboard”. I narrowed the search down by selecting Price = “Free” and Customer Rating = “4+ Stars” and found 8 apps. I downloaded each one and spent a little time with them. Four of these apps were pretty cool and definitely worth sharing. The others had drawbacks that led me to eliminate them from further consideration.

 

Four recommended free digitial white board apps:

ScreenChomp
This TechSmith app was rated (an average of) 4.5 by hundreds of users.ScreenChomp provides 9 colors but just one pen size. You can import pictures to use as your background. Mostly importantly, you can record your whiteboard session for play back, and the recording will include audio. Recordings can be saved to the ScreenChomps app, and can be shared via email, Facebook, Twitter, and accessed through a URL.

This app is a great example of combining a few simple features to make a tool that is very useful. Here’s an example ScreenChomp video I created: http://www.screenchomp.com/t/Z2xnmkfS.

ZigZag Board
ZigZag Board had one unique offering among the free tools I looked at, which is the ability to select and resize things you draw (as well as move or delete them). It is similar to some of the other apps in that it has a small selection of pen colors and the ability to adjust the thickness of the pen (but no ability to pull a pic to draw on). ZigZag also allows users to have a ”meeting” with the app. The meeting functionality was easy to use – I started a meeting from the iPad app and then joined on my laptop, but I was only able to view the whiteboard session there, I could not actually participate in it (not sure if this works differently when you join from an iPad, I had a network issue and couldn’t connect from another iPad).

Unlike most of these other tools, Zig Zag requires the user to create an account. Once you sign up, there’s a nice page-by-page tutorial on how to use the drawing tools and how multi-touch gestures work within the app.

SyncSpace
SyncSpace allows for a choice of 9 colors, 4 pen thicknesses, and 2 pen styles (solid or dashed), which was more than the other apps provided. Two unique features the app has are its ability to scale the screen to any size (it seems that you can shrink or expand your whiteboard indefinitely), and its synchronize capability, which allows for true collaboration. My son and I tried this and it was easy and worked well. You can also export files as PDFs, post them to Facebook, Twitter, or Campfire (a collaboration app), or email a link to other iPad users.

One down side of SyncSpace is that it did not work in landscape (horizontal) mode, making it a little less ideal for projecting.

Jot!Free
The Free version of Jot has a pretty nice set of functionality including: 4 colors and 4 pen sizes, the ability to move a drawing and to add a background, and to add text. You share your drawings via email or save them as a photo. There’s a premium app available for $4.99 that provides more colors, more line widths, 5 fonts to select from, and live sharing.

The other four apps shown in the search results I eliminated for the following reasons:

• Show Me Interactive Whiteboard: Show Me seemed like ScreenChomp without the audio recording capability.
• Doceri Remote: Required the installation of an additional application in order to use it, and it appeared that I would probably have to pay that app at some point.
• Sign+: This should not have been in the list as it for creating a “digital sign”, and does not have the interactive nature of a true digital whiteboard.
• SMART Bridgit Conferfence: This requires you to have a SMART board and applicable server in place.

Connecting the iPad to a projector or HD TV
This seems pretty straightforward if you have the right components. I can’t wait to try this, and I’ll be sure to share my results here.

• You will need the Apple Digital AV Adapter ($39) and an HDMI Cable(under $10).
• Your projector or TV will have to have an HDMI interface (not something we have many of).
• This eHow article explains the basic process of connecting your iPad to your projector.

If any readers have experience doing this, using these or similar apps, please tell us about it. I’m sure there are other decent free IWB-type apps for the iPad2 that I could have found by searching on different words or phrases, so if you know of any, please drop a comment and let us know about them. As always, questions or other comments are also welcomed!

I am currently generating a list of alternatives to physical clickers in the classroom. So far I have only tested about 10 of them.  Poll daddy and Pinnion are favorites so far. Of course,  Google Docs Forms as a polling/survey tool in the classroom is also a great alternative if you have access.  Here’s my list (feel free to try them out as well, each has their own style and features):

PollDaddy: http://polldaddy.com
Socrative: http://www.socrative.com/
Piazza: https://piazza.com/
LectureTools: http://www.lecturetools.com/
QuestionPress: http://www.questionpress.com/
Learning Catalytics: https://learningcatalytics.com/
polleverywhere: http://www.polleverywhere.com/highered-student-response-system
mentimeter: http://mentimeter.com/
Celly: http://cel.ly/
eClickers: http://www.eclicker.com/
TurningTechnologies ResponseWare:http://www.turningtechnologies.com/studentresponsesystems/mobiledistancelearning/higheredresponseware/
Socrative: http://socrative.com/#
Google Forms: docs.google.com
Top Hat Monocle: http://www.tophatmonocle.com/
GoSoapBox: http://gosoapbox.com/tour
iClicker Web Clicker:  http://www.iclicker.com/products/webclicker/
ClickerSchool Virtual Clicker by Eduware:http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clickerschool-virtual-clicker/id444020820?mt=8
SodaHead Polls-WP plug-in:  http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sodahead-polls/
Pinnion: http://www.pinnion.com/

Answering common questions about MIT and Harvard’s new partnership in online education. MIT News, May 2, 2012

What is edX?
An organization established by MIT and Harvard University that will develop an open-source technology platform to deliver online courses. EdX will support Harvard and MIT faculty in conducting research on teaching and learning on campus through tools that enrich classroom and laboratory experiences. At the same time, edX will also reach learners around the world through online course materials. The edX website will begin by hosting MITx and Harvardx content, with the goal of adding content from other universities interested in joining the platform. edX will also support the Harvard and MIT faculty in conducting research on teaching and learning.

What are MITx and Harvardx?
Portfolios of MIT and Harvard online courses offered to learners around the world through edX.

What technology will edX use?
An open-source online learning platform that will feature teaching designed specifically for the Web. Features will include: self-paced learning, online discussion groups, wiki-based collaborative learning, assessment of learning as a student progresses through a course, and online laboratories. The platform will also serve as a laboratory from which data will be gathered to better understand how students learn. Because it is open-source, the platform will be improved continuously.

Is there anything innovative about the online technology?
Yes. It will move beyond the standard model of online education that relies on watching video content and will offer an interactive experience for students. And the technology will be open-source; other universities will be able to leverage the innovative technology to create their own online offerings.

Why are MIT and Harvard doing this?
To improve education on campus and around the world:

• On campus, edX research will enhance our understanding of how students learn and how technologies can best be used as part of our larger efforts to improve teaching and learning.
• Beyond our campuses, edX will expand access to education, allow for certificates of mastery to be earned by able learners, and make the open-source platform available to other institutions.

Why did Harvard and MIT decide to partner with each other?
We share a vision for greater access to education. Based on our long history of collaboration, we know we can leverage our strengths to best serve the world.

How is this different from what other universities are doing online?
EdX will be entirely our universities’ shared educational missions. Also, a primary goal of edX is to improve teaching and learning on campus by supporting faculty from both universities in conducting significant research on how students learn.

Who will lead edX?
EdX is a priority for the leadership of both Harvard and MIT, and it will be governed by a board made up of key leaders from both institutions, appointed by each university’s president. Anant Agrawal, director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, will be the initial president of edX and will report to the board.

Does the effort have a staff?
EdX is a significant undertaking that will require significant resources. The full scope of the staff has not been determined, but there will be a staff dedicated to the initiative.

Who can take edX courses? Will there be an admissions process?
EdX will be available to anyone in the world with an Internet connection, and in general, there will not be an admissions process. For a modest fee — and as determined by the edX board, MIT and Harvard — credentials will be granted only to students who earn them by demonstrating mastery of the material of a subject.

Will the certificates be awarded by Harvard and/or MIT?
As determined by the edX board, MIT and Harvard, online learners who demonstrate mastery of subjects could earn a certificate of completion, but such certificates would not be issued under the name of Harvard or MIT.

What will the scope of the online courses be? How many? Which faculty? 
Our goal is to offer a wide variety of courses across disciplines.

Will Harvard and MIT students be able to take these courses for credit?
No. MITx and Harvardx courses will not be offered for credit at either university. The online content will be used to extend and enrich on-campus courses.

How will success be measured?
Progress in student-learning research and the demand for online courses will both be measured as indications of success. However, a plan for measuring the full success of edX will be developed in consultation with faculty from MIT and Harvard.

Who is the learner? Domestic or international? Age range?
Improving teaching and learning for students on our campuses is one of our primary goals. Beyond that, we don’t have a target group of potential learners, as the goal is to make these courses available to anyone in the world — from any demographic — who has interest in advancing their own knowledge. The only requirement is to have a computer with an Internet connection.

Many institutions are partnering in this space. Is the MIT/Harvard partnership exclusive? Will other institutions be able to collaborate with edX?
It is our intention that over time other universities will join MIT and Harvard in offering courses on the edX platform. The gathering of many universities’ educational content together on one site will enable learners worldwide to access the course content of any participating university from a single website, and to use a set of online educational tools shared by all participating universities.

Will MIT and Harvard standards apply here? 
The reach changes exponentially, but the rigor remains the same.

How do you intend to test whether this approach is improving learning? 
Both institutions have assembled faculty who will look at data collection and analytical tools for assessing the results.

A few teachers in West Hartford have been dabbling in the flipped classroom, all finding different levels of success and challenges. The biggest challenge to date is finding a vehicle for the “flip”. Someplace secure, that can hold large videos and allow quizzes and comments. A blog, a Google site…. some are having issues with the size of their video uploads.  Here is an article that will help level the playing the field for those who are not “in the know”.

The flip: Classwork at home, homework in class

 

By Valerie Strauss, Published: April 15

Chrome is my favourite browser that I am using right now. Firefox is also great but the user satisfaction I got when I moved from Firefox to Chrome is what made me rethink. You might have different view but if it happens that you are using Chrome too then you will be discovering  here from time to time extensions that are indispensable to your browsing experience as a whole.

Today I am introducing you to four awesome extensions useful for users who opens several tabs in one single Window. In fact having numerous tabs active can slow down your browsing and when an accident happens you might even run the risk of  losing all of these tabs. To better manage your tabs you can use these extensions, they are really great and I am using them on a daily basis too.

1- Too many Tabs

This is one of my favourites among them all and believe me it has saved me many times. Sometimes I would close a tab I am working on just mistakenly and instead of going to Chrome history and start all that painful search for that website , one click on Too Many Tabs will get it back to you.

2- Panic Button

Instead of having several tabs opned in the same window you can use Panic Button extensions to save those already opened and get started working on new tabs. The saved tabs stay intact even when you turn off your computer and the next time you open your Chrome browser just click on the Too Many Tabs icon to get them back .

3- Page Snooze

Page Snooze is a Chrome Extension designed to clean up all those tabs and make your web browser more manageable. Just right-click on a page and choose how long you would like to have it sleep. You can choose anything from five seconds to two weeks.

4- Join Tabs

 

 

The following links below are what you will need to share with your students and let them enjoy the human body through interactive imaging, games, exercises and more. Enjoy.

Build-a Body:

This is a great website that allows students to build the human body using interactive elements system by system. Each systen has descriptions and provides some facts about diseases. Students will only drag and drop the parts of body such as bones, organs,..ect.

BioDigital Human

This is a great resource for  anatomy. It lets users view the human body in 3D, hide or remove layers, create custom views and many more.

Medical Animations
The university of Pennsylvania Health System has a great website offering medical animations, explanations of several medical problems, resources on anatomy, physiology, and the human body.

InnerBody

This is a webite where students can learn about human anatomy and physiology. It provides charts, diagrams, animations, graphics,descriptions and many more.

Zygote Body

This is the the substitue of Google Body. After Google decided to shut down Google Lab and with it Google Body, Zygote which is the company that developed it for Google has brought it back under Zygote Body. This website allows users to  explore human body in details using 3D images.

Virtual Eye Dissection and Eye Anatomy

As its name suggests, this website lets users view photos from an actual eye dissection, and perform virtual dissection on the eye. It is great for students.

Healthline Body Maps

This is an awesome website where students can learn about the different parts of the human body. Just mouse over any part of the body to get more info about it. You can also peel away layers of the body to look at different levels.

Visible Body

This one here allows you to view the human body in 3D. You can add or subtract different systems, rotate, zoom in and out and many more.

Anatomy Arcade

This is an interactive website that helps users learn about the human anatomy. It provides videos, flash games and interactives.

eSkeletons

This is a great site from the university of Texas at Austin and that offers interactive skeletal  anatomy of human and non-human primates.

Open Heart Surgery Simulation

This is a cool website. You can play the role of a surgeon performing a Coronary Artery Bypass surgery.. The process is very simple and in each step, you are provided instructions to help you work.

Introducing technology into the curriculum means more than just “making it work.”  The principles of adult learning theory can be used in the design of technology-based instruction to make it more effective. Malcolm Knowles’ theory of andragogy allows teacher/facilitators to structure lessons which are part of a relevant learning environment for adults students.

Introduction

Higher education has given priority to the integration of technology into the curriculum. As this has occurred, institutions are faced with the many issues that surround making the lessons succeed technologically. Faculty must spend time learning how to use the technology and ensuring that adequate institutional support is present to make the technology work. It is, therefore, easy for the instructional design of such curricula to be put on the side while we get technology issues “under control.” Faculty need to focus on learning theory in the design of instructional technology so that they can create lessons that are not only technology-effective but that are meaningful from the learner’s standpoint. Malcolm Knowles’ theory of andragogy outlines effective methodologies for adult learning. When this theory is integrated into the design of technology-based learning environments it is possible to create lessons that not only serve the needs of students to use the latest technology but also focus on their requirements as an adult. Andragogy includes ideas such as an adult’s readiness to learn, the role of the learner’s experiences, the faculty member as a facilitator of learning, an adult’s orientation to learning, and the learner’s self concept.

What is Andragogy?

 

Andragogy is a set of assumptions about how adults learn. Its roots can be traced back to Alexander Kapp, a German grammar teacher who used it to describe Plato’s educational theory (Knowles, Holton, and Swanson 1998, 59). It appeared again in 1921 when another German, Social Scientist, Eugen Rosenstock claimed that “adult education required special teachers, special methods, and a special philosophy.” (Knowles, Holton, and Swanson 1998, 59) There is evidence that discussion of andragogy continued in Europe until Dusan Savicevic, a Yugoslavian adult educator, first discussed the concept in the United States. Malcolm Knowles heard about the term and in 1968 used it in an article in Adult Leadership. From that point on, Knowles has become known as the principle expert on andragogy although numerous adult educators including Brookfield (1986), Mezirow (1991), Lawler (1991) and Merriam (1999) have addressed the concept and/or discussed how it can be used to facilitate adult learning.

 

Technology and the Assumptions of Andragogy

 

Knowles, Holton and Swanson (1998) discuss six assumptions of andragogy.  Following are expanded definitions of those assumptions with their implications for technology-based instruction:

 

• · The Learner’s Need to Know

 

Adults need to know why they should learn something.  Under the more standard pedagogical model it is assumed that the student will simply learn what they are told.  Adults, however, are used to understanding what they do in life.  They want to know the reason they need to learn something or how it will benefit them. This may be accomplished before students even engage technology, such as if a Spanish class is required to fill a language elective to complete a degree, however, it is wise for the faculty member to help students understand how what they will learn will be of use to them in the future. The required Spanish language lessons will be more affective if the student feels that it will increase her/his ability to understand a bilingual colleague on the job.

One way to help students see the value of the lessons is to ask the student, either online or in an initial face-to-face meeting, to do some reflection on what they expect to learn, how they might use it in the future or how it will help them to meet their goals.  Patricia Lawler (1991, 36) suggests that these goals and expectations can be used throughout the program to reinforce the importance of learning activities. The design of technology-based lessons can incorporate not only the students’ original reflections but can solicit feedback about the relevance of the ongoing learning process throughout the course.  It is incumbent upon the instructor to review these reflections and to adjust the technology or suggest an individual lesson structure to more effectively meet student needs.

 

• · The Learner’s Self-concept

 

Knowles, Holton, and Swanson emphasize that “adults resent and resist situations in which they feel others are imposing their wills on them.” (1998, 65)  In spite of their need for autonomy, previous schooling has made them dependent learners. It is the job of the adult educator to move adult students away from their old habits and into new patterns of learning where they become self-directed, taking responsibility for their own learning and the direction it takes. Technology is a perfect path for the facilitation of self-direction. The ultimate ability of initiatives such as web-based learning to be non-linear allows an adult to follow the path that most appropriately reflects their need to learn. It becomes extremely important for those who are designing technology-based adult learning to use all of the capabilities of the technology including branching, the ability to skip sections a student already understands, and multiple forms of presentation of material which can assist people with various learning styles. All of these can be used to permit students to follow a path of learning that most appropriately suits them.

There is, however, one final piece that needs to be added when students are learning with technology.  There must be some way to help learners who are still moving into the self-directed mode. Those learners who are new to adult education or who for some reason have not experienced the ability to be self-directed learners in the past need a structure which will help them to grow. Particular attention should be given to students who may not want to spend time outside of a classroom situation; who prefer to be spoon-fed material during a regularly scheduled session. This type of student may exhibit negative opinions of having to use technology as the only means of learning as they will need to take responsibility and direct their own learning. The instructor must find ways to move these learners into self-direction by giving them short, directed, concrete online tasks that provide the most “learning for the experience” to make these adults see the relevancy of online learning.

It is also important that self-directedness not be confused with self-motivation.  Although a student may be motivated to take a course, they may not be self-directed enough to feel comfortable choosing instructional modules in an online course or creating their own structured environment to learn in a web-based course.

Encouraging self-directedness may also take the form of additional instructor contact in the beginning stages of the class or could be facilitated by having students do technology-based modules within a traditional class before they move to a complete course based in technology.

 

• · The Role of the Learner’s Experience

 

Adults have had a lifetime of experiences. These make adult learners more heterogeneous than younger learners and also provides an additional base of knowledge that can and should be used in the classroom or technology-based learning experience. Adults want to use what they know and want to be acknowledged for having that knowledge.  The design of technology-based instruction must include opportunities for learners to use their knowledge and experience. Case studies, reflective activities, group projects that call upon the expertise of group members and lab experiments are examples of the type of learning activities which will facilitate the use of learners’ already acquired expertise.

An important corollary to the experience that adults bring with them is the association of their experiences with who they are. Their self-identity including habits and biases are determined from their experience. It is for this reason that those developing technology-based instruction for adult learners need to create opportunities for what Jack Mezirow calls “reflective learning.” (1991, 6) As Mezirow states, “reflective learning involves assessment or reassessment of assumptions” (1991, 6) and “reflective learning becomes transformative whenever assumptions or premises are found to be distorting, inauthentic or otherwise invalid.” (1991, 6) Reflective learning activities can assist students in examining their biases and habits and move them toward a new understanding of information presented. Using web-based or other technologies to have students reflect on learning activities           or to put themselves in a different character in a case study or scenario may cause adults to reevaluate already learned information or patterns.

 

• · A Student’s Readiness to Learn

 

Adults become ready to learn something when, as Knowles explained, “they experience a need to learn it in order to cope more satisfyingly with real-life tasks or problems.” (1980, 44) It is important that lessons developed in technology-based opportunities should, where possible, be concrete and relate to students’ needs and future goals. These may be adapted from the goals of the course or learning program but can also grow out to the requests for student expectations that were mentioned earlier. In addition, an instructor can encourage students’ readiness by designing experiences which simulate situations where the student will encounter a need for the knowledge or skill presented. Students in a personnel management course may not see the need for learning about the Family and Medical Leave Act but an interactive role play that puts students in the place of a manager who must deal with an employee’s request for leave due to a child’s illness will help them see how an understanding of the topic will benefit them in the future.

 

• · The Student’s Orientation to Learning

 

Adults are life, task or problem-centered in their orientation to learning. They want to see how what they are learning will apply to their life, a task they need to perform, or to solving a problem. Technology-based instruction will be more effective if it uses real-life examples or situations that adult learners may encounter in their life or on the job. Allowing flexibility in the design of a lesson will permit student input on issues that need to be addressed in a class. If students can bring real-life examples of school discipline challenges to a chat session in an online course on behavior management they will be anxious to participate and gain the practical experience which will help them to do better at their job.

 

• · Students’ Motivation to Learn

 

While adult learners may respond to external motivators, internal priorities are more important. Incentives such as increased job satisfaction, self-esteem and quality of life are important in giving adults a reason to learn. If any of these can be related as part of technology-based instruction adults will respond more positively. Activities that build students’ self-esteem, or sense of accomplishment through, for example, the completion of goals or modules that can be checked off in a sequence, may help motivate completion of a longer lesson. In addition, student’s input into the development of lessons or in the prioritization of topics covered can help students to take ownership of the learning process.

 

Conclusion

 

 

To facilitate the use of andragogy while teaching with technology we must use technology to its fullest. Arguments for the use of technology many times include statements about its flexibility and the ability of the learner to move through lessons any time, anywhere, and at their own pace. These arguments also include logical explanations of how a learner may adapt the lessons or material to cover what they need to learn and eliminate the material that is not appropriate or that they have already learned. To adapt to the needs of adult students, these definitions of technology-based learning must be utilized to make its design interactive, learner-centered and to facilitate self-direction in learners.

Educators who are using adult education concepts in the development of their lessons must also become facilitators of learning.  They must structure student input into their design and create technology-based lessons which can easily be adapted to make the presentation of topics relevant to those they teach.

If these guidelines are followed, the instruction that is developed will be not only technologically workable but also effective from a learner’s perspective.

 

Posted by Erik Schreefel in Educational Technology, Web 2.0 Tools on Mar 06, 2012

I chose to include each site based on several factors:

a) Functionality (i.e. did it work?)
b) Ease of use
c) Applications in education (could a teacher actually use it for something?)
d) Compatibility with popular educational technology and digital teaching materials
In no particular order:

1.    Poll Everywhere
An inexpensive and quick alternative for clicker response systems. Create your first poll in 30 seconds without having to sign up. Your students simply text their answer to a predetermined number and, voila! Poll Everywhere is free if your class size is less than 40 students.

2.    Animoto
Use Animoto to easily create presentations and videos with your own images and music, or choose from a library of stock files. Teachers can apply for a free Animoto Plus account.

3.    Edmodo
Edmodo is a social network that you set up for your class. It looks like, feels like and smells like Facebook; however, it employs many safety precautions that keep students on task. Students cannot have private chats with each other, invite anyone to the class group or make private posts. It’s great because you can use it as a resource to answer questions and stay connected with your students outside of school.

4.    Edublogs
With Edublogs, you can create and manage your own teacher blog as well as student blogs. You can customize designs and include videos, images and podcasts. Best of all, it’s safe and secure.

5.    Wikispaces  
With a free option for K-12 teachers, Wikispaces is a great tool for making custom webpages that your students can edit together. You can manage privacy settings, create student accounts without email addresses, embed media and even customize the design of your Wiki pages.

6.    Photobucket
Photobucket is a popular website that can be used to store and share your images and videos for free. It’s a handy tool for transferring files between your home and work computer.

7.    Gizmoz
Animate a picture of yourself with Gizmoz’s avatar creation studio. Your students will get a kick out of it!

8.    Screencast
Screencast is another media storage website. With a free account, you get 2GB of storage and 2GB of bandwidth a month. You keep the rights to everything you upload and you can determine the privacy settings for each file. From there, Screencast makes it easy to share and embed your media. Screencast also works seamlessly with TechSmith’s screen recording Camtasia software.

9.    Celly  
Celly is a free group text messaging program for schools with no user limit. It’s easy to start a group chat and create a class poll using text messages. Curators filter the messages before they are sent to the group. This keeps students on-topic and deters cyberbullying.

10.    VoiceThread
VoiceThread’s group conversations are stored and shared in one place, from anywhere in the world. It allows you to create multimedia slideshows with images, videos and documents. Others can view the slides and then leave text, audio or video comments.

11.    Twitter 
Many teachers create a class Twitter account and use it as a way for students to contact them with questions about homework, due dates, and exams. It’s a quick alternative to writing out an entire email and most students have Twitter apps on their phones.

12.    Dropbox 
Dropbox isn’t specific to teachers, but it’s a very handy tool. I’ve spoken with many teachers who use it with their students to share documents, turn in homework, etc. If you haven’t already given Dropbox a try, I’m telling you, it’s worthwhile. It’ll make your life so much easier.

13.    Flickr
Like Photobucket, Flickr is another free image hosting service that allows you to access your files from any computer with an internet connection.

14.    WordPress 
WordPress is a blogging platform that allows you a lot of versatility in the kind of content you can offer. Create a class blog where you post links to helpful readings and give updates on assignments. It’s free to sign up and start a blog.

15.    Prezi 
Prezi is a really neat cloud-based presentation program that allows you to zoom in and out. If you don’t mind your slides being public, you can sign up for a free account with 100MB of storage.

16.    Google Docs
Create, share and collaboratively edit documents using a Google account. Google Docs is especially useful for group projects where students are working together on an assignment. Ask your students to provide you with access to their Google Doc while they’re working on it so that you can give them real-time feedback on their progress.

17.    Google Earth
Google Earth is a nifty tool that is being used by educators around the world. It puts the planet’s geographic information at your fingertips and can be utilized in a variety of educational activities. There’s even a helpful Google Earth for Educators Community where you can go for new ideas or to share some of your own.

18.    YouTube
With millions of YouTube videos, there’s bound to be something that’s relatable to your lesson. There are step-by-step tutorials, news clips, editorials, short documentaries and more. Recently, YouTube launched an education-specific version of the website called YouTube for Teachers.

19.    Google Calendar
Google Calendar is great for planning lessons, exams and keeping track of assignment due dates. It’s fast, intuitive, and only requires a Google account. It also has the ability to sync with some smart phones.

20.    Evernote
Evernote is cool because it is available across several platforms like Mac, Windows, iPhone and iPad. It allows you to take notes that are accessible from any of the computers, phones or tablets that you use.

21.    Vimeo 
Vimeo is kind of like YouTube in that it is a place for you to easily upload any kind of video you create—even high definition. A free account gives you access to 500MB worth of storage each week that you can use for a variety of things like customizing your website or blog.

22.    IMDb
Use IMDb, the internet movie database, to see if there are any movies that are relevant to the topic you’re teaching. If you find one, you can also check the rating to make sure it’s appropriate for your classroom.

23.    Teaching Channel
This website is a little bit like YouTube because you can watch streaming videos. However, it’s very different because each video shares teaching ideas and methods that can be implemented in a classroom.

24.    Testmoz
Use Testmoz to automatically generate free online tests using four different question types. You and your students don’t need to register, and you can build a fully functional test in about a minute.

25.    Screencast-O-Matic 
Screencast-O-Matic is an online screen recorder with a one-click recording feature. You can use it from your browser on either a Windows or Mac computer. You can video up to 15 minutes in length for free.

26.    WeVideo
WeVideo is an online video editing program that you can use collaboratively with others. It is easy to add effects, music and narration to a personal or group project. WeVideo also takes the hassle out of sharing by providing options for popular social media sites.

27.    Quizlet
As one of the largest and most popular flashcard creation websites around, Quizlet allows students and teachers to customize their own “sets” of flashcards. You can manage access to the flashcards you create and share them with your students.

28.    Dipity
With Dipity, you can find, create and embed interactive timelines. The best part is that you can add photos to customize the look of each timeline. This website is especially useful for providing your students with a visual representation of a sequence of events. It’s great for history and English teachers.

29.    Yugma
Yugma instantly shares your desktop with a single student for free. Use it for providing extra afterschool help to struggling students.

30.    Fold3
This website is an online collection of historical military records. There are millions of images and documents that can be searched and annotated with additional information. Everything is categorized by war which makes it easy to fit into a history lesson plan.

31.    Gliffy
Gliffy is one of my favorite web 2.0 tools. You can use it to create attractive and professional graphic organizers like Venn diagrams and flow charts. Unfortunately, to receive full access to their services, you have to pay for it. However, you can sign up for a free 30 day trial.

32.    Iconfinder 
For the tech-savvy teachers out there, Iconfinder is a cool place to download free icons for your customized website or blog. Some of the icons can even be used on worksheets and in PowerPoint presentations.

33.    SlideShare
SlideShare is one of the most popular ways to upload and share PowerPoint presentations and other documents. Again, this is a great tool for transferring documents between your home and school computer without having to carry around a flash drive.

34.    Quora
Although not specific to teachers, Quora is basically a wealth of the world’s information. The gist of it is that if you have a question, say about a topic in your homework, you log in and post it. There, people who follow that topic will answer. I’ve met teachers who give the website out for high-level classes like physics and chemistry. It’s a great way for students to get a nudge in the right direction on a project or difficult assignment.

35.    Penzu
Penzu is home to what is probably the most realistic imitation of lined paper on the internet. This nifty online journal is accessible from any computer with the internet, so it’s great for writing prompts and class notes.

36.    Make Beliefs Comix 
Create your own comic strip for free. You can write in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Latin. After you’re done creating, you can print your customized comic or email it to yourself.

37.    Forvo
Forvo is the world’s largest pronunciation dictionary. It’s very valuable for foreign language teachers because you can look up any word and hear it pronounced by an authentic native speaker.

38.    Dictionary.com  
Use Dictionary.com as a quick reference for words that your students don’t know. Often times it’s a lot faster than whipping out a conventional dictionary because you can simply type the word into the search engine.

39.    Wallwisher
Wallwisher is basically an online message board where you post “Sticky Notes.” You can make one for yourself to help you remember important events and dates, or create one for your class. You can even choose to approve each sticky note before it is created so that you can monitor what’s being said.

40.    Google Talk 
An instant messaging program that only requires a Google account. The nice part about it is that many students are likely to have a Google account so they can always reach you when they have questions about homework.

41.    Google Sites  
Google Sites is a free and easy way to create and share webpages and wikis.

42.    Gmail
Gmail is one of the most versatile free email programs out there. It’s really easy to use and you can access it from any computer with an internet connection. Most smartphones also have an app that allows you to check your email while you’re on the go. This is really great if you give your students your email address.

43.    TeacherTube
TeacherTube is exactly what it sounds like—YouTube for teachers. A colleague of mine introduced me to TeacherTube last year and it’s been a favorite ever since. The design of the website is getting a little outdated (it’s reminiscent of past versions of YouTube), but there are many educational videos to choose from. Plus, students love it because a) they’re watching videos, and b) it reminds them of where they find clips of ceiling cat.

44.    Dabbleboard
Dabbleboard is an online whiteboard drawing interface that allows you to collaborate and share your work with an unlimited number of users.

45.    Podomatic
Create and upload your own podcast or find a variety of free podcasts on Podomatic.

46.    Diigo
Use Diigo to highlight text and images on webpages that you’ve found and then access them at a later date from your Diigo account. You can also create sticky notes if you need to write additional comments. When you return to the website, all of the annotations you made are still there.

47.    Zamzar 
Another one of my favorite websites, Zamzar is a free online file conversion service. It’s super easy to use and all you have to do is upload your file and enter in an email for the converted file to be sent to.

48.    Scribd  
Scribd is a web 2.0 document sharing site where you can upload, store and embed various types of files. It’s another popular option for moving files between your home and school computer.

49.    BibMe 
BibMe might be the easiest way to create a works cited page. You can search for a book, article, website or film and it automatically generates the information for you. You can also enter in the information yourself if you have it on hand.

50.    MediaFire  
MediaFire is a free file and image hosting website. It is nice because you can upload and download your documents from any computer with an internet connection and only you have access to them.

51.    Google Bookmarks  
Keep track of websites that you’ve visited and add searchable notes to them.

52.    Create-a-Graph 
Use Create-a-Graph to make attractive graphs for free. Choose from bar, line, area, pie and simple XY coordinate graphs.

53.    Remember the Milk
Remember the Milk is a free online to-do list and task manager. It’s cool because you can use it from a number of different platforms including Gmail, Twitter, iPad, iPhone, Android, and more.

54.    ClassMarker 
ClassMarker is an online quiz and test creation website. As an educator, you get 100 free tests taken (and graded!) per month.

55.    Bubbl.us 
Use Bubbl.us to create colorful online mind maps. It’s great for class discussions and brainstorming sessions.

56.    Meebo Messenger
In my opinon, Meebo Messenger is the best instant messaging application there is. You don’t have to download any kind of software—all you have to do is sign up for an account. With Meebo, you can chat with students on different instant messaging platforms without having to download or use that specific platform yourself.

57.    Blabberize
Blabberize is a fun web 2.0 tool that allows you to upload a picture (of a person or animal), select its mouth, and make it talk by adding an audio file. Like Gizmoz, your students are sure to get a kick out of it!

58.    Primary Pad
PrimaryPad is an online word processor that allows students and teachers to work together in real-time.

59.    EasyBib
Use EasyBib to automatically generate works cited and bibliography information for academic papers using MLA, APA and Chicago/Turabian citation styles. Easybib is a student favorite.

60.    Crocodoc
Crocodoc is very useful for reviewing and marking up student papers and assignments. You can upload and display documents in your browser without Flash or any plugins and then use the Crocodoc tools to write comments, edit and highlight.

61.    Sharendipity 
Customize, create and share your own educational games with Sharendipity. You don’t need any programming skills to get started. Just choose one of several game templates or start from scratch.

62.    TypeIt
TypeIt is handy for foreign language teachers and students. Use it to easily type accents and diacritics online without a language-specific keyboard. TypeIt is nice because you can move back and forth between Microsoft Word with cut and paste.

63.    TubeChop  
If you want to show a YouTube video in class that isn’t entirely appropriate or relevant, use Tubechop to cut out all of the excess and only keep what you want to show.

64.    Mindomo
Mindomo is another online mind mapping tool. It’s neat because you can collaborate in real-time with others and share/embed what you’ve created. You get three free mind maps.

65.    4shared
Enjoy 10GB of free file storage at 4shared. Since everything is stored in the cloud, you can access it from any computer with an internet connection.

66.    bitly
If you tend to provide your students with a lot of links to online readings, activities, etc., you should look into using bitly’s link shortening service so you aren’t sending your kids super long URLs. You can even track how many times each link has been clicked to get an idea of how many students actually followed your instructions.

67.    Creative Commons Search
Easily find images and files that can be freely used for worksheets, presentations and more with the Creative Commons Search. Every once and a while you’ll come across something that isn’t licensed for use; however, the majority of results can be shared and edited.

68.    Certificate Street 
Formerly MyAwardMaker, Certificate Street is a great place to find awards for your students. Select the award template you want from the list of categories. Then download it, fill it out and print! Premium templates without a watermark are available for a small fee.

69.    youconvertit 
youconvertit is a good online conversion website that allows you to convert and send files up to 100MB. You also enjoy 200MB of free storage.

70.    Block Posters 
Upload a large image to Block Posters and create any size wall poster you want for free! This website is great for decorating your classroom if you’ve got high-quality digital photographs or art files.

71.    AuthorSTREAM   
AuthorSTREAM is another one of many websites that allow you to upload a PowerPoint presentation and access it from any computer with an internet connection. It’s nice because you can select the privacy settings you want for your PowerPoint.

72.    Screenr 
Screenr is one of the best instant screencast tools available. It’s free and you can record on your PC or Mac, play it anywhere—even on your iPhone—and there’s nothing to download (as long as you have JAVA installed on your computer).

73.    SurveyMonkey
Create and publish your own online survey or quiz in minutes. You can make 10-question surveys with 100 respondents for free. It’s super easy to use and you don’t have to download anything.

74.    Tricider 
Tricider is great for online brainstorming and voting and can be used to gather feedback from your students on class projects and awards. You can even embed and share your topic which makes it easy to get responses.

75.    Tagxedo
Tagxedo is an awesome word cloud creation tool. You can turn customized text, websites, blogs, twitter accounts and more into stunning designs based on the frequency of words found in the medium. There are numerous designs and color schemes to choose from that can be saved to your computer or shared.

76.    dotSUB
dotSUB is especially useful for foreign language teachers. Use it to watch videos with subtitles in the target language, or upload your own video and create your own subtitles.

77.    Khan Academy
With over 2,600 videos ranging from arithmetic to history, Khan Academy is a great tool for reviewing a subject that you’ve already taught. Also, the website is just beginning to post practice exercises for additional reinforcement.

78.    SchoolTube
SchoolTube is a moderated video sharing website for K-12 students and teachers. Find videos on everything from anime to zoology. The design of the website is more modern than TeacherTube, which a lot of students appreciate.

79.    Wikipedia
While some argue that Wikipedia isn’t the most academic place to go for information, it’s a fantastic reference for quick facts and getting on the right track. A lot of teachers have their students use it as a foundation for a project and ask them to use other sources when citing material.

80.    Appolicious  
If you have a BYOD (bring your own device) policy at your school, you can use Appolicious to find a mobile app that fits your lesson plans. It gives you a description of each app, how much it costs, a screenshot and user reviews. There’s even a section that is specific to education so you don’t have to browse through irrelevant apps.

81.    Engrade
Engrade has thousands of members who utilize its free grade book, messaging, homework calendar, quizzes, attendance tracker and more. It’s one of my favorite web 2.0 tools.

82.    Cramberry 
Use Cramberry to create, study and share your flashcards online. You can download the Cramberry app on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad to access your flashcards on-the-go. It’s nice because it analyzes your progress and shows you cards that you need to focus on.

83.    Writeboard
Writeboard allows you to create sharable, web-based text documents that let you save and view every version of your content. It can be used as an individual or collaboratively which makes it perfect for group assignments.

84.    Teacher Planet  
Teacher Planet has hundreds of downloadable templates for lesson plans, rubrics and more.

85.    Convert pdf to word
This nifty website allows you to turn static PDF pages into editable Microsoft Word documents.

86.    Online Stopwatch 
Online Stopwatch is a web-based stopwatch that is easy to display on an interactive whiteboard and can count up or down. Use it for timed exams, essays, and standardized tests.

87.    Hootsuite
If you use social media to communicate with your students about homework assignment due dates, projects, etc., then you should give Hootsuite a try. Use it to schedule message reminders ahead of time so that you don’t risk forgetting, too.

88.    Microsoft Worldwide Telescope
Microsoft Worldwide Telescope allows your computer to act as a virtual telescope by bringing together images from the most advanced telescopes around the world. It’s great for science teachers who are doing a lesson on Astronomy, or even English and History teachers who are discussing ancient Greek and Roman gods.

89.    Poll Daddy
With a free account, you can create online surveys and quizzes with up to 10 questions. However, you only get 200 responses a month, so it’s not something you can use every day. Your students can respond via your website, email, Facebook, iPad and Twitter. Also, the free account comes with some basic reports so that you can quickly see how well your class understands the topic.

90.    Zoomerang
Use Zoomerang to create an unlimited number of online surveys and polls that can be answered via email, Facebook, Twitter or your website. Quizzes with up to 10 questions and 100 responses are free.

91.    Disapainted
Animate basic web-based paint drawings with Disapainted. It’s a cool way to give life to a simple concept and, since it’s online, it’s even easier to project onto your interactive whiteboard.

92.    Grammarly
Share Grammarly with your students because it’s a user friendly way to improve a paper. Simply copy and paste text into the box and click “check text.” Within 30 seconds, it provides a detailed analysis that includes 150 different grammar rules, plagiarism, word choice and more. The only downside is that Grammarly is a premium service; however, you can sign up for a free sevenday trial.

93.    Live Binders
Live Binders is a cool online storage and organization tool. You can use it to create tabs for your important documents.

94.    Cueprompter
A lot of students have a hard time giving class presentations, but Cueprompter helps to relieve some of the nerves. Copy and paste your script into the box and it displays just like a real teleprompter. Plus, it’s free to use.

95.    Twiddla
Twiddla is a web-conferencing service that is great for helping students out after school. You can mark up graphics and websites, use it to brainstorm and more. It even has a few other nifty features that are free, including voice chat.

96.    YouSendIt
YouSendIt is an online service that allows you to upload and send large files via email. Use it to send documents to colleagues.

97.    Socrative
This web 2.0 tool uses cell phones and/or laptops to gather feedback from students. You can post as many questions as you’d like, which is nice if you have several classes.

98.    Memplai
Create videos in collaboration with your social network. The online video editing tools are useful if you don’t already have video editing software on your computer.

99.    Wordle
Create beautiful word clouds from text that you provide. Like Tagxedo, it gives prominence to words that appear most frequently. You can save, print and share your creation.

100.    Zotero
Zotero is a neat tool that helps you collect, organize, cite and share research that you have done. You can add PDFs, images, audio and video files, snapshots of web pages and more. It indexes the full-text content of your library, allowing you to quickly find what you’re looking for.

101.    GoEd Online
So, I’ll end the list with a shameless bit of self-promotion. Cut me some slack, I spent a lot of time on this post! There’s no other website in the world where teachers can rent streaming educational videos or download eBooks, PowerPoint presentations and interactive games all in one place. Do me a favor andcheck it out.