Pam Moran, Mobile Learning, Data & Learning, Webinar Management, Horizon Report, Dropout Prevention, School Communities, AFEE/Macarthur/NWP

From yesterday’s inbox…

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This week’s update on the U.S. Department of Education’s Connected Educators initiative:

Connected Educator Profile: Dr. Pam Moran
We inaugurate our new Connected Educator profile series with an interview of Dr. Pam Moran, superintendent of Albemarle County (VA) Schools.  Dr. Moran shares how she became a connected educator, how she fits connectivity into her day, what she sees on the road ahead, and more…

http://bit.ly/pam_moran

Grunwald, Learning First, AT&T: Mobile Learning
Grunwald Associates LLC, the Learning First Alliance, and AT&T have released a new study on kids and mobile learning (scroll down within the link to see/get free report and infographic), based on a nationally representative online survey of more than 2,000 parents of kids ages 3-18.  Topics covered include devices used, mobile use in schools, attitudes towards mobile learning, what devices are being used for, and more…

http://bit.ly/ga_mobile_learn   (report is just below the fold)

SETDA, US Dept of ED: New Report on Data and Learning
On Monday, May 21, 10:00-11:30 AM, the State Education Technology Directors Association will be releasing a new report, Transforming Data to Information in Service of Learning, with a blended press conference at the National Press Club.  You can reserve a seat at the event or register to watch it live.  Confirmed speakers include Douglas Levin, Executive Director of SETDA, and Richard Culatta, Acting Director of the Office of Educational Technology, US Department of Education…

http://bit.ly/datatoinfo_watchlive

CoSN, NMC: Horizon Report 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 1-2 PM ET.  The Consortium for School Networking and the New Media Consortium Group will be unveiling the 2013 K-12 Horizon Report, detailing the six emerging technologies they’ve determined will have the biggest impact on K-12 education in the next three years, in an online event featuring NMC CEO Dr. Larry Johnson.  More information and registration at the link below (registration is free for CoSN institutional and corporate members)…

http://bit.ly/2013_horizon

edWeb, ETLO: Webinar Management
Tuesday, May 21, 3-4 PM ET. edWeb and EdTech Leaders Online get meta–in a good way–for a “webinar on webinars,” sharing tips and advice for webinar planning and management. Registration below…

http://bit.ly/webinar_mgmt

US Dept of Ed, AIR: Dropout Recovery–Getting Creative
Thursday, June 6, 12-1 PM ET.  The US Department of Education and the American Institutes of Research announce the first public event offered by the members of the Dropout Prevention and Recovery online community of practice, a webinar featuring three teams sharing their experiences implementing creative and innovative ways to find and re-engage the toughest to reach students who have dropped out of school…

http://bit.ly/dropout_creative

Future of Education: Engaging School Communities
Wednesday, May 22, 2 PM ET. Steve Hargadon’s Future of Education series continues with a discussion of how school communities that include teachers, parents, and students can help raise the achievement levels of low-performing schools, featuring Ernie Turner, President of Leadership in International Management, and communications consultant Simona David.  You can learn more about this event, and others upcoming, via the Future of Education home page…

http://bit.ly/future_ofed (scroll down for calendar)

Alliance for Excellent Education, MacArthur, NWP: Connected Learning
Wednesday, May 29, 2-3 PM ET.  Join Dr. Elyse Eidman-Aadahl, Director of National Programs for the National Writing Project, Dr. Mimi Ito, Chair of Digital Media and Learning at the MacArthur Foundation, Martens Roc, Policy & Advocacy Associate for the Alliance for Excellent Education, Katie Salen, Executive Director of the Institute of Play, and Dr. Craig Watkins of the University of Texas, for a wide-ranging “Dive Into Connected Learning.” Sign up below…

http://bit.ly/afee_connectedlearning

To see past issues of this newsletter, click here.

The Connected Educators initiative is funded by the U.S. Department of Education under contract (ED-PEP-10-C-0059) with the American Institutes for Research in partnership with five organizations, including the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), Forum One Communications, the Friday Institute for Education Innovation, Grunwald Associates LLC, and the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA).

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Copyright © 2013 American Institutes for Research, All rights reserved. You joined our list through our website. Our mailing address is: American Institutes for Research American Institutes for Research 1000 Thomas Jefferson St NW Washington, DC 20002 Add us to your address book

NASSP/NAESP/Sheninger (TODAY), SIIA/Brainpop, CTQ Future of Teacher Prep, NCLE Collaboration, PLP Dig Portfolios, CoSN TTII, SETDA Data Report

And a final item from Thursday’s inbox…

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This week’s update on the U.S. Department of Education’s Connected Educators initiative: NASSP, NAESP, edWeb: Open Courseware for Secondary School Students The National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of Elementary School Principals, and edWeb join forces for a webinar on unleashing the power of open courseware for secondary school students, hosted by Principal Eric Sheninger of New Milford High School (NJ). TODAY (Thursday, May 9), 4-5 PM—you can register here: http://bit.ly/sheninger_opencourseware SIIA, Brainpop, edWeb: Game-Based Curriculum Tuesday, May 14, 4-5 PM ET: The Software Information Industry Association, Brainpop, Wowzers, and edWeb are offering a new webinar on game-based curriculum–directing learning through quests, badges, achievements, and truly personalized learning–featuring Dr. Chris Haskell of Boise State University.  Here’s a link to more info & registration: http://bit.ly/gamebased_curric Wednesday, May 22, 3:30 PM ET: Brainpop is also working with Common Sense Media, providing a look at tools to help make 1-to-1 and blended learning realities in your classroom(s): http://bit.ly/brainpop_blended1to1 New CTQ Report on the Future of Teacher Prep Seventeen educators from the Center from Teaching Quality (CTQ) have collaborated to create and release a new report on the future of teacher preparation. TEACHING 2030: Leveraging Teacher Preparation 2.0 highlights the essential components of prep programs, nine innovative programs that are getting it right, and how technology will shape teacher education of the future. http://bit.ly/ctq_teacherprep PS Don’t forget—everyone receiving this newsletter also has an open invitation from CTQ to join its free new Collaboratory! NCLE: Seeking, Sharing Collaboration Stories The National Center for Literacy Education wants to share stories of how you collaborate to strengthen literacy teaching and learning – not just literacy in the old-school sense, but those ever-changing skills needed for students of today to be successful in the unknown world of tomorrow.  Here’s a taste of the kinds of partnerships being highlighted—please join the Literacy in Learning Exchange to share your own stories… http://bit.ly/literacyin_learningexchange PLP: Digital Portfolios, Virtual Book Launch Party Next Thursday, May 16 at 7 PM ET, Powerful Learning Practice will be offering a free webinar on digital student portfolios, featuring author Kathy Cassidy and PLP Press leaders Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and John Norton.  The webinar will double as a virtual book launch party for Kathy’s new book, Connected From The Start, with fun giveaways and prizes… http://bit.ly/plp_digportfolios CoSN partners with Katy ISD and Huntsville SD for Teaming For Transformation II The Consortium of School Networking wants our group to know that Katy ISD (TX), and Huntsville Schools (AL) will be part of Teaming for Transformation II, the exclusive new blended professional learning community for school leadership teams, dedicated to digital transition, which will run from June 2013-March 2014.  Applications will be accepted until May 30; more info & an application link below… http://bit.ly/teaming_transformation http://bit.ly/ttransform_app Save the Date: New SETDA Report on Data and Learning On Monday, May 21, 10:00-11:30 AM, the State Education Technology Directors Association will be releasing a new report, Transforming Data to Information in Service of Learning, with a blended press conference at the National Press Club.  You can reserve a seat at the event or register to watch it live.  Confirmed speakers include Douglas Levin, Executive Director of SETDA, and Richard Culatta, Acting Director of the Office of Educational Technology, US Department of Education… http://bit.ly/datatoinfo_watchlive To see past issues of this newsletter, click here. The Connected Educators initiative is funded by the U.S. Department of Education under contract (ED-PEP-10-C-0059) with the American Institutes for Research in partnership with five organizations, including the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), Forum One Communications, the Friday Institute for Education Innovation, Grunwald Associates LLC, and the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA).  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend Copyright © 2013 American Institutes for Research, All rights reserved. You joined our list through our website. Our mailing address is: American Institutes for Research American Institutes for Research 1000 Thomas Jefferson St NW Washington, DC 20002 Add us to your address book

Digital Literacy Twitter Chat and Workshop

From the inbox a few hours ago – note the event for tomorrow morning.

Chat
Join us tomorrow, Sunday May 5, at 10am PDT for a Digital Literacy Twitter Chatto share ideas, resources and strategies. Use #digitaliteracy and #edtechbc for the chat. For those of you from far away, use the time zone converter.

Meet
Our Digital Literacy CEET Moodle Meet is underway with participants near and far (BC to Brazil!). Great discussions are underway. Tamara has developed 5 innovative Digital Literacy voice thread packages for you to explore. She even has “Take Out”.

Visit CEET NING at: http://ceetbc.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Featuring Digital Literacy

Three messages from CEET – two from Thursday’s inbox and one from today’s…

CEET Meet Online Workshop May 3-8:
How to Develop Digital Literacy Skills
Workshop facilitator is Tamara Malloff, Technology Coordinator at Mt. Sentinel Secondary School, SD#8 Kootenay Lake.

Discussion

Why digital literacy is vitally important!

iTunes U
Our CEET iTunesU Library is Growing. Check out Digital Literacy and latest edition, Ensuring Quality in Online Learning.

Looking for
ideas for using technology to create professional development for other educators

Visit CEET NING at: http://ceetbc.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

————

Our sincerest apologies for the youtube link to a liberal promotion in a message you received this morning. It was unintentional – the hyperlink did not attach properly and we failed to check the link before sending the message.

The blooper is ironically at a time when we are raising awareness about digital literacy and featuring it for the month of May with discussions, webinars and a 5 day professional development workshop.

We appreciate a blog post by Jenny in response to the email, discussing the complexities involved with being digitally literate. She asks, how does digital literacy address the political, ethical, educational, psychological, cognitive, cultural, and technological aspects of this event? What do you think? >reply

Visit CEET NING at: http://ceetbc.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

————

Virtual Doors are open to our “How to Develop Digital Literacy Skills” CEET Meet.This OPEN online professional development workshop runs until Wednesday midnight. Facilitator, Tamara Malloff has developed a resource rich moodle course to explore at your convenience.

This is our 13th CEET Meet this school year. Did you know that participating in one Meet gives you access to the archives of all past Meets? Additionally the resources are compiled and added to our CEET iTunesU library.

Visit CEET NING at: http://ceetbc.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

A Newsletter For All Members of Ethos Online Community April 2013

Something for my Kiwi readers…

Ethos Online Community Newsletter

Kia ora, everyone,

Last month I opened by asking ‘Who are you?’, and in April to continue on this vein of I thought I’d follow up with a couple of questions posed by Madelyn Griffith-Haynie (founder of ADDandSoMuchMore, and guest blogger for April): “How do you KNOW – and what do you do with that belief?”

 

Madelyn, in her post, opens with the provocative statement that “Those of us who are well-educated tend to be some of the most intractable” [my emphasis]. She goes on to explain that “by the time we become adults, we’ve put a lot of time and energy into compiling a body of knowledge we like to consider our ‘expertise’”.

 

Using a variety of sources (especially from neuroscience) to inform her discussion, Madelyn unpacks the reasons we become so confident in our ‘knowing’, and covers some of the not so positive effects this can have on the way we interact with other people. It certainly made me think back to my early 20s. Reflecting back I realise that I argued rather than discussed, and rarely considered that there may be other points of view. Related emotions were confidence, frustration that others might not agree / see my point of view, and sometimes anger. Deeply held biases and prejudices (not that I recognised them as such) from my childhood often coloured and shaped my certainty.

So – how do you know? What are your thoughts? The conversation is already underway – please contribute :-)

(A heads up – if you are already blogging in another environment then please DO cross-post some of your provocative/interesting postings into the Ethos Community space. Go on – you know you want to! :-))

Welcome to new members – April 2013

In April we reached another milestone as the membership tipped the 200 mark – congratulations to Joanna Romanowska. The Ethos community now has 207 members, and I hope you’ll extend a warm welcome and kia ora to:

• Abolfazl Kohzadi is based in Shahrak-e Vali`asr, Iran, where he is a student. He is keen to explore more about how ICT enhanced learning and teaching can be of “service to humanity”.
• Eddie Reisch is an Educationlist and consultant. Eddie is “keen for learners to be able to learn anything, anytime, anywhere”. Eddie lives in Wellington, New Zealand.
• Hoana Hati is a facilitator He Pikinga Reo, and is based in Whangarei, New Zealand. Hoana is interested in “blending te reo Māori and enhancing student learning through ICT teaching and learning”.
• iGameMom is based in Cincinnati, OH, United States, where she is a researcher with a keen interest in mobile learning and Apps for learning.
• Jenny Sinclair is based in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand. Jenny is a teacher who is “interested in using tools so the transition between students out of school life and school life is seamless”. She also strives to teach and learn “alongside my students to enable them to be purposeful in their use of ICT as it relates to their learning”.
• Jennifer Munro is a Teacher, Facilitator, and Project Officer, who is interested in “anything to do with teaching and learning for students and workforce capability”. Jennifer is based in New South Wales, Australia.
• Joanna Romanowska is based in Auckland, New Zealand. She is a doctor (medical) who has “contributed to the development of an on-line learning course for doctors training in cosmetic medicine”.
• K.T. Bryski, is an author, who is interested in the potential of ICT Enhanced Learning and Teaching to help people engage “with global resources, interdiciplinary communication, global opportunities for collaboration and mentorship”. K.T. is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
• Ramon Eixarch is a manager at Wiris, a company that develops software tools for math (STEM) learning that are compatible with mobile devices, and can be integrated into leading LMS such as Moodle. He is based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
• Tamara Yuill Proctor is keen to implement “web based tools into classroom practice to enable students to have authentic learning experiences in a real world context”. Tamara is a teacher, who is living in Christchurch, New Zealand.
• Wendy King is based in Auckland, New Zealand. Wendy is a writer and beautician, who enjoys “learning interesting things”, and would also like to find out how an online community ticks.

If you know of anyone who might like to be involved in the Ethos online community – or to contribute a guest post, please feel free to invite them using this link: http://bit.ly/16U3q7Y.

Guest Posts and discussions

It has been a mammoth month for posts with 27 blog posts, and activity in the discussions. I hope you’ll find something of interest! In this newsletter we have a great guest post. Please jump into the conversation and feel free to ask questions.

• The guest blogger for April is Madelyn Griffith-Haynie (founder of ADDandSoMuchMore), who has written The Tragedy of Certainty - a post that challenges the bedrock of our own sense of ‘knowing’, and provides insights into the science behind it. The post has already attracted 70 views, and the conversation is well underway – please add your voice to it.
• John Owen has posted about a video where Amanda Palmer in The art of asking asserts “artists can survive in an online world where everything is sharable – by making it free and simply asking to be paid”. What implications might this have for education? What are we already seeing underway?
• It is really refreshing to read about an approach that has been implemented, researched, as well as tweaked and adapted over time. Thanks to Yvonne Hynson who shares her practical experience with screen casts as a writing feedback tool and vocabulary extension for ESOL students.
• In May 2012 I shared the Moodle Tool guide in Arabic. Now, as Ramon Eixarch shares, you can get an Arabic maths editor, which integrates with Moodle, and is great for mobile devices.
• Peter Breach, a long term member of the Ethos Online community has just dropped me a line with information about a job opportunity teaching in Kazakhstan.
• As an educator with no children I haven’t witnessed first hand the expectation that my kids would excel; I do know, however, that I find it really tricky to ‘teach’ members of my family. Please read Monika Kern’s musings about what it is like to be a teacher with children.
• If you are looking for some great ideas behind eLearning, as well as some practical ‘how to-s’ you’d be wise to check out the two resources recommended by Nigel Bailey: Our Brains Extended, and Steve Wheeler’s e-learning resources.
• This post was shared by Karen Melhuish Spencer, who writes “great story here that was shared this morning on Radio NZ National, highlighting the absolute importance of learning being culturally grounded”: Māori and Pasifika achievement at secondary school.
• Please join in the ongoing conversations about rewiring ”our teaching methodologies whilst being actively aware of the socio-economics of our students”, with the members of the group established by Zariah Gaelyn-Levai: iEDu: Web2.0 ReWired for the iGeneration.
• In this powerful thought piece, John S. Oliver asks What remains?.

Recommended blog posts / Discussions

There were 27 blog posts in April that cover a wide range of topics. Some of those that you might like to dip into include:

• Monika Kern has a way of asking knotty questions. Please read and comment on her thought-provoking post, Extra-ordinary.
• What impact is participating in a Virtual Professional Learning and Development programme having for students? Check out this video for reflections by teachers on the impact it is having on them and their students.
• Transforming lives in Cambodia by helping to ensure human rights: Just over a year ago I met a remarkable woman, Denise Arnold. She held myself and a group of friends entranced as she described the work she is involved in with the Cambodia Charitable trust. Please read the post and leave comments.
• I read the article, App-titude: Apps for High Schoolers With Autism, with a great deal of interest, and while reading started to wonder - what are students who are on the autism spectrum already doing with apps? Thoughts? Experiences?
• Another peach from Diana Ayling: What the student does is more important in determining what is learned than what the teacher does…
• Flipping: Leigh Hynes shares some experiences from the coal face, as well as ‘top tips.
• Although there is a significant body of research on Māori learners in institutional settings, there is far less literature focused on the experience of Māori learners within workplace settings – especially in industry training: Report – Māori learners in the workplace setting.
• I was working on something this afternoon, and was quite excited to stumble across Cultural Examples of Collaborative Learning. The reason for my excitement? It provides concrete examples of how culture can impact collaborative learning.

Recommended videos

From the ever growing repository of videos (752 in total – thanks as always to John S Oliver for his wonderful contributions), these are a just few of the highlights:

• John S Oliver recommends these Two Movies about Teachers, Mona Lisa Smile, and October Sky. He also showcases the Video Biography of Coach John Wooden and more.
• Tongue in cheek, full of energy and humour, this pep-talk shows what folk can do when they put their mind to it :-): Do something awesome! A Pep Talk from the 9-year-old Kid President’
• Karen Melhuish Spencer shared this powerful, inspirational spoken poem that highlights the stereotyping and barriers that female Pasific Islanders face in New Zealand: Brown sister
• A quick overview of The Universal Design for Learning Guidelines.
• The 2012 CCSSO Teachers of the Year share five things they’ve learned over the course of their careers as educators.
• From a rich selection of ‘how to…’ videos shared by John S Oliver the highlight for April is How much does a video weigh?, which looks at how the art of “asking the right – seemingly silly – questions can make incredibly effective lessons.

Resources

• Thanks, as always to the wonderful, Allison Miller, who is one of the key figures in ePortfolios in Australasia, and globally, for The wonderful world of ePortfolios…Australian style.
• Bachelor of Health Science: Utilising eLearning environments to deliver inquiry-based learning offers an exemplar of inquiry-based learning, delivered through an eLearning environment.
• Originally shared by Diana Ayling, this blog post offers and insight into, and some strategies around how to avoid making smartphone security mistakes: The ten worst things you are doing with your smart phone.
• A few days ago Paige Harris contacted me to let me know she had developed a resource that ”provides an intro on the topic of MOOCs: how they differ from traditional courses, and how one can plan and prepare to teach an MOOC”: More about MOOCs – a teaching guide.
• Tertiary sector organisations have developed a range of approaches around planning and implementing eLearning. This annotated bibliography gives an overview of some of the research literature relating to a variety of approaches.
• The visual tools developed by the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at Iowa State University provides an accessible guide to learning objectives: A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.

Events

Lots of other things happening (online courses, conferences and other opportunities) – have a look at the events listing for more details.

Please feel free to add events to share them, or just let me know and I’ll add them :-)

Many thanks once again to Madelyn, Monika, Yvonne, Zariah, Leigh, John Owen, Nigel, Diana, John S. Oliver, Pascale, Allison, Karen, Ramon, and Peter.

Please keep your posts (including cross-posts), comments and recommendations coming :-)

Warm regards

Hazel

–
Hazel Owen

Education consultant / Director
Ethos Consultancy NZ Ltd
17 Inglewood Street
Wai O Taiki Bay
Auckland 1072
Phone 09 5750206
Mobile 021 2273777
Web site: http://www.ethosconsultancynz.com/
Blog: http://ictelt.blogspot.com/
Email addresses: ethosconsultancynz@gmail.com / hazelowendmc@gmail.com
Skype: hazelowendmc