Think before you post

Great poster from Common Sense Media.  I hope we can teach every child to think before they type.

Leading Students Today

Alan November on where Education should be going. "Leading Students to be Globally Competitive" .

Alan is always worth a listen.

Technorati Tags: alan_november

Is Facebook getting closer to schools?

New feature lets users sort friends according to different relationships; ed-tech officials are split over whether it's an appropriate communication and collaboration tool for students.  I saw comments fly by on Twitter and also on Facebook itself following the announcement.  Educators are fearful of trying to use this social networking tool with all the privacy and cybersafety issues around today.  This fear means that we ignore the main component of many peoples communications.  It is nearly like schools banned phones or email. 

That is why I hope the new "Groups" application with specific content sharing capacities and better controlled communication/collaboration will dissipate these fears.  If we expect the students of today to become the posters of tomorrow, somewhere we need to teach them how to be effective.  “More collaboration and sharing of resources is a tremendously valuable development for schools,” said James Bosco, principal investigator for the Consortium for School Networking’s project on Web 2.0 use in education, called Participatory Culture in Schools: Leadership & Policy.  And the NETS (National Educational Technology Standards) from the International Society of Technology Educators emphasizes collaboration - communication in a web-connected world.

Through use of more restrained vehicles (Moodle, ePals, StudyWiz, etc.), we are starting the process, but there is nothing like truly authentic learning.  I wonder if this will change the way it is seen inside the educational walls.

Technorati Tags: facebook, COSN, NETS

Next Vista for Learning

An online library of free videos for learners everywhere - our goal is to gather a set of resources to help you learn just about anything, meet people who make a difference in their communities, and even discover new parts of the world. Next Vista for Learning wants to post your educational videos online, too. Everyone has an insight to share and yours may be just what some student or teacher somewhere needs!  There are "light bulbs", "global views" and "seeing service" sections.  I especially enjoyed the Careers section under the Light Bulbs.

All videos give you the embed code - and they are great models for others to expand this project or to start your own. To find out even more, sign up for the Next Vista for Learning newsletter

Example of a Career (Migrant Education)