Eclectic Technology

Are you using Costa and Kallick's Habits of Mind, or are you interested in learning more about them? This website provides an in-depth look at each of the sixteen habits of mind. It also looks Thinking Routines that are related to the Habits of Mind. The home page provides visuals for each of the sixteen habits of mind. When you click through to a page you will find the following sections:

* What does it mean?

* Why does it matter?

* When should you use it?

* A video that provides an example of the habit of mind

* 5 Top Strategies

* 5 Question to ask about your Thinking

* Thinking Routines

If you are new to the Habits of Mind five are listed below.

* Thinking Interdependently

* Thinking about your Thinking

* Creating and Innovating

* Using all your Senses

* Responding with Wonderment

Click through to the site to see the other habits of mind and to learn more about each.

What comes first? Pedagogy or Technology? This post explores this issue. It also includes a great visual "Let's stop talking about teaching with technology, and let's start talking about learning." The visual is in Google Docs and you can download it at:

https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1FjgMrO6d_3B6NBFLhteCjP5EGWaZymOYIRrWtJLt8PY/edit

The visual shown above is also used in a free online course you may want to check out. For more information on the course: http://www.edtechchallenge.com/

This post discusses how big data is impacting education. In the discussion on big data the following question is raised: "How can we make our students (especially those online students) more successful? (In other words, retention, retention, retention.)" As she learned more about big data she wondered what happened to the human side of the equation, "the caring."

Although this article looks at online learning the words of the Dalai Lama ring true for all of us as educators. Read through them and see what you think. All words used in the image above were said by the Dalai Lama. My thanks to her for putting together some of his words and bringing them to our attention.

Jackie Gerstein continues to explore the shift from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 , taking it "one step further" by looking at Pedagogy (related to children's learning), Andragogy (related to adults learning) and Heutagogy (related to self-directed learning). The graphic above shows how she defines these three areas in more detail. 

She notes that this shift is moving us from a teacher directed classroom which education driven by essentialism or instructivism (Education 1.0) to a constructivist approach, "where the principles of active, experiential, authentic, relevant, socially-networked learning experiences are built into the class or course structure" (Education 2.0) to a more heutalogical approach (Education 3.0).

The discussion then looks at how to choose a teaching orientation (and it need not always be the same) and then applies these concepts to mobile learning. 

Many resources are included in this post such as a table describing Education 1.0, Education 2.0 and Education 3.0; a Google Drive Presentation on PBL in a High School Science Class that uses mobile technologies; a SlideShare that looks at Education 3.0 and the Pedagogy of Mobile Learning (presenting the concepts discussed in the post); and many links to additional resources.

Mind/Shift has run a series on digital games and learning and has not put together a guide that provides the highlights of this series. Why? To quote from the post... "to create a dynamic, in-depth guide that answers many of the most pressing questions that educators, parents, and life-long learners have raised around using digital games for learning."

A few of the topics covered are:

* What Research Says About Gaming and Screen Time

* How to Start Using Games for Digital Learning

* Overcoming Obstacles for Using Digital Games in the Classroom

The post provides a more in-depth overview.

Check out this 4-step guide to creating effective lessons that integrate technology.

Step 1 - What level of learning is being addressed? The infographic looks at Bloom's, but you could use other resources as you design your lesson plan.

Step 2 - What level of technology will be used? SAMR (as in Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition) are shown in the infographic, but there are other ways to look at the level of technology.

Step 3 - How should your classroom look? Four choices are provided.

Step 4 - How will you evaluate your students? Ten ideas are listed. You may find additional ones that you prefer to use.

As an initial framework to consider working with this visual may be a great tool, especially for folks who are still at the beginning phase of integrating technology into lessons.

This infographic shares Marzano's nine effective instructional strategies and may also be downloaded as a pdf. As teachers we may "know" these strategies but we may not "remember" them all the time.  As we learn how important visual aids are for students we should also recognize they are important for teachers. Take time to review these strategies by checking out this infographic. It may make a difference in your classroom!

What questions can we ask ourselves to assess our "pedagogical principles and instructional preferences"? Jackie Gerstein provides a list (and the list as a table as shown above) to help you reflect on your practice. As she states the process may be "simple but not easy." You may answer the question but how do you change your practice so that you may implement it in your classroom?

What if you merge the six steps for Direct Instruction from Madeline Hunter with the TPCK Model? The image above shows how the two might work together. 

The TPCK Model looks at Technological Knowledge (TK), Content Knowledge (CK), Pedagogical Knowledge (PK), Technological Content Knowledge (TCK), Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK) and last but not least, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK). 

This post suggests that components of the Direct Instruction Model relate to the TPCK Model and using both will assist us in designing curriculum. 

If the TPCK Model is new to you the links below is one the resources that I find valuable. 

http://activitytypes.wmwikis.net/

The post continues to explore the issues noted above and raises the question of how to blend the best of both options. Gleeson goes on and raises specific areas where he would like others to provide feedback. Three of the seven areas are listed below.

* Examples of apps that help to develop specific skills

* Additional skills that have not been listed

* Examples of good pedagogical practice with apps

Continue to scroll down the post and you will find a table that slows the skills he has come up with and see where it is currently populated. Already there are a number of responses providing additional suggestions.

As Gleeson says this is "a herculean task" and I look forward to seeing the finished product.