Learning Opportunity: Connectivism

(H/T: Dennis Coxe)
Stephen Downes and George Siemens are offering a 12-week, college-level course looking at the latest theory of learning: Connectivism. The course is free to audit or you can pay and receive college credit. Here’s how they describe the course.

Connectivism and Connective Knowledge is a twelve week course that will explore the concepts [...]

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(video) Learning to Change; Changing to Learn

The US Department of Commerce ranked 55 industry sectors based on their level of IT intensiveness. Education ranked 55 - the lowest - below coal mining.
The thoughts on this video have a resonance since we’ve just suffered through the state-wide standardized testing week, thanks to the No Child Left Behind mandates. Not only was [...]

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Thou Shalt Not Use Wikipedia

(it could be any wiki, really) … Read a short essay of how a teacher announced to his class that if he learns that a student has used Wikipedia to do research, the student automatically gets an F. The essay didn’t really go into detail about why the student would fail the paper or project [...]

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While going through the kid’s school papers - that unfunded mandated rears its ugly head again

So now we’ve returned to that annual event of - ahem - practicing for the state’s standardized tests which will, among other things, waste enormous amounts of time and money.  I’ve mentioned before that I’m all for some sort of accountability.  It’s just that I think it’s misplaced right now. 
Now the children have to [...]

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When teaching technology - PLEASE teach technology!

This current term for the kid in school now includes a “special” titled Technology (last term the special was Music).  I asked if he meant ‘computers’ and he said quite emphatically, “No.” Okay then … it’s Technology.
The class just started before the Christmas break … And what has the class been doing?
Creating newsletters [...]

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