Posts
A case study of Fountaineers: designing an interactive, programmable water fountain
By Tash Lee and Tim Rudd
Fountaineers is an ongoing partnership project between Futurelab, Stakeholder Design and Luckwell Primary School. The aim of the project is to use the design and construction of an interactive, programmable, 'intelligent' water fountain as a vehicle to explore issues around participation, learner voice and alternative approaches to teaching and learning, and to develop a powerful, flexible and unique learning resource that will become a valuable and integral part of everyday school life and learning.Source: Futurelab
Facebook, Meet Blackboard by Andy Guess
Blackboard, the course management giant, is hoping that a Facebook application will help it reach students even when they’re trying to avoid studying.The Facebook app mainly replicates the functionality of colleges’ (and high schools’) Blackboard sites, where students can log in, download course materials, post to message boards, upload assignments and check grades. Rather than add social networking functionality to the existing interface, Blackboard’s strategy is to bring its services where the students already are and capitalize on Facebook’s ubiquity and collaboration capabilities.
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Source: Inside Higher Ed
Free online games help reinforce math and language skills
Arcademic Skill Builders is a nonprofit web site that features online educational games offering a new approach to learning basic math, language arts, vocabulary, and thinking skills. Inspired by arcade games and the intense engagement they foster between the game and player, the site's programs stem from experience, systematic observations, and research in understanding student learning in school and social situations. "These engaging educational games provide focused repetition practice that enables fluency to be achieved more quickly," according to the site.
Source: eSchool News
Global Wildlife Disease News Map
How does one populate an interactive map of wildlife disease? Well, the good people at the Wildlife Disease Information Node (WDIN) have done just that by combing through RSS alerts, science sites and weblogs in order to create this fascinating and tremendously useful resource for population biologists and others who might be interested in such matters. On the map, visitors can toggle map filters that include "Wildfire", "Human/Wildlife", "Domestic/Wildlife", and "Disease Type".
Source: Internet Scout Project
21st Century Learning: Making Technology Relevant in Today's Classrooms
By Fred Podolski
By Fred Podolski
The Nassau BOCES Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Technology (CIT) is on the frontline of educational technology, facilitating the integration of its various forms into the classroom. During the course of their work, CIT liaisons have learned that students are not as interested in the technology itself as they are with the experiences it provides. Chief among these is connectivity. Whether through cell phones, iPods, laptops, or desktop computers, students are connecting to the world and each other.Source: T.H.E. Journal
