How to Find/Use Education Hashtags on Twitter

I have already written about finding and using Education Hashtags on Twitter, but I have just found a few more important resources that I think you would want to use.

• Complete Guide to Twitter Hashtags for Education
  A comprehensive guide for Twitter hashtags. It is divided by topic, trends, and areas if interest. BTW, TeachThought.com is an amazing website to follow to learn about using technology in education.

• Using Twitter to Grow Your PLN (Education-related hashtags)
  A quick intro into using Twitter to expand your PLN. This page talks a lot about "chats." These are Tweetchats. Remember that you can search on those #hashtags at anytime to connect with other educators in your area of interest.  Edutopia is a website created by George Lucas and dedicated to showing "What Works in Education."
• Education TweetChats & Educational Hashtags
  I wrote about this earlier, but no list of Twitter resources would be complete without this from Cybraryman.  This is a calendar of Tweetchats that are occurring all week long but remember that you can also use the hashtags to connect with other educators at any time.
• Grade Level #Hashtags:  2ndchat, 5thchat, 12thchat
  This has been noted through the previous resources, but please remember that if you are teaching 5th grade, you can just use the hashtag, #5thchat, to connect with other educators.  It's a great way to learn from practicing teachers.

Iowa Education Hashtags

How do we contact the educators in Iowa?

• We could email them, but we would need all of their email addresses.
• We could send them post cards, but that is costly.
• We could text them, but we would have to know their phone numbers.
• We could tweet them, but then we they would all have to be following our twitter persona (i.e., @zeitz)

BUT WAIT!  THAT'S NOT TRUE!!

They would hear our short but important messages if they were following Iowa-Specific Twitter Hashtags.

It's easy, it's quick and it segments specific sectors of people . . . It's PERFECT!!!

The other day I was trying to find Iowa Education specific hashtags when I realized that I didn't have to do this alone. There are thousands of Twitter-using educators in Iowa who could help me.

I created a Google Doc (editable by anyone with the link), Iowa Education Hashtags.  I then created a tweet asking colleagues to help me create this collection of hashtags. I tweeted it a couple of times and the content began to grow.

Presently, the list looks like the one that is below, but it is growing.  Please visit it, Iowa Education Hashtags, and add any that Iowa-specific Education Hashtags that you might know.  Please include your name and the URL of a website that might be linked to the hashtag.

Thanks.

Z

Here is a snapshot of the Hashtags on the Iowa Education Hashtags site.  Take a look to see what the updated list includes:

Similar Job Types

#IowaTL - Iowa Association of School Librarians (http://www.iasl-ia.org/)
#IACoPI - Iowa Communities of Practice on Blended Learning
#Iowa1to1 - 1:1 in Iowa
#iaedldr - Iowa Administrators
#ialegis - Iowa Legislature - @jasonellingson

Iowa Specific Topics

#IAEDFuture - Future Plans describing ideas after the Iowa Education Summit
#iowacore - Iowa Core Standards
#iowaaiw - Authentic Intellectual Work - @jasonellingson
#iacomped - Iowa Competency-Based Education - @jasonellingson
#iaedreform - Iowa Ed Reform - @jasonellingson
#NoBullyIA - used before/after the bullying summit - @jasonellingson
#SBAC - SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium - @jasonellingson
#iastem - Iowa’s STEM initiative - @jasonellingson
#iowa1to1 - 1:1 schools in Iowa
#iowatl - Iowa teacher-librarians - i.e. @scsdmedia

AEA Hashtags

#gpaea - Great Prairie AEA - @sethdenney
#gwaea - Grant Wood AEA - @sethdenney
#plaea - Prairie Lakes AEA - @jasonellingson
#nwaea - NW AEA
#aeatech - Iowa AEA instructional technology consultants - @sethdenney https://sites.google.com/a/gwaea.org/aea-statewide-technology-integration/

Specific Schools/Districts

#BCLUW - BCLUW school district
#VanMeter - Van Meter School District
#2020HowardWinn - Howard Winneshiek School District
#Westmonona - West Monona school district -@techytweecher
#soloncsd - Solon Community Schools
#newellfonda--Newell-Fonda School District

Iowa Technology Organizations

#itec - Iowa Technology and Education Connection - @sethdenney  (http://itec-ia.org)


ALERT:  Here is a GREAT schedule of Education TweetChats across the country.  
It is created by CyberMan.  He is an AMAZING educators who has catalogued everything.  

Can you add any hashtags?

4 Fundamental Problems With Everything You Hear About the Future of Education

Jordan Shapiro

I am going to the TIC conference in Dubuque this coming week and the ISTE conference in Philly next week. I have been attending Educational Technology conferences for over 2 decades and have always loved going there.  I learn a lot from the sessions and I get to connect with friends that I have developed over the years.

This morning I read an article in Forbes by Jordan Shapiro.  This article, 4 Fundamental Problems with Everything You Hear About the Future of Education, included some insightful comments that I would like to share with you here. Below, I have listed the 4 myths that Shapiro enumerated along with some of my own narrative. I strongly suggest that you read the whole article connected to the link above to get the full flavor of the message.

1. Kids are bored and technology will provide better ways to engage students. - I agree with Shapiro when he says that it is about the teacher, not the technology. Unfortunately, the biggest barrier I have with the future teachers that I teach is that many of them have the belief that we need to integrate technology for technology's sake.  Not the case. Technology can provide opportunities for learning that would not be otherwise available but it can still be used badly. We can use video conferencing to connect 6th grade classrooms in different countries but if their activities are limited to teacher-led worksheet filling-out, there is little value. 
2. More data-based adaptive technologies will lead to child-centered curricula. - Intelligent tutorials are useful devices in building skills, but they aren't the answer to building child-centered curricula. If you have a skillset that your students need to learn, it has been shown that students can learn faster using adaptive technologies.  BUT the key is how these skills will be applied. This can't be done using data-based adaptive technologies.  Problem-based learning can provide the valuable learning experience that students can have when applying those skills.
3. Video games will finally contextualize academic content - Video games can present problems in a context but does that necessarily align with the real world?  When learners play "against the machine", they learn in the the context that the programmers provided.  When learners play against each other in a game like Civilization, they are provided a context within which they are working with other people. The game provides the playing field and the contestants provide the human emotions and decision-making processes from which they will learn. Experiencing the actual decision-making process that a person will undergo when negotiating a treaty or deciding about attacking a fortress can provide insight that couldn't be learned from a book.  When students have these experiences together, they can come to class and discuss their feelings and learn more about what historical figures might have done.
4. Learning should be more fun. - Shapiro points out that learning is NOT fun. Learning is an experience where you are stretched.  It is a situation where you are drawn from your comfort zone and expected to succeed. Can this happen in games? - Yes.  Is this necessarily fun? - No. It is challenging. Being challenged and having a safety net so that you can try new things without the chance for a huge loss can provide a sense of accomplishment but it doesn't need to be fun. 

While you can see that Shapiro and I don't see eye-to-eye on everything, you should read his article.  It has a lot of good points in it.

I just downloaded the .pdf of his book, The Mindshift Guide to Digital Games and Learning.  I haven't read it yet, but look forward to experiencing his advice.

What do you think about these points?  Please provide a third-leg to our discussion.

Z

What are Superintendents Believing This Week? - Gallup

Wondering what your superintendent is thinking?

Gallup was thinking the same thing, but they asked them. This was all described in their What Superintendents Really Think report. They wanted to know what they thought about Common-Core Standards, Education Beyond High School, Affected Areas in Budget Cuts, and Technology in the Classroom.

What do you think?  Do these results match your superintendent's opinion last time you spoke with her/him?

Z

BTW, I am actually riding my bike across Iowa with 12,000 other cyclists in RAGBRAI. I am with Team Flamingo and we are having a blast.   (Thank goodness for Blogger's capability to schedule posting releases.) 

Related articles

• District Superintendents Split on Common Core

What IS the Difference Between 20th and 21st Century Classrooms

What ARE the differences between the 20th and 21st Century Classrooms?  We have heard a great deal about how the 21st Century Classroom's characteristics but I found that the 21st Century Schools website has a comprehensive comparison.

How should we use this? I have introduced this in my classes and my students have found it to be a valuable tool fool as they evaluated their own classes as to their level of 21st Century qualities.

Look these over and use them to review your own classes.  How can you improve your teaching?

• 20th Century Education is teacher-centered with a fragmented curriculum and students working in isolation memorizing facts.
• 21st Century Education is student-centered with real-life, relevant, collaborative project-based learning.

• 
  

20th Century Classroom Qualities	21th Century Classroom Qualities
Time-based	Outcome-based
Focus:  memorization of discrete facts	Focus:  What students Know, Can Do and Are Like after all the details are forgotten.
Lessons focus on the lower level of Bloom’s Taxonomy – knowledge, comprehension and application.	Learning is designed on upper levels of Blooms’ – synthesis, analysis and evaluation (and include lower levels as curriculum is designed down from the top.)
Textbook-driven (content comes from textbooks)	Research-driven (content comes from student research)
Passive learning	Active Learning
Learners work in isolation – classroom within 4 walls	Learners work collaboratively with classmates and others around the world – the Global Classroom
Teacher-centered:  teacher is center of attention and provider of information	Student-centered:  teacher is facilitator/coach
Little to no student freedom	Great deal of student freedom
“Discipline problems" – educators do not trust students and vice versa.  No student motivation.	No “discipline problems” – students and teachers have mutually respectful relationship as co-learners; students are highly motivated.
Fragmented curriculum	Integrated and Interdisciplinary curriculum
Grades averaged	Grades based on what was learned
Low expectations	High expectations – “If it isn’t good it isn’t done.”  We expect, and ensure, that all students succeed in learning at high levels.  Some may go higher – we get out of their way to let them do that.
Teacher is judge.  No one else sees student work.	Self, Peer, and Other assessments.  public audience, authentic assessments.
Curriculum/School is irrelevant and meaningless to the students.	Curriculum is connected to students’ interests, experiences, talents, and the real world.
Print is the primary vehicle of learning and assessment.	Performances, projects, and multiple forms of media are used for learning and assessment
Diversity in students is ignored.	Curriculum and instruction address student diversity
Literacy is the 3 R’s – reading, writing and math	Multiple literacies of the 21st century – aligned to living and working in a globalized new millennium.
Factory model, based upon the needs of employers for the Industrial Age of the 19th century.  Scientific management.	Global model, based upon the needs of a globalized, high-tech society.
Driven by the NCLB and standardized testing mania.	Standardized testing has its place.  Education is not driven by the NCLB and standardized testing mania.

Are These REALLY Things That Will be Obsolete by 2020?

Flickr: Corey Leopold

I just found a posting by Shelly Blake-Plock where he shared some predictions from 2009.  Some of them are plausible but some of them seem trite. Do you really think that we will ever outgrow paper?

In short, here is a list of the soon-to-be-gone stuff. You can review the list and then read a more in-depth discussion of them at his blog.  Provide your opinion in the comments section.
Will these be gone in 2020?

1. Desks, 
2. Language Labs, 
3. Computers, 
4. Homework, 
5. The Role of Standardized Tests in College Admissions, 
6. Differentiated Instruction as a Sign of Distinguished Teachers, 
7. Fear of Wikipedia, 
8. Paperbacks, 
9. Attendance Offices, 
10. Lockers, 
11. I.T. Departments, 
12. Centralized Institutions, 
13. Organization of Educational Services by Grade, 
14. Education Schools that Fail to Integrate Technology, 
15. Paid/Outsourced Professional Development, 
16. Current Curricular Norms, 
17. Parent-Teacher Conference Night, 
18. Typical Cafeteria Food, 
19. Outsourced Graphic Design and Web Design, 
20. High School Algebra 1, and 
21. Paper - Really?.

Do you agree with these? Are they reasonable or what others predictions do you have for 8 years from now?

Z

UPDATE:  Here is an interesting article talking about the Internet of Things and many changes coming in the near future:  Are You Ready for These World Changing Technologies in 2018?

Related articles:

• Will Teachers Become Obsolete? - Larry Strauss via HuffPo

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• Why e-books will soon be obsolete (and not just because of DRM)

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How to Subscribe to Podcasts

iTunes 6, vlog, shared libraries (Photo credit: thepatrick)

Now that you have the background for podcasting, it is time for you to subscribe to some podcasts.  How do you go about doing that?

It is possible to go to a site directly and subscribe to a podcast from a specific website, but that can get a little complicated.  I would suggest that you use iTunes to organize your podcasts. iTunes began as just music management application, but it has blossomed into so much more. Now you can use it to organize songs, TV shows, podcasts, movies, books and even radio stations.  Let's see what it will take to use iTunes to organize your podcast listening on your computer.

1. Download iTunes to your computer.  It is available for both the Macintosh and Windows platforms.
2. Next open an Apple account. This will be part of the process of initializing iTunes.
3. Find a podcast to which you want to subscribe.
1. Go to the iTunes store (this cannot be accessed through your browser. You must use the iTunes application to access the iTunes store.
4. Across top of the opening iTunes screen, you should see a black menu bar. Click on the Podcasts link.
5. You will find a plethora of podcasts. Click on the drop down menu in the upper right corner under the "Podcast Quick Links" header.  Select Education.
6.  A wide collection of podcasts will appear on your screen. You can select audio or video with the buttons in the upper right corner.  Explore for a little bit.
7. Find a podcast that you find interesting.  It might Story Nory (elementary story books), This Week in Science, Ted Talks (an necessary addition to your collection), or whatever looks good.
8. Click the Subscribe Free button below your selected podcast.
9. iTunes should immediately subscribe to the podcast for you. Click on the Podcast link in the left column of your iTunes app. You should see your selected podcast in the list.
10. Click on the arrow to the left of your selected podcast. It will provide a list of podcasts that are greyed-out. This means that they are not yet on your computer but you can select them by clicking on the Get button to the right of each title.
11. Click on the Get button next to a couple of the episodes. You will see them begin to download. The title will turn black.
12. Double-click on one of your selections and it will begin playing.

Now you can listen to your podcasts using iTunes on your computer.


Searching for a Podcast and Subscribing.

1. Return to the iTunes store (click on iTunes Store in the left column) and click on the Podcast selection.
2. Using the Search Store box in the upper right corner, enter "Z & M MediaCast" and hit Return.
3. Our podcast will appear.  Isn't that cool!!!!!!!! 
4. Click on the Subscribe Free button below it and subscribe to our podcast.
5. Remember to go to iTunes to ensure that they have been downloaded onto your computer.

Downloading Your Podcasts to Your iPod, iPad or Phone
Now you have your podcasts on your computer but maybe you don't want to sit at your computer while you listen to them. Wouldn't it be great if you could download your podcasts to your iPod or iPad or phone?  You can.

The process is actually called synching.  This means that files on your computer will be downloaded to your phone and files on your phone will be uploaded to your computer so that they are the same ('N Sync). You can actually modify the synching process so they only synch the podcasts or songs or ????  BTW, you need to have a Smart Phone (not necessarily an iPhone) to do this.

Here is a video that tells you how to do this:

If you don't want to use iTunes to corral your podcasts, you can download specific podcasting apps for your smart phone.  I use Downcast.  I don't know how to link this with iTunes, but it does have access to some rather interesting podcasts.

What do you use?  How do you use podcasts?

Z

Related articles

• 262 Making Podcasts Cool Again? Player.fm Playa Please! - Interview With Angelo Mandato, Creator of PowerPress - And So Much More!

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• Create an iTunes Podcast Widget for Your Blog

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• How to Set Up Your Podcast on iTunes

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• Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: iPhone podcast app shootout!

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• ACTORS TALK PODCAST with Tommy G. Kendrick - Join Me There

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100+ Emerging Instructional Technologies

Web 2.0 (Photo credit: Daniel F. Pigatto

Looking for ideas for Web 2.0 technologies you might use?  There are 1000s of Web 2.0 tools in the world. Here are a few lists that may be useful. Don't be overwhelmed by the number of tools listed. Browse the lists until you find something interesting:

• 77 Web Resources for Teachers to Explore - This is a list of tools sorted by subject area.  You will find it in the embedded document half way down the page.
• 35 Best Web 2.0 Classroom Tools Chosen by You - This list is provided by teachers who voted for their favorite tools.  These are listed in no particular order but have good descriptions.
• Bloom's and ICT Tools - Web 2.0 tools that are aligned with Bloom's revised taxonomy. Lots of interesting ideas.

Related articles

• Emerging Technologies Jorney So Far!

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• Five great sites for finding web 2.0 tools

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• Are We Preparing Our Children For The Future?

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• The future, facilitating online, and interactivity: eLearning Watch has it all

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• After the Flip - The Skip and the Leap?

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