Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms


Book Description

Intended for educators of various levels and disciplines who want to understand the Internet tools and learn how to use them effectively in the classroom, this work offers advice on how teachers and students can use the Web to learn more, create more, and communicate better.




Using Social Media Effectively in the Classroom


Book Description

The rapid expansion of blogs, Twitter, wikis, and virtual worlds has dramatically transformed the landscape of education. Through highly accessible networks, these new media can integrate students into a learning community by enabling them to create, customize, and share content online. Using Social Media Effectively in the Classroom shows educators how to: utilize social media to best support learners resolve potential problems create a powerful sense of community within user-centered Web 2.0 technologies. Moving beyond basic explanations of technologies and how to use them, this book provides research-based, jargon-free, practical examples of what works, what doesn’t, and why when it comes to social media. Organized according to the systematic process of instructional design, contributors describe innovative strategies for incorporating social media into educational settings as well as significant issues to be taken into consideration at each phase of planning, designing, teaching, and evaluation.




Changing Cultures in Higher Education


Book Description

More and more educational scenarios and learning landscapes are developed using blogs, wikis, podcasts and e-portfolios. Web 2.0 tools give learners more control, by allowing them to easily create, share or reuse their own learning materials, and these tools also enable social learning networks that bridge the border between formal and informal learning. However, practices of strategic innovation of universities, faculty development, assessment, evaluation and quality assurance have not fully accommodated these changes in technology and teaching. Ehlers and Schneckenberg present strategic approaches for innovation in universities. The contributions explore new models for developing and engaging faculty in technology-enhanced education, and they detail underlying reasons for why quality assessment and evaluation in new – and often informal – learning scenarios have to change. Their book is a practical guide for educators, aimed at answering these questions. It describes what E-learning 2.0 is, which basic elements of Web 2.0 it builds on, and how E-learning 2.0 differs from Learning 1.0. The book also details a number of quality methods and examples, such as self-assessment, peer-review, social recommendation, and peer-learning, using illustrative cases and giving practical recommendations. Overall, it offers a step-by-step guide for educators so that they can choose their own quality assurance or assessment methods, or develop their own evaluation methodology for specific learning scenarios. The book addresses everyone involved in higher education – university leaders, chief information officers, change and quality assurance managers, and faculty developers. Pedagogical advisers and consultants will find new insights and practices for the integration and management of novel learning technologies in higher education. The volume fosters in lecturers and teachers a sound understanding of the need and strategy for change, and it provides them with practical recommendations on competence and quality methodologies.




Using Wikis for Online Collaboration


Book Description

How can online instructors and course designers' instruction harness the popular Web 2.0 tool, the wiki, for successful collaboration and learning outcomes? This book focuses on using wikis in the active learning processes that are the hallmark of collaborative learning and constructivism. It provides both the pedagogical background and practical guidelines, tools, and processes for accomplishing these goals with special emphasis on wikis and other collaborative design tools. This book supports the effective design and delivery of online courses through the integration of collaborative writing and design activities.





Book Description

Find the natural overlap between the work you already believe in and the digital tools that define today’s learning. Each chapter introduces an enduring skill: information fluency, verbal persuasion, visual persuasion, collaborative dialogue, and problem solving. Then, the authors present a digital solution that can be used to enhance traditional skill-based instructional practices. A collection of handouts and supporting materials tailored to each skill and tool type ends each chapter.




Our Underachieving Colleges


Book Description

The author sets forth what is known about how much students learn in college, gives recommendations for how to improve undergraduate education, and describes how universities can develop a continuing process of enlightened trial and error that will enable them to improve their performance in the future.




The Challenges of the Digital Transformation in Education


Book Description

This book offers the latest research and new perspectives on Interactive Collaborative Learning and Engineering Pedagogy. We are currently witnessing a significant transformation in education, and in order to face today’s real-world challenges, higher education has to find innovative ways to quickly respond to these new needs. Addressing these aspects was the chief aim of the 21st International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning (ICL2018), which was held on Kos Island, Greece from September 25 to 28, 2018. Since being founded in 1998, the conference has been devoted to new approaches in learning, with a special focus on collaborative learning. Today the ICL conferences offer a forum for exchanging information on relevant trends and research results, as well as sharing practical experiences in learning and engineering pedagogy. This book includes papers in the fields of: * Collaborative Learning * Computer Aided Language Learning (CALL) * Educational Virtual Environments * Engineering Pedagogy Education * Game based Learning * K-12 and Pre-College Programs * Mobile Learning Environments: Applications It will benefit a broad readership, including policymakers, educators, researchers in pedagogy and learning theory, school teachers, the learning industry, further education lecturers, etc.




Wiki Writing


Book Description

When most people think of wikis, the first---and usually the only---thing that comes to mind is Wikipedia. The editors of Wiki Writing: Collaborative Learning in the College Classroom, Robert E. Cummings and Matt Barton, have assembled a collection of essays that challenges this common misconception, providing an engaging and helpful array of perspectives on the many pressing theoretical and practical issues that wikis raise. Written in an engaging and accessible manner that will appeal to specialists and novices alike, Wiki Writing draws on a wealth of practical classroom experiences with wikis to offer a series of richly detailed and concrete suggestions to help educators realize the potential of these new writing environments. Robert E. Cummings began work at Columbus State University in August 2006 as Assistant Professor of English and Director of First-Year Composition. Currently he also serves as the Writing Specialist for CSU's Quality Enhancement Plan, assisting teachers across campus in their efforts to maximize student writing in their curriculum. He recently concluded a three-year research study with the Inter/National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research and continues to research in the fields of computers and writing, writing across the curriculum, writing in the disciplines, and curricular reform in higher education. Matt Barton is Assistant Professor, St. Cloud State University, Department of English-Rhetoric and Applied Writing Program. His research interests are rhetoric, new media, and computers and writing. He is the author of Dungeons and Desktops: A History of Computer Role-Playing Games and has published in the journals Text and Technology, Computers and Composition, Game Studies, and Kairos. He is currently serving as Associate Editor of Kairosnews and Managing Editor of Armchair Arcade. "Wiki Writing will quickly become the standard resource for using wikis in the classroom." ---Jim Kalmbach, Illinois State University digitalculturebooks is an imprint of the University of Michigan Press and the Scholarly Publishing Office of the University of Michigan Library dedicated to publishing innovative and accessible work exploring new media and their impact on society, culture, and scholarly communication. Visit the website at www.digitalculture.org.




Leadership in a Wiki World


Book Description

Rod Collins is the Director of Innovation at Optimity Advisors, a national management consulting firm, and a leading expert on the next generation of business management. "In the age of speed we live in, new rules emerge at a breakneck pace. As a leader, you can either be blindsided by these new rules or let Rod Collins' book give you a welcome heads-up and head start " Vince Poscente, author of the NY Times Bestseller The Age of Speed "Rod Collins has written an engaging and insightful book that clearly answers the question of how the principles of complexity theory can be practically applied to leading large organizations. Leadership in a Wiki World is a timely and highly readable guide that shows business leaders how they can use the rich reservoir of their collective knowledge to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex world." Lisa Kimball, President, Plexus Institute "Leadership in a Wiki World provides tremendous insight into how to lead and manage complex, multipartner, large scale business enterprises. Rod Collins' experience as one of the key leaders within the Blues and his accomplishments as the chief operating executive of the single largest employer health plan in the world prepared him well to offer the insights captured in this book. If you want to know what the future of management looks like, I strongly encourage you to read this book." Steven S. Martin, Chairman, Board of Managers of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program, and President & CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska There's a revolution brewing that is about to end the world of work as we know it. We are fast approaching a tipping point where new capacities for mass collaboration will completely redefine the work we do and the way we work. Technological innovations now make it possible for large numbers of people to work together without going through a central organization - and they can do it smarter, faster, and cheaper. Discover the revolutionary business opportunities created by today's unprecedented business realities and learn: - Why a 19th century management model is unsustainable in a digital world - How business leaders are resetting management practices to create smarter and faster companies - How companies are gaining access to the most untapped free resource in every organization to catapult their business performance. Leadership in a Wiki World is a practical guide to the principles and practices of wiki-management, the proven management solution for business leaders who understand that managing great change is only possible if we change how we manage.




Technology Handbook for School Librarians


Book Description

Stay current, meet educational standards, and keep your students coming back again and again by incorporating the latest technologies into your school library. Both theoretical and practical, this book will provide you with a strong introduction to a variety of technologies that will serve you—and your patrons—well. Each chapter addresses a different aspect or kind of technology. You'll learn essential skills, planning and funding techniques, and what hardware and software you'll need. You'll find plenty of information on creating or maintaining your library's web presence through websites, blogs, and social networking, as well as on various tools that you can use and apply to your curriculum. Many state standards include technology components, and this guide shows you how to meet them and stay up to date. You'll also learn what you should watch for in the future so you remain essential to your school.