Nocking the Arrow

"I believe that using technology, as a tool, to be able to share best practices, to make thinking and learning visible to ourselves and others, is the key to transforming teaching and learning." -  Silvia Tolisano Recently, I overheard a few of my colleagues debating the merits of Twitter as a tool for learning. Never one to avoid a discussion about Twitter, I uncharacteristically held my tongue as the group turned to look, fully expecting me, " The School Twitter Guy ", to jump into the fray. As the water-cooler conversation continued, I thought about the different ways I use Twitter for personal learning. One of my favorite, and unconventional, ways of using Twitter is for social bookmarking . I quickly skimmed through my tagged tweets to locate a link to this game-changing post shared by Silvia Tolisano, " The 3 Stages of Documentation OF/FOR/AS Learning " .  Studying infographics on Langwitches Blog , it becomes clearer how a tool, such as Twi...

This post is cross-published at Fractus Learning . The Internet has made news readily available, virtually instantaneous, and interactive. On the plus side, news via the web can provide diverse and global perspective. However, on the negative side, in the rush to be first with a breaking story, there are frequently inaccuracies. Web connected classrooms provide opportunities for students and teachers to read original material, discuss current events, and analyze multiple perspectives in search of truth. There are numerous ways in which readers can access news. Here are five free apps that can bring a steady stream of news, and information to the connected learner. CNN Flipboard News-360 YouTube TuneIn Radio For details, read the complete post;   Five Newsworthy Apps for the Connected Learner photo credit: Ines Njers via photopin cc

A few my colleagues, I wish there were more, are interested in getting their students blogging on a consistent basis. The arguments for student blogging are numerous and well-documented with one of the most persuasive points being that students tend to write more frequently, thoughtfully, and thoroughly for authentic audiences. These same colleagues were looking for a work flow solution to collect, review, and share their students' blogs. Flipboard to the rescue! A short while back, I published a post highlighting the reasons why Flipboard was quickly becoming my "do-it-all" app for the iPad. Flipboard is a 1:1 teacher's best friend, or at least one of their best friends. So, Charlie, Sean, Gary, and Jen, this one's for all of you! This post explains how to collect and share student blogs using Flipboard. Kudos to Sue Waters , Richard Byrne , and Joe O'Brien for blazing the trail on this strategy. Make sure that you have the Chrome web browser ins...

In Tech Time Saver #1 , I summarized how RSS Readers such as Feedly , Zite , and Flipboard could save time by delivering pre-curated content to your web-connected device. My appreciation for Flipboard has grown substantially since reading Sue Waters terrific post on The Edublogger . Other than looking sweet on the iPad, Flipboard is fast becoming my favorite " do everything " app for information, learning, and sharing. Here is how Flipboard can be a time saver for connected learners like me. Flipboard can be used as a social media "aggregator". Social networks such as Twitter, Google+, and Linkedin, can be subscribed to, and reviewed alongside your favorite articles and videos. Efficiently, subscriptions can be created based upon social media criteria such as, Twitter hashtags, or Google+ circles. As with other popular RSS readers, your favorite content can be shared with a single click out to your social networks. Flipboard can be used as the "reader...