Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Free Tools for Enhancing Education


 Google docs, google forms, moodle and Khan Academy.

I decided to read and know about Google docs, google forms, Moodle and  Khan Academy as they are widely used in education so I have to know about them and try them. In addition, they cover wide range of interaction patterns and can be used for interaction, collaboration and class management. I also asked my workmates, read the articles sent and browse through a number of online resources speaking on educational technology.

As for the articles and seminars on each tool:

As for Google doc articles:
" Google doc Abuse"
"Google Docs for Students and Faculty"

"Six Trajectories for digital Education"

"GGrading: Digital Grading Made Free and Easy with Google Apps"

As for seminars on google docs:


Google Forms:

" Using Google Forms for Students engagement and learning"

"Google Forms Capacity"

New Technologies, Pedagogies and Curriculum: A Practical Perspective

Creating a Fluid Learning Environment

A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning

Seminars on google forms:

  As for Moodle:

Seminars for Moodle:


Articles on Khan Academy:

"The physics and meaning of flight a case study in studentcentered learning across institutions http://er.educause.edu/articles/2013/10/the-physics-and-meaning-of-flight-a-case-study-in-studentcentered-learning-across-institutions

"Exploring Students Mobile Learning Practices in Higher-education"

"7 Things You Should Know about Microlectures"

Khan Academy Seminairs:

I am going to delve deeper on Khan Academy as I heard about it but knew nothing. Reading and watching the seminars about the other tool and this tool, I find it highly user friendly, students can use it for self-study, collaboration and interaction, it also have exercises, tutors, coaches, aspects which are not found in the other tools. They can choose their own material or I can assign certain material. As for the google docs they are for collaboration rather than self study, and the google forms are also for collaboration, polls and quizzes. Moodle is a class management system. I searched the web and found Khan Academy a platform for self-education, resources that can be used by teachers without even having an account. Anyone can also register with the identity of an avatar to keep his identity and be at ease while working on the site. The site is friendly user and I will use it for assigning videos for improving their language abilities. The site also included material on science, math, and SAT. English material found on the website include videos, articles, exercises and programs. I was impressed as it includes a lot of resources that will help me improve the quality of my teaching and help my students improve their English proficiency level.
The students can either sign up in order to have an account or can even use the platform as website to search material. As denoted I will give students links to videos, articles, exercises, and programs to help them learn and improve.  I also ask them to comment on the assignments to enhance their higher order thinking skills. As for the problems I will face are the idea of internet access, as most students live in villages and their parents have no subscription to the internet so many students would not be able to access the site, but I believe introducing them to this site is very important to their educational development. Also students may find difficulty browsing the site so I will schedule an extra session to introduce my students to the Khan Academy.

As for the process of how I found the articles/seminars to support my report I searched google, educause, wikipedia and Utube. All of these sites are helpful, but to get the whole picture you have to have a quick look at each article and maybe read more than one article and watch more than one seminar to get a big part of the whole picture. Yet, really the best teacher ever is getting firsthand experience and new ideas of using the tool.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Educause


Educause is a nonprofit association whose mission is "to advance higher education through the use of information technology" (Educause Review .edu Domain Space Department of Commerce). Membership is open to institutions of higher education, corporations serving the higher education information technology market, and other related associations and organizations.

I was introduced to educause via Shamma Hafez a devoted trainer. She downloaded a number of papers on blogs, RSS feeds, and send us the pdfs of Ustream and lecture capture. You can browse through the material and read online or download. You can also subscribe and get notifications.

The association provides networking and other platforms for higher education IT professionals to generate and find content on best practices and to engage their peers. The website helps in  professional development either through giving people an idea on professional development opportunities or through print and electronic publications. The electronic material includes e-books, and the magazine Educause Review; strategic policy advocacy; teaching and learning initiatives; applied research; special interest discussion groups; awards for leadership; and a resource center for IT professionals in higher education.

The current membership of Educause comprises more than 2,300 colleges, universities, and educational organizations, including 300 corporations, with 16,500 active members.
It is worth browsing and reading the available free material on educause. It is worthwhile investing time and effort finding your way on this excellent website. It also worthwhile reading some of the interesting free material you find and trying to apply what you read.