Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 09/02/2012
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10 Creative uses for Dropbox - HOME - Edgalaxy: Where Education and Technology Meet.
I love Dropbox. Now that I use If this then that, I've found many more uses for it. Here at edgalaxy, are 10 creative uses for Dropbox.
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Here's Everywhere You Should Enable Two-Factor Authentication Right Now
I recommend moving towards two-factor authentication - a higher level of security. From Gmail to Facebook, take the time to do it now. Here's how in this article.
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Make Your Computer More Self-Sufficient This Weekend
Take this weekend and automate your computer in many ways with these tips from Lifehacker. Labor Day is a perfect day for tune up.
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For Those Who Want to Lead, Read - John Coleman - Harvard Business Review
This fantastic article from Harvard links to research on why leaders read. This is an example, in my opinion, of how the modern scholarly article should look. It is convincing about the topic but also has hours of reading and research behind it. I think that such articles should be required writing for college and high school students and are entirely different from traditional academic papers. Hyperlinks are the modern footnote but are different in how they are used. Great article to share for two reasons: he who reads leads, and he who can write this way can disseminate scholarly writing effectively. Hats off to the author, John Coleman on a very well written, convincing piece.
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Students of Harvard Cheating Scandal Say Group Work Was Accepted - NYTimes.com
Students say that notes sharing on a confusing course caused their open book exams to look similar and that collaborative notetaking was accepted because the professor didn't require them to go to the course. "Introduction to Congress" may become an Introduction to Collaboration in the 21st century as this cheating scandal is played out in a very public way.
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"Arts exposure makes students more altruistic, civically engaged, and socially tolerant." For more information, read this profile of a school by Liz Dwyer.
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Georgia College Produces Student-Written E-Textbook
Pick up a free textbook written by college students on education technology. Of course, as I tried this with my high schoolers, the problem isn't drafting, it is in the editing. ;-)
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The Annoying Thing Facebook Is About to Do with Your Phone Numbers and Emails (UPDATED)
I think I'm going to delete my phone number off Facebook for this reason. Be aware that "power" advertisers are going to "get" your email and phone number from Facebook. Personally, I don't appreciate this at all, but then again, any of us who think anything is "free" are being foolhardy. There is no such thing as free, you're always giving something.
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Advertising's bumpy transition (and why it matters to you)
I've struggled with advertising and Seth Godin's recent post on "supported by advertising" hits home. I often talk with my husband about a desire to respect educator's time and space by not inundating them with tons of ads. I'd like a few well selected companies in my sidebar and turn down most companies who want to buy ads. I know there are many I respect who fill their blogs with ads and they're probably laughing their way to the bank, however, I'd rather have a relationship with readers who trust me. Hopefully that will convert to book sales and people who come to see me when I present. Maybe I'll end up eating these words when I realize how much money I'm leaving on the table. But I agree with Seth that the way advertising works on the web doesn't respect consumers and isn't "there" yet as to where it needs to be. I find popups and tons of ads annoying.
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Nancy Rappaport: Sexual Misconduct by Educators: What We Need to Do to Protect Students
This is an important article for school administrators and other teachers to read with the warning signs to look for in teachers who may be sexual predators. As professionals who love our students, we must not tolerate or allow such behavior in our midst. It is alarming that up to 10% of students will be the target of sexual misconduct by teachers some time in their school career and there is no real way to find out who such people are - as they often shift from school to school. Be wary and be wise. Let's do something and not sit by awkwardly when the alarm bells go off. Children are a heritage and we are the guardians.
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What happens when these schools close? Where do the students and teachers go? Will the new schools need to construct new space and the old location rust and die. The problem isn't location it is what is happening in that location. It is time to start using common sense to these sorts of problems. Is closing the school the answer if we have no plan for opening something that is better in its place. If poverty is the problem, are we penalizing the poor further by requiring them to go further frrom home to get a good education. I don't have answers - just wondering.
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Taylor Swift Could Perform At Horace Mann School For The Deaf Via Internet Contest Prank
I don't know how it is described when groups suddenly mobilize to "rig" a contest unless it would be "flashvoting" instead of flashmobbing. People on Reddit decided to vote for a school of the deaf to receive a Taylor Swift Concert and others mobbed to send a rapper to Kodiak, Alaska. This happened in a local contest where one of our students was up against a young man in the voting whose cousin mobilized the washington redskins nation to vote. (We won anyway as grandparents stayed up through the night voting - we are a small town that sticks together, but that is another story.) Meanwhile, those who have online contests to get votes and promote views need to know that not all such views and reviews are the same.
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Claire Moshenberg: School Rules = Lower Obesity
I wish every school would read this article about the links between school vending machines and nutrition rules and obesity. I also think that when overactive children are in trouble on the playground that they should "run the track" (as my child's teacher does) rather than stand on the fence. Kids need to get moving and eat healthy foods.
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HP, Dell and the paradox of the disrupted — Tech News and Analysis
"Disruption doesn't care about legagies" says this article discussing the major disruption hitting the "wintel" market as the computing industry is becoming forever changed by the new preferences in computing devices and how we use them since the inception of broadband. An important article to read, the graphic in this article says it all about the size of businesses. Education would do well to read and understand that a similar disruption is coming to education and indeed, is already here. "Disruption doesn't care about legacy." From the school on the corner to the pristine ivory tower down the road, read these words and know that in 10 years someone is going to be doing a similar chart on education. The parallels are ground shaking.
