Nine useful lists for educators

Here is a pretty good list of lists of tech tools for teachers! Originally published at http://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/08/17/nine-useful-lists-for-educators/ 

Enjoy!

Ira

CEM Tweeters provide some of ed-tech’s best resource lists on getting connected and digital literacies

By Meris Stansbury, Associate Editor
Read more by Meris Stansbury

EducationWorld has a list of five must-follow users to help you get in the pinning groove. As part of Connected Educator Month (CEM), social media-savvy teachers and education professionals are using Twitter, blogs, and publications to get information out as quickly and easily as possible, and are using lists in many ways.

Browsing CEM’s Twitter, #CE12, the editors at eSchool News have highlighted some of the most popular lists Tweeted, as well as some that may be most helpful to our readers.

From educator-recommended apps designed for specific subsets of 21^st century literacies to 14 of the best ed-tech Tweeters, and from the best CEM speaker quotes to the 10 technology commandments for connected learners, these lists are classroom-tested and educator-approved.

Have a list you consult or know of a list that’s popular among peers? Be sure to provide your links and recommendations in the comment section!

[In no particular order]

1. The New York Times’
“Tips from 33 educators we admire”

To celebrate CEM, the NYT asked every educator who has written a guest post for their publication to detail “one important thing you’ve learned from someone in your personal learning network” and “what one person, group, or organization would you recommend every educator add to his or her PLN?” The list provides more than 100 people, organizations, sites, and other resources readers can learn from, as well as shared insights on how to learn from them.

2. Fractus Learning’s
“The top 5 podcasts for ed-tech fanatics”

Adam Heckler, a twenty-something who works in ed-tech where he advises K12 schools on how they can better integrate technology into their environment, says he has a long commute to work and likes to use those 45 to 50 minutes to listen to some innovative and helpful ed-tech podcasts. From ISTE to EdReach, topics range from flipped learning to ELA, and much more. Heckler also has many more quick-hitting lists and discussions that can be found here.

3. Educational Technology and Mobile Learning’s
“Top 14 educational technology tweeters to follow”

Knowing who to follow on Twitter can be invaluable for educators—a fact that Educational Technology and Mobile Learning also realizes. In this list, these ed-tech Tweeters are among the most prominent in the field and their tweets can save time and energy. One of the Tweeters listed, Tom Whitby–a professor of education, founder of #edchat, the education PLN Ning, and the Linkedin group ‘Technology-using Professors’–is one of the main Tweeters on CEM and has provided many of these lists as well.

4. OnlineUniversities.com’s “Ten tech commandments for connected learners” and edutopia’s “Five tips for new teachers to become connected educators”

This list is useful when it comes to knowing what it means to be a connected educator. OnlineUniversities.com’s Justin Marquis Ph.D. pulls his commandments from Fractus Learning’s “The 10 (EdTech) Commandments” that he says have a lot to do with helping educators be successful in a connected educational setting; however, “as the focus of online learning should be on the students themselves, some tweaking…turns them into a handy guide for the successful connected learner in the digital age.”

5. SmartBlog on Education’s
“5 ways to develop a connected student”

Though OnlineUniversities.com focuses on educators, SmartBlog on Education focuses more on the student side of connected learning, understanding that “today’s students can communicate, collaborate, cooperate, and connect with the world in meaningful ways…” The blog explains that it’s up to the educator to support students in doing this effectively.

6. SmartBlog on Education’s
“Rewards of teaching young children to blog”

Following their advice for a connected students, SmartBlog on Education also provides a list that highlights what Linda Yollis—an elementary school teacher for more than 25 years—calls “meaningful ways to engage and motivate” young students. Yollis began her blog, Mrs. Yollis’ Classroom Blog, in 2008 to share activities with parents, and over time it has become a centerpiece for the classroom: students help manage the blog and are learning the basics of how to comment, and that audience matters.

7. Langwitches’
“21^st century skills & literacies for iPads”

Langwitches, an education Flickr group, posted a straight-forward chart of education apps for specific skills/literacies. Literacies include: Information Literacy, Media Literacy, Network Literacy, Global Literacy, Create/Critical Thinking, and Communicate/Collaborate. Each skill/literacy has nine apps listed.

8. EducationWorld’s
“Pinterest 101 for teachers:
5 power pinners you should follow”

Though Pinterest may still be considered a great place to post wonderful recipes for peach cobbler, it’s also becoming a place for innovative educators to post thought-leading ideas. “The key is to follow others who actively use Pinterest to collect great classroom- and education-related resources and ideas,” says EducationWorld. “Who you follow really matters because it directly influence the quality of content you see when you visit Pinterest…we’ve put together a list of five must-follow users to help you get in the pinning groove.”

9. Stephanie Sandifer’s “Favorite quotes” from CEM

Sandifer, who runs the blog ‘Change Agency’ to write about “education reinvention, evolution, and revolution,” blogs almost once a day about CEM, providing a wrap-up of the day’s key take-aways from sessions and forums (she also provides great lists on other CEM education topics). In this post, Sandifer lists some of what she considers the most inspiring, or accurate, quotes from CEM leaders and participants.

My friend Josh Mason-Barkin is at it again. His ideas on how to move forward with Rabbi Yoffie's call for using technology as a tool to take synagogues to the next level was published by Jew Point 0 - a fabulous blog on Jewish life and technology, by Darim Online.

The Reform Movement Should Make the Most of this Moment
2009 November 19
by Joshua Mason-Barkin

As far as Rabbi Eric Yoffie is concerned, Reform congregations need to get with the program, technologically speaking, and they need to do so now. At the recent URJ Biennial in Toronto, the movement’s head delivered his annual sermon and used the opportunity to encourage every congregation to think seriously about harnessing the power of the internet to enhance their communities:

"[T]he web – potentially at least – empowers our members and democratizes our synagogues. The synagogue is the grassroots address of the Jewish world, and the web gives us an instrument to involve and include Jews as never before. Are our synagogues doing great things in this area? Absolutely. Are we making the most of this potential? Not even close."

Yoffie’s challenge to congregations is to be applauded. Too many synagogues and Jewish schools have an attitude towards tech that’s generations (a relative term, I know) behind their congregants and students who all have Facebook accounts, use Twitter, and are never more than an arm’s length from their Blackberries and iPhones. But the movement’s approach to addressing this issue — an organized program to train lay leaders to create and maintain congregational blogs — is only a first step. The Reform movement has an incredible opportunity on its hands, a chance to take the next steps and to get a lot more serious about using technology to build and strengthen communities.

Four suggestions for maximizing this moment:

• Congregations should form committees (or task forces) to develop thoughtful strategies for using technology to increase the efficacy of communication. Rabbi Yoffie is right that blogs are a great way for synagogue members to connect online. But there are lots of other technologies — social networking, microblogging, podcasting, mass texting — that also might be useful to synagogues. And there are those congregations for whom blogging might not be the best fit. Every synagogue should gather their most technologically savvy members (and some socially savvy “connectors”, if we’re going to take Malcolm Gladwell’s advice) to make these sort of decisions for the community. Should the temple have a Facebook page, and if so what kinds of things should be posted there? If the synagogue has a Twitter account, who should be charged with maintaining it? And how often should they tweet? The URJ could be indispensible in providing consultants and experts to help congregations get on this path.
  
  
• Technology can help Reform congregations do an even better job of running organizations that live up to the highest values of the movement. Imagine if a synagogue lived up to its commitment to environmentalism by going totally paper-free. The synagogue staff uses Google Docs to collaborate on projects. Rabbis project Temple announcements (and other administrivia) up on a screen during services so that programs don’t need to be printed every week. Instead of spending lots of paper and money on a newsletter, members receive a monthly email newsletter, as well as frequent updates on Facebook and Twitter. Lots of congregations are using all these technologies, and they’re preventing lots of paper waste in the process. The Union can support congregations new to these technologies by teaching professionals to use these tools, empowering congregants with tech skills to be leaders in their communities, and by pairing temples at the beginning of this journey with those who’ve already found success.
  
  
• Technology is an important part of the future of Jewish education. I’m not talking about educational video games. I’m talking about using tools to help learners connect deeply to Jewish text, about helping schools better communicate with parents, about using inexpensive video conferencing to bring diverse teachers to isolated Jewish communities. Education is a central part of a synagogue’s mission, and we need to be asking new questions about how learning is changing. How can we utilize new technologies like Google Wave, Twitter, and YouTube to allow for collaborative (hevruta for the new generation!) learning? How can the internet help us engage (and empower!) parents and families in new ways? How can we use technology to open up the world of Jewish education to better integrate the arts, science, and communication?
  
  Thirty years ago, innovative Jewish educators were using filmstrips, slideshows, and video to bring Torah to life. Now, equally innovative educators are using Flash animation, social media, and hypertextuality to accomplish those same goals. The URJ should nurture and support these sorts of projects and help to bring those tools to congregations and their learners.
  
  
• Technology is an excellent opportunity for collaboration. In the few days before the URJ Biennial, a group of educators gathered for a pre-conference symposium on Jewish identity. One of the teachers at that gathering was Professor Ari Kelman who shared research that suggests that the current generation of young, involved Jews (many of whom are “digital natives,” if you don’t mind sweeping generalizations) are redefining affiliation by resisting joining a single organization, and rather participating in lots of diverse parts of Jewish life. For these Jews, no single institution is the center of Jewish life.
  
  Institutions that pay attention to thinkers like Kelman realize that successful Jewish organizations of the future will be marked by cooperation and collaboration. They also know that efficient and financially responsible Jewish organizations are the ones that don’t insist on re-inventing the wheel but rather seek out partner organizations with different types of expertise. To truly move forward to empower member congregations to embrace a 21st-Century social-media-savvy technologically-engaged existence, the Union should seek out organizations, educators, clergy, innovators, experts, academics and thinkers who can help congregations do their best work.
  
  Perfect example: Darim Online has lots of experience helping Jewish organizations effectively utilize social media technology (including blogs!), and that expertise could really help (and in fact already is helping) Reform congregations look at new ways of communicating. Instead of trying to invent their own wheel, the URJ should seek out partners who’ve already invented pretty good wheels.

Let’s be clear: The Reform movement is taking unprecedented steps forward. Rabbi Yoffie’s sermon and the related URJ initiatives launched this week mark the first time a major movement is encouraging and supporting member congregations to take this trend seriously. This is an important moment, and it would be a shame to waste it.

Josh Mason-Barkin, director of school services at Torah Aura Productions, is a member of a Reform congregation and a graduate of HUC-JIR. He blogs at tapbb.com. You can find his twitter feed at www.twitter.com/barkinj. He frequently contributes to a conversation about Jewish Education in the 21st century on Twitter under the hashtag #jed21