10-Rep Learning ~ Teague's Tech Treks

Learning Technology & Tech Observations by Dr. Helen Teague

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Serious Tinkering

“Tinkering is, at its most basic, a process that marries play and inquiry”**…serious tinkering with a burgeoning ecosystem.

When was the last time you gave yourself the gift of “Tinkering Time?”

Serious Tinkering

Inspired during a innovatively engaging session by the geniuses at Table Top Inventing http://www.ttinvent.com/

~~~

**Quote from from Exploratorium.com

 

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Do You Know What a Festschrift Is?

Festschrift – is a word derived from the German language meaning “celebration writing.”  It is a collection of writings published in honor of a scholar. Howard Gardner has been identified by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines as one of the 100 most important public intellectuals in the world today.  His work  has fundamentally changed the way many people (and institutions) think about intelligence.

Howard Gardner turned 70 last year.  To celebrate, his wife (Ellen Winner) and one of his former students (Mindy Kornhaber) hosted a Festschrift in his honor. They invited Howard’s teachers, peers, colleagues, and former students to contribute essays inspired by his work and his relationships with them.  One hundred and sixteen of Howard’s close colleagues contributed to the two-volume work, entitled Mind, Work, and Life: A Festschrift on the Occasion of Howard Gardner’s 70th Birthday. Each contribution includes a personal note from the contributor and a personal response from Howard.  Running 605 pages in length, this is quite a remarkable work, providing a unique and intimate portrait of this extraordinary man and his profound influence on some of the people who have worked most closely with him.

Mind, Life, and Work: A Festschrift on the Occasion of Howard Gardner’s 70th Birthday

The complete two-volume Festschrift is available for free download as a PDF here, or if you prefer physical books you can buy it at cost from Amazon here.  Other options, including kindle versions of the two volumes, are listed here.

My contribution (starting on p. 223) is entitled, There’s More Than One Way to Bridge a Gap: On the Promise of Computational Neuroscience for Education.  I wrote it as a doctoral student in Education, soon after I took my first class with Howard.  At the time, I was just beginning to wrestle in earnest with the question: “How can scientific insights about the brain and mind help us make education better?”  As reflected in this essay, Howard’s teaching was instrumental in helping me frame the key issues in a new and more productive way, which I have continued to build on to this day.  If you are interested in the relationship between the brain and mind, or in how we might go about leveraging insights about the biology of learning to improve educational practice, you might find it interesting.  I look forward to reading your comments on that or anything else in the book.

Source: The Education Scientist, http://theeducationscientist.blogspot.com/2014/07/celebrating-howard-gardners.html#.U9b7M29X-uY

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Innovative Finnish-American research collaboration

http://www.innovationsforlearning.net/In early 2013 a collaboration between Finnish and American education researchers took a step forward as Science Across Virtual Institutes was formally launched. Called SAVI for short, Science Across Virtual Institutes brings together sixteen research groups. Each of the eight groups from Finland partners with a group from the US forming eight teams.

“In SAVI education experts from Finland and the USA work together with the aim of improving student engagement in STEM,” summarizes professor Jari Multisilta, who heads the Finnish side of the collaboration. The SAVI program is funded by both Finnish and American sources: the Academy of Finland, Tekes (the Finnish Agency for Technology and Innovation) and the US National Science Foundation. Multisilta believes that motivation for both researchers and supporters stems from a general concern: “Policy makers are becoming more and more aware of the challenges linked to the low popularity of STEM subjects. In the future we will need an increasing number of skilled STEM experts to maintain and develop our societies and economies sustainably.”

The SAVI research teams specialize in different topics of learning innovations in science and mathematics:

  • WEPS Advancing an Online Project in the Assessment and Effective Teaching of Calculus
  • eTEXTBOOK Dynamic Digital Text: An Innovation in STEM Education Finland
  • EAGER Engagement in STEM learning and careers through the use of innovative learning activities
  • VIP Video Inquitry Project. STEM Learning and Teaching with Mobile Video Inquiries and Communities
  • FUN: Finland – US Network for the Study of Engagement and Learning in Games
  • GROMINDS Graphogame and MindStars Books: Global Cyber Tools for Improving Young Learner’s Reading Comprehension, Scientific Discourse and STEM Learning
  • PDE Studying & Supporting Productive Disciplinary Engagement In Demanding Stem Learning Environments Across Cultures And Settings
  • UNCODE – Uncovering Hidden Cognitive Demands on Global Learners

To continue reading this article by Maija Pollari or to learn more about this exciting opportunity click here

http://www.luma.fi/news/2534/a-finnish-american-research-collaboration-sparkles-with-learning-innovations

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21st Century Teaching Video

Melinda Kraft’s final video project, A Call to Action, from her class called Emerging Technology in a Collaborative Culture at Full Sail University where she is completing herMaster’s degree in Education Media and Design Technology.


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Doug Prouty: Talented Innovator and Educator

A talented innovator will be missed. doug.jpg 
Others have found better words of tribute at this time than I am able to compose. To read a great tribute click here.
To read Doug’s courageous struggle, click here.

Please remember Doug’s motto: “Tell your family you love them. It’s the only thing that matters.”

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