A related danger of the merging of online and offline life, says business thinker Tony Schwartz, is that we come to treat ourselves, in subtle ways, like computers. We drive ourselves to cope with ever-increasing workloads by working longer hours, sucking down coffee and spurning recuperation. But “we were not meant to operate as computers do,” Schwartz says. “We are meant to pulse.” When it comes to managing our own energy, he insists, we must replace a linear perspective with a cyclical one: “We live by the myth that the best way to get more work done is to work longer hours.” Schwartz cites research suggesting that we should work in periods of no greater than 90 minutes before seeking rest. Whatever you might have been led to imagine by the seeping of digital culture into every aspect of daily life – and at times this week in Austin it was easy to forget this – you are not, ultimately, a computer.
Archives: Bookmarks
Preschool lessons: New research shows that teaching kids more and more, at ever-younger ages, may backfire. – By Alison Gopnik – Slate Magazine
As so often happens in science, two studies from different labs, using different techniques, have simultaneously produced strikingly similar results. They provide scientific support for the intuitions many teachers have had all along: Direct instruction really can limit young children’s learning. Teaching is a very effective way to get children to learn something specific—this tube squeaks, say, or a squish then a press then a pull causes the music to play. But it also makes children less likely to discover unexpected information and to draw unexpected conclusions.
Become A Tour Author
National Journal Online — Education Experts — Should Students Be Paid To Learn?
One reason adults are so fond of reward programs is that they’re spared from having to ask why kids have to be bribed in the first place. What would it take to create a school where kids want to show up? How can we nourish kids’ natural curiosity and desire to learn? What does it say about homework that children dread doing it and rarely find it of value? To answer those questions, to make school meaningful for students, takes time and talent and courage. But you don’t need any of those things to toss kids a goodie when they jump through your hoops. Such programs are powerfully conservative in that they discourage us from changing the status quo.
Grad News : Full Sail Online
—Doesn’t make it much better than a tour. Be interesting to fully integrate a quest element into this in the Richmond area.
“I connected with a history professor here [at Georgia State University]. He took me on a walking tour and filled me in on the different spots that had to do with the actual event” Camaal says. “I made markers out of those locations… so when using mobile devices, like an iPod Touch or iPhone, people can walk by a building or statue while the GPS tracks your location. If you’re standing in front of a historical site, it will instantly give you information based on your position,” Camaal says.
www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/arpa-ed-background.pdf
The role of ARPA-ED
My Cemetery | Browse Items
George Mason students learn about history with visits to graveyards
Looking for a new way to teach old things, Kelly requires students enrolled in the 300-level historical methods course to choose a family cemetery in or around Fairfax County and dig up as much information as they can about those buried there.
The students will post the fruits of their search – including photos, maps and descriptions of people – to MyCemetery.org, a free and open database Web site that Kelly created for the course that can be used by others who are seeking information about people who once lived, worked and died in Fairfax County and its environs.
Educational Technology and Life » Blog Archive » An AUP Critique
Some teachers (and many students) understood the spirit of this policy are were thankful for their freedom. Unfortunately some teachers wanted a more strict policy (such as “no games” – ah, but what if the games are educational, oh, and do you really want to police that at lunch and after school?), and they wanted consequences spelled out by first offense, first major offense etc. My feeling is that such policies are not for the students’ benefit, but are more a crutch for teachers who don’t want to make judgment calls on the fly about a technology they are uncomfortable with.