UAE Education Events You Won’t Want to Miss!

The education scene in the UAE is very vibrant and in an amazing period of growth and productivity. I feel so fortunate to have an opportunity to learn from and contribute to the important education initiatives in Dubai and beyond.

For UAE educators and enthusiasts that are looking for fun and educational events to attend, here are a few to add to your calendars:

11/21/09 My Letter to President Barack Obama Book Reading and Signing Event.

• Location: Souk Al Bahar, Dubai, 4-6pm.
• Join children’s author Lana Dajani as she discusses her latest book, the environment and more! Illustrator Emanuela Corti will also discuss the delightful book illustrations. Download invite here.

11/22/09 Curriki on Nightline with James Piecowye.

• Tune your UAE radio to 103.8 (or listen online here) at 8pm.
• Learn about www.Curriki.org–a non-profit that provides free and open source curricula collaboration tools to educators across the world!

11/23/09 Empowering Teachers to Change Teaching and Learning: The Disruptive Innovation of Curricula 2.0 by Dr. Barbara Kurshan (Executive Director, Curriki)

• Location: British University in Dubai, 10am-12:30pm.
• Download details and invite here.

11/24/09 Mom 2.0: Blogging 101

• Learn about blogging, how blogs can be used with children, make a blog and meet other UAE moms to boot!
• Location: Magrudy’s Education Resource Center in Dubai, 9am-12pm.
• Read workshop details and register here.

12/06/09 Mom 2.0: Digital Tools for Homework Help

• Learn how to breeze through future school projects and avoid homework time stress!
• Location: Magrudy’s Education Resource Center in Dubai, 9am-12pm.
• Read workshop details and register here.

12/08/09 Mom 2.0: Digital Literacy and Cyber Safety: What Kids and Parents Need to Know!

• Learn how to help your kids interact safely and productively online!
• Location: Magrudy’s Education Resource Center in Dubai, 9am-12pm.
• Read workshop details and register here.

Can’t wait to see UAE educators and parents at the events above!

Anna

@bon_education

Transliteracy: Do you have it?

Thanks to tools like the WordPress analytics tool, Google Analytics and HootSuite I can gauge how many people visit my blog, website and Twitter feed, which sites refer the most readers, most popular posts, etc.

When it comes to referrals, I am eternally grateful to sites like  Web English Teacher, FreeReading, Reading Rockets and the Reading Tub (amongst many others) for continuing to send large amounts of traffic to this blog and for sharing so many wonderful posts and literacy resources themselves. It is so wonderful that from Dubai, I can connect with literacy-lovers from around the world!

Yesterday, I noticed two new referral sites that I thought I would share simply because their content was so useful to me!

The transliteracy sideshow above by librarian Bobbi Newman and featured on library professional Gena Hasket’s post on BlogHer is an excellent presentation to share with educators, learners, librarians and parents on the importance of transliteracy – the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media. Thanks Gena for recommending that readers think about and promote transliteracy. And, thank you for sending readers here to this blog!

I would also like to give a shout out to the American Association of School Librarians for including a link to this blog in the School Library Media Specialist’s Roll in Reading Toolkit. If you are looking for toolkits and advocacy materials for helping parents, teachers and others understand the importance of transliteracy, digital literacy, information literacy, etc., make sure to view all of the toolkits on the American Association of School Librarians’ site.

Thinking about transliteracy…

Anna

@bon_education

Transforming Learning with Innovative Uses of Technology

This morning I read, “The Digital Promise: Transforming Learning with Innovative Uses of Technology” by Jeanne Wellings and Michael H. Levine–a white paper that I highly recommend reading if you are looking for rationale to support the integration of technology and edtech PD within your school.

To summarize, the article points out that when technology is skillfully integrated into school curricula, the benefits are many:

• Technology supports student achievement. (ISTE 2008)
• Technology builds 21st century skills. (ISTE 2008)
• Technology engages students in learning and content creation. (America’s Digital Schools, 2006)
• Technology increases access to education, virtual communities, and expertise. (ISTE 2008)
• Technology fosters inclusion. (Apple Inc. 2009)
• Technology helps prevent dropouts. (Smink & Reimer, 2005)
• Technology facilitates differentiated instruction. (Apple Inc. 2009)
• Technology empowers learning and research in critical STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields. (CEO Forum, 2001)
• Technology strengthens career and technical education. (Apple Inc. 2009)

And, if that is not enough to make you want to brush up your school technology plan, think about this and ask yourself how comfortable you are with media:

A Kaiser Family Foundation study, “Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year Olds,” confirms the immersion of American children in contemporary media. The average child spends over six and a half hours per day engaged with various types of media,  television, movies, music, electronic games, and computers. Over one week this equates to a full-time job with a few hours of overtime (Rideout, Roberts, and Foehr, 2005).

Wow! To find specific examples of resources and innovative things you can do as an educator to promote student learning via creative and engaging uses of technology, check out the blue call-out boxes throughout the report!

For more practical and easy-to-read research on the impact of technology and digital media on children’s learning, visit the Joan Ganz Conney Center. You won’t be disappointed!

Anna

@bon_education

New Media Literacies: What Parents, Educators and Students Need to Know

I am in the process of planning a number of digital literacy workshops for parents across the UAE. In preparation for this, I am gathering a number of resources that parents can read and watch to gain a better understanding of the digital knowledge and skills students must have “to deal with our culture today,” “to function in the current media environment–with the Internet, with cellphones,” to be a responsible consumers and producers of media, to interact safely online, etc.

The video above (by Project New Media Literacies, MIT) is a nice one to pass along to parents, along with the International for Society for Technology in Education National Education Technology Standards for Students–A document that clearly bullets “What students should know and be able to do to learn effectively and live productively in an increasingly digital world.”

When it comes to digital literacy, it is the collaborative responsibility of parents, educators and students to have a clear understanding of the amazing educational potential of the Internet and the associated responsibilities of being a digital citizen in the 21st century… As some might say, it takes a Digital Village!

Feel free to pass the above resources along and to share additional ones in the comments section of this post.

Sincerely,

Anna

Founder, Bon Education

Twitter: @bon_education

Finding and Adding High Quality LEGAL Images to Your Blog or Website

NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 14: Nelly Furtado reads a book to a group of children during the Jumpstart Read for The Record 2009 launch event at the Borough of Manhattan Community College on September 14, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Jumpstart)

Today while reviewing the WordPress.com blog for the latest and greatest updates, I came across a post titled, “Free Access to Premium Images“… Wow! What a find!

Finding free high quality legal images for blog posts and websites can be a challenge, especially if you live in a part of the world where websites like Flickr are many times not available. That is why I often rely on my own images, free stock photos or WikiMedia Commons for images to spice up my writing and online blog reports.

Thanks to an update on the WordPress.com blog, I now have another source to rely on for high quality free and legal photos: PicApp. As the site About page states:

We have over 20 million premium images, editorial and creative, covering any imaginable category—from news, sports, to celebrity, travel fashion and more.

Our content partners include Getty Images, Corbis, Splash News, Pacific Coast News, Newscom, Image Source and more. We support the largest blog platforms: WordPress, Blogger, TypePad and more.

Eager to see what PicApp has to offer, this morning I created an account (which took only 10 seconds!) and started exploring for pictures of my favorite actors, topics and more. A quick search for “reading” revealed loads of photos of famous and not-so-famous people doing what we know is so important to do–reading!

Next time you are need of images that are legal to post on your blog/website, stop by PicApp! To see how to use site, watch the video below! To learn what you can and cannot do with the images, click here.

Anna

Twitter: @bon_education

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Digital Storytelling in a Nutshell

I just published a blog on Curriki that I think Literacy is Priceless readers will find useful. To see the original post, click here. Or, continue reading below. -Anna

If you are looking for a project to build your students’ communication and digital literacy skills, why not have them participate in a digital storytelling project?! As this excellent introduction to digital storytelling by Curriki member Robin Surland points out:

Digital storytelling consists of a series of still images or video images, combined with a narrated soundtrack to tell a story. Many times an additional music track is added to invoke emotions.

Once, you’ve reviewed Robin’s excellent backgrounder, you’ll be ready to take a look at the link Curriki member Anne Leftwich posted here that provides in-depth information on how to create a digital story. Thanks Anne!

Need help visualizing the process before you get started? Here’s “How to make a Digital Story” in a nutshell:

• Determine what personal experience you wish to present in your story. If you need a bit of help selecting a topic, try filling out this worksheet on the seven basic elements of a digital story by Indiana University.
• Select images that you wish to display in your story. Beyond your own digital photos, Flickr (creative commons licensed images) and OpenStockPhotography are useful places to find images to accompany your narration. Indiana University has a nice template that will help you storyboard your ideas.
• Draft a 3-5 minute script to accompany your images.
• Select music (optional). ccMixer and Open Source Audio are two places where you can find large quantities of open music. Make sure that the track you select allows you to share and remix the original music. For example, click on the cc box featured on the left hand side of this audio. You should be directed to this page that tells you exactly what you can and cannot do with the track.
• Note: If you find this whole copyright thing confusing (i.e., What images and music from the Internet are you allowed to use legally in your digital story?), the Creative Commons website has lots of great advise. The Wanna Work Together video is particularly helpful.
• Pull it all together! Create a final storyboard that clearly shows how your images, script and music will all fit together. Indiana University has provided a useful template for this.
• Select which software you are going to use to create your digital story. Here is a list of possibilies. Voicethread is another nice tool for this. To learn how to use Voicethread, watch this YouTube tutorial.
• Produce your digital story!
• Share it with others! (The fun part!)
• Create a digital storytelling assignment for your students and share your lesson plan with others in the Curriki community here.

For more detailed information on digital storytelling, take a look at the Digital Storytelling Cookbook from the Center for Digital Storytelling. Or, take a moment to watch the YouTube video above (created by Stanford’s Teacher Education Program).

Have fun and feel free to share additional digital storytelling resources in the comments section of this post.

Anna

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Essential Web Tools for Teachers and Students

After two weeks of merrymaking while on holiday in Greece and Turkey, I am back online and supercharged for the 2009-2010 school year. While the holiday gave me a chance to satisfy my desire to read literature (The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera) and hear chick lit (Breathing Room by Susan Elizabeth Phillips via iPod) while on long bus rides and overnight trains across the border, I came back with a strong thirst to resume my ritual morning combing of the web for interesting finds in the fields of education, technology, literacy and business.

While I was offline, Mashable posted two fantastic lists of back to school apps for students and teachers. Make sure to take a look at the full lists on Mashable and my highlights below!

Back to School: 15 Essential Web Tools for Students. My favorites on the list include:

• Evernote–A note-taking and organization tool for the 21st century student (and teacher). This is a great tool for helping students stay organized, remember homework and compile research.
• Google Docs–Why use pricey Microsoft Office when you can use Google’s free collaborative spreadsheets, better-than-wiki docs and wonderful form/survey tools? If you like to assign group projects, this is a tool your students will most certainly find useful to stay organized and in touch during and after school hours.
• CiteMe–An automatic tool for creating APA, MLA, etc. citations… Need I say more?!

Back to School: 10 Terrific Web Apps for Teachers. My favorites on the list include:

• Curriki–Your one-stop-shop for free and open curricula and K-12 online resources and lesson sharing tools. Make sure to check out the new subject focused pages for ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies! The new browse page is very useful too!
• Shmoop–Resources and study guides for ELA, history and more! Learn how teachers are using Shmoop here and read my past blog about Shmoop here!

May your school year be filled with many awesome educational apps and organization tools!

Anna

P.S. Thanks to Jenny Krueger for sending me the above two Mashable links while I was away on holiday! These are two posts not to be missed!

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Keeping up with the times: Video Game Novels

Yesterday the New York Times published a very interesting article by Motoko Rich titled, “Using Video Games as Bait to Hook Readers.” The article notes:

“You can’t just make a book anymore,” said Mr. Haarsma, a former advertising consultant. Pairing a video game with a novel for young readers, he added, “brings the book into their world, as opposed to going the other way around.”

Mr. Haarsma is not the only one using video games to spark an interest in books. Increasingly, authors, teachers, librarians and publishers are embracing this fast-paced, image-laden world in the hope that the games will draw children to reading.

Spurred by arguments that video games also may teach a kind of digital literacy that is becoming as important as proficiency in print, libraries are hosting gaming tournaments, while schools are exploring how to incorporate video games in the classroom…

While the debate is still up in the air as to whether playing video games really helps children learn how to read, as aforementioned, advocates state that video games are excellent environments for helping children and teens develop digital literacy skills. In addition, games often inspire students to read mediums like blogs and user manuals when they might not otherwise be motivated to read at all.

So, what does a novel+video game combo look like anyway? Take a look at the video clip below as author Christopher Paolini discusses Vroengard Academy–a game that was created to go along with his book series the Inheritance Cycle. If you’re intrigued, also take a look at Alagaësia Adventure–another online FREE game that was created for the Inheritance Cycle book series!

Have fun exploring!

Anna

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Are your students Web savvy?

The New York Times recently published a thought-provoking article by Motoko Rich titled, “Literacy Debate – Online, R U Really Reading?” which outlines “what it means to read in the digital age.”

Rich notes that while some reading experts have found that spending significant amounts of time on the Internet has little impact (or may even diminish) literacy, other scholars state that spending time surfing the Internet actually improves literacy (especially within groups of children that would otherwise not read if it weren’t for the appeal of the Internet). Despite the spectrum of opinions on this topic, it is a bit difficult to wade through the research, as everyone has a slightly different definition of what literacy is. Furthermore, very few schools actually assess digital reading in any systematic way, although this trend is changing as Rich points out:

Next year, for the first time, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which administers reading, math and science tests to a sample of 15-year-old students in more than 50 countries, will add an electronic reading component. The United States, among other countries, will not participate. A spokeswoman for the Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the Department of Education, said an additional test would overburden schools.

Regardless of whether or not the US participates in such assessments any time soon, I think most of us agree that it is important that we teach children from an early stage how to assess, synthesize and utilize digital information. So, as you are thinking about how to incorporate digital literacy lessons into your curricula this fall, take a look at this diagram (provided by the New Literacies Research Lab at the University of Connecticut). The diagram provides a great overview of the skills children (and adults) need to become competent digital readers. For example, online readers must learn to: open a web browser, locate a search engine, type key words or phrases, scan the search results, assess the source, open multiple windows, etc… Take a peak at the diagram and pass this article along to a friend!

Anna

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AfterEd

Keep up-to-date with education news and developments around the world by tuning into the videos on AfterEd. AfterEd is a project sponsored by the Teachers College EdLab. A former member of the lab, I am very excited to see AfterEd evolve! Bringing videos and other forms of multimedia into the classroom can certainly help motivate students, while at the same time building literacy and technology skills. Check out this video on Video Games in Japan or watch my friend Karen discuss her dissertation research on schools in Indonesia! Perhaps your students will enjoy watching the videos and contributing to the site!

Anna