http://educationniche.rebeccathomasdesigns.com Resources in informal learning, e-learning, and information management Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:44:19 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It's never ceased to amaze me how many people honestly believe that making something off-limits will protect others. It rarely works that way, mainly because forbidding something just triggers the innate curiosity we're all born with. Rather than block access to something you perceive as dangerous, teach the people you're trying ... http://educationniche.rebeccathomasdesigns.com/2008/02/13/teach-dont-forbid/ Two of my hobbies include watching cartoons and reading graphic novels, so I guess it's no surprise that as a teacher I'm now also interested in cartoons with the E/I (educational and informative) rating and world manga that has been repurposed to teach SAT-level vocabulary words. I haven't had any success ... http://educationniche.rebeccathomasdesigns.com/2008/01/16/teaching-through-blended-media/ Over the holidays, I read this interesting article (that I somehow managed to not save somewhere) that suggested not presenting the behavioral objective to the student. What? The madness? How will the student be engaged if they don't know what we're doing? Actually, the article presented a far more authentic method for ... http://educationniche.rebeccathomasdesigns.com/2008/01/02/identifying-the-gap/ Scene: My workplace, any day of the week. Me: What do we do next? Student: (looks at the desk, the floor, the clock on the wall, anywhere but the problem we're working on) Me: What do you think? Student: (tentatively) I don't know. (says exactly the right answer) I don't know. Why are you ... http://educationniche.rebeccathomasdesigns.com/2007/12/12/making-mistakes-can-be-the-best-learning-experience/ You can teach a course 1000 times and never stop learning from the very material you are teaching.- David Zinger I've long maintained that the reason I teach is because I love learning. I love learning new material to teach to others. I love finding new information and techniques hidden within ... http://educationniche.rebeccathomasdesigns.com/2007/12/05/this-is-why-i-teach-2/ Before you get your hopes us, I haven't suddenly become a Wikipedia convert. I just want to draw everyone's attention to valid ways to use Wikipedia when doing research for a paper or project. Wikipedia should never be used as a primary source, but it can be used to find a ... http://educationniche.rebeccathomasdesigns.com/2007/11/16/how-to-use-wikipedia-for-research/ Among other things, I teach study skills at work. They fight it tooth and claw, but eventually my students understand that organizing their learning material and reviewing that material is more helpful than just shoving everything into the bottom of their backpack. When you take care of your notes and ideas, ... http://educationniche.rebeccathomasdesigns.com/2007/11/07/organizing-your-learning/ I don't recall who shared this link with me originally, but this letter to teachers is just dead on. Let's start with the obvious: children are not short adults. A child's job is to have fun, to learn everything they can, and to make mistakes in a safe environment. They have ... http://educationniche.rebeccathomasdesigns.com/2007/10/31/developing-future-leaders/ (Isn't it funny that the blog that focuses on my primary profession and my passion is the one I'm suddenly having so much trouble writing for?) I'm probably overly fascinated by the "E/I" (educational and informative) logo on children's television shows. I've actually tried to find the criteria for a show ... http://educationniche.rebeccathomasdesigns.com/2007/10/24/i-learned-that-from-a-cartoon/ Girls have had to fight for so long to gain confidence and interest in math. There are programs and "girl-colored" tools to help them become more interested in math. Someone has finally realized it's now the boys' turn, except this time the content area is reading. In trying to appeal to ... http://educationniche.rebeccathomasdesigns.com/2007/10/10/reverse-academic-discrimination/