More and more I am using Facebook as my learning tool. Previously I posted about how Facebook could be used as a kind of textbook - liking a page such as National Geographic can be a very powerful learning tool all because of...
Status Updates!
Little bits of information that keep us informed, tell about current events, make us think, ask us questions. I've learned about new species, clicked on pictures from space, and watched videos of different perspectives than mine.
I can then choose to read further if it's something related to what I am learning, but I am discovering much much more than I would ever be exposed to on my own. What if we, as teachers, gave our students status updates:
Biggest Fossil Spider Found
Read that a 1 inch spider was found in Mongolia that could be from the Jurassic period. Why is this important to know and who is this information important to?
What kind of math do you need to know to be able to understand the information in this article?
How did Janelle Weaver, the author of the article, use vocabulary to describe this discovery?
Or what about this one:
We covered short division in class today, but did you know there is a different way? Here is a video to show you: http://fivejs.com/a-better-way-to-divide-short-division/ Does this seem like an easier way?
Or this one:
Looking up different ways to show algebraic graphs.
Or this one:
Great day in class today! One of our students shared how temperature affects the quality of writing from an ink pen. Heat works better, but the cold makes the pen last longer - which do you think is more important?
What I like about this status updates is that it keeps people connected, updated and gives people the option to investigate further or comment and contribute. Last, I like that it is short.
What do you like about status updates?
