RATL | reading about teaching language

Spring Quarter June 13, 2013

In this digest of articles, you can 1) borrow great tech 'needs analysis' questionnaire items for your students, teachers and yourself,  2) learn how to make simple animations, 3) explain Bloom's Taxonomy more effectively, and 4) be part of a great discussion of the merits (or demerits) of using learning styles in the classroom. Enjoy! -roger dupuy

Article No. 1 

"6 Great Tech Question Charts for The 21st Century Teacher and Student  Educational Technology and Mobile Learning"

This article has a series of questionnaire-type questions for you to find out more about your students' and teachers' understanding and use regarding technology. There are six sections, so there's room to pick and choose. These questions could be used to create your own 'needs analysis' questionnaire. It is a great read for you if it only informs you of your own behaviors regarding your patterns as you interface teaching and technology. -RD

LINK: http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/04/6-great-tech-question-charts-for-21st.html

Article No. 2

"A Keynote (Mac's Powerpoint application) Animation Tutorial."

This is a 5-minute video teaching you how make an animation using your keynote presentation software. It's pretty easy, but there are a lot of steps. There could be a little confusion as the voiceover asks you to have an 'animation template' created. All this means is that you need to create a NEW keynote file with the title 'animation template'. It's also a good video for a different reason: it's a good tutorial. She uses an iMovie template for the flying transitions. -RD

LINK: https://vimeo.com/64513862

Article No. 3

"14 Brilliant Bloom’s Taxonomy Posters For Teachers"

The name says it all. You can give your students some really cool bloom's taxonomy visuals. -RD

LINK: http://www.teachthought.com/learning/14-brilliant-blooms-taxonomy-posters-for-teachers/

Article No. 4

"The Myth of Learning Styles" (by Mo Costandi)

Was Gardner wrong? Was he misunderstood? Here's what you might want to do: 1) read the article, 2) then read the comments to the article that follow.  Some commenters react with their 'gut instincts', others, like Jen Lillianstein's comments, logically point out flaws she sees.

What's your take on learning styles? -RD

LINK: http://thinkneuroscience.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/the-myth-of-learning-styles/