Hope For The Future

A new school year in North America and my thoughts always turn with excitement to all the things I hope to achieve this year. I am encouraged by all the countries in the world that are promoting active learning (see the news section), and revitalised by great conferences I attended over the summer with young (and old) teachers wanting to make a difference in the lives of their students.

The image is from the Photo-Objects collection

Creativity

Creating Lifelong Learners writes about ideas for students to promote anti bullying campaigns by creating PSA’s.

@EDU writes about how “Creative writing is often overlooked at school, since state testing and heavy curriculum requirements dictate how much of our teaching time is spent. This is a shame, since students generally write with great enthusiasm when encouraged to tell fictional stories, especially science fiction and fantasy.”

Active Learning Research

Oxford Journals reports “On strategies contributing to active learning”.

Medical Health Articles reports on a study saying “Some video games might deserve more credit than they get, and could be a good teaching tool.”

Brittannica Blog states “When the National Endowment for the Arts issued its 2007 research report, To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence, the intent was to provoke just this kind of serious discussion, as seen in this forum at the Britannica Blog, about the role of reading in American cultural life. But opinions will get us only so far. Facts are necessary.

Data Systems Plus asks How Useful are Automated Social Bookmarking Tools?

Resources

Online Education Database says Thanks to online book clubs, book trading networks, social media sites just for librarians and book lovers, kids' networks and more, connecting with your fellow bibliophiles and gnashing about favorite books is easier than ever in 100 places to connect with bibliophiles.

College Degree presents 100 Extensive University Libraries from Around the World that Anyone Can Access.

Websites of the Month

Cornell’s Garden Mosaic connecting youth and elders to investigate the mosaic of plants, people, and cultures in gardens, to learn about science, and to act together to enhance their community.

Creative Writing Prompts has over 300 ideas to get your students writing. Just click on a number.

Active Learning in the News

Future Making Serious Games (one of my favourite science bloggers) reports on how the navy is using game technology to teach critical thinking.

Minnesota Women’s Press reports on “WordsAndPictures: Girls’ films prove age doesn’t matter when you’re sharing the story of your life.”

The Calcutta Telegraph reports “Time has come to scrap the heavy school bags as the East Singhbhum district education department is planning to introduce active learning methodology (ALM) and “learning by doing” education module within a week”.

hattiesburgamerican.com reports on course redesign initiatives “The goal of the initiative is to restructure the delivery method of courses, particularly multi-section courses, by blending existing technology and traditional instruction along with other active learning approaches to improve student retention and learning outcomes."

Etutopia reports on “Writing Aloud: Staging Plays for Active Learning: Theater projects make students invest in their writing.”

Red Orbit writes about an elementary school science initiative in "Using Object Boxes to Teach the Form, Function, and Vocabulary of the Parts of the Human Eye."

The Gadsden Times says NCLB needs an update.

ABS-CBN News Online reports on 585 students graduate from DepEd’s alternative learning program.

The World Magazine reports “Egypt is moving closer towards the realisation of its goal of universal female enrolment in primary schools. The revised curriculum will encourage critical thinking through active learning.”

Rafael Mompo reports on the changes in the European Learning Community.

The Star Online reports on “Singapore’s primary schools have come up with ways to help high-ability kids not placed in its Gifted Education Programme realise their full potential.”

Times of India reports on the Tamil Nadu’s teaching methods that impressed the World Bank.

Thank you to all the people who submitted articles this month. Submit your blog article to the next edition of active learning blog carnival using our carnival submission form before October 4th.