Learning Commons

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/09/how-to- Good article on game-based learning that can be done in classrooms or the learning commons: design-classroom-games-for-learning/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

How Schools Design Classroom Games for Learning Game-based learning has become synonymous with educational video games in some circles, but low-tech games have been used with great success in classrooms for a while. In fact, games that don’t require costly technology have a lot to offer the intrepid educator both as a learning tool and an educati...

This is a provocative article about the impact of digital games on learning. Of course we need a good list of the types of games, not just any gaming...but this research study is worth thinking about. http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/06/can-students-learn-better-with-digital-games/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

Can Digital Games Boost Students’ Test Scores? | MindShift A new report released today reveals the results attempting to answer the question: do digital games and simulation help students studying science, technology, math, and engineering achieve better learning outcomes?

Many schools face a tech challenge this next year and here is some advice: http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/04/finding-ways-to-boost-broadband-for-schools/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

Finding Solutions for Tech Troubles In Schools | MindShift With the onset of the Common Core State Standards, which teachers are expected to implement next year, and the growth of blended learning, the role of digital

Design thinking should be a part of the learning commons in every school. It is a part of maker spaces gaining popularity. Here is the article: http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/03/what-does-design-thinking-look-like-in-school/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

What Does ‘Design Thinking’ Look Like in School? | MindShift Getty Images Design thinking can seem a bit abstract to teachers. It’s not part of traditional teacher training programs and has only recently entered

Here is an incredible experiment in a public school where kids are in charge of their own learning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RElUmGI5gLc #!

If students designed their own schools... The best small town in America experiments with self-directed learning at its public high school. A group of students gets to create their own school-within-...

Student driven learning is a fabulous way to build creativity and critical thinking plus a host of other useful work habits. This article gives some major hints and questions to think about: http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/02/can-student-driven-learning-happen-under-common-core/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

Can Student-Driven Learning Happen Under Common Core? | MindShift By Marsha Ratzel Teachers use different strategies to help students learn. With the inevitable arrival of the Common Core State Standards, however, the big u

Infographics and data visualization are hot topics in the attempt to reduce large data sets or complex ideas in a more understandable way. Here are eleven infographics that help create infographics: http://blog.visual.ly/11-infographics-about-infographics/?utm_campaign=website&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email

11 Infographics About Infographics People who create infographics do their work partly because they believe infographics are a great way to communicate information. Since the people in this field

It seems like arguing about factual knowledge vs. learning how to learn skills has been discussed forever. Here is another iteration. In the learning commons, the concentration should be on both, since learning how to learn skills are needed to boost content knowledge: http://blog.coreknowledge.org/2012/09/05/is-grit-enough/

Is Grit Enough? « The Core Knowledge Blog Closing the Achievement Gap: Teaching Content

What is information fluency? This brief video is well worth the view time. http://fluency21.com/blog/2013/02/18/information-fluency-video/?utm_source=Committed+Sardines&utm_campaign=9bb24a0e8a-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email

Information Fluency Video We received so many requests for videos of the Fluencies, we have created one for each of them. Here is the Information Fluency video. Please share this link with your friends and colleagues. More ...

MOOCs are all the rage at the moment. We are interested in the idea of collaborative content as a part of learning commons learning experiences. It is wonderful for an instructor to discover this. Now to discover the embedded librarian in such courses...http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/warming-up-to-moocs/44022

Warming Up to MOOC's - ProfHacker - The Chronicle of Higher Education [This is a guest post by Douglas H. Fisher, an associate professor of computer science and of computer engineering at Vanderbilt University.--]

I liked the phase< " the brain is a pattern making machine." So, you use that strength to understand and learn more deeply. Here is a short article listing three ways of doing this: http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/02/why-confusion-can-be-a-good-thing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

Why Confusion Can Be a Good Thing | MindShift We all know that confusion doesn't feel good. Because it seems like an obstacle to learning, we try to arrange educational experiences and training sessions s

We like to keep up with trends in education and technology. Here is the latest for higher education: http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/02/higher-ed-trends-moocs-tablets-gamification-and-wearable-tech/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

Higher Ed Trends: MOOCs, Tablets, Gamification, and Wearable Tech | MindShift Justin Sullivan/Getty Images As tech tools continue to proliferate with new launches and new products, it's difficult to predict what will stick and