Nowadays, it’s not uncommon for instructors to include notes regarding laptop and internet use in their course syllabi. Many instructors ban the use of electronics, including laptops, due to the assumption that these machines may be more distracting than helpful during class time. However, students often argue that they can take better notes on their... Continue Reading →
Characteristics of a 21st Century Teacher
Recent technological advances have affected many areas of our lives: the way we communicate, collaborate, learn, and, of course, teach. Along with that, those advances necessitated an expansion of our vocabulary, producing definitions such as digital natives, digital immigrants, and, the topic of this post -- "21st Century Teacher." One of the things I have... Continue Reading →
Lesson Planning using AI
"Built and designed by teachers, for teachers." Stan Litow, President Emeritus of the IBM Foundation IBM's Watson, everyone’s favourite supercomputer, is taking on a new challenge - education! Over 1000 educators contributed to the project, 1000s of hand-selected lesson plans and activities were categorized and rendered, and the use of the artificial intelligence interpretation. All... Continue Reading →
How to Manage Cell Phones in the Classroom
Our cell phones have evolved from the indestructible Nokia phones that were primarily used for speaking (sometimes I forget that I can do that on my iPhone!). Add social media to the list of many activities that are commonplace for the screen of our mobile devices, and it is easy to question the necessity of... Continue Reading →
Who Are Companies Targeting?
It’s no secret that companies market online (and everywhere else for that matter!), but how is this changing over time? Patricia Redsicker discusses this change in her guide: The Social Media Examiner and illuminates some important and changing trends in marketing. Billboards, buses, washrooms, magazines, TV, radio, Internet, and the endless list of tools marketers use... Continue Reading →