Multi-Level Reading, Bi-lingual Site

I spent some time this morning trying to add a text to speech feature to this site, to make it more accessible (ADA). Not fully successful, but I did come across another site that is interesting for another reason--it offers the content for three different reading levels,and in Spanish and English:

Windows to Science Site

Visualizing Data as it Relates to Location

Having just finished Peter Turchi's Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer, I have been thinking of maps quite a bit today. According to author, mapping is about sense-making, and about visualization among other things. While searching out some educational use of map making, I came across this site which contains several ways to use Google mapping tools to help students visualize data as it relates to location:

Maps for Learning

A couple of interesting links are ones that represent census data with location, and another that links AP news stories to location...How might you use these with your classes?

Would You Host Office Hours on Facebook?

This item surfaced today--a famous Stanford Professor Philip Zimbardo decided to offer office hours via Facebook. Here's his opening, along with ground rules: http://www.facebook.com/stanford



To be able to ask questions, a person needs to be a fan of the Stanford Facebook Page (more controlled access than the usual Facebook account). It appears the prof then creates a video response.

You have to admit, he's pretty engaging, though taking a week to answer questions seemed like a long time.

Another choice we have at CMC is holding online office hours or appointments with Elluminate Live!, either recording a one-way talk as he is doing, or having the real, live two- or more- way conversation in the Elluminate Live! room.

An International Exchange in Second Life Complete with Roommates

Opportunities for institutions to expand or even create international learning exchanges is well illustrated by this Second Life Workshop that U Oregon is offering with one of the Chinese universities--the immersion summer camp will take place in Second Life and U OR students and Chinese university students will be roommates in the virtual dorms.

http://casls.uoregon.edu/mychinainfo.php

After the Grades: Your Own Reflections

Creative Commons Attribution: Photo by Kent Wang

Congratulations with the completion of this term. Turning in final grades is quite often accompanied by a great sense of relief and need to relax. You also have the opportunity reflect while it is still fresh with you.

So what went well, what would you change, add to, delete next term? What would you like to try? Jotting these items down and sticking them in a folder capture those thoughts for your return next term.

Field Trip to a (purchased) Paper Mill

This Chronicle article hits a sore spot and provides an interesting expose:

Journey to the Center of a Paper Mill

The Chronicle and Good Old SQ4R

One of today's Chronicle of Higher Ed articles says recent research shows the students do well to read, then practice recall of what they just read as a retention strategy, yet the word wasn't getting out to students in classes about doing so. The point made was that the "recall" step was not communicated. And re-reading is not recall.

Chronicle Article

This strategy is the old SQ4R study method--"Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Write, Review."

And it spite of what the article concludes, many institutions had materials for this method on the web:

SQ4R Materials

(I stopped counting at 30 institutions though there were many more.) In addition to the research discussion, the article is calling for promotion of effective study skills in courses.

Your thoughts?