“If This, Then That” (IFTTT, pronounced as IFT) is the best way to automate tasks and connect different parts of your internet social ventures.
I think it’s best explained with an example:
I use Diigo (see earlier post: Why I love Diigo) but also like the functionality that Evernote offers. I did not want to have two separate curating and archiving tools, I want them to talk to eachother. IFTTT can do that:
The holidays have started and it is nearly Christmas. Now is a good time to take a step back and be reminded that it’s about making the most of the fleeting moments that we are lucky enough to be conscious of in the great lottery of the uni/multiverse.
I’ll start with a famous creation story by the environmentalist David Brower. He calculated that if the earth was only 6 days old, human beings would have only been around less than half a second before mid night on the last night. When I read things like that, as a parent, a history teacher and a human being, I am struck by how we are simultaneously insignificant and very powerful.
I am also including the first page of Bill Bryson’s masterful “A Short History of Nearly Everything”. He makes it very clear that we are nothing but star dust; I love it. We should all realise that our daily worries and stresses are insignificant in the greater scheme of things…. Continue reading “Taking a step back to see the greater scheme of things….”
I am on a steep learning curve when it comes to criterion-referenced assessment. Like many teachers, I have used the standard norm-referenced assessment model for years. This is recognizable to everyone, for example: Question 1 asks for three main points. If the student identified the three points, three marks are awarded. In contrast to this, criterion-referenced assessment works with pre-defined criteria which describe increasing levels of success in understanding the curriculum. The more I read about it and work with it in the MYP and the IB DP, the more I see how using criterion-referenced assessment allows for a more sophisticated understanding and assessment of a student’s learning, skill and knowledge.
The example below shows what an MYP criterion (in “Individuals and Society”) looks like: Continue reading “Good learning, criterion-referenced assessment, feedback and learning objectives”
Teachers play a vital role in fostering a positive attitude towards learning. John Hattie, Carol Dweck and Daniel Pink have done great work on researching student efficacy, mindset and motivation. In this post, I have collated some of their ideas.
Carol Dweck is the key authority regarding the growth mindset. She makes the following points:
Hattie suggests that self-efficacy, aspirational, and other psychosocial influences account for considerable variance in academic achievement.
a Dweck shows how to address this by promoting a Growth Mindset in the classroom. Continue reading “Motivation, mindset, students’ efficacy”