Daily Bookmarks 05/17/2007

16 Awesome Data Visualization Tools

• Tools to help you visualize and understand data from other sites like Flickr and Digg.

   – post by christyinsdesign

always learning » The Perfect Match: Technology Integration and Understanding by Design  Annotated

• Kim Cofino explains the process of working with a self-described “digital dinosaur” to develop a math unit focusing on authentic assessment. One of the great things is how she shows that the goal of technology integration was to make an engaging and valuble experience for the students, as well as a positive and easy experience for a teacher who is out of her comfort zone.
   – post by christyinsdesign

Quote: To me, technology facilitator isn’t just about bringing technology into the core classrooms, it’s about the process – the process of learning how to plan a new unit in a new way, using new tools…

A Modest Curriculum Proposal | Edutopia  Annotated

• A great metaphor for why learning should actively engage students in doing the tasks they are expected to learn. The article focuses on science and math education, but the ideas really apply to all areas of education.
   – post by christyinsdesign

Quote:

In discussing the need for hands-on science learning, Nichols asked us to imagine parents at the dinner table asking their young son or daughter that age-old question “What did you learn in school today?” The child shrugs, as children often do, and says, “We learned to play basketball.” The parents then ask, “How did you do that?” The child answers, “Well, we sat in the gym and the teacher passed out these books, and we turned to chapter one, about passing the basketball, and we learned there are three types of passes: the bounce pass, the chest pass, and the one-handed pass.”

“OK,” parents would say, wanting to know more, “what happened next?” The child continues, “We read the next chapter about dribbling. And another chapter on shooting. We learned there’s the set shot, the bank shot, and the jump shot.” After a few minutes of this recitation, the parents, increasingly exasperated, challenge their child: “But did the teacher ever give you a basketball and let you go on the court and play?” “No,” the child says with a sigh. “We just read the book until the bell rang.”

Darwin Correspondence Project – The letters

• Collection of Darwin’s letters–great primary source content
   – post by christyinsdesign