Rethinking Learning
conversations about the future of teaching and learning
Barbara Bray
be creative, innovate, take risks, unlearn to learn
Oakland, CA

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Updates, Posts, Comments - Oh My!

By Barbara Bray      October 30, 2009 -- 02:57 PM
I have been following different social media trying to determine what works for the learning environment and to build your personal learning network. Actually - each of the different types of social media work, but they have specific purposes.

Facebook works for personal and professional purposes depending on how you connect with others and what you post.

 Audience Purpose
 Activities% of participation
Family and Close Friends
 Connect and catch up with only people you know
Share life and travel experiences
Post pictures
Comment
Participate in programs like Farmville
Poke
50% of family
...   more...
Comments: 1   Last Comment By Wendy Gallegos  November 22, 2009 -- 02:03 PM

Ways to Learn Math

By Barbara Bray      October 28, 2009 -- 01:07 PM
Math is beautiful. Anyway that’s what I’ve been told. When I was growing up, I understood numbers and practical math right away. I was able to add and subtract quickly. Times tables. No problem! You should see me count my cards in cribbage. I got some math like recognizing patterns everywhere.  Fibonacci Theory. Yes! I see it.

Then I was exposed to Algebra and abstract concepts. I just didn’t get it. If only I had easy explanations like this:



What if we changed school so students taught each other math concepts and used the Internet to connect, share, and publish?    more...
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Learning English using Legends

By Barbara Bray      October 27, 2009 -- 05:09 PM
I participated in a one hour workshop with Nellie Deutsch and Gladys Gahona on Storytelling and Cultures. They used WiziQ to present the creation story on Sun and Moon in English and Spanish. This is an interesting way to learn English and Spanish. I don't speak Spanish but when Nellie read the first part of the story in English and then Gladys read the same section in Spanish, I recognized words. I just love hearing the sound of Spanish read so beautifully.

What a great way to learn a language: listening to a story from native speakers. I joined the Storytelling and Cultures Ning and hope to join ...   more...
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New Search Engine: Google Squared

By Barbara Bray      October 25, 2009 -- 09:49 AM
Tom Barrett just wrote a great guide to a new search engine designed by Google: Google Squared from their Google Labs. Saw a retweet of his link on Twitter. Instead of me trying to reinvent the wheel, I suggest you go to his Blog: ICT in the Classroom for detailed instructions. Google keeps breaking the mold on innovation and social networks keep opening the door to new ideas and tools.



Google Squared a great tool for teachers and just about anyone who wants more than links. There are preselected search terms on this first page, so I squared "roller coasters" and got this.

I tried testing ...   more...
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What are people searching for?

By Barbara Bray      October 22, 2009 -- 10:28 PM
One of the cool things we have is a web analytics program to help us determine how many hits, unique visitors, and pages accessed daily and monthly. Our numbers are going way up. Yesterday, there were over 200,000 hits with 4,000 unique visitors. Trying to figure out what people want isn’t always easy. We know we cannot create or find everything just anyone might be looking for. We have sent out surveys and had a pretty good return on respondents. Yet, the results may not always reflect what the mass majority of users really want. So within our analytics program, we can see the search terms ...   more...
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Does your PLN help your PLC become a CoP

By Barbara Bray      October 13, 2009 -- 09:19 AM
adapted from article for OnCUE Summer 09

Learning can happen anywhere at anytime from anyone and anything. Your connections and any information you use are learning experiences that can help you grow personally and professionally.

Personal Learning Network (PLN)

There is nothing new about PLNs. They are the people and information sources that help you meet your learning goals. Building your PLN means that you not only seek to learn from others but you also help others in the network learn. Anyone can make a contribution. Your PLN can be your most powerful learning tool ...   more...
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