March 28th Online Courses - Final Call

In This Issue Final Call for March 28th Courses Plan Ahead - Summer Online Courses Tools to Evaluate Educational Apps Best Educational Apps Tech Tip: Manage Your Mobile Files Guess How Many People Follow Us on Facebook Featured Courses  Editor: Shannnon Mersand This e-newsletter is brought to you by University of Wisconsin-Stout College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences. If you do not wish to receive future issues, please see instructions to manage preferences at the bottom of this message. Web Version of this Newsletter: http://www.uwstout.edu//soe/profdev/resources/educational-apps.cfm Final Call for Online Courses Beginning on March 28th EDUC 646 Using Games for Learning and Assessment EDUC 651 Project-based Learning in the Flipped Classroom EDUC 645 School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) EDUC 661 Advanced Trends and Issues in PK-5 Mathematics Teaching   (This course is part of the Math Specialist Certificate program.) Tools to Evaluate Educational Apps There are over 80,000 educational apps and it is difficult to determine which ones to purchase and which ones to ignore. Kathy Schrock’s Critical Evaluation of a Content-based iPad/iPod App Tony Vincent’s Educational App Evaluation Rubric Tony Vincent’s App Evaluation Checklist Explore the Best Educational Apps Explore reviews of apps for Android, iOS, Chrome and other devices. How to Find Educational Apps Kyle Snow shares the 4 pillars of learning, as described by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and her colleagues, to help parents and educators choose apps that inspire learning in children. Best Apps for Teaching & Learning Each year the American Association of School Librarian team compiles a list of apps that encourage inquiry-based learning and describes the intended audience, key features, and a tip for classroom use. The 32 Most Innovative Online Educational Tools Noodle provides a list of 32 recommended apps with a detailed explanation of why each app was chosen. Best Apps for Kids Best Apps for Kids provides a feature to search by grade level, content area, category, and to identify free apps. 22 Chrome Apps Every Teacher Should Know About The Educational Technology and Mobile Learning Website lists apps for classrooms using Chromebooks or the Chrome browser. Educational Apps and Games Common Sense Media rates apps for games and websites by age and skill. Kathy Schrock's iPads4Teaching Kathy Schrock provides an all-inclusive review about iPads for teaching and learning. Featured Courses EDUC 641 Mobile Learning Instructional Design (for Chromebooks, cell phones, tablets, and iPads) Instructor: Ann Bell Our students say… "The collaboration that took place during this class was amazing. It was like a professional development opportunity hopped up on steroids. I not only met professionals from all over the country who use mobile devices to maximize their instruction and overall learning in the classrooms, but I learned specific strategies to use apps effectively." ~ Don Smore, Coleman, Wisconsin EDUC 652 Universal Design for Learning (for online and face-to-face classes and training) Instructor: Dr. Susan Manning Our students say… “The best things about this course are Dr. Manning's feedback, class discussion and interaction, high quality resources, and the ability to make the projects personalized and relevant for educators, instructional designers or trainers.” Summer Online Courses Plan ahead! Register soon. No registration fee and no tuition due until July. Check Out the List of Summer 2016 Online Courses : http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/courses.cfm No registration fee. Meet your professional development goals for continuing education, license renewal or advanced certification. Dates to Remember July 20 - Summer Tuition Due! Begin your Masters Apply Today! Degree Overview and Financial Aid Options Our Master of Science in Education is a 30-credit master’s degree that features all online courses and offers a flexible curriculum to meet your professional development goals. Select courses (11 credits) within an interest area, earn a certificate, or mix and match courses from several areas. Tech Tip: Manage Your Mobile Files 6 File Manager Apps for iOS and Android Brett Nuckles offers apps to help manage file storage on your mobile device Manage Apps on your iPhone and iPad (Video: 2 minutes) Sarah Whittaker offers a few tricks to manage apps and available memory on your iOS device. Guess How Many People Follow Us on Facebook 24,180 on 3/13/2016 Connect with us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/onlineteaching/ ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT School of Education | Learn more at www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/ 712 South Broadway St., Menomonie, WI 54751 | 715-232-2693 | www.uwstout.edu/de

The Essential Role of Information Fluency in E-Learning and Online Teaching

I've been researching and writing about Information Fluency since the turn of the century. My work is published on the 21st Century Information Fluency Portal: http://21cif.imsa.edu You'll find modular online learning content including games, micromodules and assessments on the portal. (Free for all educators.)

I include information fluency training in all of my online classes. I introduce power searching and website investigation to the graduate students studying in the E-Learning and Online Teaching Certificate Program at UW-Stout ( http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/elearningcertificate.html ) because I believe that Information Fluency is a foundation skill for all online teachers and learners.



What continually surprises me is that most educators (including those with advanced degrees) lack formal training in this field. Unless I'm working with a Library Media Specialist, most have little experience in searching, evaluating, and ethical use of digital materials.

Curiously, most educators think they are competent searchers and evaluators, when they are really just beginners. Their disposition is to ask for help rather than search for answers. With simple instruction many radically improve their ability to search, and evaluate. This is empowering and greatly increases learner satisfaction. Instruction in copyright and fair use is also part of the program.

At the same time I push the idea that it is everyone's duty to teach website evaluation and ethical use as part of any online curriculum. Too often educators assume someone else should have done the job by the time their students walk through the door. The application of information fluency to all curriculum areas is profound. Students given even rudimentary instruction in Information Fluency immediately benefit.

As online teachers and learners we work in a computer where information is just a few keystrokes away. I hope we can promote the disposition in all online teachers and learners that skilled use of Internet resources is the essential learning skill of our times.

If you'd like to receive a free Information Fluency Newsletter, please click through to subscribe. (Right click to open in a new window.)

Dennis O'Connor
Program Advisor
E-Learning & Online Teaching
School of Education
Online Professional Development
University of Wisconsin-Stout
Wisconsin's Polytechnic University
oconnord@uwstout.edu
530-318-1145 (Cell)
Skype: wiredinstructor2