"Does Google Make Us Stupid?"

A very exciting survey released recently by Pew Research Center about possible scenarios on the future of the Internet and human cognition. Worth a good read!
To connect it with an overview on the Millenials generation - good stuff for educators to take into account! You might like to take their quiz, How Millenial are You?
As for me, hmmm...

Entuziastul de serviciu...! (or I was volunteered to be on call!)

Sunt in acea etapa in care as putea foarte usor sa spun ca "vorbesc in desert", "predic in pustie", etc, manata de sentimentul de vacuitate mioritica - ce rost are?


Ce rost are sa scrii aici cand intr-o analiza recenta (Timsoft, RoBloggerSurvey 2007) a blogosferei romanesti cu subiect educational, numarul celor care se "afla in treaba" ca mine este destul de mic. Totusi, vesti bune sunt despre utilizarea tehnologiilor web 2.0 in scoli si facultati. Si speranta ca tot mai multi profesori vor intelege ca deschiderea spre lumea cea mare este mai mult decat participarea la un proiect care, dupa doi sau trei ani, nu se mai continua fiindca, nu-i asa, nu mai sunt fonduri sau "resursa umana" nu mai corespunde, doreste etc.
Cred cu tarie ca fiecare institutie de invatamant are "entuziastii de serviciu", cei care fac  mai mult decat le cere fisa postului, cei care au "viziune" si care au stiinta de multiplele avantaje in plan profesional al retelelor sociale de comunicare formale si informale.
In consecinta, as vrea aici sa-i provoc la discutie pe cei apropiati mie, colegii mei de la Departamentul de Limbi Straine de Specialitate (DLSS) al Facultatii de Litere (UBB Cluj), precum si pe cei implicati in predarea limbilor straine la studenti nefilologi si, nu in ultimul rand pe cei interesati/implicati, in mod practic, intr-un invatamant de calitate.

(To sum up: in spite of (not so) recent surveys results on the Romanian blogosphere (there might be more recent ones that I am not, sadly, aware of) showing a low percentage of educational blogs, there is still good news about their use in schools and higher education. There is, yes, the hope that more and more teachers will realise that, besides projects that involve them in the world academic community, there are a lot of other things that can be done in terms of opening to the wide world by joining professional and/or social networks.
Consequently, I would greatly enjoy to open here a forum of discussion with my colleagues at the Department for Modern Languages for Special Purposes, and all those interested and involved in promoting quality education. An informal discussion has lots of benefits... )

Advantages of Visioning         Avantajele unei viziuni 
(mai mult, aici) cu o traducere aproximativa.

• Breaks you out of boundary thinking.  Va ajuta sa va depasiti propriile limite.
• Provides continuity and avoids the stutter effect of planning fits and starts.Ofera continuitate si evita balbaielile create de planificari mereu intrerupte
• Identifies direction and purpose.Identifica directia si scopul
• Alerts stakeholders to needed change.Alerteaza factorii responsabili la schimbarile de care e nevoie.
• Promotes interest and commitment.Promoveaza interesul si angajarea.
• Promotes laser-like focus.Stimuleaza concentrarea maxima.
• Encourages openness to unique and creative solutions.Incurajeaza deschiderea spre solutii unice si creative.
• Encourages and builds confidence.Stimuleaza si creeaza incredere.
• Builds loyalty through involvement (belonging/ ownership).Creeaza loialitate prin implicare (sentiment de apartenenta)
• Results in efficiency and productivity. Rezulta eficienta si productivitate.

Iar aici ar fi factorii care ne ucid viziunea, cred ca nu mai e nevoie de traducere!

Vision Killers

• Tradition
• Fear of ridicule
• Stereotypes of people, conditions, roles and governing councils
• Complacency of some stakeholders
• Fatigued leaders
• Short-term thinking
• "Naysayers"

In sfarsit, un mic exercitiu de imaginatie:

Data este 2015 si ati reusit, prin munca grea (printr-un miracol, poate!) sa va creati un loc de munca/ colectiv si un statut profesional de invidiat.Cum le-ati descrie, in mod realist?

Multumesc, al dvs.Entuziast de Servicu Cristina

(A little imagination won't hurt: It is 2015. By hard work (and maybe a miracle!) you've succeeded to be part of a work place/ team of your dreams and have created for yourself a wonderful professional status. How would you realistically describe these? Thank you, yours volunteered to be on call, Cristina)

 

Profesori si ale lor bloguri...

 De pe http://www.techlearning.com/article/14006 un articol din 2007 - interesante motivatiile celor care tin bloguri - le-am subliniat! Am regăsit sentimentul pe care îl încerc de ceva timp, şi anume că

o IDENTITATE VIRTUALĂ este la fel de dificil (dar nu imposibil!) de construit precum orice altă identitate. Din perspectivă profesională, prezenţa în spaţiul virtual este un atu şi o şansă de dezvoltare în multiple dimensiuni.

Sunt tot mai convinsă că va veni o vreme (şi poate nici nu este prea departe) când comunităţile academice (prin definiţie conservatoare) vor valida prezenţa în spaţiul virtual al membrilor lor ca pe o fireasca valuare adaugată a activităţii ştiinţifice.

Connecting to the Larger World

Dr. Sherman Dorn, an education professor at the University of South Florida who blogs at Shermandorn.com, notes that his blog offers an alternative outlet to academic journals for his thoughts on public policy issues. Similarly, Dr. Alex Golub, professor at the University of Hawaii, says his cultural anthropology blog, Savageminds.org, creates a "public sphere" or "civil society" outside his professional association and helps him find new content and resources.
The ability of blogs to connect professors with the larger world outside of academia was also noted by other faculty. For example, Dr. P.Z. Myers, a University of Minnesota professor of biology who blogs regularly at Scienceblogs.com/pharyngula, enjoys the opportunity to discuss scientific issues with those outside his small towns. Myers likens blogs to a worldwide Speaker's Corner in London's Hyde Park, where you "can find plenty of people arguing away, and it's easy to bring your own soapbox and start a discussion on anything you want."

Integrating the Digital into Traditional

Most of the professors I contacted said their institutions were either supportive of or ambivalent toward their blogging. Jim Maule, a Villanova University professor who blogs at Mauledagain.blogspot.com, said that his regular publication in more traditional academic outlets precluded any concerns other faculty might have about his blogging. Both Dorn and Golub note that they've heard very little from their faculty colleagues about their blogs, perhaps because they try to be fairly discreet, only blogging about public issues rather than their own institutions, and categorizing their blogging under outreach or service rather than publication for tenure.

Tips for Newbies

Maule recommends blogging regularly, writing short posts, and using your blog to float ideas and get feedback. Golub says to be sure that your "enthusiasm for your subject shines through on your blog" and to use the blog as a mechanism for fostering your own intellectual development. But Myers insists new bloggers also should be patient. "The key words are fearlessness and persistence," he says. "Readers will reward you for speaking your mind—no matter how controversial you might be—but it takes a long, long time to build up a presence on the Web."
Some of these academic bloggers have tens or even hundreds of thousands of visitors per month on their blogs, a total matched by few, if any, academic journals. Postsecondary faculties are beginning to recognize blogs' potential to reach larger audiences off campus and also to see the benefits of the perspectives of non-academic peers. As colleges and universities begin to validate and even encourage faculty blogging, we will see an increasing number of professors lending their considerable knowledge and expertise to the blogosphere. I can't wait.
Scott McLeod is director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE) at the University of Minnesota and a regular blogger at www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org.

Considerații privind cercetarea științifică

Preiau sugestia de pe blogul Gabrielei Grosseck... Intr-adevar, o prezentare extrem de uitila pentru noi toti...

Considerații privind cercetarea științifică

View more presentations from Sabin Buraga.

E-portfolios si lifelong learning

Iata cateva video-clipuri despre e-portfolios

O introducere simpla si simpatica:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B3tujXlbdk

Utilizarea lor cu studentii
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ_CRwifBCw

Hmmm, ar fi interesant sa lucram ceva in sensul acesta cu studentii nostri.