The Edge of Education Carnival. Issue 2

Welcome to the second issue of the Edge of Education Carnival, a collection of links to the most innovative teachers using and sharing tips and techniques on the cutting edge of teaching and learning.

First a quick apology for the late nature of this Issue. We’ll do better next time. I’d also like to thank all those that contributed. There were some great posts sent our way, and, just as before–only the best made the cut. If you’re post was not accepted this time around, please don’t give up! The community of teachers at We Teach We Learn needs you. Just perhaps review the guidelines next time. 🙂

So now, let’s get right to it shall we?

Great teachers know the value of creating a safe and comfortable environment for learning. In order to grow, students need to be able to take risks. In this post, Rachel Lynette presents a great list of things teachers can do to support creative and critical thinking by giving students confidence take risks and make mistakes. Lynette sums it up this way:

In school, the right answer is so often required that children do not learn to value the wrong one. In fact, many children have learned that it is better not to even try if you cannot be sure that you’re getting it right. And we all know that not trying is the biggest mistake of all. Many of the world’s greatest achievers first failed, often many times.

Creative Thinking: In Defense of Mistakes is posted at Minds in Bloom.

Edwin Choi presents a brief introduction to the Montessori method of teaching and learning. It makes me wonder, how can we, as teachers in a traditional school, bring in some of Montessori’s methods to help us differentiate our instruction and better engage students? Montessori Schools: Letting Children Learn on Their Own posted at K12 Directory of Schools Blog.

Sophie Maddox has completed a program from which much of her “instruction” was delivered on-line. She says,

I’ve seen a lot of the transformation first hand. I’ve not only worked for a college that has an online education option and I’ve actually taken classes and completed a degree by primarily taking classes online.

So what has she learned? Sophie presents an interesting critique of her experience at Online Education Discover the Real Inside Scoop posted at Sophie’s Blog.

Hands down, Julia Douthwaite shares the best post (for my money) in this carnival issue. In it she shares four creative strategies to combine visual arts, word games, and textual sources to generate more fun and lasting engagement, for students and teachers teaching and learning literature. Teach this! How to revolutionize Lit posted at A Revolution in Fiction.

And for the second Edge of Education Carnival in a row, TIC presents a great post. This time it’s about the Educational Technology Assumptions we all make. His article is posted at Technology In Class.

And finally our first submission from a homeschooler. Welcome! Deana presents Couponing 101 posted at The Frugal Homeschooling Mom, saying, I’m a homeschooling mom, and past K-6 teacher. My article is a new series of mine called Couponing 101: I’m teaching others how to save money by using coupons when they shop!”

And now for a few link-list posts. You know, I may have a new perspective on these things after reading this post about Getting Meta by Seth Godin. You do know Seth Godin, right?

Happy browsing!

Rose King presents 100 Essential Academic Engines for Students & Educators posted at Online Classes.org.

Linda Jones presents 100 Great Twitter Tips, Tools & Tutorials for Serious Students posted at AccreditedOnlineColleges.org.

Angela Martin presents 100 Excellent Open Access Journals for Educators posted at Online Colleges.org.

Bluehippo Avalonne presents Top 50 Bloggers to Help You Study, Focus and Learn Better posted at Best Online Universities.com.

Angela Martin presents 100 Awesome Open Courses for Bibliophiles posted at Online Colleges.org.

Anne Simone presents 100 Best Blogs for the Literati posted at Online Courses.org.

Linda Jones presents 100 Great Google Docs Tips for Students & Educators posted at AccreditedOnlineColleges.org.

Diane Steward presents Top 25 Social Media Sites for College Students posted at Undergraduate Degree.

Frederick Yarmy presents Highlighting 10 Creative Professors Teaching at Online Universities posted at Online University Data.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of the edge of education carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Image credits:

Front Page: Woman on cliff

In article: Climbing man

Thank You!