netTrekker Blog

Engaging Students Through Personalized Learning

You’re going to start hearing this a lot from us in the near future – netTrekker helps you engage students through personalized learning.  This is, in fact, our new “tagline.”  You may be asking yourself, “What was netTrekker’s tagline before, and why did they need to change it?”

Good questions.  netTrekker previously used these two taglines:

• The #1 educational search tool for K-12 schools.
• Redefining search to help every child learn.

Why did we change our tagline?  We needed a tagline that:

• Better reflects our focus on student-centered learning tools
• Positions netTrekker as more than just a “search engine/search tool for schools”
• Represents the purpose of our expanding line of educational solutions

In coming months, new content, tools and resources will be added to netTrekker, shifting its function from that of an educational search engine to a digital solution (content and tools) repository built on the industry’s most powerful search platform.

How did we choose THIS tagline? Engaging students through personalized learning.

After much consideration of feedback from our customers and employees, review of primary and secondary research findings and trends in the industry, as well as first hand discussions with educators, this tagline was selected because it:

• Speaks directly to the biggest challenge facing the education world (engaging students).
• It introduces the new category of solutions that we are evolving into (personalized learning).

One of our Customer Advisory Board members who helped us reach this decision was Mary Woodard, Director of Library Services in Mesquite ISD in Texas.  She shared why she thinks this was the right tagline for netTrekker and what she hopes netTrekker will become with this new mission – Engaging students through personalized learning.

“In this tagline, I see two words that are a focus in our district: engaging and personalized. In order for 21st century students to be successful, they must be engaged with their learning, and this is a challenge in today’s fast-paced world. Web 2.0 technologies now make it possible for students to customize and personalize the information that they receive, so that it is tailored to their specific learning needs. This customization makes learning personal and meaningful for each individual and is the best way to keep students engaged. I’m excited to see how netTrekker might merge web 2.0 features like RSS and embeddable widgets with their already robust search engine.”

What features would you like to see netTrekker add to help you engage students through personalized learning?

Tags: 21st Century Learning, engaging students, netTrekker, personalized learning

21 C: Preparing Students with Skills for Career and for Life

In response to states’ initiatives driving the incorporation of 21st-century learning skills into classroom instruction, netTrekker offers a 21st Century Skills channel organized into three pathways: Life Skills, Learning & Innovation, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Literacy. Why the need to integrate these pathways into curriculum? Because students, after graduating from college with required credits in math, science, language arts, and social studies, and with passing proficiency-test scores, are finding themselves wondering, “What do I do now?”

For those planning on college, perhaps that query doesn’t need answered right away, but it will surface once again when graduation, once more, looms. And for students planning on working after high school, such a question should be examined far in advance of receiving a diploma.

So, what does the mastery of 21-C skills mean for students graduating high school? It means better success at finding a job — and succeeding in the workplace — thanks to honed “character skills”, and willingness to “think outside the box” and to view the day-to-day as offering educational and critical-thinking opportunities. And also for students heading off to college, it means being outfitted with the capacity to excel in courses by way of making connections between subjects often viewed as unrelated — and between school and life.

Life Skills

nT offers a brief definition of Life Skills (link). In short, and in relation to 21 C, it’s the teaching of “character skills” and “making them a deliberate part of lessons”, showing students how these traits will serve them in work and in life. So, what does nT offer for teachers looking for resources on such “character skills” as Leadership, Ethics, and People Skills? Here is a sampling below:

Foundation for a Better Life: Values to Pass On not only shares the first-person reflections on the meanings of values, such as respect and service, but also encourages its visitors to share their own stories -– in written, audio, or video format. There’s a great collection of moving quotes by famous authors and public figures, an opportunity to share your story about a real-life hero, and a collection of inspiring audio clips reflecting on the lives and efforts of people such as Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Abraham Lincoln.

Legacy Educational Resources offers an extensive collection of brief Character Education articles, appropriate for teachers, parents, and community leaders. Notable articles include “Preparing Lessons that Change Lives,” “Acts of Kindness –- Ideas for Teachers and Administrators,” “Instilling Compassion in Students,” “Ethics, One Day at a Time,” and “Rules to Play by On and Off the Playing Field.”

Thirteen Ed Online presents Making Family and Community Connections, a workshop that emphasizes the importance of creating partnerships among schools, parents, and community. After students understand the concept of making community connections, they can explore examples of such connections via video demonstrations and candid talks by parents, educators, administrators, and students. This site includes a great collection of ideas for implementing school-community connections as well as links to schools that are participating in such programs and thriving as a result.

Learning & Innovation

nT offers this as a brief definition of Learning and Innovation Skills: “Those skills which lifelong learners have developed — the ability to think both critically and creatively, to collaborate with others to create projects and solve problems, and to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.” What does it mean when students enter the “real world” as “lifelong learners”? It means they continue to keep their eyes, ears, and minds open to learning experiences, even after exiting the classroom. For them, working isn’t just a means to an end or a paycheck, it is a means to think critically, explore new opportunities, realize untapped potential, and discover latest technologies. nT offers a collection of resources, which will aid students in becoming lifelong learners, in the areas of Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Communication Skills, Creativity and Innovation Skills, and Collaboration Skills. See some of them below:

Scholastic: You Innovate 21 is a colorful, Flash site offering brain teasers, interactive career-explorations, opportunities to examine past and present innovations that have changed our lives, as well as lesson plans and other resources for teachers.

The Edison Innovation Foundation offers How Edison Are You?, another highly interactive site that explores importance of innovation. Click “Why Edison Matters Today” to view a collection of photos, and download pdf files of the patents for Edison’s inventions. “Edison’s Life” offers a time line of his work, starting with his first patented invention, the Vote Recorder (1869), highlighting his most popular inventions, and ending with his work to create a rubber alternative from Goldenrod in the early 20th century.

Invention at Play by the Lemelson Center was created on the premise that “play” leads to innovation and invention. Students complete interactive puzzles dealing with problem solving and skills needed by inventors, learn about the life stories of inventors, and explore how “play” has changed through the years. A great site for the young and young at heart, Invention at Play isn’t just about inventions. It’s about critical thinking, collaboration, and making connections between real life and learning.

Our next blog entry will take a look at Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Literacy and what nT offers for students and teachers needing resources in this area of 21 C.

Tags: 21c, 21st Century Learning, Learning and Innovation, Life Skills

Register for NT101 Today!

We’ve had a great response to our last week’s December Did You Know? e-mail.  19 people have already pre-registered for our NT101 online course.  We hope you will make plans now to join us for our first netTrekker d.i. online course on January 21st.  Please read the information below.

…pre-registration is now open for the new NT101 online course that begins Jan 21st. Be sure to take advantage of $99 introductory pricing; regular price is $125.

• NT101 is a 20-hour online professional development course for educators. The format is designed for educators who are dedicated to understanding and incorporating netTrekker d.i.’s key features and functions into the context of teaching and learning. Participants will be guided to gain experience and build expertise using a variety of 21st Century learning resources, including Moodle, interactive tutorials, educational blogs, podcasts, electronic surveys, and other web tools. The course provides a collaborative online learning community promoting opportunities for interaction among participants and instructors as they explore netTrekker d.i. content and functionality.
• Upon completion, participants will receive a certificate for 20 contact hours.
• Pre-register now or contact your Customer Relationship Specialist at 877-517-1125 with questions.

Tags: 21st, 21st Century Learning, Moodle, netTrekker d.i., online course

Yes, or no, to Wikipedia

During our implementation calls, the Customer Relationship Specialists cover the Admin Tools, including the netTrekker d.i. settings. Here the administrator can block the 1200 plus Wikipedia resources from showing up in the search results. On one of my calls yesterday, the district administrator asked me why netTrekker d.i. included Wikipedia in the first place.

That’s a great 21st Century question! Recently I attended a session on Literacy and Learning in the 21st Century presented by David Warlick. He addressed the use of Wikipedia in schools. He pointed out how Capital Hill aides were busy mutilating opponent articles in the days leading up to the 2006 election and how articles now have warnings of potential inaccuracy. He then said he’ll just go back to the good old days of “accurate textbooks”, but then pointed out that not all textbooks are accurate or unbiased and can quickly become out of date. Using Wikipedia is more than teaching fact and opinion. This resource serves as a working skill of evaluating a source and validating the information found on those pages. (This is my summarized understanding from what I learned attending this session.) You can find a copy of David Warlick’s presentation in podcast form from GAETC here. http://podcast.ksuettc.org/

This morning on Twitter I found another great blog entry on the use of Wikipedia at Dangerously Irrelevant. Check it out if you have time. The blog is written by Dr. Scott McLeod of Iowa State University.  

So while Wikipedia is a great 21st Century resource, we also understand that many schools are reluctant to allow students to have access, and netTrekker d.i. respects that decision. That’s why we give our subscribers two ways to filter out the search results. The first one is through the Advanced Search Options and the second one is by having the ADMIN setting this filter for the school level. To learn more about Wikipedia in netTrekker d.i., check out our HELP section.

And if you do choose to use a Wikipedia article in a project, consider adding the Digital Literacy Template that is wonderful for getting students to learn how to evaluate a source before using it. It’s perfect not only for Wikipedia entries, but all websites.

How many of you use Wikipedia in your classrooms? If you don’t mind, leave a comment below on how you use it.

Tags: 21st Century Learning, Admin Tools, Wikipedia