Edshelf: An Educational App Directory for Teachers
May 15, 2012
Commentary by Stephen Downes

As Watters writes, "Edshelf hopes to become a go-to site where teachers can recommend to one another what’s worked for them, and it’s building a directory of educational materials that have been reviewed for educators by educators." In this Edshelf addresses the age-old problem attempted by learning objects, repositories, Dewey Decimal, and Good Housekeeping: how to find the good stuff in a sea of dross. Tapping into social networks is a good idea, but it trades the overabundance of anonymous recommendations for a dearth of recommendations from people you actually know.

[Direct Link] [Tags: Networks, Learning Objects, Learning Object Repositories]
Comments

Re: Edshelf: An Educational App Directory for Teachers

Anymouse, May 16, 2012

Thanks for mentioning us, Stephen! You're absolutely right about the problem we're aiming to solve. And we believe one of the keys of a helpful recommendation isn't just a general recommendation from a stranger, but one from someone you trust and know.

Our plan is to personalize ratings & reviews, so we can show you tools that people like you have recommended. That means matching against your own connections (PLN), grade level, subjects taught, school population, etc.

Of course, this means getting more reviews too, but we have some ideas on how to do that soon. Thanks again!

- Mike Lee
Cofounder of edshelf [Comment] [Permalink] [Previous][Next]



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