Group items tagged

"here is a lot of potential in the 'maths apps' available in the App Store, although most of the 'maths apps' appear to be drill practising of number facts and operations. Whilst, there's no problem in children using these apps in the classroom to develop their maths skills, there is a danger that the iPad becomes no better than a laptop or a desktop computer for the learning of number facts and rote learning. For the iPad to reach its full potential the challenge is to make maths real in the classroom and engaging for the children. "

"In the past, coding was a pretty niche affair, those of us with our Acorns, Spectrums and Commodore 64s experimenting with lines and lines of code. I remember as an 8 year old, spending ages typing out lines of code on my beige Acorn Electron to draw….a line on the screen. To add insult to injury there was no way to save it unless I wanted to erase my tape of "Ice Ice Baby" and replace it with my code. Needless to say because we were put into the deep end in those days, like millions of others I was put off a bit by coding and just played computer games instead. Fast forward to the iPad era and coding is coming back in a big way. Some very talented developers with a love for coding have produced some spectacular apps, turning the iPad into a coding studio in your hand. There are some great iPad apps which take the pain out of coding for the layman and can teach your children (and you) some excellent skills."

"Helping teachers get up to speed with technology is always a challenge, some teachers have a difficult time navigating basic computer skills. As schools around the globe begin to adopt the use of digital technology in their learning environments, these same teachers can be left feeling inept and marginalized by the implementation of new tech tools in their schools. Teachers need ongoing Professional Development provided by their schools to ease them into a comfort zone and get them turned on to technology and all it has to offer student learning! Here are several ideas that can help foster PD."

"From September 2014, a change to the curriculum means the study of computing - and specifically coding - will be mandatory across all state primary and secondary schools in England. The government has announced that 2014 will be its 'Year of Code', as it attempts to tackle a skills shortage in an increasingly digital world. But are teachers ready for the move and how will they engage pupils with the subject?"

"Take a moment to think about how you learned to write. What steps did you go through? What was your process? Most of us learned the same core set of skills on paper: organize, draft, edit, revise, turn in. Our teachers then marked up what we had handwritten or typed, and returned our writing. From there, maybe it ended up tacked to a bulletin board, stuck on the refrigerator door, stuffed into a notebook, or tossed in the nearest trash can. Let's call this Writing 1.0. When computers entered into the equation, we digitiz"

"In this age of social media, edtech, smartphones, tablets and MOOCs, software applications play a larger role than ever in the learning environment. In fact, apps have reached such a level of ubiquity and everyday integration that a number of software companies are turning out apps that can help students create apps of their own. Here's a list of 10 software tools that can jumpstart a student's knowledge and skill in computer programming:"

"Short Circuit is an after-school experience with a fresh approach to electronics and physical computing for young people. The Short Circuit Curriculum Guide includes seven informal learning activity modules that encourage students to express their creativity and develop DIY digital media skills by exploring innovative uses for physical and digital materials, like circuits, conductive inks, LEDs and the latest programming languages. Short Circuit Curriculum Guide modules include lesson plans and individualized assessment tools based on programs piloted at Quest to Learn, as well as by the Digital Youth Network and YouMedia programs in Chicago."

"While not every student might want to write their own software, understanding the big ideas of coding is a skill that all students would benefit from, even the very young ones. Understanding the key ideas of computational thinking - identifying patterns, thinking algorithmically, manipulating data, solving real problems, etc - is an important step in helping our students build mastery over their world. This presentation aims to take you on a guided tour through some of the resources available to your students to help them learn the principles of creating code. It starts by looking at a range of desktop and mobile apps suitable for teaching very young students to program, right through to tools and websites that can help your older students learn to hack code, and much more."

When you look at your kids playing video games, you might worry they're wasting time and energy passively staring at a screen and pressing buttons. But what if their play time was actually a creative outlet that fostered their imaginations? More and more games, apps, and websites are letting kids as young as kindergartners create anything they can think of -- and it doesn't have to take a ton of time. Even better, most of these tools don't require kids to be skilled programmers or computer experts to design and build creative, entertaining experiences. Whether your kids enjoy creating fun new game elements, editing existing game content, or fully designing their own games from scratch, these programs can help bring their ideas to the screen.

"Augmented Reality is a hugely engaging phenomenon that has never been more accessible. Explaining what Augmented Reality is, is a bit like trying to describe the difference between a 3D shape and a 2D shape. Seeing it and using it will give you a much better understanding of what it is. Essentially, augmented reality creates a three dimensional animation that can be viewed through the iPad's camera. This creates the effect of the animation being a physical structure in the room with you that you can interact with through an app. Again, to show is much easier than to describe, and so this blog will do just that. Before I dive in to my personal favourites, I feel that it is important to highlight the educational implications of augmented reality apps. Yes, the ability to use this kind of technology is impressive and engaging, but what does it bring to teaching and learning? Well, there are a number of ways that it can help to spur on creativity, story writing, research, computing skills and so on. I will explain each app's potential and educational impact as we go along…"

Preparing today's youth to succeed in the digital economy requires a new kind of teaching and learning. Skills such as global literacy, computer literacy, problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, and innovation have become critical in today's increasingly interconnected workforce and society (eSchool News

"Hadi Partovi wants more kids to learn to code. Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerber, Sheryl Sandberg, and many others agree. Partovi wants all high schools to offer computer science classes because it represents a growing cluster of job skills but one that few schools teach - particularly schools attended by low income and minority students."

"Thousands of schools are participating in Hour of Code, a global initiative to get more kids engaged in computer science. Tynker, a creative platform to help children develop programming skills, has launched 10 new coding activities to support the hour of code. Tynker's unique approach motivates students to learn because they can create their own characters, animate them, and rapidly build their own games and interactive stories, using visual block-based programming. The real excitement is best heard in the voices of students who previewed an Hour of Code with Tynker:"

"For teachers and educators, the ability to creatively combine web content with interactive images offers an exciting way to share engaging digital platforms for learning. ThingLink is a popular interactive visual image network being used by thousands of teachers around the country. One image can provide students with a unique and comprehensive hands-on lesson with information included via videos, hyperlinks, text and much more. The company recently announced its new editor for annotating video content, which allows teachers to add notes in this media too. Today in The Global Search for Education, I have invited 3 educators - Jamie Forshey, Lisa Johnson, and Sue Fitzgerald - to share their favorite examples of how they have been using the ThingLink digital tool to promote meaningful and fun learning. Jamie Forshey is an Instructional Technology Specialist and Computer Skills Instructor at the Bellwood-Antis School District in Blair County, Pennsylvania. She shares these three examples from her work with ThingLink:"

"Professional coders work collaboratively, and rarely does a computer scientist create a program solely on their own. Every successful programming project evolves as a result of Iterations of code, the merging of ideas, and the contributions of the individual team members. Not only does coding empower students to think logically and critically, to collaborate, and to create meaningful learning, but it also provides them an authentic opportunity to develop critical communication and collaboration skills."

"Below is a set of good iPad apps that you can use with your kids and students to enhance their mathematical thinking. These apps are meant for young learners and are specifically useful when introducing kids to those rudimentary notions of mathematical computations. The purpose of teaching kids to think mathematically, as detailed in Kaye Stacey's paper, is three folds: First, it will allow kids to conduct mathematical investigations by themselves. Second, it will help them acquire other thinking skills particularly problem-solving and as mathematician Paul Halmos (1980) stated, 'problem solving is the heart of mathematics'. Third, it helps kids get a deeper appreciation of mathematics and use it in their daily and working lives."

The final round of government funding is currently being distributed to schools all around Australia. So far over 967,000 computers have been bought, infrastructure built and (most) teachers up-skilled to benefit from the acquisition. But as the funds come to an end, many school principals are wondering if the process has been beneficial, and how can they continue to support and progress the Digital Education Revolution?