Group items tagged

"Augmented reality (AR) has evolved in recent years and its application in classrooms is limitless. Educators don't need to feel overwhelmed when trying to introduce AR in their classroom because there are many great apps that don't require a lot of knowledge in the field. There are useful apps for every subject and there are also apps that when a teacher is ready they can create their own AR targets. Augmented reality works well in schools because it brings close to real life experiences to the classrooms. It's fascinating to see the faces of students when they have the opportunity to explore space, the human body, cells or chemistry elements. You appreciate how eager and engaged they become with some simple AR apps."

"Composing a story from scratch comes naturally to some people. For the rest of us creating a story from scratch can be a struggle. Over the years I've found that using pictures helps a lot of students get started on crafting stories. In some cases I've had students create collages to represent elements of a story. In other cases I've had them choose five pictures and write two hundred words about each. Being asked to write two hundred words about five pictures feels a lot less daunting than being asked to write one thousand words in one shot. The PDF embedded below (click here if you can't see the embedded document) outlines how to use ten of my favorite free tools to create image-based stories. "

"Find resources and tools to help bring elements of maker culture into schools and classrooms, and encourage students to explore STEAM subjects within the context of maker projects."

"Why build a Makerspace in your school? Student creativity, building stronger neural pathways in the brain through kinesthetic learning opportunities, is the reason to build a Makerspace. It is about play, students tinkering to discover, children experimenting to learn, and students building what they dream. Building a Makerspace is worth it when the students grow and learn within it. In an age of accountability and standardization, these elements have been steadily removed from schools and classrooms. A Makerspace has the potential to put it all back in place. Even so, making a Makerspace come to life in a school is not an easy task. It takes vision, buy-in, materials and space, and a plan for implementation. More than that, building a Makerspace in a school takes time. And, we did it!"

How might we shape that culture and how will we understand the many forces at work? Understanding the culture of class or perhaps even a school is an important element of our teaching but realising the complexity of this task must come first.

"This past Friday, my wife (@sfryer) and I facilitated a full-day, hands-on workshop about ways to use iPads in the classroom with students to "show what they know with media." 164 teachers participated in the workshop, which was held in two adjacent ballrooms of the Alumni Center at Kansas State University. The event, iCamp iPad Day, was hosted by the College of Education at Kansas State (@ksucollegeofed) and organized by Cyndi Danner Kuhn (@cyndidannerkuhn). The workshop included many elements of iPad Media Camp (@iPadMediaCamp), a 3 day workshop I've offered in the summertime the past four years. During the planning stages for "iCamp iPad Day," Shelly and I discussed the different sharing options we wanted to model for participants and encourage them to use. We decided to use the term "INSIDE SHARING" for the private sharing we'd do during the workshop using SeeSaw. We decided to use the term "OUTSIDE SHARING" for public sharing on Twitter using our #iCampKSU hashtag and other open websites. In this post, I'll explain why both inside and outside digital sharing are important, and how we can use these terms with students, teachers, parents and others to advocate for SHARING AS A MORAL IMPERATIVE (hat tip to Dean Shareski @shareski)."

"Game-based learning is moving into the mainstream as more platforms become available and more educators recognize the benefits of increased student engagement and achievement. On top of that, research shows some interesting side benefits. For instance, surgeons who play video games are 27 percent faster at advanced surgical procedures and make 37 percent fewer errors than colleagues who don't play. Educators can incorporate game elements, such as rewards and engagement, into learning in two ways: games and gamification."

But Apps and the developers (many of who are bringing teachers onto their teams) are changing. The philosophy has changed. The products they are producing have a new focus. These Apps are gaining a vote of confidence from teachers who are downloading them. So why are these Apps dominating school App lists and gaining respect from the educational community. Quite simply they promote elements that we know have a positive impact on learning. Applications such as Book Creator and Explain Everything start with a blank canvas and lead students to use multimedia to demonstrate learning, produce digital products and make learning more visible.

"Excitement about 3D printing has steadily accelerated over the past decade - but this excitement has largely outpaced innovation and development in the field. As a researcher in 3D printing technologies, I've built 3D printers using all of the major technologies, as well as more experimental ones. What I've learned is that many of these technologies are composed of very well-understood materials, software problems and mechanical systems - things that engineers have been doing for decades. This, then, begs the question: Why isn't 3D printing better? Why are failure rates so high and why is reproducibility so difficult? It's clear that it's not due to working with exotic materials or advanced motion control. What's actually holding back innovation is how we think about those technologies: as separate pieces, rather than as elements of a system. "

"Creator's Studio is a 7th/8th grade elective course taught by John Umekubo, Director of Technology for St. Matthew's Parish School. This video explores the essential elements of this course, from electronics, to mechanical motion, and robotics. Students work through these three modules before taking on their own personal project. Hear reflections from the instructor and students as you view a number of sample student project"

"Presentation Title: Maker Ed: The work and the impact Presentation Description: The maker education movement carries with it the momentum and promise to transform education - and ultimately, how we view learning and teaching altogether. It brings together elements of various educational pedagogies and practices, historical movements, and current trends, engaging all youth in interdisciplinary, hands-on learning experiences that are reflective and purposeful. Maker Ed, a non-profit organization that works with educators, organizations, and communities nationwide, help to train, support, and connect educator's efforts to integrate making into their educational approaches and make a deep, long-lasting impact on their youth."

"The Pixar In A Box lessons start with a technical problem that animators face and work into the math from there. In each video a real Pixar animator lays out the technical problem, and then students get to experiment with interactive elements to better understand the problem. Gradually the video works towards a more explicit explanation of the math involved, and by the end the student is calculating to solve the actual problems faced at Pixar. "

"This year's Hour of Code has received unprecedented coverage.  Hadi Padovi from code.org opened the Nasdaq stock exchange and celebrities came out in full force to push computer science.  We heard the same alarming statistics that 95% of CS jobs will go unfilled.  Millions of students worldwide participated in activities that resembled puzzles.  Padovi tweeted a reply to me when I asked how the popularity of HOC compared to last year: As good as the activities are, they lack some needed elements.  The Hour of Code activities are not tied into curriculum. They are a one day event centred on puzzles.  One hour is not enough.  I would draw a parallel by saying we do not host "hour of gym" or "hour of music" activities once each year. What happens now?  The need for students to learn code and computer science will not disappear over this week.   In fact, we resolved very little.  My hope is that this week will be a springboard for more coding.  If students are to benefit from Hour of Code, we need to: Bring Coding into the existing curriculum and into the classroom Push STEM and find ways to bring it to every school Ensure that every teacher and student is aware of coding, CS and STEM Work with High Schools and the job sector to facilitate these programs"

"Contemporary curriculum design involves multiple facets: engaging 21st Century skills, using digital tools, collaborating with others around the globe, performance tasks, and more. Getting these design elements into a teacher's current curriculum demands that teachers create professional habits around Replacement Thinking. "

Blueback is a beautiful metaphor for life and particularly of the life we live in schools. When looked at close up, with an eye on the details, the experience of school is one of passing and recurring cycles. When looked at from a distance, with an eye on the whole, there are elements of constancy, the throughlines which bring meaning to our experience and which have as their consequence the residuals of education. 

"To help educators enhance their knowledge and "in-demand" skills so they can integrate their learning into classrooms, ICTC would like to introduce a new initiative called CyberEd, a National Cyber Security Awareness & Training Initiative. This initiative has been made possible in part by a grant from the Cisco Networking Academy, an advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation. A part of this initiative, 130 educators in middle and secondary schools will have the opportunity to receive training in Cisco's Introduction to Cyber Security and/or Cyber Security Essentials courses at no cost, with resources included to help them integrate cyber security into student learning. Additionally, 8-10 educators will have the opportunity to receive training in CCNA 1 & 2 at no cost who are interested in deepening their studies. These professional development opportunities will take place virtually. The courses will be facilitated/led by an instructor, while some elements of the course material will also be self-directed. All courses will be delivered in English at this time."

An unavoidable element of the discourse around educational disadvantage or equality is how we define and assess equality. One definition will see this as being in equality of access to education, funding for education and/or resources. Such an approach has largely been seen in government funding models however subtle variations on this theme have resulted in significant differences in resulting policies.

"Are you spending hours managing social media? Looking for a way to shave hours off your day? We have the tools to help! Below you'll find the key elements of a social media marketing strategy, plus the tools that will improve your efficiency and performance."

"Problem-solving skills are necessary in all areas of life, and classroom problem solving activities can be a great way to get students prepped and ready to solve real problems in real life scenarios. Whether in school, work or in their social relationships, the ability to critically analyze a problem, map out all its elements and then prepare a workable solution is one of the most valuable skills one can acquire in life. Educating your students about problem solving skills from an early age in school can be facilitated through classroom problem solving activities. Such endeavors encourage cognitive as well as social development, and can equip students with the tools they'll need to address and solve problems throughout the rest of their lives. Here are five classroom problem solving activities your students are sure to benefit from as well as enjoy doing:"

"Your smartphone is packed with sensors and miniaturized equipment. Instead of using them to snap photos or message friends, harness those instruments for the sake of science. Software can turn a phone into a mobile science laboratory, letting you make research observations, track earthquakes, study birds and stars and the elements, and even project a virtual particle accelerator. Here are some of our favorite apps for doing science on your smartphone. "