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"Regardless of whether you think every infant needs an iPad, I think we can all agree that technology has changed education for the better. Today's learners now enjoy easier, more efficient access to information; opportunities for extended and mobile learning; the ability to give and receive immediate feedback; and greater motivation to learn and engage. We now have programs and platforms that can transform learners into globally active citizens, opening up countless avenues for communication and impact. Thousands of educational apps have been designed to enhance interest and participation. Course management systems and learning analytics have streamlined the education process and allowed for quality online delivery. But if we had to pick the top ten, most influential ways technology has transformed education, what would the list look like? The following things have been identified by educational researchers and teachers alike as the most powerful uses of technology for learning. Take a look. 1. Critical Thinking In Meaningful Learning With Technology, David H. Jonassen and his co-authors argue that students do not learn from teachers or from technologies. Rather, students learn from thinking-thinking about what they are doing or what they did, thinking about what they believe, thinking about what others have done and believe, thinking about the thinking processes they use-just thinking and reasoning. Thinking mediates learning. Learning results from thinking. So what kinds of thinking are fostered when learning with technologies? Analogical If you distill cognitive psychology into a single principle, it would be to use analogies to convey and understand new ideas. That is, understanding a new idea is best accomplished by comparing and contrasting it to an idea that is already understood. In an analogy, the properties or attributes of one idea (the analogue) are mapped or transferred to another (the source or target). Single analogies are also known as sy

The role of the teacher is slowly but surely changing and with this come new challenges. Change becomes inevitable and processes for managing this and capitalising on the opportunities it brings becomes paramount within organisations. It is perhaps not surprising that educational institutions may evolve to become what are termed 'Learning Organisations' or 'Professional Learning Communities' within which there is a focus on the application of the principles of learning to manage change and explore new opportunities. 

"We typically teach students a growth mindset through online programs that demonstrate how the brain changes with learning (how the neurons grow stronger connections when students work on hard things and stick with them) and how to apply this to their schoolwork. These programs also contain testimonials from other students about how they've used a growth mindset to approach their schoolwork and to work toward meaningful goals in their lives. In the wake of the many exciting research results, educators became increasingly interested in promoting a growth mindset among their students. This was extremely gratifying. To see some of the great successes was even more gratifying. However, I slowly became aware that not all educators understood the concept fully."

"Ever want your students to slow down and notice details when they read - whether they're perusing a book, a poem, a map or a political cartoon? Young people often want to hurry up and make meaning via a quick skim or a cursory glance when a text can demand patience and focus. Closely reading any text, whether written or visual, requires that students proceed more slowly and methodically, noticing details, making connections and asking questions. This takes practice. But it certainly helps when students want to read the text. We've selected 10 photos from The Times that we've used previously in our weekly "What's Going On in This Picture?" and that have already successfully caught students' and teachers' attention. These are some of our most popular images - ones that may make viewers say "huh?" on first glance, but that spark enough curiosity to make them want to dig deeper. (Please Note: You can quickly learn the backstory about any of these photos by clicking the link in each caption that takes you to the original post, then scrolling down to find the "reveal.") Below, we offer ideas from students and teachers who have engaged with these images for ways to use them, or images like them, to teach close reading and visual thinking skills."

"What blog entries would you share with someone just getting started with an iPad initiative that was facing a bit of opposition in-house? Upon reflecting on that question--and you have to remember I've moved slowly from iPad antipathy to embracing iPads over the last year--I realized that there were a few blog entries that just might be helpful. So, in the spirit of being helpful, here is my round-up of iPad entries: "

"In a way, the current education system is already set up like a game-just not a very well designed one. Students earn points (grades), gain levels (grades), and in a way, have leaderboards. There are class valedictorians and students are essentially ranked based on their grades when colleges are deciding who to accept. Currently, the typical grading system in schools has students starting off with a 100 average, which slowly (or quickly, depending on the student's performance) gets lower and lower as the student receives anything less than a 100 on any assignments, tests, etc."

"Not long ago, a teacher had nothing more to rely on than knowledge, textbooks and a few markers. Technology has slowly changed that in the past few years, with the Internet, multimedia programs and computers increasing their presence in the classroom. But with the rise of tablet tech, the student-teacher experience is facing a subtle revolution: joining the trend makes students feel as if they're part of an environment that's desirable because people speak their native languages. As the iPad becomes a teaching tool, classrooms are transformed into contemporary settings."

"Both the Internet and the way young people use technology are constantly changing, but Internet safety messages change very slowly if at all. A few years ago, some of us in the Net safety community started talking about how to adjust our messaging for the much more interactive "Web 2.0." And we did so, based on the latest research as it emerged. But even those messages are starting to get a bit stale…. Now it's time for Online Safety 3.0."

"Recently I have been inspired by listening to some great speakers at some of the Apple events I have been privileged to attend.  Bill Rankin in particular spoke a lot of sense and it got me thinking about how education needs to adapt to the changing world. The traditional style of education is based around content, teachers deliver the content and students learn it.  This is changing, slowly, but it is getting there.  Schools are starting to focus on the context, what does the information mean in the world that they live in? The next stage for me has to be creation."

"One of the best ways for frustrated parents, students and teachers to convince school leaders that it's time for a reboot is with amazing student work. An unconventional learning community of "makers" - people who like to figure out and fix problems with their hands - stands ready to demonstrate a hands-on learning style in which students engage problems that matter to them, taking agency and displaying creativity along the way. The Maker Movement is slowly infiltrating schools across the country with the help of dedicated educators and inspirational students proving with their creations that they can do incredible things when given a chance."

"A couple of months ago Canva launched an education page full of lesson plans built around the idea of getting students to think and express themselves creatively through visual design. Since the launch Canva has added more lesson plans and more design tutorials to their education page. In all there are now thirty design tutorials that students can work through on their own or with guidance from you. I've been slowly working through the tutorials myself. Some of what I've learned has been put to use in the blog post images that have appeared in posts like this one about the pros and cons of using social media for school announcements."

"Understanding HOW to learn is critical. But learning WHEN to learn is just as important. We talk a lot about the best ways to learn, the best tools for the job, and more. But what about identifying the best times to learn? I'm not talking about 'during school hours' or 'between 5pm and 7pm' or something. I'm talking about understanding a term that is slowly rising in popularity in the education and technology realm: the five moments of needs."

"One of the things that I hear teachers worrying about is the disappearance of creativity in the curriculum. More and more districts are ramping up the standardized exams to prepare students for the bigger standardized exams they will take later in the year. The beauty of creativity is slowly being phased out and replaced by worksheets. Standardized tests are a reality where I teach, but I still find creativity time for my students. I feel that it helps strengthen their other skills and is needed to develop well-rounded people. Here are some things that can add a creative spark into your class and still prepare them for those exams."

"I've been reflecting on what it was like each time I started a new venture. For Rubicon Project, my co-founders and I were brimming with excitement, passion, and energy. We knew what we were creating was going to disrupt the media industry and make it better, faster, smarter. But maintaining that high has been difficult. Eight years later, I've found that our excitement, passion and energy at Rubicon comes in waves. It's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day monotony and slowly drift away from the very mindset that is our company's foundation. How can we return to that attitude of innovation? So I spent some time wondering what had first motivated us: the original idea? The opportunity we recognized? The team we had assembled?  Then I realized it had been the opportunity for disruption. We all recognized an opportunity and had ideas on how to capitalize on that opportunity, but the excitement, passion, and energy was born out of the realization that a single idea could change the way an entire industry operated. My next thought jumped to other famous inventors and wondering about their disposition when they created their innovations. This step required some research, so I decided to study some of history's greatest innovators. I reflected upon the innovative people I work with and those that I most admire. Through this process, I discovered that there is a definitive mindset of innovation, and I broke it down to seven attitudes."

"You see it melting. Your shaky hands bringing it closer to the sweet spot. Slowly you touch it. You feel the rush through your body. Ecstasy. Pure bliss. Just like heroin through an addict's vein, electrons flow through the wires in the soldering gun in your hand. And BAM, the last wire in your DIY home automation project that you have been working on for the past three months is soldered in place. Making something on your own, using your hands, soldering wires in places is an experience like no other that leaves you craving for more. And it was never as easy as it is today. All thanks to the rise in the maker tech available in the market. It's not just the hardcore geeks and engineers who are tinkering with electronics and creating amazing things. The lines that divide the geekdom from the less tech-savvy population are blurring. The number of hobbyists, students and people in general who are tinkering and making stuff is on the rise."

"Children, unlike most adults, have imaginations that are unconstrained by either themselves or society. For an 8- or 10-year-old, anything and everything seems possible. Burning with curiosity about the world around them, they can transform mundane objects into toys, invent entire worlds in a heartbeat, and become lost in daydreams one minute, only to fire off a barrage of (often unanswerable) questions the next. Then, they start to grow up. Curiosity seeps away. Self-consciousness kicks in. Until, slowly, the formalized structures within education, and the expectations of society, begin to take over. It doesn't have to be that way."

"Not wanting to waste any more time, some schools have already adopted the iPad as their learning tool, while students and educators are slowly figuring out the best way to utilize the iPad for education."

"I've been slowly working my way through some of Maya Angelou's material. Notably, Conversations with Maya Angelou, Letters to my Daughter, and What I Know Now: Letters to My Younger Self. Through that I've pulled out these 25 quotes that resonated with me. They offer timeless wisdom and advice on everything from what to do with haters to the importance of reading and love. "

"As a result of the advances in technology and an increase in Wi-Fi access, schools have slowly begun to respond to this trend. The realization now is that many students possess devices and it only makes sense to harness and leverage their immense power. For many, even the most stubborn school districts that have fought this trend for years have begun to change course. All one has to do is look to the largest school district in the United States, the New York City public school system, to see that they have just lifted a ten year ban on students bringing their cell phones to school. The potential is there for schools and educators to empower students to take more ownership of their learning. This has resulted in a growing trend of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiatives being adopted. This has been the preferred option as opposed to 1:1 initiatives due to overall cost. However, many schools and districts that have adopted BYOD have done so without proper planning and support."