Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

"Does the thought of doing long division, or solving a bit of algebra give you the shivers? You're likely to have maths anxiety. In our recent research, my colleagues and I found that in 80% of countries, girls have more negative feelings towards maths than boys. But this higher level of maths anxiety in girls is not justified by their actual level of performance and may put them off continuing a career in maths-related subjects, such as physics and computer science."

"Whether it's Minecraft or duct tape wallets, the childhood passions that seem like fads, if not totally unproductive, can alternatively be seen as mediums for experiencing the virtuous cycle of curiosity: discovering, trying, failing and growing. At DIY, we've created a way for kids to explore hundreds of skills and to understand the ways in which they can be creative through them. Often, the skills are unconventional, and almost always the results are surprising. I don't think it's important that kids use the skills they learn on DIY for the rest of their lives. What's important is that kids develop the muscle to be fearless learners so that they are never stuck with the skills they have. Only this will prepare them for a world where change is accelerating and depending on a single skill to provide a lifetime career is becoming impossible."

"This paper captures the evolution of the Mozilla Web Literacy Map to reach and meet the growing number of diverse audiences using the web. The paper represents the thinking, research findings, and next iteration of the Web Literacy Map that embraces 21st Century Skills (21C Skills) as key to leadership development. As technology becomes more ubiquitous, and more people come online, Mozilla continues to refine its strategies to support and champion the web as an open and public resource. To help people become good citizens of the web, Mozilla focuses on the following goals: 1) develop more educators, advocates, and community leaders who can leverage and advance the web as an open and public resource, and 2) impact policies and practices to ensure the web remains a healthy open and public resource for all. In order to accomplish this, we need to provide people with open access to the skills and know-how needed to use the web to improve their lives, careers, and organizations. Knowing how to read, write, and participate in the digital world has become the 4th basic foundational skill next to the three Rs-reading, writing, and arithmetic-in a rapidly evolving, networked world. Having these skills on the web expands access and opportunity for more people to learn anytime, anywhere, at any pace. Combined with 21C leadership Skills (i.e. critical thinking, collaboration, problem solving, creativity, communication), these digital-age skills help us live and work in today's world. Whether you're a first time smartphone user, an educator, an experienced programmer, or an internet activist, the degree to which you can read, write, and participate on the web while producing, synthesizing, evaluating, and communicating information shapes what you can imagine-and what you can do. follows:"

"96 percent of Americans use the internet daily, and 62 percent of working Americans rely on the internet to do their jobs. We live in an internet age - an age that requires specific skills. Digital literacy skills have become essential to academic, career and interpersonal success. Digital literacy is defined as the ability to find, evaluate, share and create content using the internet - but it's much more than that. Digital literacy skills (also referred to as "21st century learning skills") have permeated the classroom, becoming requirements for both teachers and students. To address this need, we worked with education expert Leah Anne Levy to create USC Rossier's Toolkit for Digitally-Literate Teachers. This toolkit provide teachers and school administrators with how-to guides, actionable strategies and real-life examples of the benefits of digital literacy in the classroom."

"A new survey commissioned by Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) found that young girls in Europe become interested in so-called STEM subjects around the age of 11 and then quickly lose interest when they're 15. "Conformity to social expectations, gender stereotypes, gender roles and lack of role models continue to channel girls' career choices away from STEM fields," said psychology professor Martin Bauer of the London School of Economics, who helped coordinate the survey of 11,500 girls across 12 European countries. The survey also found that girls' interest in humanities subjects drops around the same age but then rebound sharply. Interest in STEM subjects does not recover. "This means that governments, teachers and parents only have four or five years to nurture girls' passion before they turn their backs on these areas, potentially for good," Microsoft said."

"Math has been a traditionally thorny subject in many American schools. Lots of children dislike math and many more adults stopped taking mathematics as soon as they are able, even when they were successful in their classes. At the same time, mathematical thinking is a crucial part of many of the most exciting and growing careers in science, technology, engineering and math, not to mention important for a general understanding of the mathematical world around us. So, what can U.S. math educators do to shift this dynamic?"

"I had high hopes when I handed out iPads to students in my graduate seminar this semester. I wanted to explore the possibilities of tablet computing and see firsthand how tablets might be used in higher education. I also wanted students to see for themselves where the iPad might fit into their lives and their careers - and into the future of media and communication."

"I've started a list of educational iPad game apps for parents. I've got a special affinity for these games as I originally started my career in technology as a first generation educational software designer. The list contains casual, fun games to use at home. They don't necessarily help you master long division or prepare for an upcoming geography test. The accent is primarily on having fun. If your child isn't going to enjoy playing then the app won't make the list. The second important criterion is that time spent playing is productive and that something of value is learned while playing the game."

"Today, February 5th, 2014, is Digital Learning Day. According to its website, the focus of this awareness campaign is "about giving every child the opportunity to learn in a robust digital environment everyday, with the goal of success in college and a career." To celebrate, here are 5 of the best, must-follow #edtech curators on Scoop.it."

"The Lawrence School District of Kansas, sitting right in the University of Kansas' backyard, has embraced blended learning, but not just for "college and career readiness" Last year, Barbie Gossett volunteered to turn her Kindergarten classroom into a blended learning environment. Along with 7 other teachers from elementary to high school, these pioneers introduced blended learning to their students as well as to the entire district. In a district that serves about 11,000 K-12 students, 8 teachers is just a tiny sampling. But the results of these field tests have had a powerful impact on the direction and the decision the district as a whole is making for the future of their schools."

"When we pack our children off to school, we envision them embarking on a lifelong career of learning. Yet one thing they typically never study is the art of studying itself. Our intuitions, it turns out, do not always map to reality. In "Psychologists Identify the Best Ways to Study" by John Dunlosky et al. we comb through the vast scientific literature on learning techniques to identify the two methods that work best."

"Blended learning can create new career opportunities and improve conditions for teachers. As student roles evolve within a more personalized, tech-rich learning environment, teacher roles should evolve accordingly."

" Knowledge in Action Research Helping to Make the Case for Rigorous Project-based Learning One of the Foundation's current initiatives is a research program, called Knowledge in Action, designed and managed by a collaborative group of learning scientists, curriculum experts, teacher leaders, and Foundation staff. The research team is applying a rigorous PBL approach to college-preparatory courses, so that students can participate in authentic tasks that provide an experiential platform for learning that prepares them for college and careers."

"When I think of Professional Development for teachers in the traditional sense, I am more and more convinced that being connected as an educator is more effective in accomplishing the goal of professionally developing. The biggest roadblock to teachers connecting may very well be the way teachers have been programmed throughout their entire education and career."

"We all know that from September 2014 the national curriculum is changing to include Computing as a programme of study and I am sure I speak for a lot of teachers when I say "but I know nothing about programming or coding?!" Before we panic too much about how we teach this new area its important to note that the subject of Computing is not solely about coding and importantly involves a whole range of areas that we may already be delivering in other subjects such as maths and science without realising it. The skills that encompass computer programming are those that will also transfer into the real world such as problem solving and thinking logically, which will obviously transfer into the world of work and are useful skills for learners to develop moving forward in their careers irrespective of the job area."

"Stan Davis has devoted a long career to the well-being of youth, in particular their empowerment through voice and their safety and dignity through bullying prevention. With Charisse L. Nixon, Davis recently published a study of 13,177 students in fifth through twelfth grades from 31 schools and in 12 states, focusing on giving students a chance to speak about school connection, peer mistreatment, and student and adult actions. The Findings Writing in the report of their work, Youth Voice Project: Student Insights into Bullying and Peer Mistreatment, they state: "We are concerned that too much work in this field has focused on adults telling youth what bullying is and what to do to address bullying behavior. In reality, youth are the primary experts on what is happening at school and on what works best to prevent peer maltreatment....We see authentic youth involvement as key to success in bullying prevention." Lessons learned from surveying the students can be summarized in the following don'ts and dos:"

"This isn't just for people with traditional careers and family lives. It applies to all families regardless of how busy your schedule or important your job, In her book "The Obamas," author Jodi Kanter highlights the President's commitment to having dinner with his family five times a week. Unfortunately in the hustle and bustle of today's digital world, the art of the family dinner has been drained out of many homes with device interaction replacing face-to-face connection. During a panel discussion hosted by Common Sense Media that focused on raising caring kids in a digital world, Howard Gardner of the Harvard Graduate School of Education shared that many families are not even sure what to do at dinner time if all are free of digital devices. If this applies to your family, don't despair. Below are ideas for dinner time activities for each day of the week. These suggestions should serve as a helpful way to ensure dinner time is a valuable experience for families."

"If you're a teacher, you'd probably agree with the statement that most of the professional development you have taken suffered through over your career has been less than amazing. What is a shame-actually tragic-about this is that with all the research that is available on staff development and professional development, no teacher should have to feel this way. Professional development is an essential element in helping one grow as an educator. It should be an enjoyable experience that one looks forward to with anticipation and excitement. It should be viewed as an opportunity to innovate, experiment, and improve one's practice. Professional development should be based on what we know from the robust research that is available."

"n a rainy Saturday at Hackbright Academy classroom in San Francisco, a group of 35 adults sat at tables, desks, and on couches learning how to code. Marcy, a former artist and now programmer for Uber, taught the class. During a break, Marcy shared that she'd never taken a programming class prior to starting a job in art media. After completing courses at places like Hackbright and General Assembly, she realized how much she enjoyed coding and switched careers. Today she volunteers to teach coding on the weekends. Real world. Compare Marcy's story to Daria's, a high school junior. Daria applied to take her school's AP Computer Science class and was rejected. The reason? She lacked the math prerequisites. Even if she had the prerequisites, she lamented, the counselor told her that her grades probably wouldn't have been high enough to compete for one of the precious 30 seats in the single section that was offered. School world. Learning In The New Economy Of Information | MindShift Teaching in the New (Abundant) Economy of Information How We Can Connect School Life to Real Life Daria's and Marcy's stories speak to the differences between school world and real world. In Marcy's world learning is abundant and artists become coders. In Daria's world, learning is scarce and limited by classroom space and teacher availability."

"The main arguments behind the push for students to learn to code, usually center around preparing students for future jobs. There is a skill shortage in the computer science industry which determines skilled job seekers can walk into lucrative contracts. This trend is predicted to rise. The other aspect to the usual argument is that even students who do not work in the technology industry will also benefit throughout their life and careers by learning computer science, as all industries now involve some component of programming. While these arguments are perfectly valid, there are many more reasons why kids should learn to code. They include:"