Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

""This is cool." With those three words from my 11-year-old son, I knew Apple had a hit on its hands with Swift Playgrounds, its iPad app for learning the company's Swift programming language. We didn't exactly have to pry him away, but he had reached that just-one-more-level-before-dinner type of self-motivation that warms an educator's heart. The app is free. So when Apple releases Swift Playgrounds on Tuesday in the App Store, I recommend giving it a try. It's geared for middle school kids, but adults can learn too -- it sucked me in. You'll need Apple's new iOS 10 software, also arriving Tuesday. And just so you know, some older iPads like the first-generation iPad Mini can't run it."

"In a recent piece here in TIME, I wrote about seven areas of explosive growth in tech that will drive our world and economy over the next 10-15 years. There, I said that for us to achieve this level of growth, we'll need millions of new workers skilled in STEM. At the moment, we just don't have enough of these skilled tech workers to make my vision of a connected world a reality. In fact, when I talk to big companies like Boeing, Intel, Qualcomm and so on, they fear that, as they grow, they will not have enough tech-educated staff to meet their engineering needs. One estimate says there will be 2.4 million STEM-based job vacancies in 2018 alone."

"Think back to 2005. Since the dot-com bust, there had been a steep and steady decline in undergraduate enrollments in computer science, with no end in sight. The computer science community was wringing its hands, worried about the survival of their departments on campuses. Unlike many of my colleagues, I saw a different, much rosier future for computer science. I saw that computing was going to be everywhere. I argued that the use of computational concepts, methods and tools would transform the very conduct of every discipline, profession and sector. Someone with the ability to use computation effectively would have an edge over someone without. So, I saw a great opportunity for the computer science community to teach future generations how computer scientists think. Hence "computational thinking." I must admit, I am surprised and gratified by how much progress we have made in achieving this vision: Computational thinking will be a fundamental skill used by everyone in the world by the middle of the 21st century. By fundamental, I mean as fundamental as reading, writing and arithmetic."

"Everyone in Canada should be able to access high-speed Internet, the country's telecom regulator has declared, setting bold targets for speeds and establishing a new fund that will invest up to $750-million over five years to expand broadband services to remote regions. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ruled Wednesday that broadband Internet with download speeds of at least 50 megabits per second and upload speeds of at least 10 Mbps will now be considered a "basic telecom service." It also said all customers, even in rural areas where plans often have low caps on data usage, should have access to unlimited data options."

"Among the most-read, most-shared stories on Digital Education in 2016 were those that delved into high-quality research. That likely reflects a growing hunger within the K-12 sector for reliable information about education technology, in all its promise and its peril.   Here are 10 of the most popular and impactful Digital Education stories from the past year involving research on educational technology:"

"The spike in the number of technology-enabled classrooms in the past few years clearly indicates what a crucial role technology already plays when it comes to education. The dawn of mobile phones has changed the way people access information. Almost everything we need is available at our fingertips and available on demand. The fact that the current breed of students is comfortable using cool new gadgets only goes to show that the influence of technology is here to stay. The market is full of apps that make any classroom an interesting place for both students and teachers. From easy-to-use user interfaces, to customizable features to suit individual needs, these apps have been built to deliver great user experience. My experience using these below listed apps has been great. While some of them were recommended to me by my colleagues, a few others were suggested by my students. I've greatly benefitted from their uber cool features and I hope you will, too. Here is my favorites list:"

"I believe in the importance of participating in ongoing and continuous reflective practice as an educator. This is my reflection on my Cardboard Challenges Maker Education Camp that was taught to twelve 5 to 10 year old learners for five days, 2.5 hours each morning.  My Cardboard Challenges webpage of ideas can be found at http://www.makereducation.com/cardboard-challenge.html. This post is divided into three sections: (1) a rationale for using no tech, minimal cost materials, (2) some of my general observations about how the learners interacted with the materials, the projects, and each other during the camp, and (3) a description of the specific cardboard activities along with my observations how well they worked with the learners."

"One of my favorite innovations in recent years is the idea of TED Talks. Whether you attend a session in person or watch online, you can learn and gain inspiration and see and hear people tell their stories and share their expertise firsthand. It's accessible, substantive information on virtually every topic imaginable. If reading the news first thing in the morning is bringing you down, why not save that task for a bit later in the day? Instead, take in one of these great TED talks with your breakfast. Since they're under 20 minutes, it's the perfect amount of time to spend with your breakfast and coffee--and you'll start the day informed, motivated, and ready to go do great things."

Nicholas Negroponte founded the MIT Media Lab (1980), WiReD Magazine (1990), and One Laptop per Child. Nicholas has recently launched a reading experiment to learn whether poor and remote kids (5-10 years old) can learn to read on their own with a solar powered, Android tablet suitably loaded with immersive and constructionist material.

"Adaptive learning means different things to different people, but adaptive learning technologies are usually designed to adapt content to the abilities and knowledge level of the user. In turn, the user is presented with a personalized learning experience. According to CEO Jessie Wooley-Wilson of adaptive learning company Dreambox Learning, "I think that in a matter of a few years, blended learning with apps is going to be so ubiquitous that people are going to expect this technology to have a place in the classroom.""

"As technology transforms the classroom, teaching is changing as well. When students head back to school this year, they may discover that monotonous lectures and mundane activities are a thing of the past when their teachers decide to flip the classroom. Educators across the globe will take a pledge to flip one lesson on Friday, Sept. 6, the first "Flipped Day". Hundreds of educators from 10 countries have already taken the pledge to use this innovative model of instruction on that day."

"Teachers can't escape the growing trend of technology in the classroom. It's more than just hype. More schools are buying tablets for use in the classroom, with Apple's tablet sales to the education sector doubling last year. As a mobile software company whose product is used extensively in education, we dream big about the future of technology in the classroom. We have worked with numerous great teachers who have successfully leveraged tablets to improve the learning experience for students. Are you tempted to join the trend? Here are ten tips for introducing tablets into your classroom."

"At Cindrich elementary school in Surrey, B.C., 10-year-old boys are putting themselves to bed earlier, an enthusiastic girl in Grade 6 takes herself for a run when she's feeling hyper, and a diminutive boy who is still learning English tells his teacher he will do better work if he sits on a special cushion. It is all part of self-regulation, a philosophy of education that is moving into public schools in British Columbia."

"Below are some good iPad apps for History and Geography teachers. I am sharing them with you on the occasion of the start of a new school year. I invite you to have a look and share with us if you have other titles to add to the list. If you want more resources for back to school I recommend that you check this resource section."

"ne of the most common questions math teachers hear from their students is, "why does this matter?" They are constantly trying to convince students that math is useful and could help them in their everyday lives. But it can be a tough sell. Word problems alone often feel contrived and students see right through them. Thomas Petra has taught math at every level for more than 20 years and encountered dubious students at every grade level. That's why he developed Real World Math, a free website with lessons based on Google Earth aimed at grades 5 - 10. "I was trying to show them actual applications of the math ideas that they see in the textbook," Petra said."