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Paul Beaufait

CAL: Digests:The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol: A Tool for Teacher-Researc... - 10 views

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    "... The project described in this digest was designed with the belief that teacher professional growth can best be fostered through sustained collaborative inquiry between teachers and researchers. It has set out to incorporate what is known about quality professional development with the special features necessary for meeting the needs of English language learners. The project has defined a model of sheltered instruction based on the research of best practices, as well as on the experiences of the participating teachers and researchers..." (¶1).
Dennis OConnor

News: The Evidence on Online Education - Inside Higher Ed - 0 views

  • WASHINGTON -- Online learning has definite advantages over face-to-face instruction when it comes to teaching and learning, according to a new meta-analysis released Friday by the U.S. Department of Education.The study found that students who took all or part of their instruction online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through face-to-face instruction. Further, those who took "blended" courses -- those that combine elements of online learning and face-to-face instruction -- appeared to do best of all. That finding could be significant as many colleges report that blended instruction is among the fastest-growing types of enrollment.
  • the positive results appeared consistent (and statistically significant) for all types of higher education, undergraduate and graduate, across a range of disciplines, the study said.
  • On the topic of online learning, there is a steady stream of studies, but many of them focus on limited issues or lack control groups. The Education Department report said that it had identified more than 1,000 empirical studies of online learning that were published from 1996 through July 2008. For its conclusions, however, the Education Department considered only a small number (51) of independent studies that met strict criteria. They had to contrast an online teaching experience to a face-to-face situation, measure student learning outcomes, use a "rigorous research design," and provide adequate information to calculate the differences.
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  • Using technology to give students "control of their interactions" has a positive effect on student learning, however. "Studies indicate that manipulations that trigger learner activity or learner reflection and self-monitoring of understanding are effective when students pursue online learning as individuals," the report says.
  • n noting caveats about the findings, the study returns to the issue of time."Despite what appears to be strong support for online learning applications, the studies in this meta-analysis do not demonstrate that online learning is superior as a medium," the report says. "In many of the studies showing an advantage for online learning, the online and classroom conditions differed in terms of time spent, curriculum and pedagogy. It was the combination of elements in the treatment conditions (which was likely to have included additional learning time and materials as well as additional opportunities for collaboration) that produced the observed learning advantages. At the same time, one should note that online learning is much more conducive to the expansion of learning time than is face-to-face instruction."
  • " What the study demonstrates, she said, is that colleges need to think broadly about using online education, and not be "artificially limited" to face-to-face instruction.
  • Successful education has always been about engaging students whether it is in an online environment, face to face or in a blended setting. And fundamental to that is having faculty who are fully supported and engaged in that process as well."
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    Timely information for our group! The learning time issue in particular is an important finding that points to a cost effective way to increase student learning time without tackling the issue of a longer school day head on. We know that more time on meaningful tasks is crucial, but the physical cost of attending a bricks and mortar classrooms is prohibitive.
Mike McIlveen

21centuryedtech - home - 0 views

  • First they promote "a new instructional approach that engages learners". New Tech incorporates project-based learning (PBL) as the center of the instructional approach. PBL is facilitated by technology and student inquiry to engage learners with issues and questions that are relevant. Teachers design rigorous projects tied to state standards and customized to local community and student interests. Students collaborate in teams to acquire and apply knowledge and skills to solve problems. Next, " New Tech builds "a culture that empowers students and teachers". It is trust, respect, and responsibility that become the center of the learning culture. Students are put in charge of their own learning, becoming self-directed learners, while teachers are given the administrative support and resources to assist students in this realization. Last, New Tech maintains that "integrated use of technology" is essential for 21st Century education.
    • Mike McIlveen
       
      Trust, respect, responsibility - putting Character Ed. into practice, with admin. support - that's a new paradigm in my district.
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    New Tech incoporates three key concepts. First they promote "a new instructional approach that engages learners". New Tech incorporates project-based learning (PBL) as the center of the instructional approach. PBL is facilitated by technology and student inquiry to engage learners with issues and questions that are relevant. Teachers design rigorous projects tied to state standards and customized to local community and student interests. Students collaborate in teams to acquire and apply knowledge and skills to solve problems. Next, " New Tech builds "a culture that empowers students and teachers". It is trust, respect, and responsibility that become the center of the learning culture. Students are put in charge of their own learning, becoming self-directed learners, while teachers are given the administrative support and resources to assist students in this realization. Last, New Tech maintains that "integrated use of technology" is essential for 21st Century education
anonymous

Critical Issue: Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement - 0 views

shared by anonymous on 23 Feb 10 - Cached
  • Technologies available in classrooms today range from simple tool-based applications (such as word processors) to online repositories of scientific data and primary historical documents, to handheld computers, closed-circuit television channels, and two-way distance learning classrooms. Even the cell phones that many students now carry with them can be used to learn (Prensky, 2005).
  • Bruce and Levin (1997), for example, look at ways in which the tools, techniques, and applications of technology can support integrated, inquiry-based learning to "engage children in exploring, thinking, reading, writing, researching, inventing, problem-solving, and experiencing the world." They developed the idea of technology as media with four different focuses: media for inquiry (such as data modeling, spreadsheets, access to online databases, access to online observatories and microscopes, and hypertext), media for communication (such as word processing, e-mail, synchronous conferencing, graphics software, simulations, and tutorials), media for construction (such as robotics, computer-aided design, and control systems), and media for expression (such as interactive video, animation software, and music composition). In a review of existing evidence of technology's impact on learning, Marshall (2002) found strong evidence that educational technology "complements what a great teacher does naturally," extending their reach and broadening their students' experience beyond the classroom. "With ever-expanding content and technology choices, from video to multimedia to the Internet," Marshall suggests "there's an unprecedented need to understand the recipe for success, which involves the learner, the teacher, the content, and the environment in which technology is used."
  • In examining large-scale state and national studies, as well as some innovative smaller studies on newer educational technologies, Schacter (1999) found that students with access to any of a number of technologies (such as computer assisted instruction, integrated learning systems, simulations and software that teaches higher order thinking, collaborative networked technologies, or design and programming technologies) show positive gains in achievement on researcher constructed tests, standardized tests, and national tests.
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  • Boster, Meyer, Roberto, & Inge (2002) examined the integration of standards-based video clips into lessons developed by classroom teachers and found increases student achievement. The study of more than 1,400 elementary and middle school students in three Virginia school districts showed an average increase in learning for students exposed to the video clip application compared to students who received traditional instruction alone.
  • Wenglinsky (1998) noted that for fourth- and eighth-graders technology has "positive benefits" on achievement as measured in NAEP's mathematics test. Interestingly, Wenglinsky found that using computers to teach low order thinking skills, such as drill and practice, had a negative impact on academic achievement, while using computers to solve simulations saw their students' math scores increase significantly. Hiebert (1999) raised a similar point. When students over-practice procedures before they understand them, they have more difficulty making sense of them later; however, they can learn new concepts and skills while they are solving problems. In a study that examined relationship between computer use and students' science achievement based on data from a standardized assessment, Papanastasiou, Zemblyas, & Vrasidas (2003) found it is not the computer use itself that has a positive or negative effect on achievement of students, but the way in which computers are used.
  • Another factor influencing the impact of technology on student achievement is that changes in classroom technologies correlate to changes in other educational factors as well. Originally the determination of student achievement was based on traditional methods of social scientific investigation: it asked whether there was a specific, causal relationship between one thing—technology—and another—student achievement. Because schools are complex social environments, however, it is impossible to change just one thing at a time (Glennan & Melmed, 1996; Hawkins, Panush, & Spielvogel, 1996; Newman, 1990). If a new technology is introduced into a classroom, other things also change. For example, teachers' perceptions of their students' capabilities can shift dramatically when technology is integrated into the classroom (Honey, Chang, Light, Moeller, in press). Also, teachers frequently find themselves acting more as coaches and less as lecturers (Henriquez & Riconscente, 1998). Another example is that use of technology tends to foster collaboration among students, which in turn may have a positive effect on student achievement (Tinzmann, 1998). Because the technology becomes part of a complex network of changes, its impact cannot be reduced to a simple cause-and-effect model that would provide a definitive answer to how it has improved student achievement.
  • When new technologies are adopted, learning how to use the technology may take precedence over learning through the technology. "The technology learning curve tends to eclipse content learning temporarily; both kids and teachers seem to orient to technology until they become comfortable," note Goldman, Cole, and Syer (1999). Effective content integration takes time, and new technologies may have glitches. As a result, "teachers' first technology projects generate excitement but often little content learning. Often it takes a few years until teachers can use technology effectively in core subject areas" (Goldman, Cole, & Syer, 1999). Educators may find impediments to evaluating the impact of technology. Such impediments include lack of measures to assess higher-order thinking skills, difficulty in separating technology from the entire instructional process, and the outdating of technologies used by the school. To address these impediments, educators may need to develop new strategies for student assessment, ensure that all aspects of the instructional process—including technology, instructional design, content, teaching strategies, and classroom environment—are conducive to student learning, and conduct ongoing evaluation studies to determine the effectiveness of learning with technology (Kosakowski, 1998).
Steve Ransom

ScootPad :: Practice. Learn. Succeed. - 29 views

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    Free for teachers, students, parents.
Kathleen N

The LoTi Digital Age Survey - 0 views

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    We, at LoTi, are proud to announce the release of the free LoTi Digital-Age Survey to all public schools in the United States. The LoTi Digital-Age Survey provides each participant with an empirically-validated tool that creates a personalized digital-age professional development profile aligned to the NETS for Teachers (NETS-T). This profile offers recommendations aligned to five popular instructional initiatives including (1) Level of Teaching Innovation (LoTi), (2) Partnership for 21st Century Skills, (3) Marzano's Research-based Instructional Practices, (4) Daggett's Rigor & Relevance, and (5) Webb's Depth of Knowledge.
Matthew J. Vannice

What Does it Mean to Improve Access to the General Education Curriculum? - 0 views

  • What Does it Mean to Improve Access to the General Education Curriculum?
  • access is a multi-dimensional and dynamic process that involves a combination of instructional practices and supports.
  • The Access Center proposes that access to the general education curriculum occurs when students with disabilities are actively engaged in learning the content and skills that define the general education curriculum.
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  • research-based instructional methods and practices are being used
  • assessing and documenting whether students with disabilities are meeting high standards and achieving their instructional goals.
  • learn general education content and skills
    • Matthew J. Vannice
       
      ...and skills!! how do we build skills alongside content area comprehension at the secondary level?
  • research-based supports and accommodations
  • research-based materials and media are being used
  • general education curriculum is operationalized in terms of appropriate, standards-based instructional and learning goals
Julie Shy

TEDxNYED - Heidi Hayes Jacobs - 03/05/2011 - YouTube - 0 views

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    Worth watching again and again: As Executive Director of the Curriculum Mapping Institute and President of Curriculum Designers, Inc., Dr. Jacobs is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of curriculum and instruction. She has served as an education consultant to schools nationally and internationally on issues and practices pertaining to: curriculum mapping, dynamic instruction, and 21st century strategic planning.
theummedschool

The Ummed School - Best School in Jodhpur - 0 views

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    Our holistic learning approach continues in different forms, so, today lemonade making activity organized in The Ummed School in which students learned how 2-3 substances are mixed and a totally new substance is formed. This type of practical learning approach helps a lot in developing creativity and forming a thought process. Lemonade is the drink of choice for countless people-and now you can use it to teach your little ones the scientific method! This fun science activity for kids allows children to make their own lemonade while following directions, making a hypothesis, and collecting data through observation. Activity Instructions Cut a lemon into four pieces and throw away all of the seeds. Put a piece of lemon in a Ziploc bag, one for each child and one for yourself. Help your children measure and add a half a cup of water and a teaspoon of sugar to their bags. When all of the ingredients are added, zip the bags. Help your child squeeze the lemon into the bag and shake it up to mix the contents. As you are shaking it ask your kids to predict what will happen to the ingredients. Have them talk about the changes they are seeing within the bag and how they think the lemonade will taste. After 30 seconds, stop mixing and add a couple of ice cubes to each bag. Hand your little ones a straw and enjoy! The outcome of Activity This fun science activity for kids will teach your little ones how to follow the scientific method. They will listen to your instructions, predict the outcome of the activity, and make observations throughout. Additionally, they will create a delicious drink that they can enjoy!
Dennis OConnor

Natalie Goldberg | Keep The Hand Moving - 11 views

  • I consider writing an athletic activity: the more you practice, the better you get at it. The reason you keep your hand moving is because there’s often a conflict between the editor and the creator. The editor is always on our shoulder saying, “Oh, you shouldn’t write that. It’s no good.” But when you have to keep the hand moving, it’s an opportunity for the creator to have a say. All the other rules of writing practice support that primary rule of keeping your hand moving. The goal is to allow the written word to connect with your original mind, to write down the first thought you flash on, before the second and third thoughts come in.
  • The idea is to keep your hand moving for, say, ten minutes, and don’t cross anything out, because that makes space for your inner editor to come in. You are free to write the worst junk in America.
  • A writing practice is simply picking up a pen — a fast-writing pen, preferably, since the mind is faster than the hand — and doing timed writing exercises.
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  • . “You have to pick up a pen and write regularly for specific periods of time,” she instructs, and put into words what you most need to say. The product, Goldberg contends, is not as important as the process. Ultimately, she says, writing is “a way to help you penetrate your life and become sane.”
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    ". "You have to pick up a pen and write regularly for specific periods of time," she instructs, and put into words what you most need to say. The product, Goldberg contends, is not as important as the process. Ultimately, she says, writing is "a way to help you penetrate your life and become sane." "
cheapassignment

BSBINN601 Lead and manage organisational change | Assignment - Assignment Help by World... - 0 views

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    You must read the student assessment instructions prior to completing all assessment tasks. After you have completed all the tasks, you must declare that the completed assessment tasks are authentic and completed by yourself by checking each point in the table below. You will also be required make an electronic declaration of authenticity prior to submitting your completed assessment tasks. STUDENT DECLARATION Core units HLTAHW061 Engage in community health research HLTAHW066 Manage the delivery of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander HLTAHW067 Manage health education and promotion HLTAHW068 Develop work plans HLTAHW069 Develop health care policy HLTAHW070 Manage human resources HLTINF004 Manage the prevention and control of infection HLTWHS004 Manage workplace health and safety BSBMGT605 Provide leadership across the organisation BSBMGT608 Manage innovation and continuous improvement Elective units CHCADV005 Provide systems advocacy services CHCCDE007 Develop and provide community projects CHCDIV001 Work with diverse people CHCEDU002 Plan health promotion and community intervention CHCEDU008 Share health information CHCMGT007 Work effectively with the Board of an organisation CHCPRP003 Reflect on and improve own professional practice HLTAHW025 Provide information and strategies in health care HLTAHW032 Supervise individual workers HLTAHW033 Maintain community health profile HLTAHW034 Provide healthy lifestyle programs and advice HLTAHW043 Facilitate access to tertiary health services HLTAHW050 Develop a healing framework for social and emotional wellbeing work HLTAHW051 Respond to loss, grief and trauma HLTAHW061 Engage in community health research HLTAHW062 Supervise health care team HLTAHW063 Implement office systems HLTAHW064 Manage budgets HLTAHW072 Provide guidance in social and emotional wellbeing HLTAHW073 Practice social and emotional wellbeing in a clinical setting HLTAHW0
Leonard Miller

Education Week: Blended PD Emphasizes Differentiated Instruction - 0 views

  • If blended learning is one of the biggest trends in education, it should offer a way for teachers to practice the approach themselves.
  • Professional development for educational technology has to move away from its historical focus on technical training and toward a broader focus on what educational approaches work best.
  • In other words, teachers not only need to be proficient at integrating virtual experiences into the classroom, they must also be confident in why they're doing so.
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  • the certification program is split into two tiers. The first includes foundational courses aimed at helping teachers understand various strategies for online and blended learning and make decisions about how to use them to create engaging, differentiated classrooms. The second tier provides instruction in the tools and techniques for turning those ideas into reality
  • launched an online and blended certification program
  • No longer solely a teacher, "I am facilitator, fellow learner, and curator," added Ms. Canady. "I'm becoming more focused on giving my students more bang for their buck, more time. I don't want them to do anything they don't need in order to grow."
  • The team generally kicks off the design process anywhere from six to 12 months before the first day of school. The process includes identifying instructional objectives, choosing a classroom model, selecting curriculum providers, preparing infrastructure, and setting up teacher professional development.
  • the coach helped them implement blended-learning models to differentiate instruction, extend learning beyond the classroom, and engage families in the learning process.
Maggie Verster

Cellphones as Instructional Tools (free webinar) - 0 views

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    This free event is scheduled for Thursday, July 23, at 4 p.m. Eastern time. Cellphones have been called "the new paper and pencil" or "the new laptop," and they could be in the hands of as many as 10 million to 15 million schoolchildren in the next few years. For their instructional potential and ability to connect students to the Internet, mobile devices are quietly making their way into schools in the United States and abroad. What does your district, school, or classroom need to make this technology leap? Guests will discuss policy and implementation issues and offer practical curriculum ideas for every subject.
Dennis OConnor

Checklist for Online Instructors: Before the course begins - 41 views

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    This is a comprehensive checklist of best practices for online instruction.  The resource was build by Joan Vandervelde and Jim Erbe from the Online Professional Development program at the University of Wisconsin Stout.
David McGavock

CITE Journal - Editorial - 21 views

  • A classroom that has successfully integrated technology into the curriculum would be one where you would not really notice it because it would be so second nature. The teacher would not have to think up ways to use whatever tools were available, but would seamlessly use them to enhance the learning of whatever content was being covered. Technology [would be] used to assist in acquiring content knowledge, and the acquisition of technology skills [would be] secondary. Contrast this depiction with what the International Society for Technology in Education’s (ISTE) National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S; ISTE, 2002) say about technology integration: Curriculum integration with the use of technology involves the infusion of technology as a tool to enhance the learning in a content area or multidisciplinary setting….Effective integration of technology is achieved when students are able to select technology tools to help them obtain information in a timely manner, analyze and synthesize the information, and present it professionally. The technology should become an integral part of how the classroom functions—as accessible as all other classroom tools.
  • his urging to shift the focus from the learning tools to what is being learned and how that learning happens still needs to be heeded—almost 20 years later.
  • Integration is defined not by the amount or type of technology used, but by how and why it is used.
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  • many of these technology-specific studies did not explore more fundamental issues in technology and education
  • what needs to be further developed, examined, and shared
  • particular curriculum standards-based instructional strategies that are appropriately matched to students’ learning needs and preferences
  • understanding the processes and interim results of how and why specific tools can and should be appropriated
  • help students with distinct needs and preferences to achieve identified learning goals.
  • the STaR Chart
  • According to the national StaR Chart, then, technology use in what is typically described as “constructivist” learning is preferable to technology used to “reinforce basic academic skills.”
  • Constructivists view people as constructive agents and view the phenomenon of interest (meaning or knowledge) as built instead of passively “received”
  • curriculum-based integration of educational technologies – defined in Education and Technology: An Encyclopedia (Kovalchick & Dawson, 2004) as “the effective integration of technology throughout the curriculum to help students meet the standards and outcomes of each lesson, unit, or activity”
  • As discerning educators and researchers, we should question why teachers’ roles “must” change to integrate technology effectively into K-12 curricula.
  • the technologies themselves do not require this shift
  • Though teachers in the nationally representative sample they studied acknowledged that computers helped them to change instructional practice over time, they cited experience, organized professional learning, and school culture as the primary factors provoking instructional changes.
  • In districts in which teachers’ academic freedom is preserved—at least in part—aren’t the pedagogical approaches to be used the result of decisions that each teacher makes, preferably rooted in a well-informed knowledge base of both students’ learning needs and preferences and corresponding methodological alternatives?
  • Can it really be assumed that a particular approach “works best” in all teaching, learning, school, district, and community contexts?
  • perhaps a new approach is warranted at this point in time—one that genuinely respects pedagogical plurality and honors teachers’ academic freedom.
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    A classroom that has successfully integrated technology into the curriculum would be one where you would not really notice it because it would be so second nature. The teacher would not have to think up ways to use whatever tools were available, but would seamlessly use them to enhance the learning of whatever content was being covered. Technology [would be] used to assist in acquiring content knowledge, and the acquisition of technology skills [would be] secondary. Contrast this depiction with what the International Society for Technology in Education's (ISTE) National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S; ISTE, 2002) say about technology integration: Curriculum integration with the use of technology involves the infusion of technology as a tool to enhance the learning in a content area or multidisciplinary setting….Effective integration of technology is achieved when students are able to select technology tools to help them obtain information in a timely manner, analyze and synthesize the information, and present it professionally. The technology should become an integral part of how the classroom functions-as accessible as all other classroom tools.
Paul Beaufait

Introduction to Inquiry-Based Learning - 55 views

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    "It is crucial to recognize that inquiry-based teaching should not be viewed as a technique or instructional practice or method used to teach a subject. Rather, inquiry starts with teachers as engaged learners and researchers with the foundational belief that the topics they teach are rich, living and generous places for wonder and exploration." (para. 4, retrieved 2012.11.23)
Michele Brown

Learning-Theories - Knowledge Base and Webliography - 0 views

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    Theories and Models of Learning for Educational Research and Practice. This knowledge base features learning theories that address how people learn. A resource useful for scholars of various fields such as educational psychology, instructional design, and human-computer interaction.
David McGavock

Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators - Assessment Rubrics - Kathy Schrock's Guide for Ed... - 42 views

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    "Now that we are using the Internet in the classroom to support instruction, it is important the area of assessment be addressed. One usable method for teachers is to provide a rubric for student use and for both formative and summative assessment purposes. Another is to provide some type of graphic organizer. Below you will find a collection of assessment rubrics and graphic organizers that may be helpful to you as you design your own. Let me know if you have one you would like to share! A book dealing with both the theoretical and practical design of rubrics is the ASCD publication, Assessing Student Outcomes: Performance Assessment Using the Dimensions of Learning Model. "
Professional Learning Board

Sound Reading Development - 18 views

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    There are several reasons why all educators should be aware of best practices in reading instruction. One of the arguments is that sound reading enables improved student understanding across all content areas.
Steve Ransom

Technology in Schools Faces Questions on Value - NYTimes.com - 9 views

  • Critics counter that, absent clear proof, schools are being motivated by a blind faith in technology and an overemphasis on digital skills — like using PowerPoint and multimedia tools — at the expense of math, reading and writing fundamentals. They say the technology advocates have it backward when they press to upgrade first and ask questions later.
    • Steve Ransom
       
      A valid criticism when technology implementation is decoupled from meaningful and effective pedagogy. You can't buy measurable change/improvement.
  • district was innovating
  • how the district was innovating.
    • Steve Ransom
       
      Again, this is very different than how TEACHERS are innovating their PRACTICES. It's much more challenging than making a slick brochure that communicates how much technology your district has.
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  • there is no good way to quantify those achievements — putting them in a tough spot with voters deciding whether to bankroll this approach again
  • “We’ve jumped on bandwagons for different eras without knowing fully what we’re doing. This might just be the new bandwagon,” he said. “I hope not.”
    • Steve Ransom
       
      There's a confidence building statement for you....
  • $46.3 million for laptops, classroom projectors, networking gear and other technology for teachers and administrators.
    • Steve Ransom
       
      Exactly... and how much was spent on equipping teachers to change their practices to effectively leverage this new infrastructure?
  • If we know something works
    • Steve Ransom
       
      And what is that "something"? New technology? If so, you missed the boat.
  • it is hard to separate the effect of the laptops from the effect of the teacher training
  • The high-level analyses that sum up these various studies, not surprisingly, give researchers pause about whether big investments in technology make sense.
    • Steve Ransom
       
      Why does the argument for making schools relevant and using current cultural tools need to be backed with performance data? Give politicians and superintendents horses instead of cars and see how long that lasts.
  • Good teachers, he said, can make good use of computers, while bad teachers won’t, and they and their students could wind up becoming distracted by the technology.
    • Steve Ransom
       
      Finally, a valid point.
  • “Test scores are the same, but look at all the other things students are doing: learning to use the Internet to research, learning to organize their work, learning to use professional writing tools, learning to collaborate with others.”
    • Steve Ransom
       
      Exactly. But somehow, "value" has been equated with test scores alone. Do we have a strong body of research on pencil effectiveness or clay effectiveness or chair effectiveness?
  • “It’s not the stuff that counts — it’s what you do with it that matters.”
  • “There is a connection between the physical hand on the paper and the words on the page,” she said. “It’s intimate.”
  • “They’re inundated with 24/7 media, so they expect it,”
    • Steve Ransom
       
      And you expect them to always engage enthusiastically with tools that are no longer relevant in their culture?
  • The 30 students in the classroom held wireless clickers into which they punched their answers. Seconds later, a pie chart appeared on the screen: 23 percent answered “True,” 70 percent “False,” and 6 percent didn’t know.
    • Steve Ransom
       
      Okay... and you follow up with a totally trivial example of the power of technology in learning.
  • term” that can slide past critical analysis.
  • engagement is a “fluffy
    • Steve Ransom
       
      Very true
  • rofessor Cuban at Stanford argues that keeping children engaged requires an environment of constant novelty, which cannot be sustained.
    • Steve Ransom
       
      If that is so, why not back up your claim by linking to the source here. I have a feeling he has been misquoted and taken out of context here.
  • that computers can distract and not instruct.
    • Steve Ransom
       
      Computers don't really "instruct". That's why we have teachers who are supposed to know what they are doing and why they are doing it... and monitoring kids while keeping learning meaningful.
  • guide on the side.
    • Steve Ransom
       
      But many teachers are simply not prepared for how to do this effectively. To ignore this fact is just naive.
  • Professor Cuban at Stanford
    • Steve Ransom
       
      Are they in love with Cuban or something? Perhaps they should actually look at the research... or interview other authorities. Isn't that what reporting is all about? I think this reporter must be a product of too much Google, right?
  • But she loves the fact that her two children, a fourth-grader and first-grader, are learning technology, including PowerPoint
    • Steve Ransom
       
      Again, the fact that any supporter is happy that their kids are learning PowerPoint illustrates the degree of naiveté in their understanding of technology's role in learning.
  • creating an impetus to rethink education entirely
  • Mr. Share bases his buying decisions on two main factors: what his teachers tell him they need, and his experience. For instance, he said he resisted getting the interactive whiteboards sold as Smart Boards until, one day in 2008, he saw a teacher trying to mimic the product with a jury-rigged projector setup. “It was an ‘Aha!’ moment,” he said, leading him to buy Smart Boards, made by a company called Smart Technologies.
    • Steve Ransom
       
      Herein lies another huge problem. Mr. Director of Technology seems to base no decisions on what the learning and technology literature have to say... nor does he consult those who would be considered authorities on technology infused learning (emphasis on learning here)
  • This is big business.
    • Steve Ransom
       
      No kidding.
  • “Do we really need technology to learn?” she said. “It’s a very valid time to ask the question, right before this goes on the ballot.”
    • Steve Ransom
       
      Anyone who asks that should volunteer to have their home and work computer confiscated. After all, it's just a distraction, right?
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