Skip to main content

Home/ Cohort 21 Shared Resources/ Group items tagged testing

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Sarah Bylsma

5 Important Web Tools Students Can Use to Create Educational Games ~ Educational Techno... - 0 views

  • In education 1.0, online games which are nothing else but electronic worksheets were played in one unidirectional  way and there was only way correct way for players to win ; in education 2.0 commercial  games have made it into the educational scene and teachers and students started using them, examples of these games include: SIMs, World of Warcraft, Portal. However, in education 3.0, learners are not only using these commercial games in unique ways but they are also using several platforms to create their own games.
  • JeopardyLabs allows you to create a customized jeopardy template without PowerPoint.
  • Purpose Games allows you to create your own games, host your own groups / classes, study for a test, or just dazzle us with your knowledge. PurposeGames is a completely FREE service!
Sarah Bylsma

Wonderful Visual on SAMR As A Framework for Education 3.0 ~ Educational Technology and ... - 0 views

  • In web 1.0, users are viewed as mere receivers and consumers of content. Knowledge is centralized and expert-based and hence the use of taxonomies and directories to organize and store it. In the same vein, education 1.0 is also based on a notion of one way communication where teachers are the sages on the stage and students are pails to be filled with facts to be regurgitated and spewed back in standardized tests.
    • Sarah Bylsma
       
      I think that we have identified that we need to move beyond this at this stage in technology. 
  • In web 2.0 things are a bit different. Users are empowered with tools that permit them more  interaction and participation in knowledge building. Web tools such as blogs, wikis, and social media websites have decentralized knowledge and enhanced collaboration and communication. Web 2.0 foregrounded concepts of collective intelligence, distributed-expertise, and wisdom of the mob. Similarly, in education 2.0 learning is student-centred and involves continuous interaction between learners and their teachers and also with the content being studied. Collaborative approaches to instruction such as PBL, game based learning, flipped learning have been adopted as  teaching modes.
    • Sarah Bylsma
       
      Many of us may still be at this stage. 
  • education3.0 is based on the belief that content is freely and readily available as is characteristic of web 3.0. It is self-directed, interest-based learning, where problem-solving, innovation and creativity drive education. Education 3.0 is also about the three Cs: connectors, creators, and constructivists.
    • Sarah Bylsma
       
      I love this and want to move in this direction. 
celeste Kirsh

Using research to support technology - 1 views

  •  
    An inner city primary is at the heart of a project to test how technology can be used to boost children's learning.
Derek Doucet

The Ultimate Guide to Gamifying Your Classroom | Edudemic - 0 views

  • Gamification is the process by which teachers use video game design principals in learning environments. The effects are increased student engagement, class wide enjoyment of academic lessons, and high levels of buy-in, even from your most reluctant learners.
  • Infinite play: In many video games, players keep playing until they finish a level. They might lose points, or access to valuable items if they are attacked, but they are still able to keep playing.
  • Points: In video games, users gain points as the travel through their quests. The more time they invest in the game the more points they earn
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • Badges: Badges are public recognition of achievement, with each one designed with a specific achievement in mind.
  • Levels: As a game goes on, players progress through levels that get progressively more difficult. In the classroom, levels could be lessons, or even units of study.
  • Appointments: Thanks to the Internet, people playing a video game in the US can sign in and team up with players all over the world.
  • Bonuses: Most games have hidden, unexpected rewards. Bonuses help drive player loyalty and keep them playing day in and day out.
  • Components of Gamifying the Classroom There are several aspects of video-game design that can be incorporated into the gamified classroom. Here are several:
  • How to Gamify Your Classroom
  • Backwards planning: Any teacher familiar with Understanding By Design has already got a leg up in gamification.
  • Use what’s available: Classcraft is a free, online educational role-playing game that teachers can personalize for their lessons.
  • Gamify one aspect: Rather than attempting to create an entire game with quests and hidden bonuses, start small.
  • Establish a marketplace: Allow students to buy, sell, swap, trade with each other and with you. Maybe students can swap a badge for an open-book test, or use points to purchase a homework-free night.
  • Allow leveling up: If a student has mastered the material in a lesson, offer fun and engaging extension wor
  • Just dive in: It can be difficult to know when your gamified classroom plan is ready for students, but the best advice is to just try it out.
  •  
    A great intro to gamifying your classroom.
garth nichols

An Edtech Bill of Rights | EdSurge News - 0 views

  • Edtech Priorities for Educators: No Shiny Toys! In addition to the above issues, educators clearly stated that the purpose of edtech should never be to replace a teacher. Instead, edtech products should: Relieve administrative burdens; Increase the efficacy of teachers; Deepen the relation among students and teachers; Embed assessment directly into daily learning experience; Amplify the reach of effective teachers; Empower students to become creators; And ultimately, keep the humanity in education and create more equality of opportunities.
  • Here’s a combined list from all 18 groups: The best interests of students must always be first and foremost. Tools should fill a REAL need for teaching/learning (not solutions in search of a problem). Ask teachers and talk to administrators at every stage of the design process. Have open, balanced conversations among all stakeholders. The introduction of edtech should include ongoing targeted meaningful staff development that is preferably teacher led. Student data must be secure: edtech companies should be open and clear about their use of data and information. Education technology should continually be tested in classrooms. The larger community should be included in the selection and implementation of edtech. If solutions claim to be research-based, they need to be truly research based. We need to know more about what works based on real data. Access should be reasonable and appropriate for all stakeholders. Compensate teachers who are product developers for their works. Similarly, compensate educators for providing extensive feedback and help with product development. Structure the ways teachers can provide feedback and interact with new tools as forms for professional development. Research should include recommendations that address the socio-emotional implications of using technology products. Districts should provide thought leadership on their theory of learning to help drive appropriate product development that aligns with district priorities.
  • Everything should revolve around the learner.
  •  
    Here is a great EdTech Bill of Rights
mrsganley

Rethinking Education: Self-Directed Learning Fits the Digital Age | Innovation Insights... - 3 views

  • Education should not be about teaching to the next level
  • True learning is intrinsically motivated and the reward is knowledge.
  • Our teachers are stuck within the confines of a system that no longer serves our children.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • Our educational system is built on the premise that the adult teacher has all the information which he or she will impart onto the child who will then show that he has mastered the grade level material by filling in answer choices where the test provides you with the desired answer.
  • Imagine providing children with the tools to learn in a prepared environment and then giving them the freedom to explore and experience that environment driven solely by their own curiosity
  • expose them to ideas, provide resources and then allow children the freedom to let their imaginations wander in a supportive environment
  • we do not need a society solely made up of generalists
  • Allow your child to be a specialist who learns deeply and see how they fluorish when they are in the driver’s seat of their own education.
  • more useful to be able to think critically, brainstorm ideas and figure out how to solve problems then it is to be able to recite a list of facts.
    • Sarah Bylsma
       
      Key!
  •  
    Thanks for this Sarah! It's an article that is hitting on a key concept we discussed in our last F2F in November: what is the role of knowledge in becoming a specialist. Thanks for this!
garth nichols

The Secret Skill Behind Being An Innovator | LinkedIn - 0 views

  • Let’s look more closely at what is happening, conceptually, when we make an analogy. “The essential requirement for analogical thinking,” Holyoak and Thagard write, “is the ability to look at specific situations and [] pull out abstract patterns that may also be found in superficially different situations.” That’s important, so I’ll say it again in a slightly different way: A useful analogy reveals the deep commonalities beneath superficial differences.
  • What does this allow us to do? The scientists Kevin Dunbar studied used analogies, first, to formulate hypotheses that they could then test. Their thought process went something like this: If we know that X does Y when Z, is it possible that A does Y when Z, too? Let’s find out. That’s often how innovations get their start, in the lab and elsewhere: by taking a familiar starting point and using it as a launch pad to explore new territory.
  • The appearance in the transcript of words indicating uncertainty, such as “maybe,” “I don’t know,” and “I don’t understand,” was often followed by an attempt to draw an analogy—to compare the ambiguous situation to a situation with which the scientists were familiar.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • At such moments, the scientists were employing analogies as different sort of bridge—a conceptual catwalk that provides just enough space to move forward and keep searching for solutions. As Schunn writes: “Scientists and engineers do not always seek to completely eliminate uncertainty (and indeed, sometimes it is not possible to do so) but often drive problem solving with the aim of converting it into approximate ranges sufficient to continue problem solving.”
  • To aid in finding just the right analogy, it helps to have a deep pool of potential targets. The Boston Strategy Group, a consulting firm, has created an online gallery of sources of analogical inspiration for its consultants and their clients to use. We can do this, too—bookmarking or pinning websites that inspire connections, keeping a folder of ripped-out articles or pictures from newspapers and magazines. A class or a workplace team can create a shared repository of analogical targets.
  • The best use of an analogy, as we’ve seen, is as as a bridge—and once we’ve crossed over the bridge, we can leave it behind.
  •  
    Great article for why analogies are important
Meg Wallace

A veteran teacher turned coach shadows 2 students for 2 days - a sobering lesson learne... - 2 views

  • If I could go back and change my classes now, I would immediately: Offer brief, blitzkrieg-like mini-lessons with engaging, assessment-for-learning-type activities following directly on their heels (e.g. a ten-minute lecture on Whitman’s life and poetry, followed by small-group work in which teams scour new poems of his for the very themes and notions expressed in the lecture, and then share out or perform some of them to the whole group while everyone takes notes on the findings.) set an egg timer every time I get up to talk and all eyes are on me. When the timer goes off, I am done. End of story. I can go on and on. I love to hear myself talk. I often cannot shut up. This is not really conducive to my students’ learning, however much I might enjoy it. Ask every class to start with students’ Essential Questions or just general questions born of confusion from the previous night’s reading or the previous class’s discussion. I would ask them to come in to class and write them all on the board, and then, as a group, ask them to choose which one we start with and which ones need to be addressed. This is my biggest regret right now – not starting every class this way. I am imagining all the misunderstandings, the engagement, the enthusiasm, the collaborative skills, and the autonomy we missed out on because I didn’t begin every class with fifteen or twenty minutes of this.
    • Meg Wallace
       
      I was really intrigued and inspired by Garfield Gini-Newman's presentation at the Curriculum Leaders' meeting at BVG yesterday, especially his point to ask the big questions at the beginning of the class/unit and have students keep a thinking book/learning log which they update as they learn. I'[m curious to hear from Language Arts teachers on how they think they might utilize this as I certainly would like to! 
  • made me realize how little autonomy students have, how little of their learning they are directing or choosing
    • Meg Wallace
       
      There's a lot to be said about student choice. One of the things we're pushing at RLC this year is 'choose your own path' and giving students more choice in when/how they demonstrate learning.
  • I would structure every test or formal activity like the IB exams do – a five-minute reading period in which students can ask all their questions but no one can write until the reading period is finished. This is a simple solution I probably should have tried years ago that would head off a lot (thought, admittedly, not all) of the frustration I felt with constant, repetitive questions.
  •  
    "If I could go back and change my classes now, I would immediately: Offer brief, blitzkrieg-like mini-lessons with engaging, assessment-for-learning-type activities following directly on their heels (e.g. a ten-minute lecture on Whitman's life and poetry, followed by small-group work in which teams scour new poems of his for the very themes and notions expressed in the lecture, and then share out or perform some of them to the whole group while everyone takes notes on the findings.) set an egg timer every time I get up to talk and all eyes are on me. When the timer goes off, I am done. End of story. I can go on and on. I love to hear myself talk. I often cannot shut up. This is not really conducive to my students' learning, however much I might enjoy it. Ask every class to start with students' Essential Questions or just general questions born of confusion from the previous night's reading or the previous class's discussion. I would ask them to come in to class and write them all on the board, and then, as a group, ask them to choose which one we start with and which ones need to be addressed. This is my biggest regret right now - not starting every class this way. I am imagining all the misunderstandings, the engagement, the enthusiasm, the collaborative skills, and the autonomy we missed out on because I didn't begin every class with fifteen or twenty minutes of this."
garth nichols

Why I'm Asking You Not to Use Laptops - Lingua Franca - Blogs - The Chronicle of Higher... - 3 views

  • On the first day of class, students and I spend the first 30-40 minutes learning something new about how language works (in order to set the tone for the class), and then we go over the syllabus. When we get to the laptop policy, I pause and say, “Let me tell you why I ask you generally not to use laptops in class.” And here’s the gist of what I say after that:
  • First, if you have your laptop open, it is almost impossible not to check email or briefly surf the Internet, even if you don’t mean to or have told yourself that you won’t. I have the same impulse if I have my laptop open in a meeting. The problem is that studies indicate that this kind of multitasking impairs learning; once we are on email/the web, we are no longer paying very good attention to what is happening in class. (And there is no evidence I know of that “practice” at doing this kind of multitasking is going to make you better at it!)
  • Now I know that one could argue that it is your choice about whether you want to use this hour and 20 minutes to engage actively with the material at hand, or whether you would like to multitask. You’re not bothering anyone (one could argue) as you quietly do your email or check Facebook. Here’s the problem with that theory: From what we can tell, you are actually damaging the learning environment for others, even if you’re being quiet about it. A study published in 2013 found that not only did the multitasking student in a classroom do worse on a postclass test on the material, so did the peers who could see the computer. In other words, the off-task laptop use distracted not just the laptop user but also the group of students behind the laptop user. (And I get it, believe me. I was once in a lecture where the woman in front of me was shoe shopping, and I found myself thinking at one point, “No, not the pink ones!” I don’t remember all that much else about the lecture.)
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • In addition, I can find your multitasking on a laptop a bit distracting as the instructor because sometimes you are not typing at the right times; I am not saying anything noteworthy and yet you are engrossed in typing, which suggests that you are doing something other than being fully engaged in our class. And that distracts my attention.
  • There’s also the issue of the classroom environment. I like to foster a sense of conversation here, even in a class of 100 students. If you are on a laptop, I and your peers are often looking at the back of your computer screen and the top of your head, rather than all of us making eye contact with each other. Learning happens best in a classroom when everyone is actively engaged with one another in the exchange of information. This can mean looking up from your notes to listen and to talk with others, which means you may need to make strategic decisions about what to write down. Note-taking is designed to support the learning and retention of material we talk about in class; note-taking itself is not learning. And speaking of what you choose to write down …
  • A study that came out in June—and which got a lot of buzz in the mainstream press—suggests that taking notes by hand rather than typing them on a laptop improves comprehension of the material. While students taking notes on a laptop (and only taking notes—they were not allowed to multitask) wrote down more of the material covered in class, they were often typing what the instructor said verbatim, which seems to have led to less processing of the material. The students taking notes by hand had to do more synthesizing and condensing as they wrote because they could not get everything down. As a result, they learned the material better.* I think there is also something to the ease with which one can create visual connections on a handwritten page through arrows, flow charts, etc.
  • I figure it is also good for all of us to break addictive patterns with email, texting, Facebook, etc. When you step back, it seems a bit silly that we can’t go for 80 minutes without checking our phones or other devices. Really, for most of us, what are the odds of an emergency that can’t wait an hour? We have developed the habit of checking, and you can see this class as a chance to create or reinforce a habit of not checking too.
  • Of course, if you need or strongly prefer a laptop for taking notes or accessing readings in class for any reason, please come talk with me, and I am happy to make that work. I’ll just ask you to commit to using the laptop only for class-related work.
  •  
    Why we need a balanced approach to the use of computers in the classroom. This is a great partner-piece to Clay Shirky's from 2014...
tanyacatallo

Four questions that encourage growth mindset among students | Teacher Network | The Gua... - 1 views

  • those with a growth mindset seek out feedback on how to get better, persist with work for longer and cope better with change
  • Get students to spend a few minutes writing down how doing well at school can help them achieve future goals.
  • Some students see tests as a chance to explore how much they’ve learned. Others use it as a chance to compare themselves with their classmates. Psychologists have found that constantly comparing yourself with others can have a negative impact on your confidence, motivation, self-management and academic performance.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • guiding students towards being comfortable with receiving feedback and giving them the confidence to act on it will serve them well.
  • Psychologists use the term “metacognition” to describe being aware and in control of your own thought process. Asking what you would do differently is a great example of this; it helps students to analyse and reflect on their thought process.
anonymous

Why the Growth Mindset is the Only Way to Learn | Edudemic - 8 views

    • Derek Doucet
       
      A game changer - All Students can Learn!!!
  • “You’re too old to learn a foreign language.” “I couldn’t work on computers. I’m just not good with them.” “I’m not smart enough to run my own business.” Do you know what these statements have in common? They’re all examples of the fixed mindset- the belief that intelligence, ability, and success are static qualities that can’t be changed.
  • The problem is, this mindset will make you complacent, rob your self-esteem and bring meaningful education to a halt. In short, it’s an intellectual disease and patently untrue.
  • ...21 more annotations...
    • Christi Lovrics
       
      I love the word 'earned'. Skills don't come easily, you have to really work for them.
    • Christi Lovrics
       
      I love the word 'earned'. Skills don't come easily, you have to really work for them.
  • Talents are innate. Skills are earned.
  • Within a fixed framework, progress is impossible.
  • believe that at a certain point, what you have is all you’re ever going to have:
  • the growth mindset,
  • a malleable approach to the world
  • fixed mindset
  • “You’re too old to learn a foreign language.”
  • fixed mindset, you believe that at a certain point, what you have is all you’re ever going to have
  • he growth mindset is the opposite of the fixed: It thrives on challenge and sees failure as an opportunity for growth. It creates a passion for learning instead of a hunger for approval.
  • In conversation, “skill” and “talent” are often used interchangeably – but there’s an essential difference: Talents are innate. Skills are earned.
    • kristensolowey
       
      How do you foster a growth mindset in your students?
  • Having
    • tanyacatallo
       
      Testing
  • ty; it crushes resilience an
  • The growth mindset is the opposite of the fixed: It thrives on challenge and sees failure as an opportunity for growth. It creates a passion for learning instead of a hunger for approval.
  • “The growth mindset does allow people to love what they’re doing – and continue to love it in the face of difficulties. … The growth mindset allows people to value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome.” Remember those students in Hong Kong. Be humble, act as if you’re remedial, and you’ll learn all the more!
    • anonymous
       
      learning has value regardless of the outcome
  • Focusing on innate qualities and praising purely for current ability inhibits learning, while praising the process of learning and growth instead of immediate talent promotes it.
  • As much as possible, take object orientation out of the equation. Focus on the task at hand. Don’t compare yourself to others or worry if you’re making the knowledge stick. Just learn- stolidly, patiently, and without tripping over your own expectations.
  • In conversation, “skill” and “talent” are often used interchangeably – but there’s an essential difference: Talents are innate. Skills are earned.
  • reatens your competenc
    • heatherradams
       
      What are you doing with Growth Mindset stuff?
  •  
    Looking at growth vs fixed in student learning...
  • ...2 more comments...
  •  
    Understanding Fixed vs. Growth Mindset
  •  
    Talents are innate. Skills are earned. Moving onto the GROWTH MINDSET.
  •  
    Growth mindset
  •  
    Great article highlighting the value of the growth midnset
garth nichols

4 Ways to Become a Better Learner - 0 views

  • What is Learning Agility? Learning agility is the capacity for rapid, continuous learning from experience. Agile learners are good at making connections across experiences, and they’re able to let go of perspectives or approaches that are no longer useful — in other words, they can unlearn things when novel solutions are required. People with this mindset tend to be oriented toward learning goals and open to new experiences. They experiment, seek feedback, and reflect systematically.
  • How Do You Develop Learning Agility? Since developing learning agility involves learning to recognize and change automatic routines, the aid of a coach can be invaluable. Coaching, which Peterson calls “the ultimate customized learning solution,” helps clients understand how their minds work and how to make them work better. But even if you’re not working with a coach, there are steps you can take on your own to enhance your learning agility. Ask for feedback. Think of one or more people who interacted with you or observed your performance on a given task.
  • Experiment with new approaches or behaviors. To identify new behaviors for testing, Peterson recommends reflecting on a challenge you’re facing and asking yourself questions such as “What’s one thing I could do to change the outcome of the situation?” and “What will I do differently in the future?”
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Look for connections across seemingly unrelated areas. For example, Peterson has systematically applied principles he’s used to learn about wine to the domain of leadership development
  • Make time for reflection. A growing body of research shows that systematically reflecting on work experiences boosts learning significantly. To ensure continuous progress, get into the habit of asking yourself questions like “What have I learned from this experience?” and “What turned out differently than I expected?”
garth nichols

We're Teaching Grit the Wrong Way - The Chronicle of Higher Education - 1 views

  • Good self-control has also been shown to be a key component of grit — perseverance in the face of educational challenges. It’s no wonder, then, that colleges have placed great emphasis on teaching students better self-control.
  • But the strategies that educators are recommending to build that self-control — a reliance on willpower and executive function to suppress emotions and desires for immediate pleasures — are precisely the wrong ones. Besides having a poor long-term success rate in general, the effectiveness of willpower drops precipitously when people are feeling tired, anxious, or stressed. And, unfortunately, that is exactly how many of today’s students often find themselves.
  • Efforts to emphasize willpower and executive function to achieve self-control are largely ineffective in helping those students.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • ortunately, there is a solution. For millennia, what ensured long-term success was cooperation. Strong interpersonal relationships were necessary to thrive. But to be identified as a good partner, a person had to be trustworthy, generous, fair, and diligent. She had to be willing to sacrifice immediate self-interest in order to share with and invest in others. In short, she had to have good character.
  • When a person feels grateful, he’ll work harder and longer to pay others back as well as pay favors forwar
  • For example, in adaptations of the marshmallow test for college students — in which differing amounts of cash were used instead of sweets — we found that leading people to feel grateful doubled the value they placed on future gains, and thereby doubled their willingness to wait for larger amounts of money in the future rather than take smaller amounts of money in the moment. Feelings of pride and compassion work in a similar way.
  • The upshot is that by increasing the value the mind places on future rewards, these emotions enable people to cooperate more with their own future selves as well as with others.
  • It matters what path people use. As one example, grit combined with gratitude is a strong predictor of resilience with respect to lowered suicidal thoughts among college students. On its own, however, grit isn’t associated with this buffering effect.
‹ Previous 21 - 33 of 33
Showing 20 items per page