Digital Academics

retrieval-based learning refers to the repeated recall of newly learned information in various situations or study sessions. It’s been shown to be much more effective than study without recall practice.

Spaced learning involves learning or studying the same information over intervals in time, rather than all at once, which is known as massed learning.

Gamification applies game design principles and mechanics to non-game experiences to increase engagement.

"Allowing students to pursue learning experiences that are relevant to them -- including traditional seat-based environments and digital learning opportunities -- is the best strategy," Haglund said. "The same thing with adults, frankly. I don't want every teacher to be teaching in a virtual environment because not every teacher has the interest or skills to support that type of an instructional environment."

One reason why paper textbooks cost so much is because publishers need to recover their costs of producing new books in the first or second semester, Brady said. That's because the books end up in the used book market after that time, where publishers don't get a cut. And digital textbooks have kept a similar high-priced model, he said, which encourages students to break the encryption on them or stick with paper books because they can sell them back.

And videos, of course, can't be printed.

By using the HTML5 online content language, Brady hopes to give students cheaper instructional books that will give them all their material in one place. And the material will be updated in near real time.

Another aspect of flipped classrooms that the panelists had in common was a desire to personalize and individualize learning for their students.

By using videos, students can then watch the lectures and receive educational content at their own pace

instead of spending an entire class period lecturing, teachers can then spend that time working directly with students—answering questions and facilitating activities.

"It wasn't the music business that was dying," he said. "It was the CD business." Similarly, the textbook isn't necessarily going away, said Bridges, but the form is definitely changing.

"We are already producing online materials that school districts can't even use fully because of the challenges they have [with professional development and infrastructure,]" said McFall. But while schools may not quite be ready to make the transition to fully digital content, the revenue from digital resources grows each year, and currently makes up more than a third of Pearson's sales, said McFall.

Ensuring that teachers are properly trained to use technology resources is fast becoming as big of a budgetary concern as was acquiring the technology in the first place.

Often overlooked however, is that not all teachers are immediately comfortable transitioning to a wired classroom.

We can provide every student in America access to great teachers, but that won’t happen in a traditional classroom (as Public Impact has so clearly spelled out)—it will happen when we leverage talent with technology and blend the best of online and onsite learning.

To power these new models that combine local and national resources, Digital Learning Now calls for educational funding that is weighted, portable, and performance-based.

i-Ready.com from Curriculum Associates, is a great K-8 adaptive assessment with engaging content.

Dreambox.com is a K-3 game-based adaptive math product.

ST Math from MIND Research Institute is a visual game-based approach used with great results in over 1,200 schools; ST Math is now available on iPad. They are launching their Seattle Math Initiative this Wednesday

Thirty percent of those reading electronic content and 40  percent of those who have owned an eReader device for a year or more say they read more.

Saylor.org is a free and open collection of college level courses. There are no registrations or fees required to take our courses, and you will earn a certificate upon completion of each course. Because we are not accredited, you will not earn a college degree or diploma; however, our team of experienced college professors has designed each course so you will be able to achieve the same learning objectives as students enrolled in traditional colleges.

The new taxonomy also identifies four sub-categories that are appearing, namely the Station-Rotation, Lab-Rotation, Flipped-Classroom, and Individual-Rotation models.

by organizing educational videos and letting professors “flip” them to enhance their lectures.

“It’s almost like they want to find the content by themselves,”

Ms. Morgan borrows the phrase “free-range learning” to describe students’ behavior, and she finds that they generally shop around for content in places educators would endorse. Students seem most favorably inclined to materials from other universities.

They “don’t want to ask librarians or tutors in the study center or stuff like that,” she says. “It’s more the informal networks that they’re using.”

the market for interactive textbooks is taking off (Kno, one of the biggest publishers of e-textbooks, has compiled enough data from extensive use of its platform to publish data on student effectiveness), iPads are everywhere, the Kindle Fire is seeing significant adoption, and Google's Nexus 7 already has solid retail and pre-order traction outside of the technorati who usually represent Google early adopters.

1. It has been predicted that 44 percent of college textbooks will be digital by 2017. 2. Florida is making K-12 textbooks completely digital by 2015. 3. Even the federal government is taking a strong stance — it released the “Digital Textbook Playbook” to show districts why and how they should make the move toward e-textbooks. 4. The transition to digital content is undeniably taking place in classrooms and on campuses, and will only accelerate in coming years.

2012 Q2 Special Report: The Textbook Reformation & Digital Content

Converge 2012 Q2 Special Report Supplement: Funding and Professional Development

Nowadays, when someone talks about a “21st century field trip,” they are most likely referring to a virtual field trip. Virtual field trips are incredible examples of how the Internet can change the learning experience for students today. They can take a tour of Versailles, cruise around with the Rovers on the surface of Mars, even travel back in time and “walk” around Ancient Egypt in a format that was unimaginable just a few years ago.

1. QR Code map

2.  Today’s Meet Chat

This year’s entering college class of 2016 was born into cyberspace and they have therefore measured their output in the fundamental particles of life: bits, bytes, and bauds. They have come to political consciousness during a time of increasing doubts about America’s future, and are entering college bombarded by questions about jobs and the value of a college degree. They have never needed an actual airline “ticket,” a set of bound encyclopedias, or Romper Room. Members of this year’s freshman class, most of them born in 1994, are probably the most tribal generation in history and they despise being separated from contact with friends. They prefer to watch television everywhere except on a television, have seen a woman lead the U.S. State Department for most of their lives, and can carry school books--those that are not on their e-Readers--in backpacks that roll. 

They have always lived in cyberspace, addicted to a new generation of “electronic narcotics.”

Having grown up with MP3s and iPods, they never listen to music on the car radio and really have no use for radio at all.