Important note about whether we actually do students a disservice by supposedly sheltering them from the big, bad online world, or whether we miss a valuable learning opportunity to help them learn how to use the resources effectively, efficiently and safely.
In fact, we need to rely on trusted members of our personal networks to help sift through the sea of stuff, locating and sharing with us the most relevant, interesting, useful bits. And we have to work together to organize it all, as long-held taxonomies of knowledge give way to a highly personalized information environment.
But it does suggest that we as educators need to reconsider our roles in students' lives, to think of ourselves as connectors first and content experts second.
Just like they should authenticate a website, students should verify the quality of an online learning partner.
How do we manage our digital footprints, or our identities, in a world where we are a Google search away from both partners and predators? What are the ethics of co-creation when the nuances of copyright and intellectual property become grayer each day? When connecting and publishing are so easy, and so much of what we see is amateurish and inane, how do we ensure that what we create with others is of high quality?
The data clearly reveals that our respondents overwhelmingly agree that digital learning positively impacts students and teachers.
In short, digital learning can enhance learning experiences, save teachers time, enable teachers to better tailor learning to student needs, aid in tracking student progress, provide transparency into the learning process for all stakeholders, and much more.
we’ve identified 10 key insights from our survey that provide some clarity into the current state of digital learning.
professional development.
digital citizenship programs
helping to address internet safety issues—teacher’s #1 digital citizenship concern.
Twitter
professionally
earning management system (LMS)
Both personalized and individualized learning are considered to be the most effective types of differentiated learning.
Social Media
debate about the role of mobile devices in the classroom rages
winner
emerging
mobile devices are being incorporated into digital learning more frequently than ever
Obstacles
lack of a digitized curriculum,
ineffective professional development and a lack of parent involvement
lack of parental involvement or understanding as a challenge has jumped from the #7 challenge all the way to #3
Digital learning takes many forms—from barely blended learning to gamified, mastery learning
Schoology conducted a landmark K-12 study called The State of Digital Learning.
As you can see, their #1 challenge is providing relevant and effective PD.
Many education professionals agree that ongoing instructional coaching is one of the most effective forms of professional development.
This year, we’re excited that nearly 70% of respondents now use the same LMS for professional development as in the classroom
I
nterestingly, schools and districts in which LMS usage is mandated are the most effective at enabling collaboration.
The data that comes to mind is the fact the majority of PD isn't modeling instructional best practices and that has to change.
From personalized learning to social media and coding in the classroom, the education landscape is being fertilized by technology and will continue to grow.
In fact, the data suggests that merely providing students with access to devices doesn't necessarily lead to better outcomes. But the thoughtful integration of technology to enable students to actively engage with ideas and their peers does enhance the learning experience. It's a nuanced and strategic challenge that grapples with countless tangible and abstract variables—devices, software, classroom practices, professional development, and collaboration among the many stakeholders just to name a few.
A recent article by Lauren Davis in the Schoology (LMS) website that unpacks a survey of 16000+, mostly USA teachers, about the impact of digital learning. It includes some interesting insights into enablers and barriers for DLE. A good starting point for the 523 Assessment 3 environmental scan.
""Research demonstrates that many youth are disengaged from traditional forms of civic and political life but are very engaged with new media," said Mills College Professor of Education Joseph Kahne, the author of the study. "Our study findings strongly suggest that there are ways to build on their engagement with digital media to foster engagement in civic life."
The study debunks the notion that young people, because they are growing up with technology, are so-called "digital natives", who naturally learn to use the Internet for information and discourse. Most young people, in fact, have a lot to learn about using online information and social media resources to better understand their role in society and politics.
The research indicates that Literacy 2.0 education can directly influence young people toward civic involvement and political participation. Teaching new literacies, such as credibility assessment, is essential for supporting a healthy democracy, the report concludes. The findings make a strong case for increased digital literacy programs for both students and parents."
Approximately 32 percent of students report being bullied at school. Bullied students are more likely to take a weapon to school, get involved in physical fights, and suffer from anxiety and depression, health problems, and mental health problems. They suffer academically (especially high-achieving black and Latino students). And research suggests that schools where students report a more severe bullying climate score worse on standardized assessments than schools with a better climate.
This is all common sense to educators. They have known for decades that students need to be in safe, supportive learning environments to thrive. And the vast majority care deeply about keeping children safe.
"I. Lesson Objective: This is an information gathering/awareness session for parents. All participants will learn about digital citizenship. Participants will see a video, read an article, view a slide show, and participate in a discussion.
II. Assessment: Participants will fill out an exit ticket. This will provide us information on how they have met the session goals."
Friedman identified a problem that education systems are only now beginning to wrestle with. Life is largely lived online, and schools do not prepare children for it.
It's not just about keeping them safe from predators, cyberbullies, porn and identity theft: it's also about having an ethical framework, and the skills to assess the reliability of information.
This paper reviews the definitions of digital and ICT literacy that have been adopted in cross-national studies, investigates the approaches to the assessment of digital and ICT literacy that have been employed in those studies and articulates the criteria that should guide the development of a global measure of digital and ICT literacy skills. Furthermore, the paper includes an appraisal of prospects for such a development.
This site was posted on the Diigo Education Group. It has practical ideas on how to teach and assess "in ways which make plagiarism unthinkable" (MacDonald Ross, 2008).
Learning to critically assess the reliability of crowdsourcing review sites. This man turned his shed into the Number 1 top rated restaurant in London on Trip Advisor!!