Group items tagged

It is commonly recognized that our nation's progress depends on improving learning, thereby creating healthier communities and a stronger workforce. In today's world, that requires us to take advantage of new learning tools to ensure that our children's learning is practical and prepares them for the challenges of the 21st century. The advantages of digital media now greatly outweigh the disadvantages and require that schools update their thinking and policies to provide guidance on the use of these tools to improve student learning and achievement.

You may know TED, not as the guy from marketing, but as the nonprofit organization devoted to "Ideas Worth Spreading" - or as the set of global conferences, Talks, and videos that touch on the many heady, relevant issues surrounding Technology, Entertainment, and Design. As an increasingly powerful medium through which the world's experts share their hard-won knowledge, TED is also an educator. In March, the organization launched the first phase of its "TED-Ed" initiative, in practice a series of a dozen short animated YouTube videos "created for high school students and lifelong learners," in the big picture an invitation to teachers to collaborate with TED to create more effective video lessons that can be used in classrooms.

A practical example of using Twitter in the classroom setting.  Here's the "Twitter Experiment":

The Official iOS 5 Education Deployment Guide. This guide is designed for those responsible for the deployment of iOS devices, from IT leadership to implementors. It highlights best practices and considerations relevant to deploying and supporting iOS devices in education environments. Though US based it still has useful information. 

Alvaro González-Alorda has created a powerful presentation that's a must see for any educator looking to push his or her school / classroom into the future. He talks about what the leaders of today's major schools and companies have to say about what academics will look like in the future. Basically, it's decision time for schools who have been clinging to best practices from the past and not paying enough attention to future trends. In fact, Alvaro lists more than a few trends to be on the lookout for in terms of education technology. The following presentation is on Slideshare and worth spending the next minute of your day on.

I've learned from many great teachers before me that the idea of a flipped classroom is nothing new.  While the term 'flipped class' is a trendy new catch phrase, the idea of the flipped classroom model is something teachers have been practicing for years.   Defined: The flipped classroom is an instructional  method used to engage students at home through the use of video in effort to enhance the classroom experience by a more hands-on approach to learning.

I have teachers ask me frequently about app recommendations for different subject areas. "What app could I use to teach subtraction?" "What app would you recommend for my students to practice writing?" "I want to use iPads in my Science class. What app is good for that?" I usually sigh to myself, when I receive questions like that. While I am not against in suggesting apps ( which I love doing), I am not comfortable with the level of disconnect between the teacher (who knows her/his students best) and the curriculum related skills and objectives and pedagogical relationship that needs to be in place for an app to be a match to use in a classroom or with an individual learner.

In some ways, the flipped model is an improvement. Research shows that tailored tutoring is more effective than lectures for understanding, mastery, and retention. But the flipped classroom doesn't come close to preparing students for the challenges of today's world and workforce. As progressive educational activist Alfie Kohn notes, great teaching isn't just about content but motivation and empowerment: Real learning gives you the mental habits, practice, and confidence to know that, in a crisis, you can count on yourself to learn something new. That's crucial in a world where, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, adults change careers (not just jobs) four to six times or where, as an Australian study predicts, 65% of today's teens will end up in careers that haven't even been invented yet. We don't need to flip the classroom. We need to make it do cartwheels.

"Despite substantial investment in ICT in education and a significant body of relevant research and literature ICT has had a limited impact on education. We need to understand reasons why this might be in order to improve the situation. 'Computer frameworks' may be part of the solution. There are lots of existing frameworks, but these share several important limitations. The CPF (Computer Practice Framework) was designed to overcome these limitations and thus help to increase the effectiveness of future investments in ICT in education."

"This video attempts to bring awareness to some of the implications in sourcing materials online without considering the copyright on the material. If we can transform teachers practice so that they use Creative Commons materials exclusively, we can legally share much more of our teaching and learning content!"

The Google Educast, hosted by the Google Certified Teachers, features a weekly roundup of the newest Ed tools from Google, highlighting best practices using Google tools, and further highlighting the impact that these tools have on the classroom, schools, and school districts.

Professional Development for me used to be about going to sessions on specific days and then trying to 'bring back' what I've learned and incorporate it into my daily practice. Sometimes this was very challenging, I would get inundated with new information and find it very hard to apply what I learned into what I did on a day-to-day basis. Often my notes would be filed away, not to be seen again.

"In a recent post, Edudemic introduced us to a very intricate, color-coded visualization by Envisioning Tech on what to expect in education technology in the next 30 years or so. And these concepts are not broad generalizations- Envisioning Tech takes topics like digitized classrooms and tangible computing and segments them into practical ideas to produce a well-organized, cohesive diagram"

Long regarded as a practice reserved for the vain who can't get a book deal, self publishing has finally become a financially viable and respectable option for writers world over. Even the professionals are doing it - so how is the paradigm shift affecting the publishing world, and how much money can a writer expect to earn from going solo?

Includes a best practice process and some quality online resources

Teachers and students can use Gooru to search for rich collections of multimedia resources, digital textbooks, videos, games and quizzes created by educators in the Gooru community. Gooru is free (of cost and ads) and developed by a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to honor the human right to education. Search for the best multimedia resources on the web. Customize your favorite resources, collections and quizzes. Study from collections of resources created by teachers. Interact with the Gooru community of teachers and students. Practice with enhanced quizzes that provide instant feedback. Share your knowledge about topics you are passionate about.

Schools are needing increasing amounts of expensive educational technology at a time when budgets are shrinking. Many have started to explore BYOD policies - Bring Your Own Device - as a practical solution to integrate cost effective technology into their educational programs. With the convergence of widespread broadband and the growth of powerful, platform independent web based tools BYOD has finally arrived as an effective educational alternative to other plans that require expensive purchasing and maintenance. Viewed within a realistic perspective of both its benefits and limitations BYOD can provide a workable solution for the many schools seeking to upgrade their educational technology.

While there will never be a replacement for a paper book with dog-eared pages, hand written notes in the margins, a broken spine and a proudly worn cover with a hint of dirt and stains, there is an exciting new option to transform the practice of reading to make it more social and collaborative.  Subtext is an intriguing iPad application that allows users to read books collaboratively.  While reading, participants can insert text, emotions, questions, links and thoughts into the margins of the book.  When other readers jump into the text they can see the notations and reply to the existing thoughts in a discussion thread that is neatly tucked away into the margins of the text.

This is an interesting SMORE related to Edmodo is a social learning network that is safe for students and FREE for teachers! With a "Facebook-like" look, it's sure to grab your students' attention and get them excited about learning. This session will explain what Edmodo is, how you and your students create accounts, and give real-life examples of Edmodo in action. I'll show you how to assign and grade work in Edmodo and give advice on best practices, as well as share permission forms and roll-out materials. Whether you teach first grade or fifth, this is a resource you will definitely want in your technology toolkit!

"Although statistics show that the use of the Internet by adults is high and continues to rise,3 McGrath (2009) suggested that young people use technology in a different way to adults - adult use tends to be for more practical or business purposes, whereas for young people, technology is a vital part of their social life and identity development."