Group items tagged

Although Scratch Day is on a Saturday, I thought that it might be useful to list some classroom resources that can be used in lessons before / after the day itself and, of course, at other times of the year too. I hope that this is useful if you want to use this great software for the first time… or if you're looking to extend what you can already do with Scratch.

Children may perform better in school and feel more confident about themselves if they are told that failure is a normal part of learning, rather than being pressured to succeed at all costs, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. 

The educational thought experiment I wish to undertake concerns curriculum. Not the specific content of curriculum, but the idea of curriculum, what any curriculum is, regardless of subject. Like Copernicus, I propose that for the sake of better results we need to turn conventional wisdom on it is head:  let's see what results if we think of action, not knowledge, as the essence of an education; let's see what results from thinking of future ability, not knowledge of the past, as the core; let's see what follows, therefore, from thinking of content knowledge as neither the aim of curriculum nor the key building blocks of it but as the offshoot of learning to do things now and for the future.

Plenty of research and opinion articles about education to explore on this site. I enjoyed reading about neuroscience research impact on education in the Learning and Development.

When it comes to using technology in school, the tension between what students and parents want and what schools allow is becoming more apparent - and more divisive. Students want more control over how they use technology in school, but many classrooms are still making it difficult. That's according to the most recent Speak Up 2011 report, "Mapping a Personalized Learning Journey," which reflects the views of more than 416,000 K-12 students, parents, and educators nationwide surveyed on how technology can enhance the learning environment.

Numbers (itunes link) spreadsheet app directly from Apple, is a worthy Microsoft Excel-like competitor for the iPad. It is a powerful tool for teachers who own an iPad, and can be used for assessment, especially during report card season. It is a $9.99 app that is part of Apple's iWork suite which also includes Pages and Keynote.

Wide ranging and thorough discussion around this subject. Pros and Cons. References to BYOD, 1:1 etc

Lisa Johnson is curating this very useful Pinterest of lessons using iPads

Blog posts which contributed provocation/stimulus material for the #RethinkingICT initiative

The smartphone market is expanding at an astonishing rate, but is it damaging creativity and innovation on the web?

Smartphones and tablet computers are radically transforming how we access our shared knowledge sources by keeping us constantly connected to near-infinite volumes of raw data and information. We enjoy unprecedented instant access to expertise, from informal cooking lessons on YouTube to online university courses. Every day people around the globe are absorbed in exciting new forms of learning, and yet traditional schools and university systems are still struggling to leverage the many opportunities for innovation in this area.

A fascinating video about complex numbers on a number of levels. How did he do those things?

"According to Andreas Schleicher, there is no evidence from the PISA data yet of a consistent relationship between the use of education technology and superior student performance.  That, however, certainly does not mean that no such relationship will exist in the future, just that it hasn't happened yet, at least not at the scale required to show up in the PISA surveys. "

"At the start of the 21st century only half of all school classrooms had Internet access, compared to 98% today. The proliferation and sheer breadth of accessibility that the Internet offers has in many ways redefined the process of "growing up" - this graphic explores this redefinition and provides insight into not just how we learn stuff, but also what we learn from a young age now that we have computers."

"It can help to start out by asking yourself some important questions, such as "What can the iPad do that is not possible without it? Put another way, what problems does the iPad solve?" But the learning environment you're starting with can make a big difference as well. It's one thing to come up with individual lesson plans high on the wiz-bang factor, but low in terms of sustainability. Below are 4 distinct areas of instruction and instructional design that can help frame the concept of iPad integration. Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, and Integration."

"This leaves us with the question of how to inspire students to look through Internet search results with tenacity, to approach new technologies that may require more problem-solving skills, and to address tasks that are not as instantaneously gratifying as playing video games. It is our role as teachers to help students develop the skills to problem solve independently and collaboratively use 21st-century skills while not relying on technology to do all of the thinking for them."