"Five Ways Teachers Can Use Technology to Help Students
Posted: 05/07/2013 8:34 am
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éducation , Classroom Technology , Open Source , Public Schools , Teacher Technology , Technology In The Classroom , Technology News
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By Darrell M. West and Joshua Bleiberg
Thomas Edison once said, "Books will soon be obsolete in the public schools... our school system will be completely changed inside of ten years." Amazingly enough, however, one of our nation's most important inventors was proven quite wrong. The American education system has a remarkable resistance to innovation and the classroom experience has changed very little in the 100 years since Edison's prediction.
Advances in information technology have revolutionized how people communicate and learn in nearly every aspect of modern life except for education. The education system operates under the antiquated needs of an agrarian and industrial America. The short school day and the break in the summer were meant to allow children to work on family farms. Schools have an enduring industrial mentality placing students in arbitrary groups based on their age regardless of their competencies.
Technology has failed to transform our schools because the education governance system insulates them from the disruptions that technology creates in other organizations. The government regulates schools perhaps more than any other organization. Rules govern where students study, how they will learn, and who will teach them. Education regulation governs the relationships of actors in the system and stymies the impact of innovative technologies. Furthermore the diffuse system of governance creates numerous veto points to limit innovation.
To overcome these obstacles, we must persuade teachers that technology will empower them and help their students learn. We argue that there are five strategies for successful teacher adoption of education technology and that these principles will he
"3 Tips on Integrating Technology in the Classroom
Former Gov. Bob Wise discusses Digital Learning Day and how high school teachers can embrace technology.
By Laura McMullen Jan. 25, 2012 SHARE
Integrating technology into a high school classroom isn't a one-step process. "You can't just slap a netbook [computer] on top of a textbook and say, 'Great, now we have technology," says Bob Wise, former governor of West Virginia and president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, an advocacy organization.
Wise says that digital learning starts with teachers, whose performance is enhanced by technology-not the other way around. That's also the idea of Digital Learning Day, which the Alliance is spearheading.
The first annual Digital Learning Day falls on February 1 and will celebrate innovative K-12 instructors who successfully bring technology into the classroom by assigning online course content, using adaptive software for students with special needs, and utilizing online student assessments and other digital tools. Educators, as well as parents, students, librarians, and community leaders, can learn about classroom innovations and get new ideas by chiming in during the virtual National Town Hall meeting held on Digital Learning Day.
[Learn how a new iPad app is revolutionizing textbooks.]
"The whole intention of Digital Learning Day is to really celebrate teachers and good instructional learning practices," says Sarah Hall, director of the Alliance's Center for Secondary School Digital Learning and Policy.
And good teaching, especially the kind that involves working with evolving technologies, sometimes requires good advice. Hall and Wise shared the following ideas for effectively using technology in the classroom-not just on Digital Learning Day, but anytime.
1. Plan ahead: There has to be a comprehensive strategy in place to implement technology into the school system, Wise says, and the teachers have to be involved in the planning stages.
"When a schoo
The Daily Riff is a great site for articles about education, technology, and a variety of other interesting topics. It sort of reminds me of Huffington Post, but more niche.
Intended for elementary and secondary school students and teachers who are interested in learning about the nervous system and brain with hands on activities, experiments and information.
Intended for elementary and secondary school students and teachers who are interested in learning about the nervous system and brain with hands on activities, experiments and information.
free online resources engage elementary kids:
awesome, short video about a fifth grade class using technology tools on the web to create multimedia presentations.
I found this while reading through Tony Baldasaro's blog post about online schools. I haven't screened over the whole site yet, but it seems to worth a (second) look.
Here's a textbook assigned in at least one other Gordon class. It presents a model of teaching mathematics that is far more engaging for students than what you and I likely remember. It's free by using your Gordon library number, so this could save you about $40 as it did for me.
With Scratch, you can program your own interactive stories, games, and animations - and share your creations with others in the online community.
Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively - essential skills for life in the 21st century.
"Best Practices for Using Technology in the Classroom
Technology in the Classroom
When using technology for teaching, there are four basic principles to be kept in mind:
Alignment: Technology should be used for a purpose-not for the sake of being flashy and not as a distraction from other forms of pedagogy. Carefully consider the ways in which video or other media that you share with your class are aligned with your learning objectives. Consider the technology that is most closely in alignment with your teaching skills and the needs of your students-if you don't like to teach with Power Point, consider giving students a handout outlining the main points of your lecture and listing major concepts to assist them in note-taking.
Accessibility: Be sure that the technology that you intend to use is accessible to your students. While computers are virtually ubiquitous, and students living on campus have ready access to computing labs and other technology on campus, do consider whether or not your students have access to technology that you want them to use. Also, consider your own access to technology: make sure that you are familiar with all of the technology that you use and that media technology in your classroom is functioning correctly before the class. Plan ahead. If you are going to show a film, for example, don't wait until you walk into class to find out if the player in your classroom supports your DVD's regional format, or you will find yourself scrambling to come up with a lesson plan that does not include the film. By checking the regional format in advance, you will be able to have a matching-format DVD player delivered to the classroom by Technology Services.
Assessment: As with lectures, discussions, and labs, provide your students with guidance when dealing with media technologies. If you are showing them a film, provide them with the learning objectives that you have for them in watching the film. Consider giving them a short assignment to be fil
Varied online games across several academic areas. Different medium for students to access information. There is a game called windfall; the point of the game is to set up and maintain a wind farm to create energy and revenue. Instead of just lecturing to the students about clean energy this allows them the opportunity to try it.
Educreations is a website on which teachers can create online video lessons and tutorials using their own voice. This tool is utilized a great deal at our school to explain math concepts. It helps students (and parents) when they need help doing homework--they can simply log onto a tutorial that the teacher has created in order to clarify the day's lesson.