Skip to main content

Home/ educators/ Group items tagged Tech&Learning

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Dave Truss

Shutting Down the Machine « Ed Tech Journeys - 16 views

  • There is no tiptoeing around this thing. Those who truly desire a transformation of educational system will have to endure many of the same trials and tribulations as those who fought and fight for change in other domains. While educational change agents may not endure the physical pain that so many activists experience; it should come as no surprise that some will be intimidated, or refused tenure, or shunned by colleagues.
  • So, what will it take to transform teaching and learning? What will it take to shut down the pleasant hum of the machine that is so good at turning out 20th century students even though we’re entering the second decade of the 21st century? Leaders with Courage and Commitment!
  •  
    So, what will it take to transform teaching and learning? What will it take to shut down the pleasant hum of the machine that is so good at turning out 20th century students even though we're entering the second decade of the 21st century? Leaders with Courage and Commitment!
Vicki Davis

How to hide files in JPEG pictures - 0 views

  •  
    Financial files hidden in jpeg files - great idea.
  •  
    So, learn to hide your financial files backup after you did your taxes in that old picture of you and Grandma. OK, now this is very cool - you can hide files inside JPEG pictures. To me, it is not possible to have too many backups - of your tax records, your financial records, etc. Although this method isn't perfect, it would require maximum geekiness to sniff out and find.
Vicki Davis

NJ Tech Teacher Musings: Chatting Up Internet Safety - 0 views

  •  
    Ann is doing great things with backchannel chats with her 7th and 8th graders - this is a fascinating post and I learned a lot.
Vicki Davis

Xerox stepping into grading school papers - 1 views

  •  
    Grading handwritten answers by students as a feature of a copier? Producing data analytics as a result. IF this works, it will not only sell more copiers, but also make handwritten work more of a commodity. Maybe if a computer can quickly grade the easy stuff, teachers can spend more time assessing project based learning and other work that computers cannot do. This won't help me much - except when I teach binary numbers and memory conversion which do require me to check work (I never do multiple choice.) I could see how math teachers would be thrilled. "Xerox later this year plans to roll out Ignite, a software and web-based service that turns the numerous copiers/scanners/printers it has in schools across the United States into paper-grading machines. Unlike such staples of the educational system as Scantron, which uses special forms where students choose an answer and fill in the corresponding bubble, Ignite will grade work where the answers are written in by the students, such as the numeric answer to a math problem. Ignite takes right and wrong answers and turns them into web-accessible data for teachers with reports that say whether a student or groups of students are consistently having more trouble with certain kinds of math problems. Those reports can be used by teachers to tailor what they're teaching - such as by identifying what group of students needs more help with a certain topic - or given to students so they know where they should focus their studying. It also opens the door to specific tests or homework assignments for specific students becoming more the norm, each tailored to academic strengths and weaknesses."
Dennis OConnor

The Wrath Against Khan: Why Some Educators Are Questioning Khan Academy - 6 views

  • While "technology will replace teachers" seems like a silly argument to make, one need only look at the state of most school budgets and know that something's got to give. And lately, that something looks like teachers' jobs, particularly to those on the receiving end of pink slips. Granted, we haven't implemented a robot army of teachers to replace those expensive human salaries yet (South Korea is working on the robot teacher technology. I'll keep you posted.). But we are laying off teachers in mass numbers. Teachers know their jobs are on the line, something that's incredibly demoralizing for a profession already struggles mightily to retain qualified people.
  • it's hard not to see that wealth as having political not just economic impact. Indeed, the same week that Bill Gates spoke to the Council of Chief State School Officers about ending pay increases for graduate degrees in teaching, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued almost the very same statement. What does all of this have to do with Sal Khan? Well, nothing... and everything.
  • One of education historian Diane Ravitch's oft-uttered complaints is that we now have a bunch of billionaires like Gates dictating education policy and education reform, without ever having been classroom teachers themselves (or without having attended public school). But the skepticism about Khan Academy isn't just a matter of wealth or credentials of Khan or his backers. It's a matter of pedagogy.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • No doubt, Khan has done something incredible by creating thousands of videos, distributing them online for free, and now designing an analytics dashboard for people to monitor and guide students' movements through the Khan Academy material. And no doubt, lots of people say they've learned a lot by watching the videos. The ability pause, rewind, and replay is often cited as the difference between "getting" the subject matter through classroom instruction and "getting it" via Khan Academy's lecture-demonstrations.
  • Although there's a tech component here that makes this appear innovative, that's really a matter of form, not content, that's new. There's actually very little in the videos that distinguishes Khan from "traditional" teaching. A teacher talks. Students listen. And that's "learning." Repeat over and over again (Pause, rewind, replay in this case). And that's "drilling."
Dean Mantz

Ed Tech Learning Reflections - 0 views

  •  
    Technology and education blog from the perspective of a graduate student.
Dave Truss

Stumbling Blocks: Playing It Too Safe Will Make You Sorry | Edutopia - 0 views

  • "We need to create places where teachers can take chances," Honeycutt says. “Every district needs to anoint some teachers to play with Web 2.0 tools in a safe, hypothetical environment. I call it taming the tool. Teachers need time to consider, 'Under what conditions would we allow this tool into the classroom?'"
  • “We realized that students don't see these as impediments, but rather as challenges,” Canuel says. "Students find ingenious ways to go around them." Rather than fighting to stay a step ahead of tech-savvy pupils, the district emphasizes online safety and digital citizenship.
  • Instruction in digital citizenship needs to start early,
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • In the still-evolving Web 2.0 era, anyone with Internet access has the power to create and publish content online and interact with content others have created.
  •  
    Content filters and firewalls are great for keeping kids away from pornography, as required by the Children's Internet Protection Act, or preventing them from updating their Facebook status during class. But the same filters can stop teachers from accessing cutting-edge widgets and digital materials that have enormous potential for expanding learning.
Vicki Davis

Ed Tech Trek: I'm beaming! - 0 views

  •  
    This is the best example of how professional development works.
  •  
    I love this post. This is how Web 2.0 spreads. I want to quote from the author: "Then I showed him wikispaces and the lightbulb went off. In a voice full of what I can only describe as awe, he said, and I'm paraphrasing him, "This could change the way we teach." (Cue the heavenly music). While I was showing him each tool, we discussed how he could integrate it into his teaching practices. I know I probably overwhelmed him, but he's excited and energetic. He left with a brand new Google account and having created his classroom wiki. That and he's vowed to share what he's learned with his fellow teachers. Here's hoping this goes viral - if at least a little." I love it. It is the one on one time and the lights go off. This is how it works best. we need to have more one on one time planned in order to promote change. People want the attention -- no one likes to feel like an underappreciated cog in an overworked machine.
Dave Truss

New Attitudes, New Expectations « Ed Tech Journeys - 2 views

  •  
    For me, Sonya has the 'can do' attitude that is so necessary for educational change to take hold. She combines this 'can do' attitude with a strong sense of how important it is for students to 'own' the learning, 'own' the tools, and 'own' the rules.
Vicki Davis

EAST -- A Way Forward: Tech Inspires Self-Directed Learning | Edutopia - 10 views

  •  
    The EAST program is proven to increase math and science scores although it is about technology and social action. This program which was created in Arkansas, totally blew me away as an incredibly innovative practice that could work just about anywhere. I agree in practice with much of what they are doing and had the privilege of talking to many of the organizers and founders when I was in Arkansas -- AMAZING.
Dave Truss

Sonya Woloshen: New Attitudes, New Expectations « Ed Tech Journeys - 3 views

  •  
    For me, Sonya has the 'can do' attitude that is so necessary for educational change to take hold. She combines this 'can do' attitude with a strong sense of how important it is for students to 'own' the learning, 'own' the tools, and 'own' the rules.
Anne Bubnic

Open source, digital textbooks coming to California schools - 0 views

  •  
    Open source, digital textbooks coming to California schools The cash-strapped Golden State has decided that, starting next school year, schools will be able to use open source, digital textbooks for a number of math and science subjects. Ars talked with Brian Bridges, the Director of the California Learning Resources Network, which will be reviewing the texts, to find out more about what the program entails.
Martin Burrett

Checking phones in lectures can cost students half a grade in exams - 1 views

  •  
    "Students perform less well in end-of-term exams if they are allowed access to an electronic device, such as a phone or tablet, for non-academic purposes in lectures, a new study in Educational Psychology finds. Students who don't use such devices themselves but attend lectures where their use is permitted also do worse, suggesting that phone/tablet use damages the group learning environment."
Dean Mantz

Inside the Brain: An Interactive Tour - 23 views

  •  
    Interactive tour of human brain via Tech & Learning.
« First ‹ Previous 61 - 80 of 94 Next ›
Showing 20 items per page