Group items tagged

What once seemed too complex to control is measured and manipulated.

But does the exhibition really help us understand these advances? Consider those outside displays. Some are being measured in real time (like nearby traffic or air quality); others are simulations based on historical data (like credit and debit card transactions).

But we get no practical sense of how traffic information might be useful.

new methods to measure skills like critical thinking, creativity, and persistence.

"A lot of important stuff happens when playing games," Ms. Shute said. "You're just doing. You're in the process."

"Wouldn't it be lovely to actually pass along the log files of what students did in order to look at their scientific-inquiry skills?"

First, it is consistent with other findings that the more discussions students have to pay attention to, the less satisfied they were with the learning environment.

so perhaps they do not need higher levels of interaction because the content may not need interpretation or further analysis.

that it no longer makes sense to consider the world as divided between developing and industrialised countries; and that people everywhere respond similarly to increasing levels of wealth and health, with higher material aspirations and smaller families. “There is no such thing as a ‘we’ and a ‘they’, with a gap in between,”

The best measure of political stability of a country, he believes, is whether fertility rates are falling, because that indicates that women are being educated and basic health services are being provided. “

Innovation in infographics has always been driven by the need to explain difficult things,

Researching What for Why? I enjoy research. I spend much of my time reading it. I also often find myself in sustained and vigorous conversations with colleagues from some of the leading research institutions from around the world...and it's time that I value very much. Indeed, the Foundation maintains a register of some of the leading research around 1-to-1 on our site....however, I am also sick and tried of the unrelenting practice of political leaders and educational policy makers who continually seek to justify inaction and limit the scope for innovation in the name of research. One only has to review the mountains of literature around the most effective ways to teach reading and the efficacy of small classes to conclude that too much educational research is based on loose assumptions, inappropriate methodologies, a blatant lack of rigor and ideological bias. Too often the funding base for educational research creates preconceptions about the outcomes, real or perceived, and the volume of research that swamps the education market seems to be more related to tenure or the attraction for doctoral topics, than a genuine need. It really is about time we took stock of the situation. For more than three decades we have seen an increasing stream of research that has targeted our use of technology in schools. What purpose has much of it served, other than to often significantly distract educators from continuing to develop innovative practice, and seek new ways to enga

How can we support innovative teachers taking risks, if every move is covered by a researcher measuring outcomes?

Why don't we start by working on the culture of our schools, and encourage those that are seeking to create a culture of innovation. Why don't we start thinking carefully about what it really means to support risk-taking in our schools; it seems the only risks people are interested in are about the evils of the net and beyond...how about we support our educational leaders who are creating new agendas for learning within their schools and seeking to genuinely leverage technology within an immersive environment to truly create worthwhile, authentic learning opportunities.

Observers say that Albemarle County stands out as a district that thrives on change and innovation, with a willingness to challenge the status quo to build a new type of learning environment for students.

In most school districts around the country, they say, innovation is happening at a painfully slow pace and often only in pockets such as individual classrooms, rarely if ever making the jump to a real, systemwide shift.

Those factors include strong leadership, empowered teachers and students, an infusion of technology districtwide, the creation of an organization with continuous learning at its core, and the freedom to experiment.

To take full advantage of that reality, the vast majority of classes will be inquiry-based, and they will be grounded in the social online tools like blogs and social bookmarks and others that more relevantly reflect their learning realities. And Lisa’s teachers will know what it’s like to learn for themselves in these global networks as well. It’s a journey of change coming to fruition.

“We have to do both.” We have to make sure our students “succeed” by the traditional measures, but we also have to make sure they have the skills and literacies to navigate the social, online learning spaces they are going to be inhabiting well into their adulthood. What choice do we have?

Are you in the process of enacting the changes that your students need that no one is asking for?

we find that ownership of a mobile phone and participation in a variety of internet activities are associated with larger and more diverse core discussion networks. (Discussion networks are a key measure of people’s most important social ties.)

having discussion networks that are more likely to contain people from different backgrounds.

For instance, frequent internet users, and those who maintain a blog are much more likely to confide in someone who is of another race.

Digital games for learning academic skills change depending on each student’s ability and course of action. Such games provide personalized feedback in real time—something a traditional classroom often doesn’t offer.

“The technology and the research have evolved to the point where we can actually have a sense of the impact games are having on learning,”

“One of the things we can do for these kids,” he says, “is to give them exposure to different contexts that they would never otherwise encounter.”

we revamped our tech support structure, merging the media staff to expand the scope and provide a broader range of technology integration support.

number one mission of our tech-media team is evolving into a Disney-style imagineering approach to expanding our 1:1 and use of technology tools for learning.

The superintendent must provide the team with the vision, resources, and freedom to strike out on their own and maximize their creativity. They must feel safe to take risks and have the public backing of the superintendent that enables them to support school administrators and teachers in adapting to new technology changes.