Group items tagged

The author's top 5 keys to successful education technology... do you agree? Is it missing anything?

One of the more powerful messages I have learned in Stone's class is when you are designing an educational intervention you have to know WHEN to ask the question: what technology, if any, will improve our educational problem? Before you ask this question, the problem should be clearly identified, and the steps to assess if the problem is improving should be laid out. When you have this information, you can then tailor the technology to specifically meet the needs of your current problem. In this way, technology is sort of the means (not the ends!) towards improving education. So, in addition to the author's 5 key factors for educational technology, I would like to add: Is the technology a good fit for addressing our clearly defined educational problem?

More than 1500 The Massachusetts teachers and educators gather for 2011 Technology Conference on Wednesday, Oct. 26 and Thursday, Oct. 27, at Gillette. As the author states, "MassCUE and M.A.S.S. are recognized nationally for their efforts to help pre-K through post-secondary educators best use and enhance learning through technology."

I'll email you! :-)

Isabel Chris Stephen and I are at MassCUE 2011 right now in a q&a with keynote speaker Yong Zhao. And next in a session with Justin Reich.

The Indiana Department of Education is thoughtfully considering exactly how to incorporate technology into the classroom, resisting buying new technologies based on trends or marketing pressure or the desire to keep up; they are trying to carefully select tools that will help children learn in the classroom and improve performance rather than have technology for technology's sake. I think that this is a very important difference and one that every school that is purchasing new technologies for the classroom should consider very carefully.

Obama should put more money into educational technology. This seems like a very one sided and simplistic view of how technology can be used to improve education. Only at the end of the article do you realize that the author is selling something: he's an officer at a company that works with educational technology

A report by the Alliance for Excellent Education says that public education will face four challenges in adopting education technology: 1) preparing kids for college / career, 2) shrinking budgets, 3) teacher-centered to learner-centered, and 4) technology equality (especially for low-income students).

This article discusses one school's plan to implement effective learning technologies into the classroom. They looked at examples that were working in other parts of the world and incorporated them into their idea which includes many augmented reality applications. They discuss the divide between using technology effectively in our personal lives and not in education, so the classroom remains the same as it has been for 100 years. As we have discussed in class, the education system must use technology in the classroom to help prepare students for jobs that require skills adaptable to technologies that do not yet exist.

The author has updated his list that he made a yr ago. Comparing to that, he has kept the below 4 from last year's list. (apple ipad&other tablet devices, gamification of education (although last year he used the phrase ''gradually taking hold'' for this), student response systems and other synchronous tools, open educational resources).  He seems to be  an advocate of 'flipped classroom' but as mentioned within the article 'Educators Evaluate ''Flipped Classrooms'' posted by Prof Dede on Aug 29th, whether all of these 10 are 'transformative' is a different question. They are 'emerging' though. Some of the new entrants for this year include those everyone else here has been sharing such as free online courses with potential for credentials, BYOD move within classroom and effective data usage in learning settings. To me it seems like he is closely paying attention to the emergence of the last category. 

The technologies that can have the best impact on education are evolving quickly from year to year, and the pace seems to be quickening.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan leads a team to State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) Leadership Summit, "Leveraging Technology for Learning." Th panels focus on making shift to digital textbook, increasing broadband access, STEM, assessment, and improving teacher effectiveness - many of these we discussed in our T561 class.

Texas Intruments and Intel are developing partnership with Indian firm CORE and others on education technologies. "Advances in technology continue to transform how we live, work, play and learn. Intel is committed to making education accessible and engaging for all students," says R. Ravichandran, director of sales, Intel South Asia.

Martinez Unified School District starting the process of "marrying" technoloyg to education. An argument for technology in education, "technology is only technology to those who were born before it."

Top ten stories in education in 2011. Not surprisingly, all of these stories are, one way or other, related to educational technologies. Many facets of our education are evolving simultaneously.

A letter to President Obama about MOOCs and higher education, from his council of advisors on science and technology. This was released just a couple of days ago and highlights some of the potential benefits and current issues in the ongoing MOOC debate which we have all discussed. "Although the new technologies introduced by MOOCs are still in their infancy, and many questions and challenges remain, we believe that they hold the possibility of transforming education at all levels by providing better metrics for educational outcomes, and better alignment of incentives for innovation in pedagogy."

ISTE educational technology conference is a great way to learn about the recent developments in educational technology and a great way to meet other teachers and educators and to share and exchange ideas for professional growth. ISTE 2011 will be held in Philadelphia, PA, USA, with a theme of "Unlocking Potential." More than 18,000 education professionals and technology industry reps are expected to attend June 26-29, 2011.

Obama's American job act to spend $944 million for modernization projects for schools in Pennsylvania. Karen Cator, Director of Education Technology for the U.S. Department of Education, says US classrooms are in the midst of transition from print to digital learning environment, that is highly engaging and people focused.

Karen Cator, director of education technology with the U.S. Department of Education touts keystroke-sensitive algorithms are capable of guiding students for learning, accessible to teachers, parents and the students. "Education technology, as in the gaming world, has the ability to assess performance every step of the way, comparing students to classmates across schools, districts, states and the world, with immediate feedback and direction. No final exam necessary."

"School of One uses technology to develop a unique learning path for each student and to provide a significant portion of the instruction that is both individualized and differentiated." I liked the definitions of individualized (pacing), differentiated (learning preferences/methods), and personalized (pacing, preferences, and content/objectives).

The U.S. Departments of Education and Defense are launching "Learning Registry," an open source community that will allow educator share information and learning resources, with a price tag of $2.6m. ""Learning Registry addresses a real problem in education, by bridging the silos that prevent educators from sharing valuable information and resources," said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "The Registry also allows content developers, curriculum coordinators, principals, counselors, and everyone else who supports good teaching in the classroom to benefit from the combined knowledge of the field.""

Communication and ­collaboration between curriculum and technology leaders are necessary to impact teaching and learning. Educators are knowledgeable about ­research on effective ­instructional ­strategies while tech leaders are familiar with educational technology trends and emerging applications and mobile devices. Together, these leaders can ­develop a common language that aligns ­evidence-based instructional practices.

Is textbook dead? In the Networked Society Forum (NEST Forum), leaders and authorities discuss how Technology could be utilized to accelerate education and learning for everyone, everywhere. Hole-in-the-wall founder Dr. Mitra speaks of minimally invasive education (MIE), global rise in online education, among others.

important annual report on emerging educational technologies in higher education