Group items tagged

Interesting article. I am still trying to figure out what Prof Dede said on the first day of class about top down vs bottom up and the characteristics of education in this country. (I am not from the states and I haven't worked at schools either so still struggling to understand the overall context of this article). From Japanese standard, this thing happening in NY (I am suspecting it is happening else where too like IL?) is pretty progressive. One thing I didn't really get here .... what kind of 'school information' will be texted going forward??

Found http://www.oecd.org/edu/eag2012%20(eng)--Ebook%20(FINAL%2011%2009%202012).pdf Chart D6.1. Percentage of decisions taken at each level of government in public lower secondary education (2011) in P500 to be somewhat helpful to answer my own question. (the first one)

Google has launched an open source course building web application for the growing list of K-12 and big-name universities developing online classes. The barebones website is a lightweight way to bring course material online, track student engagement (with web traffic and surveys), and evaluate performance.

Some of you in Dock's Innovation by Design class might be interested in this... drop down towards the end of the article for commentary on students using augmented reality as a a means of narration.

discussion of how AR is being used in schools

The new format adds integrated online classroom forums for MOOCs. You can check out Stanford's site here: http://class2go.stanford.edu/

A number of experiments are using new kinds of data - such as how many times a student has clicked on an e-textbook or logged in to a class Web page - to measure and guide learning in new ways. That could improve the student experience, but it could also end up dumbing down college, argues Gardner Campbell, director of professional development and innovative initiatives at Virginia Tech.

Kind of an emerging use of old-technology, but universities and publishers are fighting over the use of electronic scans / copies of book chapters used for classes. I think ti's interesting how content hasn't necessarily changed at the university level like it has for K-12 (like interactive textbooks instead of decades-old material). Maybe due to specialization at universities? Or just that professors at university are less open to adoption of "new" material?

A Q&A article discussing reappropriating commercially available games for educational uses. 2 Important ideas: "The learning doesn't come from the game itself but becomes the context for learning." "What we're talking about is not computer games, it's play."

The article uses EdX's flaws to discredit online education in general and makes some valuable points about what is not working using statistics from MIT's online courses from last year to provide evidence of online education failing.

This is great! I'm very curious to see how this is being used, what types of conversations are being asked, and how and if this turns into longer term mentorships. Our team for Innovation be Design class is looking to create something like this for high school girls already engaged in STEM...so we are looking at the step right before this so making sure that the "interested" girls actually major in STEM fields.

full disclosure: classmate Alex Schoenfeld first shared this with the us in the TIE facebook group :). But it brings an interesting trend in the adoption and pricing of mobile apps: Article outlining what lots of us know when it comes to moblie apps and pricing - free, $1, and $2 are the price-points that sell, and allow us to try out an app with minimal regret. But with the rise of more and more high-quailty, high-profile, and high-budget educatioanl apps, will the pricing structure change? Will parents and educators be willing to spend the prices of traditional computer software ($50 or more?) for really great mobile apps? The article brings up an interesting model that seems to already be coming to life looking at how apps are being sold and updated lately: "Donahoo and Russell propose there's a better way: subscriptions and content expansion packs.  Launchpad Toys follows the latter tact. The initial price the Toontastic app for $3 (though it's currently free). Users can use that fully functioning app, or choose to add additional characters and themes with $.99 expansion packs. This way, they contend, costs are controlled; it's cheap for parents and children to evaluate an app, and the model encourages regular updates."

I could see that being useful because it provides immediate feedback and used correctly could impact reward networks.

More students now than ever are taking online classes. This article explores this and the implications.

This organization brings "learning stations" to children in rural villages. In light of our last class' discussion of Negroponte, this seemed like an interesting site to share/compare to Negroponte's approach.

artificial intelligence and the personalization of instruction

I wholeheartedly believe in the last sentence of the article - "By using technology in the service of education, we can change the world in our lifetime".

A great article -- mentions Khan in forefront again -- I think the more we speak to how to maintain high standards of design and pedagogy for blended classes, the better

The New York Times takes on Khan Academy

I am getting a bit tired of the 'either/or' scenarios painted by some. Thankfully, some teachers like Ms.Tavenner seem to realize that they can use technology in a useful way to teach effectively. "Ms. Tavenner says she believes that computers cannot replace teachers. But the computer, she recognizes, can do some things a teacher cannot. It can offer personal feedback to a whole room of students as they work. And it can give the teacher additional class time to do more creative and customized teaching."

Technology is playing an increasingly prominent role in America's schools. These days, computer games teach math skills and lectures are given at home via YouTube while class time is reserved for practicing the material, in what has become known as a flipped classroom. I WOULD JUST FALL TO SLEEP IN ONE OF THESE SCHOOLS! It is a shame that people allow their biases to hinder children. People running away from the present and future --- it is like that very bad M. Night Shyamalan movie ---> THE VILLAGE. COMPUTERS are like the imaginary demon! In truth, the demon only lives within the mind of people stuck in time.

"The notion of literacy has radically changed in the face of technologies that allow for different forms of expressions and levels of interaction, which is why teachers must adapt"

"What accounts for the high attrition rates? Maybe some of it has to do with aptitude, or encouragement, or good role models and mentors. But Philip Babcock, an economist at the University of California, Davis, suggests that a lot of it has to do with homework. Professor Babcock has written extensively about college students' evolving study habits (or lack thereof) over the last 50 years. He found that in 1961, full-time students spent about 40 hours each week in class and studying. By 2003, they were investing about 27 hours a week". But then, we did not have Facebook, Twitter and Videogames in 1961 :-)