The Solar Decathlon joins 20 college and university teams in a competition to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house.
I love competative learning labs. I wish this project based co-opetition model were a standard in our schools. Innovation and team dynamics are mindsets and skills that need to be developed in our kids.
Arizona is taking an interesting view on seat-time http://news.yahoo.com/high-school-less-four-years-070000848.html Hundreds of schools in Arizona are being given the chance to opt into an initiative called Move On When Ready where students are allowed to graduate after their sophomore year based on proving academic achievement. Some are arguing that it is the same option as getting a G.E.D. after one turns 16 but I would argue that there is a negative connotation to having a G.E.D. versus a high school diploma and that this program provides a way for students to achieve a diploma without "putting in" four years of high school seat-time.
Comprehensive article outlining many trends and pressures in the educational landscape.
1. COLLEGE COSTS HAVE SKYROCKETED
2. CONVENIENCE ATTRACTS STUDENTS ONLINE
3. TEACHERS CONNECT WITH DIGITAL GENERATION
4. DIGITAL EDUCATION OFFERS BROAD REACH
5. FOR-PROFIT COLLEGES COMPETE FOR STUDENTS
6. BIG ONLINE COURSES GAIN NOTORIETY
7. COLLEGE BUDGETS KEEP SHRINKING
8. WHERE IS THIS HEADED?
Western Governors University (WGU) is a hybrid inputs/outcomes model on online education. Each student has an adviser; competency is assessed initially; students can exit classes when ready; you pay one price ($5K/half year), and may consume as many classes in that period as desired.
Interesting article with cons and pros of effects of technology on students attention. I know good teachers are competing more and more for kids attention. But I also wonder if students waning abilities to think deeply and critically have as much to do with flaws in our education system/schooling as use of tech.
Susan, I agree with your comment that waning attention have as much to do with flaws in our education system/schooling as use of tech. There's no reason to assume that kids 30 years ago were any more attentive during class or lecture. They simply had far fewer options on where to place their attention. I wonder if traditional classroom where equipped with as many distractions as one can find online how it would effect children's behavior and attention span?
1. Internet Search - students need
to know how to do a proper internet search, using search terms and modifiers.
This skill is needed for school, work and life in general.
2. Office Suite Skills - students
need to now how to create, edit, and modify documents, presentations, and
spreadsheets. Businesses still use MS Office for the most part, but iWorks,
OpenOffice / LibreOffice, and Google
Docs are all getting more popular. They all work similarly so the
learning curve when switching isn't that big.
3. Self learning of tech and where to go for
help - knowing how to search a help menu on software or hardware,
where to go to find user forums for help, and where to find the manual for
technology is a huge skill that many do not know about.
6. Netiquette - Internet/Email/Social Media
etiquette - proper way to use the internet, write professional
emails, use social media in relation to your job (not complaining about the
boss).
5. Social Media - how to properly
use social media for school and work, how to protect yourself on it, the issues
of cyberbullying, connecting with others in your profession (PLN).
4. Typing - yes, typing. I can get much more work done
since I know how to type, then people who don't.
7. Security and Safety -
antivirus, spam, phishing, too much personal information sharing, stalkers, and
more are all issues they need to know about.
8. Hardware basics and troubleshooting - knowing what
different parts of technology are called, how to make minor fixes, and how to do
basic troubleshooting for WiFi, networks, OS won't load, etc
9. Backup data - with all of the
data that students create for school and work, it is important to back it up and
have access to it at any time
10. Finding apps and software -
how to find, evaluate, and use apps for school and business. Also, how to find
quality, free alternatives to paid software, apps and services.
Gateway source for all students: high school and college composition and journalism and student of life. Bookmark this source and then bookmark the hyperlinks in this article. Do you have the 10 (11 for the bonus) tech skills down? I certainly can improve in some of these areas.
In recent years there has been a major push to equip classrooms with technology, including laptops, overhead projectors, interactive white boards and tablets. It has become big business. But there are questions about whether the investment is paying off. This series explores the push to digitize the American classroom and whether the promises are being fulfilled.
This comment from a reader on one of the articles (Inflating the Software Report Card) sums it up rather nicely:
"Data-driven, individualized instruction aimed at identifying a student's strengths and weaknesses, is not perfect, nor can it replace great teachers. But it can and does allow gifted students to zoom ahead, average students to keep up, and struggling students to catch up. If we really want math education to become part of the fabric of our kids' lives, not just raising their scores on a standardized test, but helping them become more competent and effective adults, we need to take advantage of all of the technology available".
Thought the list provided is interesting in terms of how they relate to 21st century learning:
The new school models in the article "suggests 10 elements most common to all of the models:
* Student-centered environments
* Personalized learning
* Competency-based progressions
* Adaptive & engaging components
* Deeper learning & character development
* Rapid & flexible deployments
* Dynamic models evolving with new tools
* Platform-centric scaling
* Leveraging teacher Leadership
* Best Practices & Innovation "
I'd argue that mass production schools like phoenix are leading the on-line charge in education, embracing web 2.0 and other technologies to better compete against the old guard and other younger institutions. Sure the old guard have more resources, but are they reaching more students? Will they always have more resources?
Participating teams will compete in a high-tech, city-wide scavenger hunt that will take place through downtown Boston on the afternoon of Friday, October 9th.
The hunt will be played entirely over your mobile device (yes, any phone can play). Our unique gameboard will challenge your wits, skills and stamina as you trek across the city, deciphering clues and solving challenges.
Each company fielding a team must represent themselves with a senior member of the organization.
This sounds interesting. An interactive game right here in Boston. Would you consider this augmented reality? Anyone want to get a group together and play? It says we "must represent [ourselves] with a senior member of the organization." Would you be interested, professor/TFs? (Post a reply to this link if you do and send me an email just in case - jhnsn.c@gmail.com)
At those early-adopter schools, iPads are competing with MacBooks as the students' go-to gadget for note taking and Web surfing.
the iPad's technological limitations—its inability to multitask and print, and its limited storage space—have kept students dependent on their notebooks. "That's the problem with the iPad: It's not an independent device,
really excited about the technology but have not been "pushing the capabilities" of the device.
Seton Hill University, which gave iPads to all full-time students, are working with the developers of an e-book app called Inkling to come up with new ways to integrate the iPad into classroom instruction
he faculty at Indiana University has formed a 24-member focus group to evaluate iPad-driven teaching strategies.
What about providing students iPads so that they purchase textbooks on these devices to save resources for both the students and the school? Can we assume that all students will be comfortable using an iPad, or might there be implications for students with learning differences? What about the socioeconomic gap for students who cannot afford a computer to LOAD the books onto their iPads (even if the iPads themselves were provided)?
A new line of Sony televisions introduced Tuesday allows people to use the
Internet while watching their favorite shows – minus the set-top box that
competing systems require. And they will be the first TV’s on the market to run
Google TV, Google’s new operating system for Internet-connected televisions.
The technology takes into account the inevitable desire by consumers to
multitask. People who open a Web page while watching football, for instance, can
still keep an eye on the game in a small box near the bottom of the screen.
Students long have complained about teachers with eyes on the backs of their heads.
A New York University photography professor is going one further by implanting a camera in the back of his head.
The project is being commissioned by a new museum in Qatar. But the work, which would broadcast a live stream of images from the camera to museum visitors, is sparking a debate on campus over the competing values of creative expression and student privacy.
--Cloud vendors should work together to define open solutions to address cloud challenges like security, integration and interoperability. --Cloud providers should not use their market position to create vendor lock-in. --Cloud vendors should embrace existing standards where they apply, and work together to create new standards where required. --Cloud community efforts should always be customer-driven. --Cloud standards groups need to stay coordinated to ensure there are not competing open standards in this emerging area.
This is an example of the promise of Tech in Teaching. It promotes the Psycho/Social pedogogical reality of the learner's sphere of influences into the vital center of our concept of school. To me, it transforms academic discourse into intentional design. Because school experience is so culturally endemic, this is a change in cultural self-concept.
The opportunity to harness this interest and access in the service of learning is huge.
This sentence makes me think of an explorer who has discovered a vast mineral deposit and is looking for capital investment. To persuade teachers, parents, and school boards the explorer will need to show tangible evidence that ". . . our education system [can leverage] technology to create learning experiences that mirror students' daily lives and the reality of their futures." The sixth grade teacher will need to be able to demonstrate to the parent of a student the tangible benefits of a technology infused paradigm.
The challenge for our education system is to leverage technology to create relevant learning experiences that mirror students' daily lives and the reality of their futures.
large groups, small groups, and activities tailored to individual goals, needs, and interests.
What's worth knowing and being able to do?
English language arts, mathematics, sciences, social studies, history, art, or music, 21st-century competencies and expertise such as critical thinking, complex problem solving, collaboration, and multimedia communication should be woven into all content areas.
Isn't this just another iteration of the general disparity in all kinds of resource allocation? This could just as well be articulated by debilitating student/teacher rations, or text book availability, or the availability of paper, or breakfast, or heat in the he building?
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
Advances in the learning sciences, including cognitive science, neuroscience, education, and social sciences, give us greater understanding of three connected types of human learning—factual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and motivational engagement.
I'm interested in how our current understanding of how learning works can inform best practices for teaching, curriculum design, and supports for learning afforded by technology.
I found the neuroscience discussion to be the most interesting part of the Learning section. It seems to me that the 21st century learner needs more emphasis on the "learning how" and the "learning why" and less focus on the "learning that." I think teaching information literacy (as described in the Learning
section) is one of the most important kinds of procedural knowledge (learning how) students should master so they can access facts as they need them, and worry less about memorizing them.
"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).