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An unfortunate article about student understanding in which the author thinks the only solution is a private tutor. How can we address this through technology? What technologies can change this issue in the classroom? How can we offer students personalized help?

Have we posted/discussed this? A system such as this (see following post) would work well in one of the distributive models of teaching and learning we worked with last week. I am considering integrating into my charter school and would be curious to know people's experience and thoughts...

This article that highlights Khan Academy but also other interesting resources. I found this to have good information to add to our discussions about Khan and it's effectiveness. Other interesting aspects include a mention about open source college textbooks (Connexions) and a paper about effective teaching ("Why Not Try a Scientific Approach to Scientific Education")

The headline promises more than the article delivers. It mainly identifies the limited effectiveness that the federal government can have. There are no specific "how to's" here and no mention of technology whatsoever, perhaps because that would be too specific a focus for the scope of the article. These are prominent figures in a prominent publication having a conversation that could have taken place in 1980. How do we change that? The absence of real civic engagement on issues about education is the missing link in education reform. I wonder if we can organize public discourse on the internet more effectively to have formal impact on civic activism and administration.

An article on Khan Academy

My neighbors, who spent the last 2-3 years teaching in Japan, introduced me to this site. They have online tutorials and games based on some 15 years of research into the most efficient ways to acquire knowledge. http://smart.fm/about/learning_science talks about their research; noteworthy is the "Ebbinghaus forgetting curve," which basically shows that the best way to remember something is to remember it just before you're about to forget it. Check out their "BrainSpeed" game. Much more fun than flash cards.

Following up on the discussion we had in class today, do you think we are focusing too much of our attention on teacher training? If students have the ability to not only understand a certain technology but can also use that technology to self train, isn't the role of the teacher in that respect, highly reduced? Perhaps its easier and would prove fruitful if we redirected our strengths to developing software and devices that are intuitive and help children learn rather than spending the resources on helping a different generation of learners (i.e., the teachers) understand this technology? Also, if you think about it, we are probably only one generation away from the teachers who see the value of technology in teaching. This ideal generation is of course the current students who are using technology and find it extremely helpful. They wouldn't need any convincing or training to use technology in their classroom

"When and where does it make sense to institute a longer school day, and how should it be designed?"

I think a case can be made for structuring school hours flexibly, to accommodate those who engage in sports and other extra currlicular activities and also those who desire or need additional academic learning time.

From my own experience, using technology was an effective way to maintain student engagement during a longer day. As a sped teacher, I offered students the opportunity to do an extra online-based reading intervention if they came to school early. I had a surprising number of students come - almost every single day. Additionally, using technology during afternoon tutoring sessions helped my students stay on-task. I think if the standard school day was to be extended, putting a substantial focus on technology would be both an effective learning tool and a good way to help prevent students from burning out by the last bell.

" Rocketship schools have made it their mission to close the achievement gap that holds back students in under-served communities. They practice what they call the "Rocketship Hybrid School Model," which combines traditional classroom instruction with individualized instruction through online technology and tutors in a "Learning Lab." "

An article about the shift towards computer-based teaching systems.

Thanks for sharing Jennifer. I currently work for Pearson and worked on many of the "digital paths" that the article refers tot. I am seeing first hand the shift in priority towards customized personal learning through digital technologies. Pearson's first attempt at integrating technology into their curriculum was a good start but I think the future of Pearson products will employ a lot of the strategies we've been learning in class from intelligent tutoring systems to fully integrated learning platforms. Very exciting shift for the educational publishing industry!

I am currently working on how to integrate IBM Watson in digital media for learning. I would gladly appreciate to talk anybody in the group who has a similar interest. Nice quote "I think the real impact on learning will start to come in the classroom, if you can imagine intelligent tutors - a system that can truly be interactive with the learner as they're engaging and learning the materials,"