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The tech solutions available to teachers now go far beyond the overhead projector. Below, a look at some tools in this burgeoning category. BetterLesson The Boston-based startup BetterLesson, founded in 2008, is a social media platform that educators can use to organize and share their curricula. Last year, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded BetterLesson $3.5 million. “Considering the startup allows teachers to browse a serious repository of documents, presentations, lessons and even complete units and courses, all through a simple search interface, and upload their own lessons onto a dashboard, you can see why teachers will love this kind of resource,” TechCrunch wrote in 2011. “Add the ability to share curricula directly with international educators and receive feedback, and you’ve got yourself a goddamn deal, as Dave Chappelle would say.” . ClassDojo Launched in August 2011, ClassDojo helps teachers with what many call their hardest task: classroom management. The platform, which teachers can use on a smartphone, laptop or tablet, allows them to give students points (or take them away) “in real-time, with just one click,” as the website has it. Students are notified (“Well done Josh! +1 for teamwork!”), and teachers can use the platform to generate analytics and reports to share with parents and administrators. . PowerSchool PowerSchool allows teachers to track attendance, grades, and a lot more for students and parents to view at home. According to Pearson, which sells the system, PowerSchool supports 10 million students in over 65 countries. . SMART Board An “interactive whiteboard,” SMART Board allows teachers to write class notes digitally, so they can be saved for students to access later. (Feel like building your own whiteboard? At TED in 2008, Johnny Lee showed how you can hack a Wii Remote to build a simple interactive whiteboard.) . Remind101 Started by a team of two brothers, Remind101 enables students and parents to sign up to receive teachers’ text-message reminders about assignments. It’s private—these are mass texts, and teachers can’t see students’ phone numbers. It’s also one-way, meaning that teachers can send out texts, but students can’t respond to them. . Educreations Using Educreations, teachers can produce video lessons using a “recordable interactive whiteboard” via an iPad app or the website. There’s a public directory of lessons, available for browsing by students or other teachers (or you).

Best Practices: Elementary Tech Teachers DPS Elementary Technology Teachers Best Practices Getting Started Developing Highly Effective Technology Lab Instruction Teacher frequently implements the components of effective technology instruction including: A mini-lesson based on the DPS Information Literacy and Technology Proficiencies. Independent work time Teacher regularly implements the components of effective technology instruction including: A planned mini-lesson based on the DPS Information Literacy and Technology Proficiencies. Independent work time based on a classroom project developed in collaboration with the students� classroom teachers. Closure at the end of each work session that includes defining next steps and work the students need to continue and bring to the lab during their next session. Teacher routinely implements the components of effective information literacy and technology instruction including Mini-lessons that are focused and appropriate and which support student understanding of elements and strategies for specific ILT proficiencies.  The lessons are developed in collaboration with the students� classroom teachers and are project based and contain clear expectations and information necessary to improve the students� work. Independent work time which provides opportunities for students to work with clear intentions and purposes and to try the strategies and skills presented in the mini-lessons.  Students work individually or in small groups, as dictated by the needs of the project at hand. When students are working independently, the teacher confers with students or meets with small groups, focusing on the intended learning from the mini-lesson.  Closure at the end of the session includes reflective discussion on the part of the students re: what they have learned , in addition to defining next steps and the work the students need to continue and bring to the lab during their next session.

It helps us build opinions and have points of view on things in life. People debate over the subject of whether education is the only thing that gives knowledge. Some say education is the process of gaining information about the surrounding world while knowledge is something very different. They are right. But then again, information cannot be converted into knowledge without education. Education makes us capable of interpreting things, among other things. It is not just about lessons in textbooks. It is about the lessons of life. One thing I wish I can do is, to provide education for all: no child left behind and change the world for good!! Posted in Public | Kafoumba Doumbia's blog | login or register to post comments »

OverviewA survey of teachers who instruct American middle and secondary school students finds that digital technologies have become central to their teaching and professionalization. At the same time, the internet, mobile phones, and social media have brought new challenges to teachers, and they report striking differences in access to the latest digital technologies between lower and higher income students and school districts. Asked about the impact of the internet and digital tools in their role as middle and high school educators, these teachers say the following about the overall impact on their teaching and their classroom work: 92% of these teachers say the internet has a “major impact” on their ability to access content, resources, and materials for their teaching 69% say the internet has a “major impact” on their ability to share ideas with other teachers 67% say the internet has a “major impact” on their ability to interact with parents and 57% say it has had such an impact on enabling their interaction with students The survey finds that digital tools are widely used in classrooms and assignments, and a majority of these teachers are satisfied with the support and resources they receive from their school in this area. However, it also indicates that teachers of the lowest income students face more challenges in bringing these tools to their classrooms: Mobile technology has become central to the learning process, with 73% of AP and NWP teachers saying that they and/or their students use their cell phones in the classroom or to complete assignments More than four in ten teachers report the use of e-readers (45%) and tablet computers (43%) in their classrooms or to complete assignments 62% say their school does a “good job” supporting teachers’ efforts to bring digital tools into the learning process, and 68% say their school provides formal training in this area Teachers of low income students, however, are much less likely than teachers of the highest income students to use tablet computers (37% v. 56%) or e-readers (41% v. 55%) in their classrooms and assignments Similarly, just over half (52%) of teachers of upper and upper-middle income students say their students use cell phones to look up information in class, compared with 35% of teachers of the lowest income students Just 15% of AP and NWP teachers whose students are from upper income households say their school is “behind the curve” in effectively using digital tools in the learning process; 39% who teach students from low income households describe their school as “behind the curve” 70% of teachers of the highest income students say their school does a “good job” providing the resources needed to bring digital tools into the classroom; the same is true of 50% of teachers working in low income areas Teachers of the lowest income students are more than twice as likely as teachers of the highest income students (56% v. 21%) to say that students’ lack of access to digital technologies is a “major challenge” to incorporating more digital tools into their teaching

Successful technology integration is achieved when the use of technology is: Routine and transparent Accessible and readily available for the task at hand Supporting the curricular goals, and helping the students to effectively reach their goals

Chris Williams, the Mathematics Co-ordinator at Spring Cottage Primary School in Hull, England, has a list of ten interactive iPad apps that helped him teach math to his students. Red Bull Kart Fighter, a track racing game, helped teach students how to calculate averages. 

Educators at Ringwood North Primary School in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, created the Epic Citadel Challenge to foster storytelling, creative collaboration and individual initiative.

For example, AutoRap will take your words and turn them into a rap and Strip Designer enables the creation of comic strips.

. A teacher's job is just as much about knowing the students and understanding how to improve an individual's learning abilities as it is about teaching students about algebra, photosynthesis, or how to use a semicolon correctly. Studies have found that a technology rich classroom is the perfect place for that level of specialized learning. When teachers and students are trained to use the technology, there are many tools to help track growth, give extra resources, and accelerate learning based on each student's unique pace.

s may have the benefits in education struggling classes need to get back on track. Personalizing Education

easy for students to fall into a passive rol

The use of technology in the classroom setting has become increasingly accepted by educators at all levels. It has been proven through various studies that students perform at a higher level academically if they are actively engaged and stimulated in the classroom.

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What does this child need to learn next? She may benefit from seeing different ways to organize factual information. The teacher may use a mini-lesson to show different examples of nonfiction animal books. This student, and the rest of her classmates, could look at nonfiction text features and try to use them in their own writing (table of contents, captions with pictures, bold words, close-ups, diagrams with labels, an index). This may motivate her to find more information about white sharks and think about how to organize it in a multi-page format. This would be an effective tie to a nonfiction reading unit.

Technology has opened many educational doors to children, particularly to children with disabilities

Technology is providing more powerful and efficient tools to teachers who work with children with disabilities. These tools enable teachers to offer new and more effective means of learning while individualizing instruction to the broad range of student learning needs.

Text can be read electronically by a digitized voice synthesizer for a person who is blind. For persons with hearing impairments, amplification devices can filter extraneous noise from the background or pick up an FM signal from a microphone on a teacher's lapel.