Group items tagged

"More importantly, it happens in K-12 classrooms all the time.  I know because when teachers relate stories of engaged students using technology, their students all ask the same question: "Can I have more time to work on it?" The ingredients for cooking up engaging activities vary, but certain elements are constant. For one, the activities are challenging and expectations high. There's no "click-along-with-me-and-do-what-I-do-kids" passiveness in these classrooms. Instead, it's more like: "This is hard. And I'm not going to show you how to do it. But I expect what you create will be excellent." There's also an authentic audience. Tell students you're going to present their work at a conference, or submit it to a state publication, and then watch the heightened focus in their eyes. Yet, the audience doesn't necessarily need to be outside the school walls. Just tell them you're going to show their work to other classes and teachers. As one teacher noted: "I didn't realize how little I mattered, until I told my students that I was going to publish all their work to an audience." And great teachers figure out other ways to make kids care. They personalize the content - drawing connections to kids' lives - and help students understand why what they're doing is important."

"As my students worked with me to invent our own version of student-centred learning, we realized that the three questions every student in our classroom had to answer were: What are you going to learn? How are you going to learn it? How are you going to show me your learning? This became our mantra - our framework for learning.  This is what it means to give students "control over their education.""

"I also learned effective ways to track student progress toward learning goals that will inform the feedback I give students. While my effectiveness as a teacher has grown exponentially, I still have a lot to learn. ... These are some of my experiences, ideas and resources for using technology to provide meaningful feedback to students -- and making the process more streamlined for everyone."

ePortfolio description and resources

"With more and more schools going paperless or migrating to the "cloud" (storing files on the Internet), student work has become more easily shareable, accessible by many, and more easily organized. Many teachers have turned to digital portfolios -- or "e-portfolios" -- for their students. These digital portfolios have caused a huge shift in how teachers assign, collect and assess student classwork and projects."

"Change Your Gradebook into a Logbook Only list things in your gradebook that students and parents can Google. If the search of that assignment title doesn't bring up the beginning of the breadcrumb trail you intended, then you need to word it better. I used to list things like "Quiz 1" or "Homework from Chapter 3" in my gradebook. No one has any idea what those are, and if those scores are low, no one has any idea how the kid can improve them. This is opposite of how psychology shows that humans work. We want to be shown our mistakes so we can fix them. Student grades need to fluidly move up and down as kids show learning, retention or lack thereof. So, start listing the big ideas from your course as your assignments. "

Wes Fryer Slideshare about using iPads to inspire creative work - especially writing and reflection.

Student engagement analyzed

""The big point -- it comes up over and over again as crucial -- is the importance of quick and detailed feedback. Students overwhelmingly report that the single most important ingredient for making a course effective is getting rapid response on assignments and quizzes. ... An overwhelming majority are convinced that their best learning takes place when they have a chance to submit an early version of their work, get detailed feedback and criticism, and then hand in a final revised version. ... Students improve and are engaged when they receive feedback (and opportunities to use it) on realistic tasks requiring transfer at the heart of learning goals and real-world demands.""

"Project RED conducted the first and only national study of education technology to focus on student achievement and financial implications. In our research of nearly 1,000 schools, we discovered a replicable design for successfully introducing technology into the classroom- one that leads to improved student performance and cost benefits. "

Cathy Davidson looks at the transition from EdTech to Digital Media Learning.

More on distraction

"Clarity is an online platform that helps schools determine the impact of their technology use on student learning." See: http://www.brightbytes.net/

More on using augmented reality with students

Technology allows students to take learning into their own hands.

Ways to collaborate using iPads

A good idea!

how to use google drive iPad app to create portfolios

Wes Fryer's exploration of ways to encourage interactive writing, and creation of e-portfolios for students of all ages.

How to manage attention - seeking balance for our students (and ourselves?)