Group items tagged

"In the last five years UK schools have spent more than £1 billion on digital technology. From interactive whiteboards to tablets, there is more digital technology in schools than ever before. But so far there has been little evidence of substantial success in improving educational outcomes. Something is going wrong. Nesta commissioned the London Knowledge Lab (LKL) and Learning Sciences Research Institute (LSRI), University of Nottingham, to analyse how technology has been used in the UK education systems and lessons from around the world. Uniquely, we wanted this to be set within a clear framework for better understanding the impact on learning experiences. Decoding Learning finds proof of technology supporting effective learning, emerging technologies that show promise of impact, and exciting teacher practice that displays the potential for effective digital education."

ISTE has helped transform teacher preparation programs through its standards to integrate technology into learning, teaching, and leading. The refreshed standards-Technology Coach, Technology Director, and Computer Science Educator-are pending NCATE approval. These build on the original Technology Facilitator, Technology Leader, and Secondary Computer Science Educator standards.

So Prensky was right the first time - there really is digital native generation? No, certainly not - and that's what's important about this study. It shows that while those differences exist, they are not lined up on each side of any kind of well-defined discontinuity. The change is gradual, age group to age group. The researchers regard their results as confirming those who have doubted the existence of a coherent 'net generation'. "We found no evidence for any discontinuity in technology use around the age of 30 as would be predicted by the Net Generation and Digital Natives hypothesis," says the report. What the reseachers do find interesting and worthy of further study is the correlation - which is independent of age -- between attitudes to technology and approaches to studying. In short, students who more readily use technology for their studies are more likely than others to be deeply engaged with their work. "Those students who had more positive attitudes to technology were more likely to adopt a deep approach to studying, more likely to adopt a strategic approach to studying and less likely to adopt a surface approach to studying."

"As the Council on Foreign Relations reported recently, America continues to slip down the international rankings in education, falling during the past three decades from first to tenth in the educational level of those leaving high school, and from third to 13th for college students. Education technology could reverse this trend-if it is not jinxed by politics, bureaucracy and outdated institutional structures. Countries where it is not now have the chance to race ahead. "

"Technology is changing the world rapidly, impacting the way students learn and opening new possibilities for educators. Take a look what Sir Ken Robinson had to say when asked about the role of technology in education."

Great article about changing the conversations we have about educational technology

"For readers who heretofore have been spared exposure to this little concatenation of capital letters, or who have, quite understandably, misconstrued its meaning, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, supposedly the major food groups of a comprehensive science education."

One of our main goals at Powerful Learning Practice is to turn educators into 21st Century educators. That is, teach them how to use social media and other powerful Web 2.0 tools to transform their classrooms into learning environments that are ready for today's iGeneration students. One of the most common questions we get is, "But where do we find the time to use all this new technology?" To answer that question, we developed this infographic - A Day in the Life of a Connected Educator to show that using social media in your classroom and in your life can be integrated, easy, and fun.

GAMING: Game-based learning has been on the cusp of being "the next big thing" for a while now. Perhaps 2012 will be the year. With the flourishing of mobile technologies, with the promise of data and analytics, and with a realization that we can create new and engaging ways to move through lessons, we are likely to see an explosion of educational gaming apps this year. The big question, of course - with this as with every new ed-tech development: does this actually improve learning? When is a educational game fun? What makes it engaging? What makes it actually educational?

This matrix looks like it could be a VERY useful tool for self-evaluation of technology integration into the curriculum.

Resources supporting the full integration of technology in Florida schools -- there's a great matrix showing levels of integration into the curriculum: Entry, Adoption, Adaptation, Infusion, and Transformation.

ABSTRACT This article outlines a learning intervention which the authors call Learning by Design. The goal of this intervention is classroom and curriculum transformation, and the professional learning of teachers. The experiment involves the practical application of the learning theory to everyday classroom practice. Its ideas are grounded in pedagogical principles originally articulated in the Multiliteracies project, an approach to teaching and learning that addresses literacy and learning in the context of new media and the globalizing knowledge economy. The need for a new approach to learning arises from a complex range of factors - among them, changes in society and the economy; the potential for new forms of communication made possible by emerging technologies; and rising expectations amongst learners that education will maximize their potential for personal fulfillment, civic participation and access to work. The authors first brought together the Learning by Design team of researchers and teachers in 2003 in order to reflect upon and create new and dynamic learning environments. A series of research and development activities were embarked upon in Australia and, more recently, in the United States, exploring the potentials of new pedagogical approaches, assisted by digital technologies, to transform today's learning environments and create learning for the future - learning environments which could be more relevant to a changing world, more effective in meeting community expectations and which manage educational resources more efficiently. One of the key challenges was to create learning environments which engaged the sensibilities of learners who are increasingly immersed in digital and global lifestyles - from the entertainment sources they choose to the way they work and learn. It was also about enabling teachers to explicitly track and be aware of the relationship between their pedagogical choices and their students' learning outcomes.

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning  has been helping teachers all along the way with reviews and tutorials on how to get started using iPad in education. We have reviewed more than 500 apps and we are planning to do more reviews this year.

There is more to Word Clouds then Wordle! welcome to a series of posts devoted to the use of Word Clouds. I know you will find new information… whether you are a seasoned user of word clouds, or brand new. I enjoy working with teachers and helping them use word clouds in their lessons because they are a great way to get any teacher started with integrating technology.  In the last post you discovered  12 Tips in Using Wordle. In fact you may wish to read it if you have not as of yet. This post will share 108 ways for educators to use word clouds in the classroom. 

The 2011 Horizon report identified six new technologies that will affect teaching and learning in the K-12 education community over the next five years.  

"Meeting with several teachers recently calls to mind a couple of instances that serve as a useful reminder why scaffolding not only applies to teaching content, but is also imperative to employ when introducing new technology into the classroom. I want to share experiences from two teachers that I work with and demonstrate how scaffolding would apply to each situation."

Great Article via Ali F. The lecture has its place. Asking students to close their laptops has its place. But, failing to explore new possibilities for education prompted by emerging technologies does not serve the interests of either group.

"What is Web 2.0? Learn it in 5 minutes or less   At Learn it in 5, you'll learn what is Web 2.0, and strategies for using Web 2.0 technology in the digital classroom - all in 5 minutes or less. Learn it in 5 is a powerful library of how-to videos, produced by technology teachers, for the purpose of helping teachers and students create classroom strategies for today's 21st century's digital classroom. These step-by-step how-to videos walk teachers through Web 2.0 technology, demonstrating how to use Web 2.0 applications like blogs, social networks, podcasts, interactive videos, wikis, slide sharing and much more."

"This toolkit contains the process and methods of design along with the Designer's Workbook, adapted specifically for the context of K-12 education. It offers new ways to be intentional and collaborative when designing, and empowers educators to create impactful solutions. At IDEO, we've been using similar processes, methods, and tools for years in tackling some dauntingly complex challenges. More often than not, we've experienced how Design Thinking helps to get to the next step. "

For educators using iPads in the classroom, Happi Papi offers an Education Evaluation Program. Educational institutions that are members of the program will receive free versions of all new Happi Papi apps being launched. When a new app is available, Happi Papi will email a code so that you may install and evaluate the app on your iPad for free.