It's certainly a challenge to engage today's students. Learning theory shows that one of the keys to successful learning is engagement. Using Philip Schlechty's "Qualities the Affect Engagement" as a framework, Tony Vincent outlines 21 technology tools, strategies, and tips educators can use to increase authentic engagement. Learn ways to motivate learners using online tools that are freely available. Examples include polling students, illustrating concepts with crazy cartoons, creating jazzy slide shows, and touring some of the newest coolest sites the web has to offer.
This summer Harrisburg University will be conducting technology clinics for educators in New Oxford at the Lincoln IU. Feel free to forward to anyone you think may have interest in these topics.
Here are the course descriptions and details:
"Engaging with Learning Activities, Games & Simulations" (LTMS 603) Meets for 7 days from 8:00 - 3:00 on June 28, 29, 30, July 27, 28, 29 and October 30
Description: The course focuses on promoting active learning, impacting learning engagement and improving learning outcomes with technology-based activities, games, and simulations. Concepts are applied throughout the course as students design engaging learning experiences using current techniques and technologies. The goal of the course is to promote active learning solutions based on proven design and development trends and research-based practices in engagement, game and simulation concepts.
"Instructional Design and Development" (LTMS 500) Meets 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. in a blended (in person at the IU on Tuesdays and online on Thursdays) format starting June 29 - August 17
Description: The course focuses on the use of an instructional design process to improve learning outcomes, with an emphasis on instructional design and instructional strategy considerations for technology-based learning solutions. The course explores tools and techniques for analysis, design, development, delivery and evaluation and addresses strategies that can be enhanced by technology integration. The goal of the course is to establish a systematic process for designing instruction and to explore trends and technology integration opportunities throughout the process.
"Implementing Web 2.0 in the Classroom" (LTMS 600) Meets for 7 days from 8:00 - 3:00 on July 7, 8, 9, August 3, 4, 5, and October 23
Description: This intensive course is designed for classroom educators to explore, and practice with, Web 2.0 learning technologies and how the integration of these technologies int
Welcome to the CAST Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Book Builder! Use this site to create, read, and share engaging digital books that build reading skills for students. Your universally designed books will engage and support diverse learners according to their individual needs, interests, and skills.
"Socrative is a smart student response system that empowers teachers to engage their classrooms through a series of educational exercises and games via smartphones, laptops, and tablets."
InfuseLearning provides a platform by which teachers can seamlessly engage every student on any device. Make informed decisions at the point of instruction with real-time, student feedback.
"PowerMyLearning.com is an acclaimed free online platform for K-12 students, teachers, and parents, developed by the national nonprofit organization, CFY.
CFY has unique expertise in selecting the most effective digital learning activities available on the web and making them easily accessible and usable in one trusted place. This expertise comes from more than a decade of experience working directly with more than 50,000 students, along with their teachers and parents, in more than 100 schools across the country.
A free account grants access to a world of smart and engaging resources…
* 1,000+ thoroughly vetted academic games, interactive simulations, and videos
* Easy-to-find activities tagged by subject, grade, and Common Core Standards
* "Playlist" feature to sequence activities and individualize learning by student or class
* Lesson plans to incorporate activities into instruction
* Detailed reports for teachers, parents, and students
* Badges and Playpoints to reward student usage
* Flexible platform that can be used in school, after-school, at home, or anywhere in between
With PowerMyLearning, students and parents can discover fun and stimulating activities to reinforce classroom learning and spark new areas of interest. Teachers can take advantage of the free instructional resources and use this tool to help meet the specific learning needs of their students.
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"Apple® announced iBooks® 2 for iPad®, featuring iBooks textbooks, an entirely new kind of textbook that's dynamic, engaging and truly interactive. iBooks textbooks offer iPad users gorgeous, fullscreen textbooks with interactive animations, diagrams, photos, videos, unrivaled navigation and much more. iBooks textbooks can be kept up to date, don't weigh down a backpack and never have to be returned. Leading education services companies including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill and Pearson will deliver educational titles on the iBookstore℠ with most priced at $14.99 or less, and with the new iBooks Author, a free authoring tool available today, anyone with a Mac® can create stunning iBooks textbooks."
A nib is a visual bookmark on a video timeline. Nibs also recommend related videos. As the Nibisphere grows, it will find more cooler stuff that makes you smarter, faster. We have a team of experts nibbing away engaging educational content.
Looking for a way to get your students more engaged? Mixbook is proud to present Mixbook for Educators, a program that allows educators even easier access to the most powerful suite of digital storytelling tools on the web. Check out the stories below to hear how Mixbook can help YOU.
ConnectSafely is for parents, teens, educators, advocates - everyone engaged in and interested in the impact of the social Web. The user-driven, all-media, multi-platform phase of the Web has begun, we all have much to learn about it, and this is the central space - linked to from social networks across the Web - for learning about safety on Web 2.0 together. Our forum is also designed to give teens and parents a voice in the public discussion about youth online safety begun back in the '90s.
In addition, the site has tips for teens and parents, as well as other resources for safe blogging and social networking.
Connect - We invite you to join or log in to our social network for youth voices, where students and teachers work together (see Curriculum and Guides) to create student-to-student conversations and collaborations.
We hope that you will make Youth Voices your destination for many different activities in school and out.
Comment - Be heard. This is a place for you to engage in discussions. To find something that you may want to comment on:
* search with keywords in the search box
* choose one of the New/Current Discussions
* consider the Popular Discussions, the ones with the most comments
* browse by Topics
* find posts by members of your school or community groups
We encourage you to spend a lot of time writing thoughtful comments back and forth on other students' Discussions.
Create - Be known. Show who you are through your creativity and scholarship. At Youth Voices you can post updates many times each day on the microblog, What's up? And you can use your cell phone to post audio.
You can also create, revise, and polish three types of Discussions:
* audio podcasts
* text with embedded media
* discussions that begin with videos and VoiceThreads
"Discover how the iPod touch can be used to improve student learning both in the classroom and "on the go". During this hands-on workshop, participants will explore how the iPod touch can be used as a classroom tool to create engaging and differentiating cross-curricular activities."
"Are you looking for practical ways to improve student achievement? Strengthen teaching and learning processes with research-based instructional strategies combined with effective technology use. Twelve core strategies link to 30 classroom examples that show how to apply key research, using technology to engage learners and improve achievement. "
Kids love to learn. PBS KIDS Raising Readers is a national literacy campaign, and part of the Ready To Learn initiative, focused on building reading skills at home, at school, in child care, and in the community.
Funded by a Ready To Learn grant from the United States Department of Education, the Ready To Learn initiative is developing engaging PBS KIDS Raising Readers television programs, exciting games, playful Web sites, and easy-to-use learning resources for kids, parents, caregivers, and teachers-all with the goal of helping children ages 2 to 8 get ready to read.
"At Mathalicious, we believe that math isn't something to learn, but a tool to learn about other things. Our mission is to help transform the way math is taught by providing you with the best, most meaningful and most relevant math content available. Our lessons are aligned to traditional state standards but, unlike most content, emphasize conceptual understanding through engaging real-world applications."
The FREE Digital Classroom is for teachers, instructors and professors to use a single Digital Classroom for their students. Sign up today to start collaborating, building quizzes, posting assignments and engaging students.
What is Smilebox?
Smilebox is a fun and engaging service that connects you with family and friends using your photos and videos. It's free, easy to use, and the results are amazing.
What can I make with Smilebox?
With Smilebox, you can create animated scrapbooks, photobooks, slideshows, postcards, and ecards for any occasion, and email them to anyone.