Teacher guides. Technology with Intention. Using Social Networking to Build 21st Century Skills - Finding Common Ground. "Good people know that high stakes testing has limited value and they keep operating anyway. They don't let testing get in the way of doing the good work they want to do to get kids prepared for life. " Todd Whitaker In education we have a habit of using terms so often that we push staff to a place where they do not want to use them anymore, which means they are in jeopardy of not being engaged in the process. We have seen it with terms such as "differentiated instruction" and "hands-on learning. " The tendency to dislike a term after it is used too often happens because many educators are concerned that it's merely a new twist on an old idea. The race to nowhere is paved in countless mandates and new ideas.
However, are they really new ideas? In addition, one of the best 21st century skills that we can teach students is the art of reflection. Back then, we worried more about what television programs students were watching, which distracted them from doing their homework. 5 Ways Higher Education Is Leveraging Mobile Tech. Jeff Kirchick is Director of Universities at SCVNGR, the popular mobile game about going places, doing challenges and earning points. He presents regularly about the future of mobile and location-based services in education.
You can follow Jeff on Twitter @JeffreyKirchick or e-mail him at jeff@scvngr.com. Mobile technology is on the minds of higher education professionals more than ever before. At the recent HighEdWeb conference in Austin, the itinerary included several ways schools can use social media, blogs and mobile technologies to better captivate its student body. It’s no mystery why: The latest numbers show 40% of teens plan on buying an iPhone within the next three months. There's a recent debate about whether schools should create mobile apps or mobile websites. To be fair, universities have come a long way. 1. Students today seem unable to go five minutes without checking their phones for a text, notification or email. (88% of students even text during class!) 2. 3. 4. 5. Just Beam It - Drag and Drop File Transfers. TxtDrop.com - Completely Free Text Messaging. Technology: More than a tool, a new skill.
By corykrug I’m dumping another technology phrase that I think its time has passed by. A few years ago I stopped using the phrase 21st Century blah, blah, blah. You name it we were calling everything 21st Century. I haven’t missed that phrase in my vocabulary as I believe it is just the way things should be now that we’re 11 years into it. I was thinking about this phrase again the other day as I was talking to seniors…who were born around 1994 and who started their official schooling sometime around 2001.
Why are we still using the phrase 21st Century this and that when for our students….it’s always been the 21st Century. Technology is just a tool I have heard this said way too often-to the point, I believe, that some educators are using it to hide behind when it comes to using technology in their classrooms. Is Technology a tool? Is it JUST a tool? Technology is a Skill The more I’ve been rolling this notion over in my head the past couple of days the more sense this makes to me. A few simple tools I want edu-startups to build. Outside of taking courses in XML, programming logic, and Python, I am not a programmer.
I understand the importance of being able to program. I can get by with HTML and CSS. There are few things more irritating, however, than having ideas that one is not capable of activating in a meaningful way. It’s like having a desire to communicate but lacking the ability to speak. This isn’t a huge liability – as long as you have access to people who can translate your ideas into code. Here are a few tools that I would like someone, somewhere to build (startups, research labs, competent coders): 1. 2. 3. gRSShopper. Digital textbooks open a new chapter. South Korea, one of the world's highest-rated education systems, aims to consolidate its position by digitising its entire curriculum. By 2015, it wants to be able to deliver all its curriculum materials in a digital form through computers.
The information that would once have been in paper textbooks will be delivered on screen. South Korea's Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Ju-Ho Lee, said that his department was preparing a promotion strategy for "Smart Education", focusing on customised learning and teaching. The project, launched during the summer, will involve wireless networks in all schools to allow students to learn "whenever and wherever", as well as an education information system that can run in a variety of devices including PCs, laptops, tablets and internet-connected TVs. He said the government would support an open content market containing a variety of learning materials, aimed at keeping up quality while keeping down costs. Tech-friendly teenagers Teaching gap. What do you want to know? Grand Valley started this week. And, as usual, I began my Introduction to Learning and Assessment course with a workshop called "A Piece of Me" (handout).
This involves an activity that was introduced to me over 14 years ago during an Integrated Thematic Instruction class. I wish I could remember the presenters so I could give them credit but that information has long since vanished from my memory and my files. If anyone knows the origin of this activity, please let me know so that I can give credit where it is due. Activity: Asking and Recording Questions I begin this portion by saying something like, "I reserve the right to decline answering any question. We then move on to the groups asking their questions. Reflection: Looking Back - Small Group Analysis From your list of questions, pick one that you think was an effective question. I end the workshop by getting some feedback from the participants. Now it is your turn. 6 Best Practices for Universities Embracing Social Media.
The Digital Marketing Series is supported by HubSpot, an inbound marketing software company based in Cambridge, Mass., that makes a full platform of marketing software, including social media management tools. For universities, deciding to use social media is a no-brainer. The 18- to 24-year-old college student demographic is all over the social web, and its younger counterpart (the high school crowd) is equally immersed. Alumni, recent and far-removed, use social networks to engage and stay connected with the world. Community members, parents of students, potential donors, faculty and staff and other constituents are just a tweet or "like" away.
With so many key populations embracing social media, universities almost have no choice but to integrate these platforms into their marketing and communications plans. [More from Mashable: 20+ Essential Resources for Improving Your SEO Skills] Already, many schools have leveraged social media in a big way. 1. Define your goals, as well. 2. 3. 4.
5 Awesome Things You Can Do With an IPad and an LCD Projector. The "Big Five" IT trends of the next half decade: Mobile, social, cloud, consumerization, and big data. "Much or most of these topics are in back burner mode in many companies just now seeing the glimmerings of recovery from the downturn. Much has been written lately about the speed at which technology is reshaping the business landscape today. Except that's not quite phrasing it correctly. It's more like it's leaving the traditional business world behind. There are a number of root causes: The blistering pace of external innovation, the divergent path the consumer world has taken from enterprise IT, and the throughput limitations of top-down adoption.
As a result, there's a rapidly expanding gap between what the technology world is executing on and what the enterprise can deliver. At the end of the day, businesses must be able to effectively serve the markets they cater to, and doing so means using the same channels and techniques as their trading partners and customers. A tectonic technology shift "Easy", highly mobile, and "social" are the mantras of this new generation of IT. Pho.to - online photo editor, fun effects and tools, free software. Cool Web 2.0 Tools! Mobile Learning infokit / Home.
Tablets and interactive software. Internet. Google+ For Educators. Social media.