Pewinternet: In Feb '01, 4% of American... U.S. Officials Tackle National Adoption of Digital Textbooks - Digital Education. How to Use Video Game Tactics in the Classroom. Overcoming Technology Barriers: How to Innovate Without Extra Money or Support. Five easy, practical steps toward better digital integration in your classroom. Credit: Wesley Bedrosian According to a recent survey by the nation's two largest teachers' unions, most educators are enthusiastic about the role technology can play in improving learning, but many still feel unprepared to take advantage of digital tools in the classroom. What's stopping them? The persistent barriers include too few computers, a lack of technical support, and inadequate professional development. "Access, Adequacy, and Equity in Education Technology," published by the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, provides several broad recommendations for effecting change over the long term.
Edutopia.org asked several innovators in the field about what practical steps teachers and administrators could take right away -- without making any major investments or waiting for policy shifts -- to improve technology integration in our classrooms. Mid’twn students embrace technology in classrooms | ind.gmnews.com | Independent. Where's the story? 4 Points Mentioned iPads, iPods, SMART Boards are new tools of education Staff Writer Elementary school students demonstrate how they use technology in the classroom during a technology expo sponsored by the Middletown Public School District and held at Middletown High School North on May 29. The high school’s technology expo on May 29 not only highlighted the talents of the students in the Middletown Public School District, but also showcased the technology that is in use every day in the classroom. “It’s important for the parents to see all the capabilities and all the possibilities of why technology is such an important part of our district,” Assistant Superintendent Jill A.
In the main expo area, held in the media center, visitors were introduced to the technology available to students and to watch demonstrations of new media tools including the iPad, Prezi, Skype and more. “We are technology immigrants, and our children are technology natives,” Takacs said. New App Links Students and Teachers on iPads. Mobile Learning | News New App Links Students and Teachers on iPads A newly launched app will allow teachers to create and share interactive lessons for mobile devices like iPads, and help them receive feedback on the ways students are using their devices. By using the app, called Nearpod, teachers can either create lessons or choose from available multimedia already available, such as Khan Academy videos and TED Education presentations, featuring content and activities appropriate for any grade level and aligned to the Common Core.
Lessons are shared through a student version of the app. Teachers can control the information sent to student devices and can initiate and collect data from student assessments given after the lesson. Certain schools have already piloted the app in classrooms during an extensive field test conducted by the company. Currently the app runs only on iOS devices, however versions for Android and Windows are in development. About the Author. Creating Assignments That Work for Digital Learning Environments. Assignments | Viewpoint Creating Assignments That Work for Digital Learning Environments Teachers who spend time actually thinking through assignments that align with the learning outcomes of a course are the most effective at assessing the learning that has taken place.
Now, however, even the most creative teachers are being stretched like never before in regards to creating assignments that work in technology-rich learning environments. While evaluating learning in the purest sense might never really be possible given the scope of variables, new technologies are making it more achievable than ever before. When assignments are creative and applied and, most of all, relevant, so that all learning styles and aspects of course content can be integrated, students are usually more positive about their performance.
To create assignments that work the focus must be on process, not task. Many constructivist learning theorists in the past have agreed on this, yet it remains a challenge. How Teachers Make Cell Phones Work in the Classroom. A.P. Chemistry students use their cell phones to answer their teacher's question. When we talk about using cell phones in class, we’re not just talking about using cell phones in class. The idea of mobile learning touches on just about every subject that any technology addresses: social media, digital citizenship, content-knowledge versus skill-building, Internet filtering and safety laws, teaching techniques, bring-your-own-device policies, school budgets. At its core, the issues associated with mobile learning get to the very fundamentals of what happens in class everyday. In the most ideal class settings, mobile devices disappear into the background, like markers and whiteboards, pencil and paper – not because they’re not being used, but because they’re simply tools, a means to an end.
In Ramsey Musallam’s A.P. As soon as kids walk in, Musallam sends out a text blast through Remind101, asking them a challenge question that’s related to the day’s lesson. Related. School program makes use of new skills, old computers. A school's computer refurbishing program combines academic learning and hands-on lab work with community service. When a large company or famous philanthropist donates computers to children to advance their learning and give them online access to the world, it makes an impact. But when the donors are young teenagers who revamped and renovated the computers themselves, it makes an even bigger impact. Students and teachers at Forest Park High School, a public magnet school in Woodbridge, Va., say their school’s computer donation program has become an essential part of the learning experience. It has also become an essential asset for the community.
The program combines academic learning and hands-on lab work with community service. First students learn about computer systems and networks. Then they rebuild used computers and give them away to children and other schools needing computers. The students seemed to agree.