A Teacher’s View on a Geeky “EdTech” Conference — Bright Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the ASU/GSV Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, the premier conference on educational technology (or “EdTech”). Over 2,500 innovators and entrepreneurs were in attendance, discussing new trends in iPad software and online curriculum. Everyone was working, in some way, to improve teaching and learning for tomorrow. However, amidst all the talk of transformative educational technologies, one demographic was notably absent: teachers like myself. I teach third grade in Phoenix. Where were my colleagues? As a teacher — the ultimate recipient of most EdTech, though sadly underrepresented at dynamic gatherings like last week’s— here are four observations I made at the Summit: Technology is seriously changing the status quo of education. “The world is reshaping quicker than we can reshape ourselves,” said Dov Siedman, who heads a leadership consultancy. Siedman’s statement precisely describes today’s state of education. “More needs to be done, faster!”
I migliori siti italiani che parlano d'innovazione didattica Penso sia finalmente giunto il momento di mettere insieme in una lista, che spero mi aiuterete ad ampliare ed a tenere aggiornata con le vostre preziose segnalazioni, i migliori siti italiani che parlano d’innovazione didattica, di scuola 2.0, di rivoluzione digitale all’interno delle classi. L’articolo su quelli internazionali ha avuto un discreto successo, ma è ora di cominciare a guardare dentro i nostri confini, perché ci sono risorse meravigliose che aspettano solamente di essere scoperte e condivise. Nell’elenco troverete anche siti che non parlano esclusivamente di scuola, ma anche d’innovazione tout court, perché personalmente ritengo che aprirsi all’esterno, e non essere troppo autoreferenziali, sia un’ottimo modo per andare avanti nel nostro percorso professionale. Rinnovo il mio consiglio: salvate questi siti tra i preferiti o, meglio, sul vostro RSS reader, in modo da consultarli più o meno regolarmente, perché riescono a pubblicare anche diversi articoli al giorno.
BlendKit COURSE Introduction The BlendKit Course is a set of subject matter neutral, open educational resources related to blended learning developed by Dr. Kelvin Thompson and available for self-study or for group use. Course Components/Navigation Course Home | Schedule | Learning Activities | DIY Tasks | Readings | Blogging | Badges | Recordings | Stories Your BlendKit Stories Around the world many individuals and institutions have made use of the BlendKit Course to advance their blended learning practice in a variety of ways. Map of User Access to BlendKit Course Materials (2018) Mailing List Get on the mailing list to stay informed about BlendKit developments, including information on the next facilitated cohort. Make It Better If you choose to re-use or remix any of the BlendKit Course materials in your own organization, we would love to hear about it!
Education Technologies and Concepts That Every Teacher Should Know: Part I - Education Futures: Emerging Trends and Technologies in K-12 The Information Era began some decades ago. Since its inception, though, it has dramatically changed the way we educate our children. We live in a world of rapid change and the resemblance to yesterday is fleeting. Above all, communication has changed, and an enormous variety of information is now accessible to almost everyone at the click of a mouse or swipe of a finger. Old-fashioned classrooms equipped only with books and chalkboards are long gone. Throughout 2013 and during the first half of 2014, we have seen a lot of advancement in education technology designed for the classroom, and to be effective, teachers need to stay abreast of these new technologies and concepts. In this five-part series, I plan to discuss education technologies and concepts that every teacher should know about. BYOD. Customized learning experiences. Online learning. In coming posts, we will look at more technologies and concepts that every teacher should know.
Four Essential Principles of Blended Learning As schools become more savvy about blended-learning tactics– the practice of mixing online and in-person instruction — guidelines and best practices are emerging from lessons learned. Here are four crucial factors to keep in mind as schools plunge in. The single biggest piece of advice offered by most blended learning pioneers is to have a cohesive vision for how the technology will enhance specific learning goals, how it will ease the burden on teachers, and how it can make both teachers and students more creative learners. A big part of creating that vision is having strong leadership at all levels. Equally important is to have that same kind of visionary leadership from principals and teachers willing to lead by example in the classroom. “Shifting some work online to complement traditional classrooms creates much needed time and space in the classroom.” Part of the overall vision needs to include considering how to give students more agency over their learning. Related
Creating blended learning content GUIDE What is blended learning? Blended learning provides a combination of face-to-face learning and dynamic digital activities and content that facilitate anytime/anyplace learning. With so many digital technologies available on both proprietary and free-to-use platforms, developing blended learning approaches can seem like a daunting task. Finding the right approach that meets the needs of your learners is challenging at a time when practitioners are increasingly being asked to do more with less. How does this differ from hybrid learning? As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic the majority of UK universities and colleges plan to offer some onsite teaching, but have also moved to a greater use of digital delivery. The QAA has published a useful ‘taxonomy for digital learning’ that clarifies these terms and helps students understand what kind of experience they are likely to receive in the ‘new normal.’ What you can do Make your content accessible and engaging Change your presentation style
Amplifying Student Voice Through Digital Literacy In all of my work in education, there has never been a more motivating or driving force than student voice. Additionally, we live in a generation where anyone in the world can take his or her voice and amplify it globally. But after reading Student Voice: The Instrument of Change by Dr. Russ Quaglia and Michael Corso, I realized that there is more to empowering student voice than simply handing a student a blog and telling him or her to write. In fact, one of the biggest takeaways from this work is that some students might not be prepared to amplify their voice to the world. With Digital Learning Day fast approaching, I wanted to share some ideas that can help teachers nurture student voice before sending it off into the world. Know Your History In any learning experience, it's always a good idea to look back before driving forward. Before students begin writing a blog, they should understand how a blog came to be and what this funny word actually means (weblog). Digital Content Creators
Blended Learning: Making it Work in Your Classroom Kristin: I can say that the things I've been doing the last two years have really made a difference, because my kids have scored the highest in the State on the standardized tests. So what we're doing here is working, and it's helping them be successful. Julie: We define Blended Learning as the combination of digital content and activity with face-to-face content and activity. It sounds easy to Blend, but it really, it looks very different in every classroom. Kristin: What I have online could be completely different than what the biology teacher has online, or what the physical education teacher has online. Mickey: Okay, go ahead get the laptops. There are three activities. Okay, slide to the apps, and open up Educreations, because we're going to fill in this chart, because this is going to get us practicing base pairing between DNA and RNA and reading our photon chart. Student: C. Mickey: C. Kristin: And we looked at the research about Blended Learning. Class: Yay! Kristin: All right.
5 Effective Blended Learning Strategies BLOG POST Blended learning, the practice of integrating online instructional components into traditional teaching methods, first became popular in the late 1990s when web-based content became available in households and classrooms. This teaching method combines teacher-led instruction with digital technology and allows students some degree of control over the pace, time, and location of their learning. In addition to keeping technology-hungry students engaged, blended learning also helps teachers address the diverse learning needs of students who come from a variety of backgrounds including English learners and students with learning challenges. By integrating a blended learning approach, teachers can offer differentiated and individualized instruction for students based on their unique capabilities and learning levels. Following are a few examples of these models: Read More: 3 Futuristic Technologies to Support Blended Learning 1. For example: 2. 3. 4. 5. Additionally:
Kids Who Have to Share iPads Learn Better Than Kids Who Have Their Own Kindergartener Hugo H. works on an iPad in his New Jersey school, which provides each student with their own device. Zach Frailey/AP Students who share digital devices do better academically than their peers who have their own devices or no devices at all, a team from Northwestern University has found. The study, conducted by communications Ph.D. candidate Courtney Blackwell, focused on three Chicago-area elementary schools. Students who shared iPads discussed their lessons with their peers, which reinforced the concepts they were learning. Blackwell attributes the success of the sharing group to "the collaborative learning around the technology." That collaboration enhances learning may seem obvious. Probably the most infamous example of the intertwined relationship between tech and tests is the bungled Los Angeles Unified Schools District iPad initiative, which included a $1.3 billion contract with Apple and the testing and curriculum company Pearson.