Seven Digital Learning Tips for Students Happy Digital Learning Day! As an educator, I have definitely evolved from tech tentative to tech tenacious in a very short period of time. Because of my recently found passion for educational technology, I want to share some of the scaffolds I've developed to help my students evolve into digital learners. In order to help them prep for an eventual transition to web-facilitated (some online usage) or hybrid schooling (up to 80 percent online), I've been pulling together a list of qualities common to many successful online learners. As many of us incorporate more and more online lessons, assignments, assessments, and digital presentations into our instruction, it's important for students to understand the skills that they will need to function at their best. The good news is that succeeding in an online environment isn't so different than succeeding in a traditional classroom. But it's good to know what you're getting into. You have to have a sense of self.
A Free Web & Mobile App for Reading Comfortably — Readability - Five Things Students Want Their Teachers to Know about Online Learning 0 Comments December 19, 2011 By: Lisa Nielsen Dec 19 Written by: 12/19/2011 3:56 AM ShareThis Kids love having the opportunity to learn online but it’s not merely the medium or the technology that students enjoy. 1. Skype or Google Video: Great for projects where students work in pairs. Students appreciate the opportunity to learn online, but want their teachers to be sure to incorporate these elements which allow them to realize the benefits of online learning while not losing what they enjoy about face-to-face interactions. Lisa Nielsen writes for and speaks to audiences across the globe about learning innovatively and is frequently covered by local and national media for her views on “Passion (not data) Driven Learning,” "Thinking Outside the Ban" to harness the power of technology for learning, and using the power of social media to provide a voice to educators and students.
12 Apps For Students You Don't Want to Miss! Today, thanks to new technology, student life is much easier as there are hundreds of apps for students that help you cope with everyday tasks. Thus, when using them, students can focus more on their studies. Here we bring you a selection of 12 of the best apps for students which will help you cut through the clutter and see which apps are the best for students and studying! This list includes Android and Apple iOS apps and most importantly almost all are free! 12 Apps for Students App #1: SelfControl Imagine you are studying, you sit at your desk and start to create a mind map to organize your ideas. To avoid distractions like this, SelfControl allows you to block certain websites for a set amount of time. App#2: Maths Alarm Clock Maths Alarm Clock is another tool for self-control. The benefits of this are twofold: 1. 2. App #3: Sleep If U Can If mathematical problems are not enough to get you out of bed, we bring you an even more extreme solution. App #4: The Oxford Dictionary App #8: TED
Hybrid Classes Prepare Students for College - Chartiers Valley, PA Patch Less class time adds more responsibility and independence for CV students Upperclassmen at Chartiers Valley High School are learning more by attending class less with a new hybrid format. The classes only meet once a week and are offered first period in the morning, allowing students to arrive about an hour later than normal. The hybrid courses follow the same curriculum as the traditional ones, only with less class time and more online work and electronic communication. “The hybrid classes are part of an initiative started two years ago to restructure the senior year to help students be more prepared for college and beyond,” said Terri Flynn, the new director of administrative services who was instrumental in developing the program. Similar to college, students are expected to come to class having already read the chapter and prepared with questions. If the teacher notices a student struggling or not completing work, they can require them to come in more than once a week.
NIACE maths app awarded ‘App of the Year’ NIACE’s app to help adults solve everyday maths problems and improve their skills – Maths Everywhere - has won ‘App of the Year’ in the Prolific North Awards, fending off competition from other national nominees including The Guardian, Aldi UK, and Imperial Leather. Maths Everywhere was developed as part of the partnership initiative Maths4Us, which included a competition encouraging learning providers and app developers to work together to develop a brand new maths app helping adults realise how relevant and important maths is to everyone, everyday and everywhere. Funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Maths Everywhere won a public vote and was designed and developed by Bolton College and Modern-English, in partnership with NIACE. Maths Everywhere has proved extremely popular with tutors and learners alike. Pat Harrison, Director of 14-19 and Foundation Learning at Bolton College, said: "It is fantastic to hear that our app has won this award!
Lexington Institute Executive Summary Education technology or “EdTech” is a rapidly growing industry in the United States as schools seek to integrate modern technology into the classroom. As technology companies pursue the opportunities in the $600 billion K-12 education sector, schools feel pressure to bring 21st century tools into the 19th century schoolhouse. Predictably, the massive national investment in classroom technology has not resulted in any appreciable gains in student achievement. Instead, by simply transferring the same instructional approaches to an expensive new medium, these well-meaning efforts severely inhibit educational potential. Meanwhile, the emergence of innovative, new blended learning instructional models are demonstrating transformative potential in various settings around the country. Significant challenges remain as data analytics tools continue to improve. Each has developed and is executing evidenced-based instructional models that drive student achievement.
Should adult learning embrace the MOOC? At the end of last year NIACE held their Learning at the Digital Frontier conference which included a debate on whether adult education should embrace the MOOC culture. I was delighted to be invited to take part and used the opportunity to advocate the development of a new model of facilitated online learning at scale which would meet the access and support needs of our adult learners. I argued that the changing digital landscape offers new opportunities for adult learning providers. Here is a summary of the points made at the conference: What is a MOOC? Jisc programme manager David Kernohan has noted that: ”The term MOOC is increasingly being used generically covering all forms of online learning at scale”. The term is usually used to describe higher education-level courses which offer a mix of video lectures, other online course materials, discussion forums, and often some form of assessment and accreditation. Could a MOOC be used to address the issue of low numeracy skills in the UK?
My Learning Essentials online resources The University of Manchester Library have launched an innovative suite of interactive e-learning resources covering a variety of information literacy and academic skills topics, which are freely available for use under a Creative Commons licence. These online resources are highly interactive, using diverse and practical learning activities throughout each resource to provide frequent opportunities for users to practise relevant skills and techniques. The suite includes: They seek to provide a fresh perspective on information literacy topics, using scenarios, student stories and analogies to make the content relevant to users, and highlight the transferable nature of information literacy and academic skills. The resources are a part of the University of Manchester Library’s new My Learning Essentials skills programme, designed to help students to develop their academic skills and employability.