An Updated Digital Differentiation Model
Ten months ago I published a Digital Differentiation model on this blog. I've been using the model to guide the work I do each day and I've been sharing it via webinars and hands-on training sessions.Of course, ten months is a long time in the world of edtech, and I've added some new tools and resources to my personal teaching toolkit, so I decided it was time to update the model and tweak it just a bit. The original article and interactive graphic can still be found on this blog. Here is the new post: Technology is a tool that can be used to help teachers facilitate learning experiences that address the diverse learning needs of all students and help them develop 21st Century Skills, an idea supported by the Common Core.
edutopia - Formative Assessment
I thought I could read my students' body language. I was wrong. As an experiment, I used Socrative when I taught binary numbers. What I learned forever changed my views on being a better teacher. Why Formative Assessment Makes Better Teachers
Gamification Research: How Diablo III uses Game Mechanics to become Winning & Addicting
New to Gamification? Check out my post What is Gamification & my Gamification Framework: Octalysis Blizzard Entertainment, a company that knows how to do gaming right (though not perfectly), has hit it big with their latest game Diablo III, launched in May of 2012. Within a week, they already sold 6.3 Million Copies, and as of September 2012, already made it to the Top Selling PC Games of all-time.
COMICS IN THE CLASSROOM: How one Wissahickon teacher uses comic books to connect with his students - Ambler Gazette
By Dutch Godshalkdgodshalk@21st-centurymedia.com@DutchGodshalk on Twitter Wissahickon High School social studies teacher Tim Smyth uses comic books in his class lessons. BOB RAINES -- DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA LOWER GWYNEDD >> A few years ago, Wissahickon High School social studies teacher Tim Smyth, a by-the-book AP instructor who had earned himself a reputation among students for being “very challenging,” did something unexpected. He started handing out comic books in his classes — lots of comic books.
Gamestar Mechanic: Gamification Made Easy
Children in the 21st century experience media in ways that are vastly different from any previous generation. Social networking, user-created content and video games provide a level of interactivity that was unthinkable a generation ago. As a result, educators are rethinking educational practices that have long been taken for granted. Many have come to the conclusion that the answers they're looking for lie in making video game design a central part of the curriculum. Proponents of game design in the classroom say that it promotes students' systems thinking, problem solving and critical analysis skills.
15 Uses for the Swivl
The Swivl is a robotic recorder of your classroom, but it can also do many other things. The Swivl is one of the most simple devices, but it is also diverse in its uses. After learning the specs of the Swivl, and just having some fun with it, I finally learned how to effectively use the Swivl, and find other uses for it by using some creativity. I’m a student in Mrs. Vicki Davis’ class and have come up with 15 uses for the Swivl in the time I’ve been testing it. 1.
How FarmVille uses Game Mechanics to become Winning & Addicting
New to Gamification? Check out my post What is Gamification & my Gamification Framework: Octalysis Gamification Research on the Game you don’t want to play but have to play Most people know about FarmVille, either because they have played it themselves, or because they’ve been harassed by their grandmas to give their farms a nice virtual crop. FarmVille is one of Zynga’s best performing games, and for some time was Facebook’s most popular game of all time.
Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement
A while back, I was asked, "What engages students?" Sure, I could respond, sharing anecdotes about what I believed to be engaging, but I thought it would be so much better to lob that question to my own eighth graders. The responses I received from all 220 of them seemed to fall under 10 categories, representing reoccuring themes that appeared again and again. So, from the mouths of babes, here are my students' answers to the question: "What engages students?" 1.
The Gamification of Education?
Yesterday, at the SXSWedu conference in Austin, Amplify, the education division of News Corporation, debuted a new tablet computer. The tablet was presented by Joel Klein, the former chancellor of New York City schools who is now the CEO of Amplify, report the New York Times and others. Amplify bills the tablet as the only one designed for K-12 education. It starts at $299 with a $99/year subscription fee.
Edtech and Elearning 2016: Top 200 Influencers and Brands
Education is the doorway to the future, and we have a shared goal to create a better future for our children by providing them with the best education now, so they will have the best opportunities to succeed when they are older. In order to do this we must provide our teachers with the most up to date resources they need to succeed and make our schools more competitive. Funding for edtech companies is booming. From 2010 to 2014 we saw more than a 503% growth in investment, and the first half of 2015 saw $2.5 billion of private investment in edtech companies.
'Evoland' is a playable history of gaming, from 8-bit to HD
When you first start playing Evoland, it doesn't look all that impressive. The pixelated visuals are lacking in color, and there isn't even any sound — it's like an original GameBoy game blown up to the size of your monitor. But as you play, you'll not only unlock new items and abilities like in most games, but also new features that bring Evoland closer to the present. Essentially you're playing through the modern history of games, going from an 8-bit black-and-white world all the way to detailed 3D — you'll even have to unlock modern conveniences like the ability to save. Evoland started its life at the Ludum Dare game jam, an online contest where developers attempt to build a game around a particular theme in just 48 hours. For Ludum Dare 24 that theme was evolution.
