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Scoop.it!
"We can make all sorts of assumptions about the way technology is changing learning, but what does the science actually say? According to Alfred Spector, Google’s vice president of research, it says a lot. For example, virtual tutors have helped average students reach the top 2% of their course; video games provide immersive environments that take the bordedom out of studying; and social networks are being used to increase interaction between students."
Beth Dichter's insight:
Technology...some argue for it and others against it, but was does the research say? This post explores current research. Sections include: * Better at maths, worse at reading - In short, "edtech applications boost mathematics achievement, especially when individualized computer-assisted instruction is involved." * More games, bigger brains - Research shows that playing video games can make an impact on the brain. One study cited stated "a robust positive association between the cortical thickness and video game duration in teens who invested the most time in games." Two areas of the brain, the prefrontal cortex (responsible for decision making and self-control) and the Frontal Eye Fields (which govern visual-motor processing) showed cortical matter increases. * Selective knowledge, shallow creativity - This section discusses how technology may make it easier for us to recall information. Are we potentially "outsourcing our knowledge to digital tools"? What do you think? Many schools are moving towards 1-to-1 digital devices to help students learn. Will this improve their outcomes at school? This post explores some of the issues that may help us choose the best ways to use digital tools, and when it may be better to approach learning using other methods. 
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"Some call today’s students “digital natives.” Others call them the “distracted generation.” Whichever term you prefer, it’s clear they’re both far more than labels: they capture the core conflict many of us involved in education — educators, parents, and even students — feel about the use of technology in the classroom."
Beth Dichter's insight:
Digital devices are in our classrooms. Some may find this a blessing and others a curse. This post states: "The question is not, “Should we allow digital devices in the classroom?”, it’s “Now that they’re here, how can we prevent digital devices from becoming a distraction?” Seven suggestions are provided. Each is thoughtful and six provides links to additional information. What are the suggestions? * Destroy the Multitasking Myth * Rethink Smartphone Bans * Write How They Read * Use Their Unique Distraction Styles to Spark Learning * Don't Post Everything Online * Create Opportunities for Curiosity Outside the Digital Space * Teach Grit Take the time to explore some of the links. For example, in the Destroying the multitasking myth you might want to view the video The Monkey Business Illusion. In fact, you may want to share this with your students.
Lúcio Botelho's curator insight,
November 23, 2014 10:15 AM
We have to evolve to use technology in our classrooms
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"If you haven’t taken a look in a while, you will be amazed by the goodies Google offers to support learning across grades and content areas. They are spread across a variety of platforms, among the major portals are..."
Beth Dichter's insight:
Joyce Valenza provides a brief look at many of the amazing goodies provided by Google. A partial list is below, but when you click through to the post all of the sites are hot-linked, so you click and arrive quickly at the site. Have fun exploring! * Build with Chrome (think LEGOs) * Google Earth Tour Builder * Zygote Body * Google Cultural Institute, that now includes Google Art Project, Historic Moments and World Wonders * Google Ideas Projects - Valenza states that these projects "seeds technology-driven initiatives by connecting users, experts and engineers around critical issues that people face in times of conflict, instability or repression."
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"For most educators, back-to-school decorations still include the proverbial apple, school bus, writing strips, and black and white composition notebooks... Looking back, we wanted to round up some of our favorite resources that highlight the pencil as a metaphor for leadership, work, and fun."
Beth Dichter's insight:
Perhaps you remember a few years back when the pencil became a viral hit on Twitter. Think back to the year 2011 and recall how tablets were becoming "the next best thing" in education. How was this technology going to be integrated into the school day? This post provides a number of resources that moves the pencil beyond that viral chat. You will find an image of the pencil with each component representing various groups of people often found in schools. The video, iPencil, takes a look at what actually goes into making a pencil, and will teach students about how one product impacts much of the world. And last, but not least,, is the Ode to #PencilChat, a short video that looks at technology integration in the classroom. Why look at the pencil? Here are the last two lines of this post. "Whether metaphor, symbol, or tool, the pencil is flexible, durable and timeless. We wish everyone a great school year."
Melissa Marshall's curator insight,
September 9, 2014 9:23 PM
The Pencil as a metaphor for educators and technology. I have yet to have a student ask, 'I won't do this because no-one's given me any PD.'
Scoop.it!
One thousand: That’s approximately the number of instructional hours required of U.S. middle school and high school students each year. Four thousand: That’s approximately the number of hours of digital media content U.S. youths aged 8 to 18 absorb each year. (If you doubt that’s possible, be sure you’re taking...
Beth Dichter's insight:
Annie Paul Murphy writes an intriguing article that looks at what may be happening to students as more and more technology becomes a part of the school day. Check out these two facts. "One thousand: That’s approximately the number of instructional hours required of U.S. middle school and high school students each year. Four thousand: That’s approximately the number of hours of digital media content U.S. youths aged 8 to 18 absorb each year." Murphy discusses work done by Patricia Greenfield, a developmental psychologist at UCLA. One of her points is that education at school is "formal education" while the time students spend out of school using digital media is "informal education." If this is accurate then would schools be better off having students "read copious amounts of information." There is a discussion on how video games build spatial skills and inductive reasoning, and may help "their ability to divide their attention among many things happening at once on the screen" and much more. This article may make your brain work as you wrap your mind around the information that is shared. If you are looking for an article to discuss with other teachers this might be one to choose.
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"What started last year as a Self Assessment Guide, has been reworked into a more general tool for assessment. This new guide is suitable for teacher, peer or self assessment and also offers a visual map of what we want students to learn (with highlighting of which concepts are most important). Although still ICT specific, this guide could be adapted to any subject by changing the attributes and keywords."
Beth Dichter's insight:
Check out this revised assessment tool from Ross Parker. In the post he shares his experience with using this for a year and the awareness that the tool was not as functional as he had hoped. In brief, he has made four shifts. 1. Taking a tool designed for self assessment and realizing that the same time used throughout the year gets old quickly. Therefore, it is redesigned to "more general, useful for teachers and peers to use." 2. A shift from strands (high level learning outcomes), to attributes (which allows the tool to be used by students over many years as their knowledge and skills grow). 3. A move away from levels or grades to a focus on ways of learning. 4. Allowing students to determine levels rather than assigning them based on personal view. Last year this tool was well received and this new version brings it up to a new level. Consider using this with students and perhaps have them keep a copy of it asking them to review it later on in the school year. You can download a pdf version of the tool from the website.
SueFoS's curator insight,
June 1, 2014 8:47 PM
Interesting way to approach self-assessment in vocational areas. Could be adapted easily
Scoop.it!
The educator's role has or should change in this age of information abundance or Education 2.0-3.0. The educator's role has always been to model and demonstrate effective learning, but somewhere ...
Beth Dichter's insight:
The world is changing at an ever growing pace and in todays world students need to learn "how to learn." How do we as teachers help our students learn "how to learn"? By modeling it in our daily work with our students we can instill the skills and help them understand that we too are in the process of learning. Jackie Gerstein provides a post that explores how our roles are changing and how the roles of our learners are chaning because of Education 2.0-3.0 (with a link to a post that describes this). What does "teaching the process of learning" mean? A few of her points are below:
There are two additional points (well worth reading) as well as three points on shifts that need to be made for this to occur. As always Gerstein brings up an issue, provides insight into the issue as well as links to additional resources, and make you sit back and think about your teaching and your classroom.
LibrarianLand's curator insight,
April 14, 2014 9:25 AM
I especially like the idea of modeling by explaining what thought processes one is going through when demonstrating or learning a task. It could be helpful to apply this when demonstrating how to do research or how to search a database.
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We've combed through thousands of resources to offer you our first official guide to flipped classrooms. It's a curated list just for you.
Beth Dichter's insight:
If you are considering flipping your classroom check out this resources from Edudemic. It provides links to many resources to make this journey easier. Resources include: * The ten best web tools for flipped classrooms * Eight crucial resources for flipped classrooms Many more resources are available in the post.
GNG's curator insight,
September 10, 2014 5:41 PM
GrowNextGen curricular units are built upon this philosophy. Great guide!
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For the first time in our history, we see personalization of learning for each individual student as a reality. With new technologies growing at a breakneck pace, we’re excited to work with our schools to see what this decade will become.
Beth Dichter's insight:
This infographic looks at both technology and education over the last four decades. Are there connections between these two themes? Take a look and see what was going on in the 1980's, 1990's, 2000's and today. This infographic provides geat depth in these two areas, noting that the: * 1980's was the Age of Processing, the beginning of the Digital Age and a time when tech was a peripheral tool. * 1990's was Hardware 2.0, the World Wide Web came into being and a time when tech begins to supplement. * 2000's was the move to connectivity, to an age of sharing and portable devices and technology supplements instruction. * Today - Perhaps this is yet to be written but a few years in we see multifunctional devices, personalization and technology as an integrated tool. What would your students think of this chart? What conversation might arise in faculty meeting or with sharing this with the PTO or other stakeholders in your community? It does provide food for thought.
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We'll reach a new state of web skills when we reinvent technology tools to better enhance our personal learning. We'll be at 3.0 when schools are everywhere and not viewed as daycare.
Beth Dichter's insight:
Web 3.0 has been shared on this Scoop.it and this table is a bit different from previous ones. What do you think? Is your school heading towards a Web 3.0 environment, where teachers will not only be those whom are licensed professionals but also those who are accesible on line from all parts of the worlld? Will schools graduate students whom view industrywill view as co-workers whom are prepared for a knowledge economy? This table presents what may be in the future. What do you think?
Julie Ekner Koch's curator insight,
January 14, 2014 3:00 PM
Our learning experience is changing, both in the education system and in the workplace. This table provides an overview of the new web 3.0 and its implications
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''I recently had the opportunity to talk with the technology journalist Clive Thompson, author of Smarter Than You Think. You can read the full conversation here. From that chat, I distilled nine lessons from Clive on how we can improve our thinking, with and without technology." I recently had the opportunity to talk with the technology journalist Clive Thompson, author of Smarter Than You Think. You can read the full conversation here. From that chat, I distilled nine lessons from Clive on how we can improve our thinking, with and without technology."
Beth Dichter's insight:
Are you interested in learning some lessons on how to become more creative? This post provides nine lessons. Below are three of the lessons. Click through to learn more about what they entail as well as learn six more. * Spend significant chunks of time offline * Engage in "Cognitive Diversity": Do Something Mentally Different * Don't Isolate Yourself: Learn Social Thinking
Progressive training's curator insight,
December 2, 2013 1:29 PM
9 Ways To Be More Creative
#business #training http://goo.gl/ivsB2S
Scoop.it!
"The use of technology in the classroom is becoming more mainstream than ever. From using it as a way to gain resources and inspiration for lessons to leveraging the relationships with others in your Professional Learning Network (PLN) to find pen pals for your students..."
Beth Dichter's insight:
This infographic provides 11 ideas that you might want to share with other teachers in your building on ways to use technology. It is a diverse list that could be used with students at many grade levels and it may provide you with some inspiration. If you go to the website you may print it out in color or black and white. Do you have any ideas you would like to share? Feel free to use the comment area to do so.
Monica S Mcfeeters's curator insight,
November 5, 2013 12:36 AM
Great info graph with ideas about how to add technology to up lift and modernize your teaching and organizational skills.
Kelly Brenner Smith's curator insight,
June 26, 2014 11:00 AM
Fun ideas for getting kids involved in classroom technology....
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Beth Dichter's insight:
Sometimes when we think of teaching with technology we get overwhelmed. This slideshow provides some great survival tips like: * Familiarize yourself with the pedagogy and skills needed * Make sure the technology supports the learning Additional resources are included as you walk through the tips.
Chris Hill's curator insight,
July 5, 2014 3:03 PM
Great tips for integrating tech into the classroom |
Scoop.it!
"It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when handing a student a calculator to work through algebraic equations caused many teachers and parents great consternation. It makes you wonder what type of pushback the creators of the abacus faced! In both cases, while the tools students were using may have been more advanced than previous generations’, the goal remained the same – to enhance classroom learning."
Beth Dichter's insight:
As technology becomes more available through schools many may be asking this question: What comes first, the curriculum or the technology? This article notes that "a great, robust and adaptable academic curriculum" needs to come first, and that technology can be used to (in my words) reinforce, enhance and extend the curriculum. There suggest that a school consider four questions before bringing in new technology. Two are below. * Regardless of the technology, what’s the most important lesson for students to learn? * What will the students do with these tools – during and after class? The post then discusses "five ways to ensure you’re putting the curriculum before the technology." The short hand version is below. You will find additional information in the post. * Learn how students are using technology at home * Don't use technology for the sake of using technology * Focus on just one tech implementation * Utilize the SAMR Model * Actively seek our professional development opportunities In any school you will have your early adopters and those who will wait as long as possible. Bringing new technology in means you will confront new issues, and at times components will fail, but the class will move forward and overcome those obstacles and technology can help us move to new levels.
Leslie Minton's curator insight,
February 12, 2015 7:54 AM
Helpful questions to be asked before buying a new shiny piece of technology.
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PBS LearningMedia wants to give you the tools you need to navigate and succeed in the digital age of learning. We’ve compiled a short list of favorite tec
Beth Dichter's insight:
PBS is a great resource and this post from Mind/Shift highlights a number of their best resources. The grade range spans Grades 2 - 12, with a focus on Grades 6 - 12. Several also include professional development opportunities available online to help with a specific resource. * How to Make an Interactive Timeline * Technology and You * How to Make a Prezi * The Art of Creative Coding * Engaging Students in Lecture and Labs * Teaching Civic Engagement Using Social Media * Educaching * Changing Students Lives Through Tech To access these materials you will need to join PBS (which is free). Remember, there are many additional resources available on the PBS website.
Scoop.it!
There are so many different challenges that technology integration in the classroom presents teachers. From budgets to hesitant parents to broken devices and totally re-vamping your lesson plans and constantly tweaking with lots of trial and error. It can be fun, hugely rewarding, and a big giant headache, too. But just because it can be …
Beth Dichter's insight:
This post links to a video by Paul Hamilton, Technology in Education. In this 4 minute video Hamilton asks 8 questions that we may want to share with our community, be it our staff, our parents, or the broader community, to begin a dialogue that is lacking in many school districts. Three of the questions he raises are below. Take the time to click through to the post to read the other 5, and if possible find the time to watch this video. * What do we ant technology to do in schools? * Are we asking the right questions about technology, learning, and schools? * Is the way we are using technology now turning our students 'off' to the people and the world around them?
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"We’ve all heard it before, “Kids don’t know grammar anymore because all they do is text,” or “Today’s generation misses everything going on around them because they’re staring at their phones.” But a recent research study by UCLA warns the damage of too much screen time may be even worse than many of us imagined."
Beth Dichter's insight:
How often have you seen students sitting at a table together, but communicating via their cell phones. The eyes are on the screens, not their friends and classmates. This post shares that technology is impactint students ability to read emotions. The next question to ask might be c"Can this change?" The answer appears to be yes. For more information click through to the post.
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"One of the most versatile and easiest-to-use platforms I’ve used over the past several years is ThingLink. I’ve used the interactive poster tagging tool to create and embed media-rich image maps, to annotate and evaluate the claims infographics make, as a portfolio and as a curation tool."
Beth Dichter's insight:
ThingLink has been around for quite some time and is a great tool for educators. This summer they are running a professiona development program which is free and self-paced (and it is not too late to join). For more information on this opportunity check out the Google+ Community. ThingLink has also just launched a new video tagging tool. For more information on that check out the post.
Rosemary Tyrrell, Ed.D.'s curator insight,
July 10, 2014 4:13 PM
Thinglink is providing some free professional development!
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"Technology is obviously an essential element in our instructional toolkit. Knowing how and when and for what purposes to use this technology is much more important than the technology itself... An important step in the process of effective integration of technology in education is having a pedagogical approach supported by a theoretical framework to ground your technology practices inside the classroom."
Beth Dichter's insight:
Technology is a tool. When to use, how to use it, why you use...these are some of the questions that each of us must consider. To help us effectively integrate technology it is helpful to have a pedogogical background or framework. This post explores three approaches: * SAMR Model - Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefintion * TPACK - Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Knowledge, Technological Knowledge and the overlapping knowledges that occur: TP Knowledge which helps us understand how to make content more accessible; TC Knowledge which helps us pair or combine appropriate technology to content; and PC Knowledge which allows us to pair pedagogy with content. * Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs paired with Technology This article presents a great overview of all three of these pedagogical approaches, and all have been covered in this Scoop.it so if you are looking for additional information do a search here.
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"Teachers are the arbitrators of knowledge and culture. Knowledge and culture are each dynamic, endlessly crashing and churning. This makes teaching significantly important and difficult work, and can leave teaching—as a craft—wide-eyed and nonplussed in response. Worse, those outside the bubble of education can understandably struggle to understand the problem. What are the teaching in those schools anyway? How is it any different from when I was in school?"
Beth Dichter's insight:
How has teaching changed? Below are the seven key ideas. . 1. A culture of emerging literacies 2. A society that is mobile 3. A world where equity is a central theme 4. A society of constant connectivity 5. A world where the technology learns, too 6. A context that demands new credibility in an era of information 7. A culture that can seem, well, distracted Many teachers may be overwhelmed with these changes and may require professional development to help them develop new skills that technology brings. But change has happened before and will continue to happen. The question is how are we adapting to the changes and how can we assist our students in becoming independent learners in this new age of learning?
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"...using technology does not necessarily make a teacher effective. I am going to repeat that, because I want this to be very clear: technology is not pedagogy. I actually learned that lesson the hard way. I spent my first two months as a teacher building a paperless, hybrid-online, flipped classroom using Moodle, and marching students through standards by having them click through links and complete digital quizzes and activities."
Beth Dichter's insight:
What comes first? Pedagogy or Technology? This post explores this issue. It also includes a great visual "Let's stop talking about teaching with technology, and let's start talking about learning." The visual is in Google Docs and you can download it at: https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1FjgMrO6d_3B6NBFLhteCjP5EGWaZymOYIRrWtJLt8PY/edit The visual shown above is also used in a free online course you may want to check out. For more information on the course: http://www.edtechchallenge.com/
Viljenka Savli (http://www2.arnes.si/~sopvsavl/)'s curator insight,
February 14, 2014 4:24 AM
Here is a nice example of evolution of a teacher approach to ICT :)
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In addition to learning our content and curriculum standards, today's students also need to be able to do the following effectively: collaborate with one another, synthesize ideas, create content, ...
Beth Dichter's insight:
Have you seen an RSA Animate video? Are you interested in learning how to make one or better yet, have your students make one? This post provides an in-depth look at how to go about have your students create an animated video that provides them with the opportunity to practice 21st century skills (quoted from post below): * collaborate with one another * synthesize ideas * create content * communicate ideas clearly * use technology This activity is designed to have your students create content, providing you with materials to use in future classes as well as helping your current students understand the materiial. The author, Jordan Collier, provides a detailed five-day plan. Day 1 would have you dividing students into groups of three, assign them a section of a chapter in a textbook, and determine the key facts that need to be taught. To read about how to assist them with this and the tasks for Day 2 - 5 click through to the post.
Eduardo Wegman's curator insight,
January 19, 2014 10:29 AM
Collaboration is the key for future society development
Scoop.it!
"When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, we all hear about the typical weight/health/finance related promises we make to ourselves – but why not use this yearly changeover to make some classroom promises instead? We can all use some new goals, and our students will be the ones benefiting from the changes with us. Win-win, I’d say!"
Beth Dichter's insight:
Five ideas that you may want to try in 2014 in your classroom...and if you are already doing one of them consider the others or how you might improve on what you are doing. * I will experiment with technology that scares me. * I will consistently try new approaches to learning. * I will teach through moments. * I will create a system that honors students. * I will think literacy backwards. For more detailed information click through to the post.
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"Good teaching is a major undertaking. Make no mistake–teaching has never been easy. But as we come upon 2014, as a profession teaching is increasingly characterized by its possibility, accountability, and persistent mutation. Which makes it a challenge to do at all, much do well. The response to these challenges is a mix of building-level professional development, self-directed teacher improvement, and a troubling amount of teacher burnout. So how can you teacher smarter rather than simply grunting harder?"
Beth Dichter's insight:
Here are seven strategies you might choose to use to make your teacher smarter. They are explained in the post (and listed in the image above). For those whom may see this without the image: * Place the big rocks first * Use technology to automate (with suggestions on what you might do) * Know yourself * Teach in the moment * Advocate for yourself * Find new measures of success * Open your classroom doors wide You may find some new ideas to try out in your classroom!
Audrey's curator insight,
December 9, 2013 4:34 PM
How about asking the student to teach you? They nearly always come up with something different, which you can add to your own notes. Students are also great at acting out scenes, particularly when they are organising other students. Give them a mark for it. Then test their knowledge a few days later with a 30 minute test. curating for www.homeschoolsource.co.uk. Also have a look at www.hotmoodle.com.
Scoop.it!
"Technology provides teachers with a great way to provide evidence with artifacts of their effective practice. Across the country this has been a priority for schools that are incorporating a teacher evaluation based on the Danielson Framework. The model contains various components organized into the following four domains."
Beth Dichter's insight:
As teachers in many communities in the U.S. are being evaluated using new tools this post provides guidance on how technology may be used in the area of Instruction and an additional three posts are available on the site that address how technology may be used in Planning and Preparation, The Classroom Environment and Professional Responsibilities. All are based on the Danielson Framework (and a link to this is available). Each of the post looks at the domain and contains a Prezi which ideas, resources, videos and more. Consider sharing these resources with faculty at your school.
Mary Cunningham's curator insight,
October 26, 2013 12:33 PM
This blog features prezi switch more details about what effective tech use looks like in practice. 
Drora Arussy's curator insight,
October 28, 2013 4:09 PM
Watch the Prezi's and see how to share. However, remember, it is a tool, technology is not the be all an end all, although it is a wonderful tool. |
Technology...some argue for it and others against it, but was does the research say? This post explores current research. Sections include:
* Better at maths, worse at reading - In short, "edtech applications boost mathematics achievement, especially when individualized computer-assisted instruction is involved."
* More games, bigger brains - Research shows that playing video games can make an impact on the brain. One study cited stated "a robust positive association between the cortical thickness and video game duration in teens who invested the most time in games." Two areas of the brain, the prefrontal cortex (responsible for decision making and self-control) and the Frontal Eye Fields (which govern visual-motor processing) showed cortical matter increases.
* Selective knowledge, shallow creativity - This section discusses how technology may make it easier for us to recall information. Are we potentially "outsourcing our knowledge to digital tools"?
What do you think? Many schools are moving towards 1-to-1 digital devices to help students learn. Will this improve their outcomes at school? This post explores some of the issues that may help us choose the best ways to use digital tools, and when it may be better to approach learning using other methods.
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