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What are the key questions that educators should ask when assessing new edtech? One of the great myths the edtech industry tries to sell us is that it invented personalised learning. Edtech companies trumpet the promise of using computers to teach, with students able to move at their own pace through the material in an individualised way, seeing exactly the content that they need to learn at precisely the right level for them, at just the moment they need to see it. The problem is, it’s not new – and it’s not really personalised.
As education technology continues to develop at a breakneck speed, it forces us to reimagine the education process from top to bottom on a daily basis. Edtech may change how we perform a given task, but it often leaves basic roles intact. Teachers still teach. Learners still learn. This is no less true with libraries and librarians. I recently sat down with Rachel Cobb, a librarian at the City of Wolverhampton College Study Hubs. Besides several other roles and accomplishments, she also runs a blog, Librayray.
How can digital capability promote teaching excellence?
Date 10/10/2016
New research commissioned by QAA and carried out by Sheffield Hallam University explores ways of using technology in teaching that are best for improving the student experience, and how institutions can put the findings into practice.
Technology does not always transform learning, say the researchers.
The report finds that: technology may have the capability to transform teaching but is not always used to its full potential
technology can aid teaching, but is never a substitute for good teaching practice (such as student-centred learning)
we can and should measure student satisfaction with technology-assisted teaching, but only as one element of effective teaching
it is important to raise the digital skills of all staff, rather than just a few specialists.
Professor Chris Husbands, Vice Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University and Chair of the Teaching Excellence Framework, said: 'One of the most pressing of questions for university academics is to think in challenging and applied ways about the relationship between digital capabilities and teaching excellence. 'What makes that so interesting a question is the way it poses an enduring question: What does teaching excellence look like, in different contexts? And how does digital capability develop and what does it look like? 'It is important to explore and to understand the ways in which the opportunities afforded by changing technologies can support teaching of the highest quality.'
Literacy unlocks human potential and is the cornerstone of development. It leads to better health, better employment opportunities, and safer and more stable societies. Just by ensuring children know how to read by the time they’ve left primary school, 171 million young people could be lifted out of poverty.
Via Nik Peachey
Tomorrow’s classroom is here, and teachers and students now have – at their fingertips – access to powerful tools to enhance learning. The ways in which students are learning is rapidly changing and this has profound impact on the interactions between teachers and learners, and the structure and culture of the classroom and the school building. The team at SAS Curriculum Pathways, in partnership with Getting Smart, have produced a popular blog series featuring tools, resources and apps for teachers, tested by and with students, to help improve learning outcomes for all students.
Via Nik Peachey
This guide shows how some educators have applied tried-and-true pedagogical methods to the vast array of education tech available today.
I have been asked in the past to provide key questions that a district and teachers could use to vet a website. While all websites designated for class use should be previewed by the teacher, it is especially important that Web 2.0 sites go through a vetting process. While everyone may have a different definition of Web 2.0, I promote the idea that a Web 2.0 site is a site that allows for interactivity. In this interactivity, a user may be able communicate and interact with others, leave a digital footprint, store digital information, and be open to various outside sources. For this reason it is important to vet a Web 2.0 site before providing access to students.
The National Education Technology Plan is the flagship educational technology policy document for the United States. The 2016 Plan, Future Ready Learning: Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education, articulates a vision of equity, active use, and collaborative leadership to make everywhere, all-the-time learning possible. While acknowledging the continuing need to provide greater equity of access to technology itself, the plan goes further to call upon all involved in American education to ensure equity of access to transformational learning experiences enabled by technology. The principles and examples provided in this document align to the Activities to Support the Effective Use of Technology (Title IV A) of Every Student Succeeds Act as authorized by Congress in December 2015.
3 arguments. What should be the place of educational technology (edtech) in the wider higher ed conversation? As we look to 2016, where should the edtech profession direct its focus? I’d like to make 3 arguments for those of us working at the intersection of learning and technology to widen our perspectives, and to perhaps shift our focus to the bigger questions faced by the higher ed.
Concerns about Yik Yak and analysis of MOOCs and online teaching were among the most popular stories this past year on our Wired Campus blog. Each year we run the numbers to see which items drew the most reader attention, and this year’s list highlights a continuing interest in understanding how technology — and online education, in particular — might change college as we know it.
A Quick Visual Guide To Education Technology, from MOOC, Adaptive Learning, eLearning, Blended Learning, flipped classrooms, and gamification.
The Pencil Metaphor: How Teachers Respond To Education Technology
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I’ve been doing a bit of research on digital literacy/fluency over the past few months, wondering what initiatives and programs are currently being offered at our post-secondary institutions that build capacity for instructors to use digital tools effectively within a teaching & learning context. Many organizations have identified a lack of digital literacy among post-secondary educators as a barrier to the adoption of educational technology. In 2014, the NMC Horizon Report (PDF) noted that;
When education is combined with technology, wonderful things can happen. Students are happier, more curious, and they receive the educational support that they need. Teachers are empowered to create engaging lesson plans, assess student’s needs, and effectively create a positive learning environment. Each year, new technologies are released, or they begin to gain attention. Here are 15 of the best tech tools for teachers for 2016.
Educational technology can provide a wonderful, fantastic, fabulous (and tons of other adjectives) opportunity for teachers and students. However, all too often teachers are tossed a Chromebook or an iPad and told “use this” with little to no training.
Read about the 4 Ps that make up the future of edtech - Personalization, Programmable, Participatory, and Predictive - in this guest post by Tech Coordinator Julie Davis.
Explore various Web 2.0 tools: WHAT they are and WHY you would use them This section is intended for educators. There are numerous free web 2.0 tools out there, but not all are created equal. Based on ease of use, navigation, minimal ads, stability,...
Education technology devices have become symbolic of the efforts to transform US education through blended and personalized learning--and desktops, laptops, and tablets are quickly becoming ubiquitous in education.
Devices are crucial as a conduit for content; however, they do not directl
21 Grab-And-Go Teaching Tools For Your Classroom
Via WebTeachers
Adaptive? Personalized? What does that mean? Here's a little rundown of some of the most common buzzwords we come across when covering educational technology and innovation.
I have often heard the argument that there is no evidence that technology improves learning. This is a vacuous claim that is either a) based on ignorance of the available research literature, or b) possibly the result of a deep seated fear, mistrust or dislike of technology in general. My usual response to such a claim is that children with special educational needs are a classic example of technology improving learning.
How do you know a good edtech product when you see one? In April, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released a free guide to "help entrepreneurs ap
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