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They truly instilled within me a sense of wonder and appreciation for language, math, and science. Classrooms and textbooks have always been boring to me, but shift the education into game form and I’ll absorb every last ounce (and still be hungry for more).
Via Nik Peachey
"My students create many different artifacts, but the most meaningful are those in which my students show their learning and their thinking in ways that are far beyond what a worksheet could do. When they make a video or screencast of what they have learned, I can hear and see their thinking. I can also hear confidence or hesitation, self-corrections or errors in perception. Consider these math examples produced by my students."
Via John Evans
When we started OneNote we set out to revolutionize the way people capture, annotate, and recall all the ideas, thoughts, snippets and plans in their life. As many of you have attested, OneNote is the ultimate extension for your brain, but it’s not complete if it’s not instantly available everywhere. We’ve already made a lot of progress in that direction with our mobile, tablet and online web experiences. But there was still a gap. People frequently asked us for OneNote on Mac, and for more ways to capture content.
Via Nik Peachey
"Creatorverse is an awesome new and FREE app available for your IOS or Android device. You can make your creations come to life with this app- the objects you add and create have physical properties that you can set in motion. The objects you design can bounce, roll, accelerate, and more. Users can build simple machines and games and designs can be shared so you can play with other users' creations too. Watch the video to see the app in action:"
Via John Evans
A Nerd's Guide to Reading
25 Popular Science books that will change the way you think
Via Dennis T OConnor
"As apps and digital projects become more important to how we live and play, learning how to design and create those ideas is going to become more important as well. And if the current trend continues, more accessible than ever. While many coding resources for students exist, many of these look like they were designed by lifeless robots. Coding already has a reputation as geeky, dry, and alphanumeric, as opposed to the svelte, elegant, and engaging interaction that code produces. Kind of ironic."
Via John Evans
Subtext is a free iPad app that allows classroom groups to exchange ideas in the pages of digital texts. You can also layer in enrichment materials, assignments and quizzes—opening up almost limitless opportunities to engage students and foster analysis and writing skills.
Via Nik Peachey
Truly simple video chat and screen sharing for groups. Add multiple people to the conversation. Easily add anyone's screen to the conversation. Add a shared key to a room for added privacy.
Via Nik Peachey
"I recently bought my 88-year-old Uncle Leonard his first iPad as a gift and had it mailed directly to him. It seemed like a good idea until I realized — wait a minute — he doesn't know how to set it up. So I quickly dashed out instructions, along with suggestions for 10 great apps to download, to begin his iPad experience. It's a good list, so I'd like to share it with all of you who might have a new tablet in your life this holiday season. All the below apps are free."
Via John Evans
"The difference between assessment of learning and assessment for learning is a crucial one, in many ways indicative of an important shift in education. Traditionally, tests have told teachers and parents how a student “does,” then offers a very accessible point of data (usually percentage correct and subsequent letter grade) that is reported to parents as a performance indicator."
Via Beth Dichter
"As children across the nation return to school, many are going armed with their own computational tools. From laptops to tablets and smartphones, schools and universities across the globe are testing out a more dynamic learning environment, where students bring and use their choice of technologically assistive devices in the classroom. Despite the obvious benefits, the influx of mobile technology in educational systems has also provoked backlash from parents and teachers alike, similar to the BYOD backlash witnessed within enterprise IT departments in the past few years. Educational institutions are ultimately presented two options: adopt a BYOD program, embracing the technology trend, encouraging student participation, and expanding curriculum to include BYOD-driven topics, or to impose of a BYOD policy, setting rules to govern the presence and practice of these potentially disruptive devices."
Via John Evans
"The difference between assessment of learning and assessment for learning is a crucial one, in many ways indicative of an important shift in education. Traditionally, tests have told teachers and parents how a student “does,” then offers a very accessible point of data (usually percentage correct and subsequent letter grade) that is reported to parents as a performance indicator."
Via Beth Dichter
"Social bookmarking is a new concept that has seen the light with the emergence of bookmarking services like the ones I cited below.Semantically speaking, ' social bookmarking' is made up of the the term " social " which is related to society and general interactions between people, and the verb " to bookmark " (used here as a gerund ending in ing) which has to do with recording and/or saving content for both later use and quick access. Weaving the semantic reference of the two words results in social bookmarking as we know it today : a collaborative and collective saving and sharing of web content."
Via John Evans
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A teacher in Massachusetts who has spent more than a quarter century in the classroom is drawing attention after she quit her job over her growing frustration with the school system’s emphasis on standardized testing. Because of “so many things that pulled me away from the classroom and fractured my time with the children,” kindergarten teacher Susan Sluyter quit last month. “It takes the joy out of learning for the children," she told TODAY. "It takes the joy out of teaching.”
Via Dennis T OConnor
"This picture was drawn in response to a post called 'Drawing On A Napkin: Is This How iPads Function In A Traditional Classroom?' by the esteemed Terry Heick. Mine was not drawn on a napkin, but on Notability. And, to answer that snarky Johannesburg based iPad trainer who cannot believe I can do what I do using the iPad, yes I did create it myself! This is what I think iPads are 'for' in education. Let me know what you think."
Via John Evans
"Creatorverse is an awesome new and FREE app available for your IOS or Android device. You can make your creations come to life with this app- the objects you add and create have physical properties that you can set in motion. The objects you design can bounce, roll, accelerate, and more. Users can build simple machines and games and designs can be shared so you can play with other users' creations too. Watch the video to see the app in action:"
Via John Evans
A website to support Reflection in Education K-16 The following technologies can support reflection: web logs (‘blogs’) as reflective journals, wikis as collaborative websites, digital storytelling/podcasting, Twitter and social networks.
Via Dennis T OConnor
When students are doing research, they sometimes struggle with citing their sources or moving beyond a quick search with Google.com. The Google Docs Research Pane helps to facilitate searching for and citing sources. By going to Tools –> Research, the Research Pane pops up on the right hand side! You can search Google, images, scholar, quotes, and dictionary! By dragging and dropping certain content (e.g. images), not only will the material appear, but a footnote (in MLA, Chicago, or APA format).
Via Dennis T OConnor
"ABCya.com is My FAVORITE website for elementary learning! There is not a day that goes by in our classroom where we don't pop on the site for at least five minutes. The children enjoy the games so much. The site is perfect for any elementary grade level. There is truly so much to offer. I especially love that the website is free to use and super simple to navigate."
Via John Evans
Professor Larry Cuban: With all of the above occurring, one would think that by 2024, age-graded schools and the familiar teaching and learning that occurs today in K-12 and universities would have exited the rear door. I do not think so. Getting access to powerful electronic devices for all students and teachers is surely a victory for those who believe in better technologies solving teaching and learning problems. But access does not guarantee use, especially the kind of use that vendors and ardent technophiles seek.
Via Dennis T OConnor
Rounding up the best and favorite elementary school apps is not an easy task, the market is saturated and there are so many standouts that cover the gamut of grade levels.
Via John Evans
"Apple has created individual sections of the App Store for kids, which makes finding age appropriate apps for children much easier than it was before. With a few adjustments, you can basically create a kids-only App Store, perfectly suited for children aged 11 and under, but also conveniently broken into different age groups if you’re looking to narrow down to more age appropriate choices. This is different from the general age restrictions that can be set for the App Store, and aims to provide an easy way to browse through the huge amount of kids apps available to iOS."
Via John Evans
After hosting dozens of these conversations, I realize one thing: We just don't listen enough to our students. The tradition in education has been not to ask the students what they think or want, but rather for adult educators to design the system and curriculum by themselves, using their "superior" knowledge and experience.
Via Nik Peachey
After hosting dozens of these conversations, I realize one thing: We just don't listen enough to our students. The tradition in education has been not to ask the students what they think or want, but rather for adult educators to design the system and curriculum by themselves, using their "superior" knowledge and experience.
Via Nik Peachey
Technology is changing not only how people write, but also how they learn to write. These profound changes require teachers to reconsider their pedagogical practices in the teaching of writing. This books shares instructional approaches from experienced teacher educators in the areas of writing, teacher education, and technology.
Via Nik Peachey
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I recall arguing with English teaches about their apocalyptic predictions about word processing back in the mid-80's. I agree with Dr. Cuban, access does not quarantee use. Still the future is bright and change is accellerating to the point that even the inertia of the education establishment might be overcome. We'll see! Here's to ten years of positive change in teaching and learning!
Tech in education - enhancement not destruction, just my not-so-humble opinion.
"None of these incremental changes herald the disappearance of K-12 age-graded public schools or the dominant patterns of teacher-centered instruction. What these gradual changes will translate into is an array of options for teaching and learning available to both teachers and students."
This is particularly disconcerting. Without a shift away from the way we have always done things, will education really meet the demands of th 21st Century?