August, 2019

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How Effective Is Your Edtech Tool? Five Questions to Ask

Digital Promise

We all want to help students learn. When it comes to education technology (edtech), school leaders and developers alike want to provide the best tools—ones that truly make a difference. This is especially critical for students who are not being served by current instruction. To support this goal, Digital Promise’s Marketplace initiative is dedicated to identifying “effective, engaging, tech-enabled learning environments.” But what does “effective” really mean?

EdTech 284
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Are Classrooms Becoming Too Dependent On Technology?

EdNews Daily

Many educators have asked the question, “Are today’s classrooms too dependent on technology?” The underlying assumptions involve several complex political and economic challenges. Some of these inquiries include where the money comes from for classroom technology, to using different equipment–and if we even need more technology in schools.

Classroom 200
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Assessing Prior Knowledge: What Do Your Students Already Know?

Catlin Tucker

Designing a one-size-fits-all lesson assumes that every student is starting from the same point. The reality is that students enter our classrooms with varied skillsets and prior knowledge. If teachers assess their students’ knowledge before diving into an explanation, lesson, or unit, they might be surprised by the wealth of experience and information that students bring into the classroom.

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4 Steps towards digital wellness for students

Neo LMS

The media loves sensational tech stories. Remember that one where young people were growing “horns” on their skulls because of their phones? That seems plausible, right? Except that it was based on a faulty study , which essentially renders it as fake. This is just one example of the many articles that warn us of the latest shocking discoveries about the dangers of technology.

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Behind the Bell: The Underlying Impact of Tardiness in K-12 Schools

Managing a K-12 campus with constant pressure to meet performance metrics is challenging. And tardiness can significantly limit a school from reaching these goals. Learn more about why chronic lateness matters, and key strategies to address the following impacts: Data errors caused by manual processes Low attendance and graduation rates that affect a school’s reputation Classroom disruption, which leads to poor academic performance High staff attrition and “The Teacher Exodus” Unmet LCAP goals t

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AR/VR in K–12: Schools Use Immersive Technology for Assistive Learning

EdTech Magazine

AR/VR in K–12: Schools Use Immersive Technology for Assistive Learning. eli.zimmerman_9856. Thu, 08/22/2019 - 08:25. In K–12, assistive learning can be a tricky beast to tackle. Schools have a duty to attend to all students’ needs, but it can be difficult to create a curriculum that addresses every student, especially as an increasing number of schools experience overcrowding. .

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If It's Easy Then it Probably Isn't Learning

A Principal's Reflections

What is the purpose of education? To many, this might seem like a ridiculous question with the answer being quite obvious. Or is it? For this post at least, let’s go with learning. Some might equate this with the successful ability to be able to recall or memorize facts and information. The casual observer might then anoint anyone who is able to do this effectively as smart or intelligent.

Learning 392

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Why Kindergartners Must Learn Technology

Ask a Tech Teacher

If you missed this article over at ReadiLearn , here are my thoughts about teaching technology in kindergarten: Why Kindergartners Must Learn Technology. When I started teaching technology almost twenty years ago, I taught K-8, three classes in each grade every week. I was buried under lesson plans, grades, and parent meetings. I remember suggesting to my principal that he ease my schedule by eliminating tech for kindergartners.

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Creating Digital Notebooks with Google Slides

Catlin Tucker

In my role as a blended learning coach, I work with a lot of teachers who are intrigued by the idea of digital notebooks. They recognize the value of having student integrate text and media in an online notebook. They also like the idea of housing student work in a central location that is viewable to both the student and the teacher. Teachers working with younger kids or special needs groups may not want their students posting their work online for a global audience.

Google 417
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4 Reasons why an LMS is an excellent tool for your language classes

Neo LMS

In an ever more globalized and interconnected world, language classes are a must in higher education. As more and more students are exposed to linguistic and cultural diversity throughout their careers and their lives, language classes are an excellent environment to develop multilingual communication skills and intercultural awareness. Although conventional lessons that take place in a classroom are the norm and are probably here to stay, bringing an LMS into the learning process can definitely

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Artificial Intelligence, Authentic Impact: How Educational AI is Making the Grade

EdTech Magazine

Artificial Intelligence, Authentic Impact: How Educational AI is Making the Grade. eli.zimmerman_9856. Tue, 08/27/2019 - 11:25. Adoption of artificial intelligence is on the rise: According to research firm Gartner , 37 percent of organizations have now “implemented AI in some form,” and adoption is up 270 percent over the past four years. . Schools are following suit: Technavio’s “ Artificial Intelligence Market in the US Education Sector 2018-2022 ” report predicts a nearly 48 percent growth r

Education 397
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Enhancing HyFlex Education through the PowerTeaching Framework

This whitepaper explores integrating the PowerTeaching pedagogical approach within a HyFlex (Hybrid Flexible) educational model, focusing on employing cooperative learning strategies and efficient classroom management techniques.

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Buncee and Immersive Reader: A Winning Combination for Assistive Learning

A Principal's Reflections

I am a huge fan of Buncee. The following is a guest post by Rachelle Dene Poth ( @Rdene915 ), Spanish and STEAM Teacher at Riverview High School in PA. For several years, Buncee has been one of my favorite creation tools; both for personal use and for classroom instruction. While there are many digital tools to choose from when it comes to teaching and having our students create, Buncee’s versatility and ease-of-use make it a go-to tool for all creative needs.

Learning 342
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7 Ideas for Student Genius Hour and Passion Projects

The CoolCatTeacher

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Genius hour and passion projects are transformational. Now, I strive to have personal interest projects for just about everything. Whether you’re already having genius hour at your school or you want to get started, this blog post will give you ideas for getting started with genius hour, no matter the age or grade.

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25 beginning of the year activities you can use right away!

Ditch That Textbook

The beginning of the school year is filled with teaching procedures and getting to know you activities. Most of us have our tried and true go-tos that we pull out year after year. But what if we want to shake things up a bit? What if there were tons of different and innovative activities out […].

EdTech 279
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Icebreaker Idea: Fun with the Frayer Model

Catlin Tucker

The Frayer Model is a graphic organizer that many teachers use to support vocabulary development. It can be easily adapted to facilitate fun icebreaker activities at the start of the school year. I created the template below using Google Slides then added a quirky, fun question to each section of the graphic organizer. I use Google Slides for this activity because students can answer the questions a combination of text, images, and videos.

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The Battle of the Authoring Tools: A 10-Point Comparison for Picking the Right One

Speaker: Chris Paxton McMillin, President of D3 Training Solutions

There are plenty of great authoring tools for developing eLearning, but the one you select could directly impact your course's outcomes. Depending upon your learners’ needs and your organization’s performance goals, you could be overlooking considerations that impact the both effectiveness of your courses and how long it takes to finish them. From general capabilities to specific workflow structures, some aspects are critical when it comes to learning objectives and deadlines.

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Alexa goes to uni: how smart speakers found their place in HE

Neo LMS

Higher education (HE) institutions are always looking to adapt to change. In fact, the most successful of them show the ability to prepare students for the uncertain future. In the age of artificial intelligence, HE needs to demonstrate now more than ever that it can create valuable learning experiences for students. At the same time, HE also faces unique challenges such as making life easier for a large number of students, campus organization, and better communication between departments.

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Survey: Education Among Top Industries for AR/VR Investments

EdTech Magazine

Survey: Education Among Top Industries for AR/VR Investments. phil.goldstein_6191. Thu, 08/08/2019 - 13:09. Students can read about dinosaurs, or they can go to the park around the corner and roam the land alongside the ancient beasts. They can dissect frogs or assist a world-famous surgeon in the operating room. They can write book reports or embed videos of characters in their presentations.

Survey 385
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Return on Instruction (ROI) Revisited

A Principal's Reflections

The pursuit to improve never ends and nor should it. With all of the disruption we see as a result of the 4th Industrial Revolution, changes to how we educate kids have to be considered. The result has been districts, schools, and educators making a great deal of investment in an array of ideas, strategies, and solutions with the goal of improving learning for all kids.

Outcomes 311
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4 Ways to Use Improv to Teach

The CoolCatTeacher

Mel Paradis on Episode 553 From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Mel Paradis, author of Teaching Improv: The Essential Handbook , shares four ways to use Improv to teach in the classroom. Here are some fantastic ideas to share in your classroom. Sponsor: E4Effort is a tool built upon the research behind helping students improve.

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The Roses and Thorns of an LMS Strategy: How to Flourish with the Right LMS

Speaker: Amanda Davis, Chief Experience Officer and Liam O'Malley, VP of Association Solutions

The "new normal" is now a little less new, a little more normal. Does that mean your current LMS strategy is in need of a refresh? Is your organization or association leaning into the always-evolving eLearning environment to ensure you have the tools and content to remain relevant through all this change? There are many complex decision-making processes within your learning & development strategy and LMS lifecycle management, including: Selection.

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Announcing 14 New League of Innovative Schools Members

Digital Promise

Digital Promise is excited to announce 14 new districts will join the ranks of the League of Innovative Schools for the 2019-2020 school year. The League is a powerful network of forward-thinking school district leaders. Across 114 districts and 34 states, administrators and educators are testing new programs, technologies, and strategies in an effort to support our mission to design, validate, champion, and scale effective, innovative learning opportunities to advance equity and excellence for

Education 270
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Make Your “Summer Resolutions” a Reality This School Year

Catlin Tucker

As another school year approaches, teachers are scrambling to set up classrooms, make photocopies of syllabi, attend mandatory meetings, and prepare their curriculum. Amid the back-to-school frenzy, it is easy to focus on the minutia and lose sight of our “summer resolutions.” I know a lot of teachers who spend the summer reading, reflecting, and refocusing, but it is hard to take those resolutions we make in summer and put them into practice during the chaos of first few weeks of sc

Classroom 330
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Tapping into the potential of AI smart speakers to boost parental engagement

Neo LMS

A version of this post was originally published in Teach Secondary Magazine , July 2019. Whether you love it or hate it, technology is here to stay — and continuously change our lives. Smartphones are sometimes smarter than their owners and the idea of people going to Mars moved away from sci-fi novels and into the realm of things that might happen in the not so distant future.

Classroom 286
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Today's CTE Investments Help Boost Students' Success

EdTech Magazine

Today's CTE Investments Help Boost Students' Success. Andrew.Steger_zKQu. Tue, 08/06/2019 - 12:12. In modern schools, vocational instruction — now career and technical education, or CTE — often takes students beyond the oil-stained floor beneath an automotive hoist or a shower of sparks in a welding lab. Today’s automotive repair classes likely use computers to quickly diagnose problems in vehicles that are fully loaded with cameras, monitors and other technology drivers expect.

Secondary 344
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Building the Foundation for a Modern K-12 Classroom

K-12 looks different these days. But one thing remains the same: you need a reliable learning platform that serves as the foundation for teaching and learning––for all students, in a variety of learning experiences. Discover how the Instructure Learning Platform supports today's K-12 classroom through: A central, consistent, connected hub of the digital learning environment.

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20 activities to “Bloom” with the new Flipgrid camera

Ditch That Textbook

Video is so easy to create in the classroom now. What used to take expensive equipment and advanced know-how can be created in seconds with devices we already have. Video is a rich medium for learning. Students can practice speaking skills, show their passion through their voice, and make learning visible. In summer 2019, Flipgrid […].

Classroom 276
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Creating Real Opportunities for Student Leadership

The CoolCatTeacher

Adam Welcome on episode 544 From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Students need real leadership opportunities – not just running a note to the office or other tasks that may be called “leadership” but really aren’t. Adam Welcome, co-author of Empower our Girls: Opening the Door for Girls to Achieve More Listen to Adam Welcome Talk about Student Leadership Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher Stream by clicking here.

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How to Build Strong Relationships During the Edtech Purchasing Process

Digital Promise

This blog post is the first of a two-part series discussing relationship building in edtech selection and purchasing. In this first blog post, we’ll address how educators can build and maintain good working relationships with edtech developers. Part two will discuss how edtech vendors can return the favor to develop great working relationships with educators.

EdTech 250
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Culture will tell you what it needs, but only if you ask it

Dangerously Irrelevant

We had the pleasure of having Zac Chase as a guest facilitator this past week in one of my principal licensure cohorts. Zac was amazing, which is no surprise to anyone who knows him. One of our activities with Zac was using the Question Formulation Technique to unpack teachers’ and students’ beliefs about school culture and climate. For instance, we can take an affirmative statement that represents a desired end goal such as “Nearly all of our students can be successful in a Tier 1 instructional

Resources 235
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Transform Your Classroom with Apple

Speaker: Aaron Webb, Jamf

Apple empowers educators and students by design. Whether using Macs, iPads, or Apple TV, Apple devices encourage creativity and can simplify teaching with apps to make the classroom more flexible, collaborative and personalized for each student. To unleash the full potential of the technology and create the best learning environment, you need to understand the tools and resources available, and develop an education-focused, comprehensive plan, from equipment purchase to deployment, management an

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Half of Teachers Have ‘Seriously Considered’ Quitting in Recent Years, Survey Finds

Edsurge

Some U.S. teachers have just about had enough. No, really. A new report from Phi Delta Kappan International, a professional association for educators, finds that half of teachers have “seriously considered” leaving teaching in the last few years. Their reasoning? Many say they’re working longer hours for less pay than ever before. They juggle high-stress classrooms and constant pressure from administrators and state officials to improve students’ standardized test scores.

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How Digital Art Classes Are Blazing New Trails

EdTech Magazine

How Digital Art Classes Are Blazing New Trails. Andrew.Steger_zKQu. Mon, 08/05/2019 - 12:49. Schools are finding new ways to take a digital approach to learning across K–12 subjects. That’s long been true in science, technology, engineering and math, which have been at the forefront of digital integration. . But as educational focus expands from just STEM to include arts in a STEAM approach, teachers are finding new applications for this kind of technology to encourage digital creativity in thei

Adobe 341
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20 ways to Ditch That Textbook in K-2 (with templates!)

Ditch That Textbook

Are you a primary educator? Are you interested in Ditching but don’t know where to start? Don’t worry! This post will walk you through template after template of rich learning experiences you can provide your students today! 20 activities to Ditch that Textbook in K-2 1. CVC Word Builder – Simply pull down either the […].

Education 246
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5 Ways to Bring #Breakoutedu into Your Classroom (on a budget)

The CoolCatTeacher

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Escape rooms or breakout boxes (which you really break into) have led to the Breakout EDU movement. If you want to get started with your breakout edu experience, here are some resources to get you started. 1. Get or Make a Breakout EDU Box You can make your own breakout Kit (see Joe Cossette’s example here ) but they are available at Amazon or at the Breakout EDU website.

Classroom 293
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How Formative Assessment Supports the Learning Journey

Speaker: Todd Theobald, Noel Gomez, Marcus Painter

Join educators and assessment experts as they discuss the role of formative assessment in student learning, how formative practices can guide the teaching and learning cycle, and the positive impact assessment can make on your classroom. We’ll cover topics including: Reframing the value of assessments and focusing on learning opportunities. Using assessment data to make informed decisions about instructional strategies.