EdTech Magazine
DECEMBER 10, 2015
By D. Frank Smith The latest update to the U.S. National Education Technology Plan has big plans for addressing unequal access to the powerful technology changing schools today.
A Principal's Reflections
DECEMBER 27, 2015
The Rigor and Relevance Framework —an action oriented continuum that describes putting knowledge to use—gives teachers and administrators a way to develop both instruction and assessment while providing students with a way a way to project learning goals. This framework, based on traditional elements of education yet encouraging movement from acquisition of knowledge to application of knowledge, charts learning along the two dimensions of higher standards and student achievement.
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The Journal
DECEMBER 1, 2015
No question: the future of educational technology is blended learning enacted in 1-to-1 classrooms. But: exactly what instruction will be delivered? In the past, textbooks played the role of providing teachers with the day-by-day, week-by-week, instructional roadmap. Current lesson marketplaces, however, provide supplemental lessons; there is a huge need for basal/comprehensive, blended learning curricula.
Ed Tech from the Ground Up
DECEMBER 22, 2015
Apply this advice from the front lines of a successful crowdfunding campaign to your new venture. Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org.
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The CoolCatTeacher
DECEMBER 31, 2015
from the Cool Cat Teacher Blog From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter. What a 2015! The Cool Cat Teacher blog celebrated 10 years , has 167 new posts this year with a total of 3,672 blog posts in the archive. Millions have visited this blog and wow, so many things have happened in ten years. This year was another year of learning and leveling up for all of us.
Teacher Reboot Camp
DECEMBER 29, 2015
“The hashtag, that ubiquitous pound sign followed by a keyword, are part of the language of social media.”- Neil Patel, Forbes. In August 2007, Chris Messina introduced hashtags (#) into Twitter’s code , which meant anyone using the platform could add a # sign front of any word(s) without spaces to make it a clickable link leading to a page where all tweets with this hashtag were aggregated.
EdTech Update brings together the best content for education technology professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Ask a Tech Teacher
DECEMBER 23, 2015
Many thanks to Larry Jacobs for inviting me to join him on EduTalk Radio, to talk about my recent Editor’s Choice Award from SmartBrief Education. We had a great time talking about technology in education, blending games like Minecraft into curriculum, and using technology to meet students where they want to learn. Here’s the link: [link]. …and here’s a summary of some of the conversation: Minecraft.
Neo LMS
DECEMBER 22, 2015
Everything we do today is somehow digital-based. We often get news updates from the internet. We share photos on social media. Trending topics are discussed on Twitter. Bloggers opine and fill the minds of avid readers. Photographers publish their photographs online so the world can see their works of art. Teachers are even more keen on digitizing their learning content.
FuelEd
DECEMBER 2, 2015
Contributor: Kelli Hicks Wednesday, December 2, 2015 - 11:45am I have heard a lot of people say that they don’t think that online schooling works well because there isn’t in-person interaction between a student and their teacher. This belief is a myth. When both teachers and students participate the same way they would in a face-to-face setting, amazing things happen in the online world—just as often as they do in the traditional classroom.
EdTech Magazine
DECEMBER 23, 2015
By Meg Conlan An IT expert explains the features and bugs of three popular classroom technologies: TVs, interactive whiteboards and projectors.
Speaker: Andrew Cohen, Founder & CEO of Brainscape
The instructor’s PPT slides are brilliant. You’ve splurged on the expensive interactive courseware. Student engagement is stellar. So… why are half of your students still forgetting everything they learned in just a matter of weeks? It's likely a matter of cognitive science! With so much material to "teach" these days, we often forget to incorporate key proven principles into our curricula — namely active recall, metacognition, spaced repetition, and interleaving practice.
Voyager Sopris Learning
DECEMBER 2, 2015
A Better Approach for Struggling Readers. At the end of October, I attended and spoke at the annual International Dyslexia Association (IDA) meeting in Dallas. IDA remains the best interdisciplinary conference for all professionals, advocates, and families concerned with reading, writing, and language difficulties. IDA meetings, over the past three decades, are where I’ve obtained my real education.
User Generated Education
DECEMBER 26, 2015
One of my guilty pleasures is watching MasterChef Junior, a cooking competition for 8 to 12 year olds, and as an educator, I have been analyzing it as a model for good teaching. My observations include: The challenges are hands-on and naturally engaging for these kids. They are based on the kids’ passion for and interest in cooking. The kids don’t need to be graded about their performances.
Ascend Math
DECEMBER 8, 2015
I was recently asked for a good source on differentiated instruction. I replied that ASCD put out some exceptional publications. You can find them at: [link]. My concern with differentiated instruction has always been classroom management, simply put one teacher trying to see to the needs of numerous students. When each of these students has individual skill gaps, that challenge becomes even more daunting.
Securly
DECEMBER 31, 2015
By Tom Walker. A Brief History of Web Filtering in K-12 Schools. When I started my career in K-12 IT, web content filtering in schools was a fairly new creature. The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was still in its early stages and various approaches to content filtering began to emerge. A handful of companies began to surface as the leaders in providing appliance web filtering solutions to deploy in the K-12 infrastructure.
This white paper examines and proposes revisions to the "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education" introduced by Arthur Chickering and Zelda Gamson in 1987 for today's technology-driven world.
FuelEd
DECEMBER 22, 2015
Contributor: Andrea Ritchie Monday, December 28, 2015 - 1:15pm One of the advantages of working with so many clients around the nation is the ability to see the diverse ways in which different schools create blended and online learning programs. The true beauty of a virtual education is that one size doesn't have to fit all. At the same time, however, there are many tried and true principles that work universally in setting up students for success in their online courses.
EdTech Magazine
DECEMBER 28, 2015
By D. Frank Smith The technologies of tomorrow are already making headway into education, and others are poised for mass distribution in 2016.
Voyager Sopris Learning
DECEMBER 9, 2015
Year after year, I struggled with students who claimed to hate reading. They didn’t like to read. They told me so, over and over again. I have a stock response: “You know, every time you say that an English teacher cries.”. Handing out reading assignment packets or calling for volunteers to read aloud was consistently met with gut-wrenching groans. I am an unusually peppy person, but I was deflating.
User Generated Education
DECEMBER 22, 2015
Today, during a podcast interview, I was asked what it takes to be an educational thought leader. My responses was, “courage.” In this test driven, accountability-laden era of education, it takes courage to be an educator driven by authentic, constructivist , and student-centered values and practices. Courage: Courage is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation.
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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
Ascend Math
DECEMBER 8, 2015
There has been a lot of discussion lately regarding Personalized Learning. What is Personalized Learning? Is it really any different from Individualized Learning? Some people think so. I read an interesting article on the subject of “personalized learning.” For today’s students … “The approach, called personalized learning, differs from the traditional classroom their parents probably experienced, when teachers gave unifying lectures and told all students to work on the same proble
Ditch That Textbook
DECEMBER 31, 2015
2015 was a whirlwind year full of change. In education, Google Classroom was around for its first full year and became a mainstay in classes around the world. New tools like Periscope and Seesaw became more popular than ever. More and more educators became connected, joining Twitter, Voxer and other social media. For me and [.].
Brilliant or Insane
DECEMBER 30, 2015
Brilliant or Insane. Rather than listing our Top 10 posts, which you’ve likely already seen, I decided to share some of our biggest moments from 2015, related to education, blogging, writing, publishing and other areas. Please share your own insights and accomplishments from 2015, in our comment section below. From Brilliant or Insane You made us extremely popular this year.
EdTech Magazine
DECEMBER 29, 2015
By Phil Goldstein, D. Frank Smith Microsoft will end security support for SQL Server 2005 in April 2016, and schools must prepare to upgrade.
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.
Education Elements
DECEMBER 30, 2015
Personalized learning received some hot press in the last month. First, in an open letter to their newborn daughter, Max, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan shared their hopes for personalized learning. To make good on their intentions, they've announced that they will donate 99 percent of their Facebook stock, currently valued at $45 billion, of which a portion will support personalized learning efforts.
User Generated Education
DECEMBER 20, 2015
I’ve discussed the need to be a learner and lead learner in this era of education which includes maker education. What I find absolutely exciting about being a maker educator is that they need to be learners; dedicated and invested in attitudes and behaviors related to being lifelong learners as the maker movement is ever evolving with seemingly daily advances.
Battelle for Kids
DECEMBER 29, 2015
Volume 2, Issue 14, Number 14. Wednesday December 30, 2015. P21 Blogazine will feature the following themes in 2016. To contribute a post for a 21st Century Learning theme, contact jab@iriinc.us. Final drafts are due 15 days or earlier prior to start of scheduled month. Volume 3. January: Blended Learning: The Pros and Cons February: Communication in 21st Century Classrooms March: STEAM or STEM?
Ditch That Textbook
DECEMBER 28, 2015
In our eighth-grade math prototype and our elementary math programs, I’ve watched teachers as they adapt to blended learning. For many of them, the idea isn’t a strange one, and it has provided some unexpected surprises (both good and bad). Elementary teachers have seen the value of centers for a long time. Middle and high school teachers [.].
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.
Brilliant or Insane
DECEMBER 24, 2015
Brilliant or Insane. Dear Parents, I get it. You’re frustrated. You want to help your child with his or her school work. It’s supposed to make sense. After all, if an adult can’t grasp it, how is an 8-year-old supposed to? So when it doesn’t make sense and you can’t help, something must clearly be wrong. And since the only […]. The post Dear Parents: Should We Stop Mocking the Common Core?
EdTech Magazine
DECEMBER 22, 2015
By John Breeden II The Chrome OS, combined with a small footprint, makes this ThinkCentre a worthwhile (and secure) option for K–12.
TeacherCast
DECEMBER 31, 2015
Download. Listen in a New Window. iTunes. Stitcher. SoundCloud. Leave a Review. Clammr It. Subscribe via RSS Subscribe on Android Follow @TeacherCast. Leave a VoiceMail. In this episode, Jeff sits down with Rob Greenlee from Spreaker Radio to discuss how schools of all grade levels can utilize Spreaker as their audio publishing platform. Learn how easy it is to setup a free account and either publish prerecorded audio shows, or broadcast live your morning announcements each day.
The Jose Vilson
DECEMBER 30, 2015
According to thousands of you, here are the top ten posts 2015 with a few words from each post. This blog surpassed a million views since inception. Considering I’m doing this without any major sponsorship, publications, or well-regarded co-signs, I’m ecstatic about this and so much more. Without further adieu, here they are: Opting Out Of Everything. “I wanted to listen to the whole commercial, but, instead I hurried up, paid for my groceries, and got the hell out.
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