Sat.Aug 06, 2016 - Fri.Aug 12, 2016

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Pen and Pencil Use in Classrooms Isn’t Over, Just Evolving

EdTech Magazine

By Meghan Bogardus Cortez Microsoft Surface Pen can facilitate a better learning experience for students.

Microsoft 231
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Ed-tech Developers: Share How You Use Research

Digital Promise

With more and more educational technology tools on the market, schools and universities , the government , and parents all want to know, Which products are effective for which teachers and students? In response, ed-tech developers are using research to inform the early stages of product design and development, and to conduct evaluations of their products’ effectiveness.

Industry 178
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What We Learned from Seymour Papert

The Journal

Seymour Papert passed away on July 31. He was 88. We share with you, in this week’s blog, what we learned from him: why children should learn to program.

Learning 190
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A Model for Teacher Development: Precursors to Change

User Generated Education

Too often teachers are passive recipients of professional development rather than being active agents of their own development and change. Several recent reports have indicated that teacher professional development, as it is being implemented in most schools, is ineffective and a waste of time and money. Several studies over the past few years that have found professional development to be largely ineffective or unhelpful for teachers.

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Quickly Create Personalized Learning Experiences that Work

How can we actively engage learners 24/7, on their level and according to their interests, while respecting their learning styles? It’s not impossible. In this guide: Explore how to transform traditional, one-way videos into two-way interactive learning experiences Understand different types of artificial intelligence (AI), including - Generative vs.

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Test Takers Continue to Face Challenges When Using Some Technology

EdTech Magazine

By Meghan Bogardus Cortez Reports suggest that familiarity with devices is key to better performance on standardized tests.

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Smartphones in the classroom: friend or foe?

Neo LMS

The combination of students and mobile devices in the classroom has long been a debate topic among education professionals. The use of mobile devices during classes is often regarded as an element of distraction for students. But with today’s smartphones, can this still be the case? In the pre-smartphone era, when traditional mobile phones – or “dumb phones”, how I like to call them – ruled the world, students simply couldn’t use their phones for learning.

More Trending

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Goal: Revamp a Lesson

Teacher Reboot Camp

Welcome to Cycle 7 of The 30 Goals Challenge: Make it Meaningful ! “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” – John Dewey. Goal: Improve a lesson plan or activity to create a meaningful learning experience for your students. This can be a previous lesson you feel students have struggled with in the past or you can adapt a lesson plan you find on a website.

Facebook 165
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3 Ways Schools Can Keep Devices Safe When Students Take Chromebooks Home

EdTech Magazine

By Meghan Bogardus Cortez As more classrooms get tech-savvy, it’s important to keep IT security top of mind.

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How e-learning can meet some needs of struggling students

Neo LMS

When I started school, there were seven first-grade classes, and about 30 students in each one. We were all about the same age, some shy, some way too active, some nervous, but in our minds we were all the same: classmates, equal. By the time I started second grade, my class was missing a few students. Where did they go? Apparently, the school decided to create a special, eighth class, by selecting a few students with the lowest academic results from the other seven.

Meeting 167
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10 reasons to try Genius Hour this school year

Ditch That Textbook

For me, my Genius Hour project was learning BASIC. I was in middle school, and this programming code intrigued me. We didn’t have any computer science classes except for a six-week “Introduction to Computers” rotation class. So I started tinkering with it on my computer at home. I found books to learn new commands. Then [.].

Learning 164
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Can Brain Science Actually Help Make Your Training & Teaching Stick?

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.

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10 Tips for Digital Storytelling You Don’t Want to Miss

Ask a Tech Teacher

Here are eight of the top Digital Storytelling articles according to Ask a Tech Teacher readers: 9 Best-in-Class Digital Storytelling Tools. Storyboard That–Digital Storyteller, Graphic Organizer, and more. Digital Storytelling Apps. Digital Storytelling Websites. Common Core Writing–Digital Quick Writes. 42 Great Story Websites You’ll Love. Monday Freebies #28: My Storybook.

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Irresponsible fearmongering

Dangerously Irrelevant

Three days after the launch of Pokemon Go here in the United States, a central office administrator told me that his superintendent had emailed the entire district leadership team, warning them about the game because “six teenagers already had been killed by wandering into traffic while playing the game.” The administrator with whom I spoke said that he was concerned and also curious about what I thought.

Course 0
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BUILDING CLASSROOM CULTURE WITH A DIGITAL TOOL BOX

Battelle for Kids

Volume 3, Issue 7, Number 5. Driving Question: How can we use digital tools to create a culture which empowers students? "If all instructors were to realize that the quality of mental process, not the production of correct answers, is the measure of educative growth, something hardly less than a revolution in teaching would be worked." ― John Dewey, Democracy and Education.

Tools 152
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Micro-credentials 101 – Workshop Resources

More Verbs

What’s all the fuss about micro-credentials and digital badging? What are they and how do I earn them? What do they have to do with professional development? What’s this new iLearnMaine Educator Micro-credentials program from ACTEM and the DOE? Attend this session and not only discover answers to these questions, but get a head start on figuring out which micro-credentials you might like to earn!

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Reimagining Chickering & Gamson's Principles Post-Pandemic: Technology's Central Role in Modern Edu

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.

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C-STEM Studio — A Great Way to Blend Math and Robotics

Ask a Tech Teacher

C-STEM Studio is a California A-G approved curriculum and turn-key solution for teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics through computing and robotics. This web-based scalable program is available for elementary through high school students and can last anywhere from four weeks to a year. As Calvin Chen, Assistant Director of the UC Davis Center for Computing and STEM Education who offers this program, states simply: “O ur goal is to get kids interested in math and robot

Robotics 152
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Technology and it’s impact on children: A force for good or evil?

EdTech4Beginners

When I see children hooked on Candy Crush and Minecraft, hardly engaging with their friends during social times, I feel worried for them. What is this doing to their social and emotional skills and wellbeing? However, there are so many ways tech is used positively. I really don’t know what to think! I do however know that it is vital that we educate children about technology – including both the positive points and the negatives.

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Now you can install Securly from a web browser

Securly

We’re not only the leading cloud-based provider of Internet security for K-12 schools, but also the industry’s first self-servable web filter. “With our self-serve update, Securly is realizing its long-held vision of giving IT Admins a product that can be set up in minutes,” says Paul Katcher, UI developer at Securly. Since the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) in 2000, web filtering has been required for schools that seek e-rate funding.

E-rate 145
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Back to School Tips for Teachers on the Digital Transformation Journey

Digital Promise

Going back to school is an exciting and busy time for teachers and school administrators. There’s a ton of work to be done, from creating lesson plans, to preparing classrooms, to welcoming new students. Kicking off a new school year is a challenge in itself, but what happens when a school is also starting a new technology initiative that provides always available access to all students and teachers?

Tablets 144
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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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Tech Ed Resources–Organize Your Class

Ask a Tech Teacher

I get a lot of questions from readers about what tech ed resources I use in my classroom so I’m taking a few days this summer to review them with you. Some are edited and/or written by members of the Ask a Tech Teacher crew. Others, by tech teachers who work with the same publisher I do. All of them, I’ve found well-suited to the task of scaling and differentiating tech skills for age groups, scaffolding learning year-to-year, taking into account the perspectives and norms of all stakeholders, w

Resources 151
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Microsoft Zoom Could Put More Pep into Classroom Presentations

EdTech Magazine

By Meghan Bogardus Cortez New PowerPoint tool has the potential to make slideshow presentations interactive and engaging.

Microsoft 169
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What’s the Difference Between Coding and Computational Thinking?

Edsurge

In my last EdSurge article, “Computer Science Goes Beyond Coding ,” I wrote about the difference between coding and computer science, to help us understand what we mean by phrases like “Teach kids to code” and “Computer science for all.” In that article and in many other articles, there is another term that appears often: “Computational thinking.” Well, what is Computational Thinking (CT), and how does it differ from Coding and Computer Science—especially when it comes to classroom practice and

Data 131
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3 Strategies to Combat Summer Learning Loss

Digital Promise

After many weeks away from their traditional school schedule, students across the country are starting to re-enter their classrooms and share stories of their summer vacations. Whether or not they know it yet, the way students spent their vacation days can play an enormous role in their future academic success as compared to their peers. The National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) defines summer learning loss as “the phenomenon where young people lose academic skills over the summer.

Strategy 131
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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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Reflections on Personalized and Project-based Learning

Education Elements

Recently, I had the opportunity to facilitate a workshop with our partners at Loudoun County Public Schools and the Buck Institute for Education to do some deep thinking about the connections between project-based learning (PBL) and personalized learning (PL). I am very passionate about these two pillars of instruction, and I'm doubly passionate about their intersection.

Learning 125
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Five Ways To Show Students You Care

The Jose Vilson

“How do you show students you care and love them?” Someone asked me that this afternoon. And every other week. Shout-out to the other eighth grade math teacher who asked it. I’m not about the touchy-feely stuff; I prefer to discuss techniques, strategies, and content where possible. I prefer to talk about race, class, gender, and take long walks in the city.

Strategy 112
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‘Our Technology Is Our Ideology’: George Siemens on the Future of Digital Learning

Edsurge

What does it mean to be human in a digital age? Some people researching education technology might not spend their days wondering how their work fits into this existential question—but George Siemens isn’t "some people." “Maybe my mama hugged me extra when I was a baby.” That’s his explanation for how he thinks about the role of education in the 21st century.

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3 Videos Showing Deeper Learning Micro-credentials in Action

Digital Promise

Over the past few months, Digital Promise has traveled the country capturing the stories of educators who have earned Deeper Learning micro-credentials to transform teaching and learning. These 40 Deeper Learning micro-credentials were developed by Digital Promise to recognize educators who have shifted their classroom practice to encourage student success in our increasingly complex world.

Video 130
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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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BEYOND FIELD AND FACTORY: Workforce Readiness In a Middle School

Battelle for Kids

Volume 3, Issue 7, Number 4. Driving Question: How Can A Middle School Be Structured To Foster New Digital Workplace Skills and Opportunities for 21st Century Careers? Rancho Minerva Middle School, located 45 miles North of San Diego, is a middle school on the move. It is a school with over 90% of its students living below the poverty line with nearly 3/4ths speaking a primary language other than English.

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Part 3: Facilitating Inquiry in the Classroom… Questions, Metacognition, and 15 Pre-search Tools

21st Century Educational Technology and Learning

Welcome to this third post in a series that promotes student inquiry in the classroom. This post is dedicated to reflecting on that important topic of metacognition and reflection with questions before the search. You will discover multiple resources in this series along with some great ideas for finding student success in student owned inquiry. Before reading, please take a moment to subscribe by email or RSS and also give me a follow on Twitter at mjgormans.

Tools 88
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5 Ways Teachers Can Encourage Deeper Learning With Personal Devices

Edsurge

To ban or not to ban, that is always the question when it comes to personal devices in the classroom. But rather than fight this uphill battle ( Generation Alpha is forecasted to be more technological than any previous), let's figure out how to leverage these little machines. If used intentionally, mobile devices can be an express pass to exploring beyond the walls of our schools.

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Music Lessons

Digital Promise

Tracing links between musical training and executive function — and bolstering the case for music in schools. This article originally appeared on Usable Knowledge from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. If educators want to develop critical, creative thinkers who can set and accomplish their own goals — and who can use those skills to strengthen their math and reading skills — they may want to take another look inside the music room.

Training 121
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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.