Techno-News Blog

August 24, 2014

Games: The new learning experience

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By Laura Devaney, eSchool News

True game-based learning uses intrinsic experiences and moves away from a more simple extrinsic rewards-based system where students play the game in pursuit of a reward or achievement and are disconnected from the fundamental content. Games combine just the right degree of challenge with just the right amount of engagement, said Lucien Vattel, CEO of GameDesk, a nonprofit focusing on research and development around game-based learning. GameDesk recently launched Educade, an online portal that links students, teachers, and parents to an online resource library full of apps, games, and hands-on activities.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/08/18/games-learning-experience-346/

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Tech Basics for Active, Collaborative Learning

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By Leila Meyer, Campus Technology

While every active-learning classroom is unique — based on the physical space itself and the needs of students and faculty — there are features common to many of them. Typically, the instructor has a podium at the center of the room. Surrounding the podium are large, round tables that each seat six to nine students. Movable chairs allow students to easily shift between small groups of three to larger groups of six or nine. Each student table may have its own large display or interactive whiteboard for collaborative work and sharing, and many of the rooms also feature writable walls, where students can collaborate on virtually any vertical surface in the room. This classroom design enables instructors to spend a few minutes guiding the whole class from the center of the room, and then quickly transition students into collaborative work without needing to reconfigure the furniture or organize students into groups.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/08/06/tech-basics-for-active-collaborative-learning.aspx

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Education Boosting Chromebook Shipments to 5.2 Million Units This Year

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By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology

Chromebook sales will reach 5.2 million shipments this year, largely on the strength of the education market, according to a new report from market research firm Gartner. That’s a 79 percent increase over 2013 sales, and the company predicts the devices will continue to experience impressive through 2017, when it forecasts 14.4 million shipments. Education is far and away the driving force behind Chromebook sales, accounting for 85 percent of shipments in 2013, according to Gartner, and the United States, where 2.9 million of the devices were sold last year, makes up the bulk of the global market.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/08/13/report-education-market-to-boost-chromebook-sales-to-5.2-million-units-in-2014.aspx

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August 23, 2014

Personalizing Instruction With 1-to-1 and Blended Learning

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By Dan Gordon, THE Journal

We determined that there are seven characteristics of the ideal blended learning classroom. The first two are community mindset and the learning environment: creating a culture in your classroom and then organizing the physical environment to support and encourage that culture. It’s about student choice and voice, empowering students and giving them the opportunities to help drive some of the decisions and the learning. The next two involve instruction and student work, with the focus being on how we can use traditional and digital methods to provide content and resources, and how the students show what they know and understand from the learning. The next is assessment: how we understand where students are and where we need to go with them, and how we personalize learning so that it plays to students’ strengths and meets their needs. And finally, communication and collaboration: how we can use these technology tools to work together toward better outcomes.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/08/18/personalizing-instruction-with-1-to-1-and-blended-learning.aspx

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Technology Education for Students Is Essential in Creating a Future STEM Workforce

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by Felix W. Ortiz III, Huffington Post

Digital device learning, often called 1-to-1 computing or a “smart classroom,” is not some faraway abstraction or revolutionary concept in education. In fact, thanks to grants and state-subsidized funding, an increasing number of school districts nationwide are securing electronic devices such as personal computers, remote accessible software and even handheld tablets for their students from such electronic giants as Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo. Proponents for digital device learning assert that greater access to advancing technology within the education system allows teachers to more fluidly support and satisfy Common Core state standards through engaging digital curriculum, interactive supports and assessments, and an enhanced learning environment for their students.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/felix-w-ortiz-iii/technology-education-for-_b_5682916.html?utm_hp_ref=education&ir=Education

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Online education programs offer alternative for students, savings for districts

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BY BRITNEY MILAZZO, Centre Daily Times

The program is entering its sixth year and was started to enhance learning and compete with other cybercharter schools. It’s grown from 10 students in its first year to about 25 students this year, Garman said. All school districts in Centre County have such programs, and in addition to offering an alternative to students, they save the districts thousands of dollars annually by recruiting students to district online programs instead of paying for them to attend Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, or PA Cyber. “The initial expectation was to save money and bring back students from” PA Cyber,” said Brian Griffith, Penns Valley Area School District superintendent.“We weren’t sure if it would really work, but it was an option that would develop a different way of teaching our students and save us money. What we found is it is working and students are coming back.”

http://www.centredaily.com/2014/08/16/4308794/online-education-programs-offer.html?sp=/99/116/

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August 22, 2014

5 important YouTube videos for IT

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By Michael Sharnoff, eCampus News

These five YouTube videos explain the important role IT plays in higher ed and how their services can improve the university experience. IT plays an integral role in the university experience. However, in our rapidly changing and interconnected world, what resources, tools, and strategies do IT personnel need to stay ahead? How will IT adapt and grow in the evolving ed-tech landscape? Take a look at the five YouTube resources linked below for admins on technology and innovation in education.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/youtube-videos-it-492/

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This is the ‘top concern’ for students on campus

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By Denny Carter, eCampusNews

A bogged down campus network could be an insurmountable competitive disadvantage for colleges and universities as they compete for prospective students. Six in 10 college students identified a “slow” campus network connection as a “top concern” in a recent survey commissioned by Ipswitch, a Massachusetts-based company that specializes in network management solutions. Half of student respondents said accessibility issues were their primary concern, while 36 percent pointed to security as their top concern. Half of campuses said the money spent on satiating students’ broadband needs for their laptops, smart phones, tablet computers, and video game consoles is never recovered through tuition or student fees.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/students-network-278/

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How to minimize digital classroom distractions

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By Kyle Albert, eSchool News

Classroom technologies such as smartphones, tablets, computers, and wireless internet access offer exciting opportunities to enhance and deepen the learning process. However, using technology in the classroom can also bring multiple distractions to students. As pointed out by Tom Daccord on Edudemic, when “the activity is engaging and challenging, there is an authentic audience, and prescribed time limits, students won’t mess around.” Design your lessons by ensuring that the length and intensity of your discussion are appropriate to the range of your students’ attention spans. In case of seventh grade students, Education World noted that they can only tolerate up to 30 minutes of continuous lecture. Any additional time should be dedicated to lively group activities.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/08/14/digital-classroom-distraction-043/

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August 21, 2014

Are We Addicted to Technology?

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by Amy Borovoy, Edutopia

It’s the age of mobile. According to Pew Research Internet Project, over 90 percent of American adults own a cellphone, and 73 percent of American adults online use a social networking site of some kind. Research from software analytics company New Relic supposedly found that Americans check their devices an average of 150 times a day. But scores of articles about “tech anxiety” and “tech addiction” make it abundantly clear that our relationship with technology is very complicated. As educators, it’s worth thinking about how our devices are changing the way we interact with each other. Many of the videos I’ve gathered below are just for fun, to give us a laugh about our technological foibles, but they can also be conversation starters about how technology saturation affects our lives.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/film-festival-technology-addiction-videos

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10+ Tools To Bring Robotics (And Other Real Objects) Into Your Classroom

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By Jason Cross, Edudemic

While tablet computers in the classroom are wonderful tools, they still have not reached the level of intuitive use that we often feel as we interact with our analog world. As an example, there are lots of pictures of the moon that we can look up using our web browser, but seeing it first hand through a telescope offers a different level of engagement. In the classroom, we often need our analog world to interact with our digital devices.

http://www.edudemic.com/bringing-real-world-digital-classroom-tools/

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How Google Glass Is Being Used In Classrooms Around The World

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By eduglasses, Edudemic

I’ve been lucky to be a member of the Google Glass Explorer Program for the past year. I was excited to learn about how this technology could be advanced in terms of education and everyday activities… however it never dawned on me how much potential it truly had until I began the Explorer Program. Over the past year using Glass in class I have began to see the potential not only in education, but also for the everyday consumer. Right now Google glass is expensive and limited among education and consumers…but it is a technology that is moving towards being more cost efficient for all users. (Cost to Build Google Glass) This is why, as educators, we need to take a more in depth look at how this technology will reform education as a whole.

http://www.edudemic.com/google-glass-classrooms/

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August 20, 2014

Online K-12 education faces challenges

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by Norman Rozenberg, Tech Page One

Kindergarten-through-12th grade (K-12) cyber schools have yet to receive as much attention as online higher education. For example, brick-and-mortar grade schools have largely resisted the kinds of online options traditional universities have adopted. There are problems with cyber schools that must be addressed, however. Many cyber-schooling programs have not provided students with an education that meets national averages, according to the University of Colorado study. Despite these drawbacks, the virtual option can become a viable alternative to brick-and-mortar grade schools, especially when targeted to specific groups of students for whom traditional schooling is not helpful.

http://techpageone.dell.com/technology/virtualization/online-k-12-education-faces-challenges/

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Rising Confidence in Online Higher Ed

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By Timothy Zimmer, Forbes

Online higher education is steadily gaining favor as a credible alternative to the traditional classroom. According to a recent Gallup report, more U.S. adults agree or strongly agree that online colleges and universities offer high-quality education (37 percent) than did so in 2012 (33 percent) or 2011 (30 percent) when Gallup first introduced the report. Online higher education has been a divisive issue amongst academics for years, seen by many as convenient and affordable but unremarkable in value and legitimacy. When online education went toe-to-toe with traditional classroom-based learning in another recent Gallup report, Americans considered online better at “providing a wide range of options for curriculum” and offering “good value for the money.” Traditional education overshadowed this accomplishment, however, besting online in areas such as instruction, rigor, employer favorability, and student format.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ccap/2014/08/13/rising-confidence-in-online-higher-ed/

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‘It Takes Time’

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By Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed

The University of California System, after five years and millions of dollars spent, is asking for more time and money to get its systemwide online education initiative off the ground. The 10-campus university system began to seriously consider a centralized approach to online education in 2009, as California faced a multibillion-dollar deficit that led to budget cuts, layoffs and tuition hikes across the state. Online for-credit courses, administrators believed — and to some extent still believe — could alleviate some the system’s access issues and create a new source of tuition revenue. But five years later, California’s economy has rebounded, and the exigency to go online and do so quickly has diminished.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/08/13/changing-economy-changes-online-education-priorities-u-california

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August 19, 2014

Google Penetrates The E-Learning Market To Expand Chromebook Sales

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by Lior Ronen, Seeking Alpha

The e-learning market grows rapidly worldwide and expected to reach $51B total revenues in 2016. Google introduced an e-learning platform that integrate its services into one suite that is targeted to the education sector. By penetrating the e-learning market, Google tries to increase Chromebook sales and expand its PC ecosystem. Google could use the e-learning trend around the world and expand its Chromebook sales and ecosystem presence globally.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/2423025-google-penetrates-the-e-learning-market-to-expand-chromebook-sales

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Fla. students required to take online class to graduate

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By Leigh Spann, WFLA

In 2011, the Florida Legislature passed the Digital Learning Act requiring students to complete one online course in order to graduate. At that time, high school sophomores, juniors and seniors were grandfathered out of the stipulation. This year’s rising seniors are the first that must graduate with a virtual course. Many haven’t yet. “That’s what we hear statistically from around our districts, 30 percent,” said Celeste Sanchez, District Relations Manager Florida Virtual School. Kelley Brenes is a rising junior at Sickles High School in Tampa. She may be two years from graduating, but she’s fulfilling the online class requirement right now.

http://www.wfla.com/story/26247954/students-need-online-class-to-graduate-many-havent-taken

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Parents with kids playing hockey now required to take online course in respect

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by Meghan Roberts, CTV Winnipeg

Parents looking to register their kids for hockey in Winnipeg this fall must now complete the Respect in Sports program. The plan for the requirement was announced earlier this year. The online course costs $12 and takes about an hour to complete. One parent per household is required to finish the program. Hockey Winnipeg said the course will be good for five years.

http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/parents-with-kids-playing-hockey-now-required-to-take-online-course-in-respect-1.1954995

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August 18, 2014

Back to School Anything but Routine for Alaska Virtual Academy Students

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By Marketwatch

New school supplies and meeting new teachers are still part of the first day of school for Alaska Virtual Academy (AKVA) students across the state. They’ll meet each other in homeroom and catch up with classmates from last year, but there won’t be any backpacks, school cafeteria food or catching the bus for these students, who go to school full-time online. Instead, they’ll be learning how to log on, manage their homework and meet their assigned teacher as they learn from home. AKVA is a tuition-free, online public school, available to students in grades K-8 across the state of Alaska. Students attend school full-time online, and use the internet to access the engaging, award-winning K¹² curriculum. A public school choice, AKVA gives parents and families the opportunity to maximize their success with individualized learning.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/back-to-school-anything-but-routine-for-alaska-virtual-academy-students-2014-08-12

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8 Myths About MOOCs

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By Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

This week Josh Kim is in Cambridge for a Hewlett Foundation sponsored invited participant workshop on Learning With MOOCs. The timing of the gathering coincides with Dartmouth, his institution, working on developing DartmouthX open online courses on the edX platform. Spending a couple of days immersed in all thing open online learning prompted this post of eight ways in which many misunderstand MOOCs.

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/8-myths-about-moocs

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Canvas Network Announces Minecraft MOOCs and App in a Suite of 15 MOOCs

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by Kim Sun-Mi, Korea Times

Learning technology company Instructure, the creator of the Canvas learning management system for K-12 and higher education, today announced a major new experiment in K-12 learning by unveiling a suite of more than 15 MOOCs for teachers, students and even parents on its Canvas Network platform. The most ambitious collection of K-12 MOOCs to date, the suite includes two Minecraft MOOCs that aim to help teachers leverage gamification best practices in the classroom. Enrollment is free and open for registration for anyone in the world at canvas.net

http://www.koreaittimes.com/story/39940/canvas-network-announces-minecraft-moocs-and-app-suite-15-moocs-k-12-teachers-students-a

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