Educational Technology

By David Raths, THE Journal

Four K-12 technology leaders explain how they’re changing the way they work with educators to meet the new demands of 21st century schools. They also offer up some of their trade secrets for building consensus, overcoming poor morale and generally keeping the peace between IT and academic staff. Years ago, typical K-12 IT leaders came up through the administrative ranks and focused on keeping computers and business applications running. Whether they were called CTOs or CIOs, they had compartmentalized skill sets that tended to favor technology over teaching. In 2014, however, the role of chief information officer or chief technology officer is just as likely to go to a former teacher or principal with an interest in finding new ways to harness technology to collaborate with curriculum and assessment leaders.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/03/13/technology-leadership-evolved.aspx

By David Nagel, THE Journal

Tablet and smart phone processors will increasingly shift toward 64-bit architectures, though it will be a few years before these chips power the majority of devices. The shift is being driven, at least in part, by Apple’s rollout of its 64-bit A7 processor, according to market research firm ABI Research. According to a new report released this week by ABI, “Intel, Marvell, MediaTek, Qualcomm and Nvidia all announced their first 64-bit mobile processors at Mobile World Congress this year but 64-bit-compliant smartphones are unlikely to hit the market before the release of the next Android update, expected in the second half of the year. By the end of 2014, ABI Research expects shipments of 64-bit mobile processors to exceed 182 million, of which only 20 percent will power Android devices.”

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/03/12/the-64-bit-mobile-processor-race-is-on.aspx

By Christopher Piehler, THE Journal

The FLN definition of Flipped Learning is the following: “Flipped Learning is a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter.” Along with the definition, FLN announced its Four Pillars of F-L-I-P and a checklist of 11 supporting indicators for educators. Jon Bergmann, coauthor of Flip Your Classroom and secretary/treasurer of the FLN, said of the checklist, “Educators can use it as a frame of reference because it demonstrates what effective Flipped Learning looks like. It’s a baseline — or roadmap — containing the principles of Flipped Learning.”

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/03/12/fln-announces-formal-definition-and-four-pillars.aspx

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

Facilitating discussions between students is one of those things that is infinitely easier when you’re teaching in a physical classroom rather than online. When the students are all in one room, discussions happen more naturally. Facilitating the same type of productive, useful discussion when teaching online is more of a challenge. The handy infographic below from Mia MacMeekin takes a look at some tips and best practices for facilitating discussions when you’re teaching online. If you teach online and have any favorite tips and tricks, leave us a message in the comments!

http://www.edudemic.com/online-discussion-tips/

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

We all want to be creative. We want to inspire creativity in our students. We want to teach material in creative ways that get students engaged and excited (without reinventing the wheel, of course!). But sometimes, creative just isn’t happening. When you can’t think of anything new, or anything that you deem ‘creative’ or ‘more interesting’ than the basics, it can be frustrating. I so often hear the advice to ‘just let it happen’. Which is, of course, even more frustrating! It isn’t always just that easy! The handy infographic linked below details some simple ideas to stimulate creativity.

http://www.edudemic.com/stimulating-creativity-infographic/

By Elly Wamari, Daily Nation (Kenya)

Demonstrations and announcements made at the Microsoft in Education Global Forum in Barcelona, Spain, from March 11 to 14, suggest that teachers around the world have to ultimately brace themselves for drastic shifts in the way they play their role. Inevitably, technology is rapidly penetrating classrooms, with teachers in the more developed learning institutions taking to innovative use of ICT to facilitate learning. Many are adopting new applications that software makers are specifically developing for the learning environment. According to school leaders, educators, and Microsoft Corporation officials and techies attending the conference, the reason this drive is considered inevitable is the reality that it is more demand driven than propelled by supply.

http://www.nation.co.ke/business/Tech/Technology-to-change-role-of-teachers-worldwide/-/1017288/2242592/-/j8599az/-/index.html

By Beth Holland, Edudemic

Lately, when talking with teachers about bringing mobile devices into their classrooms, a common concern has surfaced – that connections to the physical world are being sacrificed by over-emphasizing the digital. These thoughtful educators have raised excellent questions about screen time, losing tangible developmental opportunities, and the need to encourage face to face interaction. While the dichotomy between the physical and digital seemed more obvious when working between a classroom and computer lab, the lines have blurred as iPads, Chromebooks, and other mobile devices entered classrooms. As George Couros (@gcouros) stated in his keynote at last week’s Leading Future Learning conference, “Technology is not meant to replace face-to-face interaction, but to enhance it.”

http://www.edudemic.com/integrate-real-world-digital-classrooms/

By Joshua Bolkan, THE Journal

Digital Learning Now has released the 2013 Digital Learning Report Card, which grades K-12 education policy in each of the 50 states against the group’s 10 Elements of High Quality Digital Learning. This year only two states, Utah and Florida, received As, while 14 states received Fs and another 13 received Ds. “In 2013, more than 450 digital learning bills were debated and 132 were ultimately signed into law, bringing the total of enacted legislation since 2011 to more than 360,” according to a news release from Digital Learning Now. “More than 20 states advanced an entire overall letter grade as measured by the Report Card.”

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/03/13/states-show-improvement-on-digital-learning-report-card.aspx

by Lajla Veselica, Phys.org

For Croatia, making sure the five children on the tiny island of Susak get good schooling is not only a civic responsibility, it’s a way of ensuring the viability of its sparsely populated Adriatic islands. “Schools give life to small islands,” said Olivela Franko, the elementary school principal on the larger Losinj island who coordinates an “e-learning” network that links island schools in the area. “There are not that many children but we will not allow them to disappear. We try everything so they don’t feel like they are living at the end of the world,” she said.

http://phys.org/news/2014-03-croatian-island-children-online.html

By Sean Michael Kerner, eWeek

A Linux training course that once cost $2,500 is now free, as Linux Foundation ramps up its education efforts. The open-source Linux operating system is freely available to those who want to use it, but finding good sources of training for Linux has not always been as free. In a move to further enable more people to get Linux training, the Linux Foundation is now opening up its education efforts. The Linux Foundation is now working with edX to build a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for Linux training. EdX is a nonprofit online learning platform started by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2012. Amanda McPherson, vice president of marketing and developer programs at the Linux Foundation, told eWEEK that edX was a natural choice for her organization.

http://www.eweek.com/pc-hardware/linux-intro-course-available-online-for-free.html

By Robert Talbert, Chronicle of Higher Ed

When you hear people talk about the flipped classroom, much of the time the emphasis is on what happens before class – the videos, how to get students to do the reading, and so on. But the real magic is what happens in class when students come, prepared with some basic knowledge they’ve acquired for themselves, and put it to work with their peers on hard problems. But before this happens, there’s an oddly complex buffer zone that students and instructors have to cross, and that’s the time when students arrive at the class meeting.

http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/castingoutnines/2014/03/11/getting-off-on-the-right-foot-in-an-inverted-calculus-class/

By Jaleesa Baulkman, University Herald

Three Historically Black Colleges and Universities are working together to improve online education at HBCUs through the effective use of open education resources, Inside Higher Ed reported. Florida Memorial University, Oakwood University and Wiley College announced Tuesday the founding of the Center for Excellence in Distance Learning, which is aimed at helping HBCUs create distance learning programs.

http://www.universityherald.com/articles/8091/20140312/hbcus-lumen-learning-team-up-to-create-an-online-education-center.htm

By Ernie Smith, Associations Now

Khan Academy’s “flipped learning” educational model drew new attention last week after the nonprofit sealed an exclusive deal with the College Board. It reminds us that there’s still a ton of room for originality in online education. Last week was a massive win for the Khan Academy—and a sign of how the seas are changing for the education process. The well-regarded nonprofit startup, which offers video lessons in a variety of academic disciplines, earned a validation of its model from none other than the College Board. The Khan Academy plans to offer free testing materials to students taking the SAT, leveling the playing field on a testing model that had long favored higher-income students who could pay for expensive prep classes.

http://associationsnow.com/2014/03/homework-comes-first-learning-era-online-connectivity/

by the Wall Street Journal

Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday opened its annual Microsoft in Education Global Forum by emphasizing the importance of student privacy and reaffirming its commitment to helping ensure that student data is never mined for advertising and marketing purposes. The opening keynote speech, which took place in front of an audience of 1,100, including innovative educators, school leaders and government officials from nearly 100 countries, also saw Microsoft highlight its end-to-end, best-in-class solutions with student success and career and college readiness at the forefront. “Privacy concerns are holding educators back from making the most of modern technology and preparing students to succeed in today’s workplace. At the same time, many solutions being used in the classroom are unintentionally putting student data at risk,” said Anthony Salcito, vice president, Worldwide Education, Microsoft.

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20140312-903572.html

by Angela Chen, The Wall Street Journal

Like many 10-year-olds, Nick Wald takes private lessons. His once-a-week tutor isn’t helping him with piano scales or Spanish conjugations, but teaching him how to code. Nick, a fifth-grader in New York, went in with no experience and has since learned enough HTML, JavaScript and CSS to build a simple website. He is now working in Apple’s XCode environment to finish an app named “Clockie” that can be used to set alarms and reminders. He plans to offer it in the iOS App Store for free. “I always liked to get apps from the app store, and I always wanted to figure out how they worked and how I could develop it like that,” Nick says.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304709904579411354120634252

by WHAM 13

It’s another way of learning: a virtual classroom that’s been set up by Stu Smith, a sixth-grade math teacher at Barker Road Middle School in Pittsford. “It gives them a lot of confidence knowing they can go home and review the lessons as many times as they need to,” said Smith, who started posting the lessons online last year. Around 80 percent of Smith’s 100 students use the videos that match each lesson they have in the classroom. “I really like them because in other grades in past years I had to ask my Dad for help if I didn’t get anything, and sometimes he’ll do like different methods and I’ll tell him, we didn’t learn that in class, that’s different,” said sixth grader Taylor Sampone. “But now this time we can actually use the videos and know that’s the way he taught us and still be able to learn.” Students also use the lessons to make up missed classroom time.

http://www.13wham.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/making-up-class-time-online-10199.shtml

by Virtual College (UK)

A growing number of businesses are pursuing the 70-20-10 principle in their learning and development initiatives. The concept involves the largest part of training coming through experience, but crucially, this is supported by other forms of learning: namely knowledge derived from colleagues and also courses and training, both online and in the classroom. The companies that are pursuing this principle include many at the top of their respective industries, such as Coca-Cola, Sony Ericsson, Morgan Stanley, Philips, Microsoft, Nike and Dell. The crucial thing to remember with such a multi-pronged approach is that each strand should support and reinforce the others, so online courses can be used to reiterate lessons that staff will need to learn in their day to day jobs, for example, while also introducing and expanding on other topics.

http://www.virtual-college.co.uk/news/Online-training-can-support-selfdirected-learning-newsitems-801702504.aspx

by Amber Mac, Fast Company

The online learning space is at full boil. Whether you want to spruce up your knitting skills or learn how to take perfect wedding photos, there is an e-course built just for you. When it comes to entrepreneurial lessons, there are also a growing number of offerings to suit how you learn best. From tuning into a quick one-hour live video to diving deep into an eight-week course, today’s digital learning ecosystem offers something for every business owner.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3027491/dialed/4-of-the-hottest-online-learning-tools-created-just-for-entrepreneurs

By Tanya Roscorla, Center for Digital Education

A Washington school district is leveling up with games-based learning to engage students in the classroom. While teachers have been using games in one-off classes, Tacoma Public Schools is slowly expanding their use throughout the district. “Everybody knows the kid that’ll stay up till 2 in the morning if you let them. They’ll just play the same game trying to beat a level or get to the next level, and they’ll do that nonstop,” said Michael Farmer, the district’s director of instructional technology. “If we can tap into that and get that kind of focus and dedication for learning, think what our students would be capable of.”

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/news/Game-based-Learning-Gains-Ground-in-Tacoma-Public-Schools.html

By Colleen Lee, Edudemic

As a language teacher I find mobile phones are a great resource as a dictionary, a unique way to do homework and, for many of my students, an alternative way to take notes. I’ve been using them in my class for a while now and their presence is actually hardly noticed – so seamlessly is it a part of what we do. In working them into my class I’ve learned some things about how to introduce them that may help you if you just starting to allow them.

http://www.edudemic.com/4-things-consider-allow-phones-class/

by ARIEL SCHWARTZ, Co.exist

At a time when companies and universities that run massive open online courses are struggling to prove their value, Columbia University professor and physicist Brian Greene thinks he has a new and potentially more effective way to teach students online: World Science U, a science education platform that offers everything from two-minute educational videos to full-fledged university-level classes. Greene knows a little something about creating science content that’s understandable to the masses. In addition to his teaching at Columbia, he is the co-founder of the annual World Science Festival, a host of Nova science documentaries, and author of a number of popular books that explain abstract physics theories to average readers.

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3026723/welcome-to-world-science-u-where-anyone-can-learn-einstein-online