Educational Technology

May 31, 2015

5 conditions that support great teaching

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:39 am

by eSchool News

Stakeholder group will develop report, advocate for conditions that are conducive to excellent teaching. The National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future will lead a collaborative, action-oriented initiative to support great teaching. It will culminate in the release of an upcoming report that will include action steps, policy and practice recommendations, as well as a retrospective look at what has happened in the teaching profession since 1996 following the release of NCTAF’s flagship report What Matters Most: Teaching for America’s Future.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/05/22/nctaf-great-teaching-097/

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Report outlines how to shift to tech-enabled personalized learning

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:34 am

by eschool news

New report examines how this type of learning is poised to benefit all students. A new report has combined the recommendations and observations more than 100 educators who gathered last year to compare experiences, discuss common challenges and barriers, explore case studies, and identify potential solutions and models that all must be addressed collectively to scale the implementation of personalized learning through technology. The educators gathered at the Technology-Enabled Personalized Learning (TEPL) Summit hosted by the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at NC State University in collaboration with Digital Promise, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), and the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA).

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/05/22/tech-personalized-learning-436/

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Robots teach coping and programming

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:29 am

By Debra Winters, The Record

One New Jersey school district here has a new member of its teaching staff: Nao, an interactive robot that works with students who have autism and those with language impairments. It has been with Wayne Public Schools about three months, and advanced computer science students at Wayne Hills High School have been busy programming and learning about it. The robot, which cost about $8,000 and was obtained with federal funds, was created by a company called Alderbran and was initially researched by Wayne’s Pines Lake Elementary School Principal Jose Celis.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/05/21/robot-programming-schools-985/

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May 30, 2015

4 Ways Digital Tech Has Changed K-12 Learning

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:34 am

By Matthew Lynch, THE Journal

Digital technology has taken the world by storm — particularly in the past decade. It makes sense that this trend would have an impact on K-12 learning because there is nothing in modern American society that digital technology has not touched. While the names of the mobile applications and computer programs may change, there are some foundational ways that technology has already changed the face of education forever.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2015/05/20/4-ways-digital-tech-has-changed-k12-learning.aspx

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Context in E-Learning Design: From Routine to Remarkable

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:33 am

by Ethan Edwards, ATD

Instructional designers often throw up their hands in despair when faced with repetitive compliance training. Regulations often require employees to successfully complete periodic recertification in all sorts of areas, ranging from diversity to blood borne pathogens to corporate ethics. “I can’t do anything to make this interesting,” is the standard complaint. Other designers may grumble, “The content is set and we can’t change it.” Sometimes, the situation is even worse; SMEs and legal departments treat the content as though it is sacred text to be preserved and glorified—even if no one really understands it. Whatever the specific situation, learners often rebel when forced or at least expected to find the same thing interesting year after year. The result is training that learners try to avoid and designers try to excuse.

https://www.td.org/Publications/Blogs/L-and-D-Blog/2015/05/Context-in-E-Learning-Design-from-Routine-to-Remarkable

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Metro schools boost graduation rates with online tools, tutors, nudges

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

by Rose French, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Like Riverdale, other high schools that have seen significant jumps in their graduation rates have also beefed up online learning and record-keeping. Going the extra mile and reaching out to parents when students are on the verge of failing has also helped. At Lanier High School in Gwinnett, the graduation rate went from 62.4 percent to 82 percent between 2011-14. Besides better online learning opportunities, the school has increasingly used assessments and other data to determine which students need the most help.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/metro-schools-boost-graduation-rates-with-online-t/nmKz5/

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May 29, 2015

Best of the Best: Apple and Google Educator Programs

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:39 am

By Sarah Muthler, Edudemic

Can you imagine life without Google? How about without your iPad? Both Apple and Google products have become indispensable to many teachers. And both companies have designed programs for educators who want to make the best use of technology in their jobs. If you feel that you need more technological training, or if you want to take on a leadership role to help push your school into the modern, high-tech age, these programs might be for you. And they aren’t limited to classroom teachers. Librarians often need to be the go-to source for information technology, and principals might want to stay a step ahead of what is happening in the classroom. We’ve gathered the details on the Apple Distinguished Educator program and the Google Educator program. So whether you’re an Apple devotee or a Google aficionado, you’ll know how to take the next step in your educational journey.

http://www.edudemic.com/what-are-apple-distinguished-educators-and-how-can-i-be-one/

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6 steps to a successful BYOD program

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

By Bridget McCrea, eSchool News

Bring your own device programs are evolving. It’s time to take a fresh look. Bring-your-own-device and one-to-one laptop/tablet implementations on K-12 campuses usually sound simply enough in theory—but they can actually be quite complex. Lenny Schad, chief technology information office at Houston Independent School District (HISD), has spearheaded a number of successful BYOD rollouts, and frequently distills advice to struggling districts. Here, he gives technology teams his top six strategies for ensuring a smooth implementation and long-term success for a K-12 BYOD initiative.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/05/20/byod-program-425/

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Harvard School of Ed Launches Free Online Library of Student Work

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology

The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) has launched the Center for Student Work, an online collection of exemplary student projects. A collaborative project between HGSE and K-12 education nonprofit Expeditionary Learning (EL), the free resource includes videos, writing samples and other work designed to provide teachers foundations to create their own projects. The searchable collection includes projects in English language arts, health and wellness, math, performing arts, science and technology, social studies, visual arts and world languages.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/05/19/harvard-school-of-ed-launches-free-online-library-of-student-work.aspx

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May 28, 2015

Succession planning for online courses

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:39 am

By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

When faculty create online courses but pass them off to other instructors to teach, emotions can run high. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports a University of Texas at Austin associate professor of classics took to her blog to complain when her chosen successor for a course she created did not get selected for the job and she only found out in passing. Because online courses are labor-intensive to create, colleges and universities are increasingly having to navigate the tricky hand-off between instructors so that courses can run longer than their initial creators teach them.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/succession-planning-for-online-courses/399532/

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(Higher) Learning to Confidently Embrace the Cloud

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:34 am

by Steve Hall, EDUCAUSE Review

Moving some IT applications to the public cloud can benefit even small colleges, providing economies of scale not otherwise possible. The collaborative nature of the cloud means that academic institutions are highly susceptible to data loss — a vulnerability that makes data backup vital. IT looks for partners to help continuously improve business processes, adopt best practices, and help with professional development of the staff using the service.

http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/higher-learning-confidently-embrace-cloud

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Penn State University Hacked

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

By Jeff Goldman, eSecurity Planet

The College of Engineering’s computer network was disconnected from the Internet in response to the breach.Penn State University recently disconnected the computer network for the College of Engineering from the Internet in response to what it described as “two sophisticated cyberattacks conducted by so-called ‘advanced persistent threat’ actors.” “Contingency plans are in place to allow engineering faculty, staff and students to continue as much of their work as possible while significant steps are taken to upgrade affected computer hardware and fortify the network against future attacks,” the university said in a statement. “The outage is expected to last for several days, and the effects of the recovery will largely be limited to the College of Engineering.”

http://www.esecurityplanet.com/network-security/penn-state-university-hacked.html

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May 27, 2015

TwitterChat: Balancing the Urgency of Revenue Performance with Mission and Quality Online – May 27

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:42 am

by Ray Schroeder, Josh Kim (Dartmouth / Inside Higher Ed), Katie Blot (Blackboard), Debbie Cavalier (Berklee)

Challenged by complex and shifting funding models, higher education faces a growing urgency to balance mission and product mix to keep things afloat as enrollments and state funding decline. Adding to this complexity is the growing tension in the marketplace in which the value/currency of traditional degrees are challenged by micro-credentials and the emergence of CBE. How can institutions address these crises? Join UPCEA for this timely TweetChat by using the hashtag #HigherEdAhead on social media as online education leaders share experiences and resources and respond to your questions. A live question and answer session will occur on May 27th from 2-3PM EST.  Is this your first Twitter Chat? – It’s free, it’s fun, it’s fast, it’s a fire hose of information!  Explained at the URL below:

http://upcea.edu/tweetchat

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Amazon Launches Free AWS Service for Educators and Students

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

By David Ramel, THE Journal

Amazon Web Services has debuted AWS Educate, a free service for educators and students that aims to prepare IT pros and developers for the cloud workforce. With cloud computing changing the way businesses work and driving innovation in organizations of all kinds, AWS said there is a need for more workers conversant in cloud technologies. “AWS Educate empowers educators with training, tools, and technologies to help students develop the skills to design, deploy and operate applications on the AWS Cloud.”

http://thejournal.com/articles/2015/05/14/amazon-launches-free-aws-service-for-educators-and-students.aspx

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How (and Why) To Use Student Blogs

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

By Kristen Hicks, Edudemic

Blogging has come a long way– once a strange new buzzword, it’s now an important tool for business, education, and personal development. Having a blog doesn’t just mean putting personal diary entries out on the web for the world to see – it can be a way to learn more about yourself and any subject you choose to explore. Blogging is one of the easiest ways to create something meaningful with mixed media. That makes it a perfect fit for the classroom.

http://www.edudemic.com/blog-setup-video/

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May 26, 2015

Alabama Schools Now Required to Offer Virtual Courses

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

by D. Frank Smith, EdTech Magazine

Alabama is stepping up its virtual classroom presence with new legislation that mandates that public school systems offer more online instruction options. More than 30 states now offer fully online public schools, and Alabama was among the first states to offer online coursework. The Evergreen Education Group’s annual report, “Keeping Pace with K–12 Digital Learning,” says Alabama has 51,809 students enrolled in virtual courses, the third-highest online enrollment in the country. But state lawmakers are saying that’s not enough. A bill passed in April by the Alabama House of Representatives would expand the state’s virtual classroom options, requiring all public school systems “to establish a policy to offer some level of virtual school for high school students by the 2016-2017 academic year,” according to AL.com.

http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2015/05/alabama-schools-now-required-offer-virtual-courses

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Video Game Could Transform Middle School Students’ Online Learning

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

by Infozine

The Department of Education recently awarded a group of researchers at the University of Missouri $2.7 million to support the development of an educational video game for middle school distance learners. Through playing the game, students will learn lessons about water systems and practice scientific argumentation. Teachers can monitor students’ progress and intervene during the game to support the individual needs of each student.

http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/61899/

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Jacksonville BOE adopts policies for online learning, early course credits

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

By Laura Gaddy, Jacksonville News

The city school board approved a pair of policies Monday that will make it possible for students to take online classes off campus and to earn credits earlier than a traditional school schedule would allow. “It’s definitely a break from the norm,” Superintendent Jon Paul Campbell said. “We’re trying to get to a place where it’s more anyplace, anytime learning.” One of the two policies deals exclusively with online learning, and paves the way for educators in Jacksonville to develop their own web-based courses. The other policy establishes three options — one of which is online learning — students can use to earn high school credits ahead of schedule.

http://www.annistonstar.com/jacksonville_news/jacksonville-boe-adopts-policies-for-online-learning-early-course-credits/article_b2299b74-fdf3-11e4-9288-0fce4ec8d902.html

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May 25, 2015

TwitterChat: Balancing the Urgency of Revenue Performance with Mission and Quality Online – May 27

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:43 am

by Ray Schroeder, Josh Kim (Dartmouth / Inside Higher Ed), Katie Blot (Blackboard), Debbie Cavalier (Berklee)

Challenged by complex and shifting funding models, higher education faces a growing urgency to balance mission and product mix to keep things afloat as enrollments and state funding decline. Adding to this complexity is the growing tension in the marketplace in which the value/currency of traditional degrees are challenged by micro-credentials and the emergence of CBE. How can institutions address these crises? Join UPCEA for this timely TweetChat by using the hashtag #HigherEdAhead on social media as online education leaders share experiences and resources and respond to your questions. A live question and answer session will occur on May 27th from 2-3PM EST. Is this your first Twitter Chat? – It’s free, it’s fun, it’s fast, it’s a fire hose of information!  Explained at the URL below:

http://upcea.edu/tweetchat

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Young Students Learn Better with Mix of Virtual and Real Worlds

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

Young learners do up to five times better when instruction combines the real world with the virtual world. That’s the finding from Carnegie Mellon University, where researchers came up with a test to figure out how technology could best contribute to learning. “NoRILLA,” as the testing platform is called, is a mixed-reality set-up that bridges physical and virtual worlds. The system includes software and hardware components, including a computer depth camera (Microsoft’s Kinect for Windows) to provide personalized feedback while experimenting in the real world.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2015/05/11/young-students-learn-better-with-mix-of-virtual-and-real-worlds.aspx

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3 considerations for the device-agnostic class

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:29 am

By Bridget McCrea, eCampus News

The open question on U.S. campuses is not if students are bringing their own devices or how to connect them to the institutional network, but rather: how do you support all these personal devices at the point of instruction, in the classroom? How can educators can effectively design lessons and utilize software in an environment where their students are using myriad different devices, computers, and operating systems? According to some educational experts, the best approach to supporting BYOD for instruction is the “device-agnostic” class. Device-agnostic tools are applications that work across multiple systems without requiring any special customizations; they are compatible with most (or all) operating systems and can be used on various tablets, smartphones, and laptops.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/device-agnostic-classroom-677/

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