Monthly Archives: June 2011
Demand for online learning increases | Featured ISTE | eSchoolNews.com
In just three years, the number of high school students who have access to online learning has tripled, while twice as many middle school students are now learning online, according to a new report.These figures come from the nonprofit group Project Tomorrow and its most recent Speak Up survey on school technology use. Project Tomorrow first released data from its this survey earlier this spring, but the organization has teamed up with learning management system provider Blackboard Inc. to dig deeper into the results that pertain to online learning.Project Tomorrow and Blackboard issued a report on these findings during the International Society for Technology in Education’s annual conference June 28.
via Demand for online learning increases | Featured ISTE | eSchoolNews.com.
Infographics as an infolit product « NeverEndingSearch
Data is the new soil. Because for me, it feels like a fertile, creative medium. You know, over the years, online, we’ve laid down a huge amount of information and data, and we irrigate it with networks and connectivity, and it’s been worked and tilled by unpaid workers and governments. . . But it’s a really fertile medium, and it feels like visualizations, infographics, data visualizations, they feel like flowers blooming from this medium.
What Makes a Good Project
Teachers instinctively know that projects are worthwhile, even if they do not understand every facet of a good project or have experience supporting project based learning. For too many students, the term “project” means any activity that is not worksheet-based or takes longer than a 42-minute class period. I have seen too many instances of unimaginative assignments turned into projects just by giving students weeks for completion. That five paragraph essay about caribou is transformed into a project when students are given two months to obsess over it. The inevitable procrastination leads to increased stress and an imperceptible improvement in quality.
Socrative Student Response System
Socrative is a rapidly evolving free web application that provides the easiest and most user-friendly experience Ive seen from any student response system. Socrative will ultimately provide full-featured apps for iOS and Android devices. The system was developed by MIT graduates.Socrative provides a similar end user experience to that of the SMART Response System or Promethean Activote. The difference with Socrative is that students can use web-enabled devices as their buzzers and input device. We tested the system with iPads, iPod Touches, and iPhones. The interaction between the teacher created questions and student responses was fast and clean. Teachers can create individual questions, quizzes, and polls. The creation of questions is stunningly easy to use and the steps are easy to explain to teachers.
Teachers learn how to give students the reins in AP course at Plainfield East – Herald News
PLAINFIELD — To prepare for new curriculum in Advanced Placement science courses, many teachers went back to class for four days last week to learn a new way to teach.“It’s basically a 180-degree change. They are going from teacher-directed activities to student-directed activities,” said John Polka, AP biology consultant who teaches high school teachers the new curriculum designed by the College Board.“I think it’s much more student-oriented. The kids are going to learn more rather than just sitting down and memorizing,” Polka said. “So questions on muscle physiology are out the window.”Last week, Plainfield School District hosted its third annual College Board-endorsed AP Summer Institute at Plainfield East High School where teachers received 30 hours of training on what to teach in AP courses.
via Teachers learn how to give students the reins in AP course at Plainfield East – Herald News.
Demand for online learning increases | Featured ISTE | eSchoolNews.com
In just three years, the number of high school students who have access to online learning has tripled, while twice as many middle school students are now learning online, according to a new report. These figures come from the nonprofit group Project Tomorrow and its most recent Speak Up survey on school technology use. Project Tomorrow first released data from its this survey earlier this spring, but the organization has teamed up with learning management system provider Blackboard Inc. to dig deeper into the results that pertain to online learning.Project Tomorrow and Blackboard issued a report on these findings during the International Society for Technology in Education’s annual conference June 28.More than 40 percent of students now designate online classes as an essential component of their learning experience, with administrators and parents also becoming more supportive of this vision, the report says. In two years’ time, 39 percent more administrators and five times as many parents have incorporated online classes into their vision for the ultimate school.
via Demand for online learning increases | Featured ISTE | eSchoolNews.com.
ASCD Inservice: Petroglyphs to Pie Charts: Getting Started with Infographics
Infographics combine visuals and text to make information easier to understand or present information in a new way. In her #ISTE11 presentation, “Infographics as a Creative Assessment” available here, Kathy Schrock noted that students need to study infographics before creating their own. For example, they might
via ASCD Inservice: Petroglyphs to Pie Charts: Getting Started with Infographics.
Feds review progress on National Ed-Tech Plan | Featured ISTE | eSchoolNews.com
he second day of the International Society for Technology in Education’s annual conference featured an hour-long presentation and Q&A session with Karen Cator, director of educational technology for the federal Education Department ED.Cator reviewed the nation’s progress toward implementing ed-tech projects and highlighted some of the plan’s top priorities.“It really is a national education technology plan,” Cator said June 27. “How do people learn in the 21st century?”The plan focuses on:• Learning: Personalized learning and true engagement can make for a powerful learning environment, the plan says.• Teaching: Technology has the opportunity to really augment teaching capacity in every single classroom, it says.• Assessment: For feedback and better understanding, educators must understand how people learn, and they should be able to take that feedback and improve teaching and learning.The plan includes “the vision to transform American education and power up learning with the best tech tools of today,” Cator said.
via Feds review progress on National Ed-Tech Plan | Featured ISTE | eSchoolNews.com.
20 Technology Skills that Every Educator Should Have | Digital Learning Environments
In 2005 I wrote a similar article and have had requests to write an update. Technology has changed a great deal in the last 5-6 years. Although, realistically, you would not use all of these technologies, you should be knowledgeable in what each of the following technology is and how it could be/might be used in a classroom. \
via 20 Technology Skills that Every Educator Should Have | Digital Learning Environments.
7 Real Time Data Online Science Investigations: Project-Based Learning Designed to Develop Quantitative Skills | Suite101.com
Students learn how to conduct science investigations in the same manner as scientists, as they learn to analyze sets of online real time data to solve problems.Using real time data for developing quantitative literacy in project-based learning science activities focuses on students’ ability to use critical thinking and mathematical reasoning skills to draw sound conclusions during science investigations. While quantitative skills are used heavily in math and science, it is not exclusive to either content area. It is a necessary skill used for decision-making and an ability to understand data by applying numerical insight into experimental findings.
Curator’s Note: Great way to get kids into computational thinking which is a foundation for careers in STEM fields.
