Archive: 2013
Playdate13: Giving Teachers the Gift of Time
Most teachers I know don’t ask for much, but I know that if they could ask for something, it would be more time! More time to plan and prepare, but really more time to connect, learn, and get better. We, as teachers nowadays, can’t get by with just knowing the content. We have to learn the tools... the most effective ways to transfer that content knowledge to our wily little tech savvy digital citizens -- AKA our students.
Is Competency Based Learning the Future of Education?
French President, François Hollande, is short and spectacled. Oh, and he wants to abolish homework. Whatever his arguments (youths from poorer backgrounds are at a disadvantage to their more affluent peers, etc), children across the country must be dancing at their desks.
Join Us in Celebrating National School Choice Week
National School Choice Week 2013 will be the largest celebration of education reform in history, and we couldn’t be more excited! You’re encouraged to get involved by hosting your own free special event during The Week (January 25 to February 2).
Smart Cities: San Francisco
The Bay Area is unquestionably the world's leading innovation hub--and that includes learning. Ten years ago it was all about Silicon Valley, but recently Oakland emerged as an edreform hotspot. The innovation center of gravity has definitely moved north in the Bay Area as San Francisco has become home to leading investors and startups.
12 Top eLearning Tools for 2012 and Beyond
What's new in learning technology? As we wrap up 2012 and head into 2013, there are a lot of lists out there to help us discover the latest tools and techniques. The Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies (C4LPT) conducts an annual study of learning tools, creating a list of the top 100 from votes submitted by learning professionals (i.e., educators and trainers at all levels) around the globe.
4 Steps to Making BYOD Work
Just a few years ago, the “smart money” for school districts was on 1:1 computing where schools issued each student a laptop. While there is a role for 1:1 initiatives, increasingly the dialogue has evolved to bring-your-own-device (BYOD), which focuses on the use of student-owned mobile devices, and for good reason. Research shows that “active learners” (students who have grown up with technology and expect it to be readily available) want to bring their own devices to school – and are driving changes in mobile phone use policies.
Competency-Based Learning and FLVS
Competency based learning has its origins in the business world. High school graduates who decide to become a barber, for example, would need specialized training in cutting hair. They would take an assessment to verify competency before receiving a license to cut hair. In order to maintain global standing, industry and education leaders teamed up to create a description of elements for 21st century outcomes.
How We’ll Learn in 2013
Here are three big stories concerning education and learning that you'll be hearing about in the year ahead—and some pointers on how to think about them.
EdTech 10: Quality & Quantity
We’re two weeks into the New Year and the news has quickly snapped out of the holiday slow down. We’re full steam ahead into 2013! And our first myth to strike in the New Year: Who says you can’t have quality and quantity? This week, developments include both and the education market is getting bigger and better -- fast. As always, we’ve pulled together the top 10 stories from the week, and now we’re calling it the Edtech 10.
Alliance for Excellent Education Counts Down to Digital Learning Day
With less than one month until the second annual national Digital Learning Day on February 6, the Alliance for Excellent Education announced today initial details of the organization’s national effort to promote digital learning and spotlight successful instructional technology practice in the classroom.