Posts by Guest Author
Personalized Learning
How the Flipped Classroom Turned Me into a Better Student
My first two years of high school were a continuous struggle. I wasn’t very engaged during class, had a difficult time doing my homework, and was unable to get help from my parents because they didn’t know the material that I was being assigned. After my sophomore year I took the ACT test and scored a 13 – which was not good enough to have many options after high school.
Personalized Learning
Extreme Learning and the University Professor, Part 1
In 1945, as the world was emerging from war, Dr. Vannevar Bush, Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, called for scientists to rally around a new, post-war cause: make our collective knowledge open to the masses.
EdTech
6 Top Free eBooks for English Literature Students
It’s becoming increasingly straightforward for English Literature students to read and make notes on their set texts through eBooks and devices. Books can be downloaded and read on tablets, or even on smartphones, while PDFs and computer readers mean that students can make notes and highlight particular passages when revising.
Personalized Learning
How MOOCs Already Changed Higher Ed in 2012
As we all know, cost is the major reason that students drop out of college, with the two highest cost factors being tuition and textbooks. In 2012, we have talked a lot of the potential of MOOCs to make higher education more open, more affordable and more responsive to employers’ needs than the traditional university structure.
Personalized Learning
Hackathons Spawn New Ed Tech Tools
Let’s face it; if you are serious about jumping into the edtech world and you are lucky enough to live around a tech hub, then it’s likely you’ve heard of hackathons. These events offer an opportunity to meet hungry programmers and enthusiasts of all sorts. One thing's for sure, whether you’re a Web guru, a backend ninja, or educator looking to bring a bright new idea to life, it’s best to show up knowing what to expect.
Personalized Learning
The Dropout Problem: Still Considered a “Crisis?”
I’ve seen the statement made over the years several times: that the term “dropout” was not used prior to 1950. This implies that dropping out of school before graduation was seen as a normal course of events and that schools did not think it was necessary to do anything about it.
Personalized Learning
No, You’re Not Doing Blended Learning
When our consulting team approaches educators about a new blended learning implementation, we typically hear three reasons for why they won’t engage: blended learning costs too much, teachers won’t like it, and we’re already doing it.
Personalized Learning
Reading Curriculum: Critical Thinking & Creativity for Understanding
As teachers, we struggle with the mundane repetition of the reading process that we involve our students in given many of the current curricula that are available. In some instances, we may supplement that curriculum with a book that we believe our students will enjoy, many of which are recommended by the students or that we see them reading every day once their “work” is done. We then give the students a study guide and assign a chapter to read each day, and may even give them the option to complete a few short answer questions in their reading journal.
EdTech
Training Future Surgeons—With Videogames?
Researchers have found that high school- and college-age gamers are better virtual surgeons than medical residents, reports Colin Lecher on the Popular Science website.
EdTech
Google+ Hangouts: The Future of Faculty Development?
Not long ago, Michelle Pacansky-Brock realized something about the community college faculty members taking one of her online professional development courses.