Posts by Guest Author

Personalized Learning

NSBA Virtual Schools Report & The Questions Of “True Costs”

Overall, it’s nothing new; a rehash of reports from years past. Much of this information has been presented, discussed and debated in state capitols across the country. The report does, however, draw mostly negative conclusions about online schools, which is not a surprise given the policy views of NSBA and aggressive lobbying by its state chapters against charter schools, multi-district online schools, and parent choice.

Personalized Learning

How Can Embodied Learning Help Students?

The phrase “embodied learning” is coming into vogue, but it has different meanings for different stakeholders. For learning scientists, it has a very specific meaning, that is - comprehension and retention are affected by sensory motoric input. At SMALLab Learning we create educational content that taps into embodied learning using the latest advances in motion capture technology.

Personalized Learning

Improve School Safety Training With Online Flexibility

In many of today’s schools, staff safety training and management of the process is handled with in-service workshops and pen and paper sign-offs. Besides the frustration associated with manually keeping track of all those who attended, it also requires that administrators hold follow-up sessions to ensure everyone who did not attend receives training.

Personalized Learning

How P2PU is Reshaping Professional Learning for K-12 Teachers

Professional learning for K-12 teachers is an exciting space with great demand and high payoff for successful models. However, much of the professional development currently done for in-service teachers reflects old, industrial-era models of learning: rows of desks, teachers standing front and center, seat time, and lecture. Current models of granting credit to teachers are similarly antiquated and are rarely designed to prompt innovation in the classroom.

Personalized Learning

Gamification: Accelerating Learning For Business & Education

Anyone who has children or who has been around them for a while knows that kids, as well as young adults, are attracted to video games like flies are attracted to light. And while older adults may think the kids are being lazy or using their time idly when they’re connected to their Wii or Xbox using a Kinect, in reality the kids are paving the way for business training and education.

EdTech

Out of Poverty Into Opportunity

Dr. Idit Harel Caperton. At the NewSchools Venture Fund SUMMIT2012 (in collaboration with The Aspen Institute) this May in San Francisco, NewSchools CEO Ted Mitchell gave an inspiring address to one thousand members of America's leading education reform movement.

EdTech

Music Students Overcome Stage Fright With Automated Digital Audience

I was asked by Professor Michelle Gingras, clarinet faculty, and Dr. Harvey Thurmer, violin faculty, at Miami University to create a tool that would help reduce stage fright for their students. Music students perform fine in the comfort of their own home or in the professor’s office. Yet, on stage students are fine until an audience member causes a slight distraction. Student performers lose their concentration causing them to miss a note. The student is so mindful of the miss that suddenly, all focus is gone and catastrophe unfolds on stage.

Personalized Learning

Automating AND Humanizing Education for The First Time In History

While many parents and teachers lament over the amount of time today’s youth spend on video games, the truth is that these high-tech “toys” can be used to revolutionize education and training. Think of it this way: The games our kids are playing take them into a highly immersive, interspatial, 3D world. They learn how a wide variety of tools operate, including sports, futuristic vehicles, and various machines. They develop sophisticated strategies and tactics they can use to accomplish goals and win the game.

Personalized Learning

In the Future, Teachers Remain Key to Student Success

New technologies and 21st century students will change tomorrow’s classrooms but quality instruction will remain the most important indicator of student achievement, which is why we must invest in professional development for teachers today.