Career & Technical Ed
EdTech
EdTech
7 Student-Tested Digital Storytelling Tools
Last month, in my classroom version of DIY BYOD, my fifth-graders dove into the world of digital storytelling.
Personalized Learning
Stay the Course with the 1:1 Initiative
If people were drowning, we would immediately start a 1:1 lifejacket initiative. We wouldn't abandon it if the people were still flopping around in the water like wounded fish after they put on their lifejackets. Struggling swimmers flop around because they were not prepared by their leaders and mentors. We especially wouldn’t abandon the lifejacket plan if our only other plan was rearranging the deck chairs on the boat while we let the swimmers sink to the bottom with hopes that somehow they would pop out the other side and be “life ready.”
Leadership
Smart Cities: Early Observations
We’re more than 20 cities into this weekly series examining education in American cities--a few things are becoming clear. I launched the series because everybody is talking about innovation (inside and outside of education) but I don’t think we know much about where it happens or how it spreads--or why it doesn’t.
Personalized Learning
Oregon School District Shows Success With Individualized Online Learning
Early indicators suggest that Lebanon School District’s implementation and access of online learning materials, has been a success. Lebanon School District is located in a rural area of Oregon which suffers from high unemployment and high dropout rates. With the help of Oregon iSchool, developed by K12 Inc., 450 students, who might not have otherwise been enrolled in school, have enrolled in the online courses. Giving students who face low socioeconomic challenges more options to attend school, could result in higher attrition rates.
Personalized Learning
Teaching with Technology in the Classroom
Once upon a time, pedagogy and subject matter content were two separate domains. Teachers were expected to know their subject (reading, math, science, English, etc.) and they were expected to know how to teach a classroom of students.
EdTech
EdTech 10: Storm Before Summer
After a hot beginning of the week in Phoenix, a rainy day in Seattle, your substitute EdTech conductor is reporting live from Akron--and who wouldn't want to make a Spring Break trip to Akron?! It’s now the storm before the calm of summer as Spring Breaks around the country come to an end.
Personalized Learning
Students Shine Through Digital Portfolios
Voyager Academy Charter School in Durham, NC is a project-based learning school that currently has about 1,250 students across grades K-11. We started with 320 students in grades 4-7 in 2007 and have grown exponentially. This upcoming school year we will add 12th grade and complete our growth.
EdTech
EdTech 10: No Break for EdTech
I don’t know about all of you, dear readers, but next week our family is hitting the road for a spring break adventure. Has this blissful seasonal milestone already passed for you? Or perhaps your spring breakin’ days are long gone altogether. Either way, there’s plenty of adventure in this week’s EdTech 10 to keep you busy. And, fear not, the Getting Smart team will bring you next week’s top ten - same time, same station, different conductor.
Uncategorized
Product Review: Cyber Science 3D
Cyber Science 3D offers a wide variety of 3D and 2.5D (more about that in a minute) manipulable anatomical models. The range of models available is impressive, including chemicals like acetaminophen and adrenalin, cells, mammals, fish, dinosaurs, invertebrates, plants, earth science models like a volcano and a geyser, planets, and mechanical elements like a satellite and a turbine engine.
EdTech
PLTW Chooses Instructure for Active STEM Learning
After two successful data startups Josh Coates turned his attention to another category with a capabilities gap--learning management systems. I caught up with Josh at SXSWedu earlier this month.