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Personalized Learning
iNACOL Webinar to Guide Teachers to Optimize the Online Classroom
The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) will host a webinar on Thursday, January 19 for online teachers looking to create an enriching virtual classroom experience to encourage higher order thinking for their students.
EdTech
Balancing Young Learners’ Media Consumption: Is There an App for That?
America's preschoolers spend about four hours a day consuming media, ranging from television (still No. 1) to Internet, digital video, and young gamer favorites such as Club Penguin, SesameStreet.org and Little Big Planet. Start with the recent explosion of touchscreen tablets and apps, add a healthy dose of new 'i-tot' products now marketed to parents with young kids, and presto -- we have a whole new media ball game that has parents and educators in a tizzy.
Personalized Learning
Is Online Education for K-12 Really Wrong-headed?
The real answer is that we don’t know – yet. Recent investigative journalism by papers as diverse as The New York Times and Arizona Republic have left the impression that online education is underperforming, costly, and misguided. A careful look at the way respective journalists made their cases leaves parents and the public asking for more incisive and scientifically-based investigations. Here is how some of the criticism was constructed and what we need to answer the question about the value of online education.
EdTech
Analyzing Apple’s Education App Store
The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop released iLearn II: An Analysis of the Education Category of Apple's App Store, a review of the 200 top learning apps for iPad and iPhone.
EdTech
Khush CEO Asks, ‘Can Tech Transform Education?’
This week on TechCrunch, Khush CEO Prerna Gupta joined us in scratching our heads over the questions: Why has education fallen so behind other industries in technology adoption? Why is higher education overvalued?
Personalized Learning
iCivics Creates a Powerful Blend of Civics Knowledge and Engagement
An unintended consequence of the intense focus on English and math standards and assessments in the NCLB decade is that civics took a back seat. “We believe it is a great mistake to push civics to the sideline in schools,” says former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. “Unfortunately, a staggering number of Americans today know dismayingly little about the basic history and traditions of our democracy. Nationwide, more than a third of all high school seniors today lack even basic civics knowledge and skills.”
Personalized Learning
Shift Your Classroom: Small Strategic Steps
For most of my teaching career, I’ve been a pretty traditional teacher (even now I slip back into that mode sometimes). However, as I went through the motions of trying to “teach” my students, something didn’t feel right. My students seemed to learn things only for the exam, were focused on the mark, not the learning that was supposed to be taking place. When the unit or semester was over, they dumped all their notes and assignments. Frustrating.
EdTech
Vinod Khosla Asks, ‘Will We Need Teachers Or Algorithms?’
Silicon Valley investor Vinod Khosla published "Will We Need Teachers Or Algorithms" on TechCrush this week, an article that argues we make poor use of teachers' and students' talents and training in the United States.
EdTech
SmartTech Roundup: Gamification, Platforms, Tabs & eBooks
All things edtech every monday; Vinod Khosla on gamification; ST Math boosting blended gains; tablet news including early trouble Aakash, the super cheap Indian tab; platform news including some movement toward competency tracking and attempts to monazite clicks.
EdTech
Former WV Governor Pushes for ‘Blended Learning’
Bob Wise, Alliance for Excellent Education and co-chair of Digital Learning Now, was in Olympia Washington last week advocating for blended learning and the 10 Elements of High Quality Digital Learning.