Questions To Ask Yourself Before Trying New Technology

By Katie Lepi

Yesterday, we looked at an infographic that looked at the implementation of a blended learningprogram. It talked about how to set yourself up for success when implementing blended learning, what some attributes of a great blended learning program are, and drivers of blended learning.

The drivers of blended learning was sort of buried towards the bottom of the infographic, and we thought it could use a little spotlight of its own, so we’ve taken that part of the original infographicand are showcasing it on its own below.

Why? Because there are really good reasons to give it a shot. If you look at the ten reasons listed below, we’re pretty sure you’ll find at least a couple that you’ll benefit from, or are already trying to do in another way. If you read each item as a sort of question to yourself, they can also serve as a handy little go-to list that you should be asking when you’re implementing anything new in your classroom.

10 Drivers of Blended Learning

• Teachers need and want to:
• Personalize learning
• Improve the progress potential for each individual student
• Improve student engagement and motivation
• Shift to online state testing as of 2015
• Extend time and stretch resources effectively
• Extend the reach of effective teachers
• Improve teacher’s working conditions
• Decrease device costs
• Have students and parents adopt learning apps
• Narrow the digital divide

10 Questions To Ask Yourself When Implementing New Technology

• The answer doesn’t have to be yes for every question, but the more boxes you can tick, the better!
• Does it improve the teacher’s ability to personalize learning? (yes!)
• Does it offer potential for individual progress? (yes!)
• Does it improve student engagement and motivation? (yes!)
• Does it help teachers to to online testing methods? (yes!)
• Does it extend time and stretch resources effectively? (yes!)
• Does it extend the reach of effective teachers? (yes!)
• Does it improve teacher’s working conditions? (yes!)
• Does it decrease device costs? (yes!)
• Does it help students and parents adopt learning apps? (yes!)
• Does it help narrow the digital divide? (yes!)

Post Source: http://www.edudemic.com/new-technology-questions/

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4 Ways Teachers Can Encourage Online Interaction

By Laura Iancu

The education sector is rapidly changing and adapting to new technologies. Modern days have made educators go above and beyond with their teaching skills and learn to use new tools to innovate their style and create a better learning environment for students.                          

            

Starting with correspondence courses and ending up with the apparition of MOOCs, education tried to bring closer students from all around the world. This has rapidly grown the number of enrolled students but the completion rate was really low.

The reasons for this statistics are various, but one thing we know for sure is that students need a sense of belonging even in online learning. It is in our human nature to seek communication and want interaction. And this is a part that many new online educational application lack sometimes.

If you are a teacher wanting to increase the interaction with students while helping them to learn online you have to identify the right way to communicate with students. You may want to achieve this no matter if we are talking about actual MOOCs or a custom way you choose to disseminate materials in a digital format. So here are some helpful tools which you can implement to encourage interaction and enhance your teaching skills:

Online Quizzes

These can be a good way to help your students learn easier. If you use them as pop-up quizzes at the end of a presentation, chances that students remember what the course was about raise considerably. You can find a tool to create complex online quizzes that will answer all your needs and results will probably improve immediately. Working with custom made quizzes is easier that to search for ready-made ones. Online quizzes are a great way to keep your students focused, to evaluate them and offer them the chance to test their assimilation capacity.

Feedback Forms

Feedback forms can be a great chance to find if your tactics actually work. Feedback is a great way to find what students actually think of your course. The odds that they will fill such a form are higher if you allow respondents to remain anonymous either if you have personally met them or not. You can focus on data and put your efforts in finding what is relevant for improvement of your online course.

Surveys

Surveys have a lot of applications in the classroom. Use them to discover the general opinion of your class, to learn about new trends and better adapt your teaching style or prepare new courses. Online surveys will generate statistical data that can help you reach further and understand the needs and requirements of present and future students. These are perfect for research, especially if you desire to create a new course and test the water to see if there is a demand from students.

Polls and Ratings

Conduct regular voting and let students participate in decision making. For example, let them choose the projects they are about to do or the topic you will discuss on a special lecture. There are many variations, the important thing is to enable them to feel they are actually part of the course you are teaching and that their opinion actually matters. If you don’t have the luxury of adjusting the course as you go, you can add ratings to your course with grades or rating stars to learn an immediate reaction of your students.

Besides all these, you definitely need to show your students that they can reach you. Offering a valid communication channel will allow you to give a complete learning experience for your students. You can guide them towards a forum on the MOOC you use, a social group, an email list or other medium. The important part for your students is to know they can ask questions and someone will give them an answer.

Online learning is tricky but the benefits are tremendous so learn to leverage them. Because, “online learning can open doors that would otherwise remain closed.” (Daphne Koller, one of the Coursera founders)

Post Source: http://www.edudemic.com/4-ways-teachers-can-encourage-online-interaction/

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How Can Busy Teachers Learn Next-Gen Skills?

By Amy Burkman on February 7, 2014

Most of today’s classroom teachers are digital immigrants, who need to not only learn the latest technologies but also help students learn skills for workplaces that don’t yet exist. This imperative, compounded by the advanced skills of their digital native students, creates a daunting task for the best of teachers.

Most teachers work very hard to keep up with today’s technology and related jargon, with mixed success. For example, a teacher at my son’s school walked around telling the students she had been twerking all day because she thought the term meant texting and working! It made perfect sense to her and brought great amusement to all of her students. However, it is a perfect example of the challenges that teachers face when trying to keep up.

Learning Next-Gen Skills

So, how do teachers help students develop modern learning skills? Start with the basics. Technology is not a replacement for learning core information. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are still essential; technology should be used as a tool for teaching these areas. Critical thinking, communication, and creativity stem from learning in these areas and should not be neglected.

Special focus should be put on information literacy, media skills, and technology skills. Students need to be taught to analyze information sources, determine authenticity, and synthesize information presented, all of which require the ability to read and write critically. They also need to be able to navigate information and present information through a variety of media and technology tools and formats.

Teachers teach skills that don’t yet exist through the development of critical and analytical thinking skills. Students must be able to problem- solve in order to access information and think through applications of that information that they have never encountered.

If anything, technology has created a greater need for understanding basic information in order to adapt to unforeseeable situations. What an exciting time to teach!

There are a variety of resources available that provide information specifically to help develop the modern learner. Here are a few:

• The Partnership for 21st Century Skills
• The Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills
• Institute of Museums and Library Service
• NEA Partnership for 21st Century Skills

By accessing this information, and making a concerted effort, teachers and other school leaders can provide an environment where learners thrive and succeed, today and throughout their lifetime.

About the Author

Dr. Amy Burkman – Senior Manager of Assessment & Accreditation, School of Education, American Public University System

Dr. Burkman has over 15 years of experience as a K-12 educator, as a teacher, librarian and administrator. Dr. Burkman has also served as a professor of educational leadership, first in a part-time capacity and then full time, for the past seven years. In addition to working as an educator, she has also been a provider of professional development for the Texas Education Service Center for Region 11 and several school districts in Texas. Dr. Burkman received a Master’s Degree in Library Sciences from Texas Woman’s University, where she was also inducted in Beta Phi Mu, the International Library & Information Studies Honor Society and she was awarded her doctorate from Texas Christian University.

Post Source: http://www.edudemic.com/next-gen-skills/

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