Pillars of Digital Literacy

Essential Elements of Digital Literacy

• Cultural – Look at the context in which the literacy is situated
• Cognitive – How do we think when we are using a device (vs when we are not)?
• Constructive – We should aim to use technology in a constructive (vs a passive) way
• Communicative – We should be using technology to enhance our communications
• Confident – You need to be confident to jump in feet first and explore/use/master/learn technology
• Creative – Using technology in the classroom requires some creativity and risk taking – don’t stick to the basics when you can test out a new idea or use for technology
• Critical – You need the ability to look at the technologies you’re using (and what you’re using them for) with a critical eye
• Civic- We should be using the technologies available to us for greater good (which can be widely defined)

Post Source : http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/05/the-8-pillars-of-digital-literacies.html

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Flipped Learning

Just come across this wonderful visual entitled "Growth in Flipped Learning" and want to share it with you as well. The visual is created by Sophia and Flipped Learning Network and features some interesting stats about the actual use of flipped learning methodology.

According to the Flipped Learning Network,  Flipped learning is  "a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter. "

Snapshot taken from Sophia's graphic

Here are some of the highlights from this graphic :

• 78% of teachers have flipped a lesson in 2014
• 96% of teachers who have flipped a lesson or unit would recommend that method to other teachers.
• the majority of flipped teaching still occurs in high school
• 9 out of 10 teachers noticed a positive change in student engagement since flipping their class.
• 71% of teachers stated improved grades since using flipped classroom
• Close to half of teachers flip their class 1 or 2 times a week showing it doesn't need to be on everyday activity
• 93% of teachers who are flipping their classroom started as their own initiative.
• 74% of teachers said that their flipped learning efforts are supported by their school administration

Post Source : http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/05/awesome-new-flipped-learning-graphic.html

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Integration of Games in Teaching

Games are ubiquitous digital activities that students , regardless of their grade level, engage in online. They play them on their computers, smart phones, with each other and with others they have never met. Several scientific studies published in this regard speak for the advocacy of game integration in education (see the list of resources at the end of this post). I have spent sometime reading some of these studies and came up with the list below featuring the main reasons why you need to consider using games in your teaching.

1-   Games  combine  activities that require movement, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. As such games activate both the right and left sides of the brain. According to Judy Dodge (author of 25 Quick Formative Assessments for a Differentiated Classroom, 2009), "If you're only listening, you're only activating one part of the brain, but if you're drawing and explaining to a peer, then you're making connections in the brain."

2- Gaming activities stimulates kids brain., and as Ben Mardell, PhD( researcher with Project Zero at Harvard University) argues : kids learn through all their senses and they like to touch and manipulate things".

3-  Students have different learning styles and games can cater to all these styles: auditory, kinaesthetic, tactile, and visual learners.

5- Games enhance students motor skills coordination, an essential element for carrying on functional activities throughout their entire lives.

6- Situated learning (local learning or inside learning) is greatly enhanced through game play.

7- Virtual game environments provide learners with an immersive experience that encompasses frequent opportunities for reflection and collaborative meaning construction.

8- According to Richard Van Eck, Games and play can be effective learning environments not because they are fun but because they are : immersive, require the player to make frequent important decisions; have clear goals, adapt to each player individually; and involve a social network.

9- Their social and experiential natures make out of games ideal activities for developing memory, understanding, and problem solving.

10- Most of popular games develop communities around them. These communities are what James Paul Gee called "affinity space". In these gaming affinity spaces, gamers get to share ideas, use group problem-definition and problem solving, socialize and develop social skills .

11- According to SRI Study released a year ago, games particularly digital games can improve students achievements in areas of Math, Science, engineering, and technology.

I also invite you to check the infographic below to learn more about how games help students learn.

Post Source : http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/05/11-reasosn-why-you-should-integrate.html 

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Learning Trends

Blended learning can tick a lot of boxes for a lot of different teachers who teach in potentially quite different scenarios. From 1:1 classrooms and schools with plenty of iPads to BYOD classes filled with different types (and amounts) of technology, blended learning can help nearly every teacher make learning more personalized and more interesting for their students.  Implementing a blended learning program in your classroom can be a great way to put the technology tools you have – whatever they may be – to use. The handy infographic below takes a look at 10 blended learning trends that are showing up in today’s classrooms. Keep reading to learn more!

10 Blended Learning Trends

1. The student-centered learning experience – focus on the students rather than on the teacher offers a more inquiry driven and experiential learning experience
2. Soaring numbers of digital learners – the number of students participating in classroom-only education is shrinking (albeit slowly) while the number of students participating in some type of online learning is steadily growing (despite making up a much smaller percentage of students)
3. Building higher order thinking skills – students are required to look at information more critically rather than just trying to memorize what is presented to them in class
4. Realizing benefits for both teachers and students – this approach benefits not only the students, but teachers too!
5. A framework for data-driven decision making in education – a blended approach offers more data and information for teachers, administrators, and parents to make more informed decisions
6. A personalized learning approach – by a lean, blended and interactive approach
7. Productive gamification – bringing students to deeper learning
8. The mobile world is where learners live now – more so for personal than school use
9. Students have personal access to mobile devices – smartphones, tablets, laptops and digital reading devices trump desktops
10. The need for more broadband – 72% of schools in the US lack the broadband access they need to support digital learning

Post Source : http://www.edudemic.com/blended_learning_trends/

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Classroom Document Sharing Tools

Having a digital classroom means a few different things:

1. You have less stacks of paper

2. It is (generally) easier to keep track of student work

3. “The dog ate my homework” isn’t a viable excuse anymore

4. Note taking needs to take a new form

5. You need another method of sharing work that doesn’t involve handing papers from one person to another

Clearly, number 5 on this list is the one that will cause you the most thought these days, unless your dog is into eating computers – and then you have a bigger problem on your hands. Lots of things need to be shared. Students need to hand in their work, teachers need to offer feedback on said work, students need to share their collaborative work, and teachers need to share classroom information and tools of all variety. Luckily, there are tons of different tools out there that can enable you to share nearly any type of file (from .doc/.docx and .ppt to .mov, .mp3/4 , .zip and more!). There’s a lot of info out there on different cloud storage services – which are a great way to share files – but many of these are business focused and not as classroom friendly. We’ve put together a short list of some of our favorite methods of file sharing so that you, your colleagues, and your students can spend more time on the good stuff and less time trying to figure out how to get the information to one another.

File Sharing Tools

Dropbox

Dropbox comes up on nearly everyone’s list of easy file sharing tools. They offer 2GB of free storage, easy offline access, the ability to send files to Dropbox via email, and simple sharing. If you have huge documents (or just very high volume), you’ll need to either pony up the cash for a premium account, or get your friends to sign up, give them shout outs on social media, give feedback, etc.

Google Drive

Google Drive! It’s free! It integrates super easily with other Google products (many of which you probably already use in your classroom). The drawback is that if you need to share with folks who don’t have Google Drive/Gmail, you’ll run into an issue there. You get 15GB of free storage, and paid options beyond that.

OneDrive

This is basically Microsoft’s answer to Google Drive, from what I can tell. You get 7GB of space for free, and it integrates exceptionally well if you’re an MS Office user. If you’re not, it doesn’t make a ton of sense, but many classrooms are using Office these days.

Apple iCloud

Apple’s version of cloud storage service offers you 5GB free, and paid options beyond that. Easy to set up and use (even on PC). If your classroom is all Apple-based, this one is a must have.

Box

Box offers 10GB free storage with paid options beyond that, easy sharing of documents and folders, and easy to use regardless of platform or device.

Post Source : http://www.edudemic.com/classroom-document-sharing/

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State Of Girls’ Education

Ensuring access to quality education for girls is always a story, if you live in the education realm like we do. For many, though, especially if you live in a first world country with easy access to education, equal education for both sexes usually isn’t an issue at the forefront of our minds. Lately though, with the big story of the girls kidnapped from their school in Nigeria, brings the issue into the eye of the global media. The girls were kidnapped while at school by Boko Haram, the terrorist group whose name means “western education is forbidden”. While this is obviously an extreme example of education disparities between genders and different areas of the world, access to education – especially for girls, and especially in STEM subjects in ALL locations – is an ongoing issue in global education. 

The handy infographic below takes a look at girls’ education in 2013 – and tracks some of the progress that has been made since about 1990. Keep reading to learn more.

An Update On Girls’ Education

• The gap between boys and girls literacy has closed since 1990
• As of 2013, the global literacy rate for females 15-24 was 87%
• In 1990, that number was 79%
• For males, those numbers are 92% (2013) and 88% (1990)
• The largest gender discrepancies are found in Sub-saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa
• Girls have nearly caught up to boys in primary enrollment – a marked change since 1990
• Sub-saharan Africa and South Asia are the main areas where large discrepancies still exist
• Eritrea has the lowest % of girls enrolled in primary school, followed by Mali, Nigeria, and Pakistan
• Secondary enrollment still suffers compared with primary enrollment, but is now nearly equal to that of males – the current rates are 49% for girls and 54% for boys
• There are nearly 31 million out of school primary aged girls
• There are nearly 34 million of secondary age
• Nigeria, Pakistan, and Ethiopia are home to about 1/3 of the world’s out of school girls
• Worldwide, more females are enrolled in higher education than males, though the reverse is true in low and middle income countries

Post Source : http://www.edudemic.com/girls-education/

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New Learners vs New Teachers

I am actually reading a book by Kalantzis Mary and Bill Cope entitled "Literacies". In this wonderful work, the authors take you into an eventful journey back into the history of literacy and guide you through the major changes that marked the use of literacy in each era and how teaching pedagogy has been shaped by the meaning that literacy takes in each of these eras. The book also outlines four major approaches to literacy : Didactic literacy , authentic literacy, functional literacy, and critical literacy. Each of these approaches has its own ramifications in education and pedagogy. I will write more in details about these four types of approaches in an article to be published in the few coming weeks.

As I was reading "Literacies" I came across this wonderful chart that captures the essence of the thinking and values that lie behind the new assigned roles of teachers and student. These roles are informed by the new conceptions of literacies which regard learning and teaching as a collaborative process of meaning making.

Table taken from " Literacies"

Post Source : http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/05/a-handy-chart-featuring-new-learners-vs.html

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