5 Classroom Tech Priorities for the Coming School Year
More than 50 million students will soon return to school, and school districts have been spending the summer upgrading classroom technology in preparation for their return. For all the work done this summer, IT administrators will look for ways to continually improve throughout the school year as well. As another academic year prepares to kick off, here are five technology priorities that districts will want to invest in to improve the student experience. LANs and WANs The latest digital tools promise to transform education, but innovation won’t be fully realized without a reliable network foundation. Take a fresh look at wide area networks too. Mobile Whether for 1:1 computing initiatives or bring-your-own-device (BYOD) programs, mobile devices are mainstays on today’s campuses. Stylus support is another plus. Security and Student Privacy Some options provide central management consoles for monitoring the latest threats and for mobile device management. Digital Interactive Projectors
Ready, Set, Design!
Ready, Set, Design is one of our favorite group activities, for adults and kids alike, at Cooper-Hewitt. It’s a highly adaptable design challenge that can jump-start collaborative and creative thinking in any group. We use it with kids’ groups at the Museum, for internal staff meetings, and even at industry conferences and summits we host. The activity is such a success with our participants that we’ve gotten a lot of requests for a how-to guide. Here it is!
8 digital skills we must teach our children
The social and economic impact of technology is widespread and accelerating. The speed and volume of information have increased exponentially. Experts are predicting that 90% of the entire population will be connected to the internet within 10 years. With the internet of things, the digital and physical worlds will soon be merged. Children are using digital technologies and media at increasingly younger ages and for longer periods of time. The digital world is a vast expanse of learning and entertainment. Moreover, there is the digital age gap. So how can we, as parents, educators and leaders, prepare our children for the digital age? Digital intelligence or “DQ” is the set of social, emotional and cognitive abilities that enable individuals to face the challenges and adapt to the demands of digital life. Digital identity: The ability to create and manage one’s online identity and reputation. Share Written by Yuhyun Park, Chair, infollutionZERO Foundation
How to Take Digital Citizenship Schoolwide During the 2016 17 School Year
Since our students are using technology to play, learn, and communicate while at home and at school, they should be learning how to use that technology responsibly. Full integration of digital citizenship (or DigCit) curriculum into every class and every content area—at every grade level—should be the goal to meet this need. Keep in mind that most teacher-prep programs do not incorporate digital citizenship alongside the other elements of teacher education. Here is how we trained all the teachers in our school—St. John’s Prep in Massachusetts—as well as the lessons we learned along the way and our recommendations for what might work in your school, too. Step 1: Clear Institution-Wide Communication All stakeholders must have a clear understanding of both the “why” and the “how” of fully integrated digital citizenship. Why is digital citizenship a necessary element in 21st century education, and why is a fully-integrated approach best? What is DigCit? Goal 2: Curriculum planning.
Writing Learning Objectives for Technology Lessons
Page Content The Best Choice .... according to the experts Jones, 1997 – "Clear objectives can help the instructor design lessons that will be easier for the student tocomprehend and the teacher to evaluate".Lohr, no date – "A properly written objective tells you what specific knowledge, skill, or attitude is desired and what method of instruction and criteria for learner achievement are required." Rationale Writing clear course objectives is important because: Objectives define what you will have the students do. Basic Information Questions you need to think about Who are your students? The A.B.C.D. method The ABCD method of writing objectives is an excellent starting point for writing objectives (Heinich, et al., 1996). Audience (A) – Who? Examples of Well-Written Objectives Below are some example objectives which include Audience (A), Behavior (B), Condition (C), and Degree of Mastery (D). Notes on Objective Writing When reviewing example objectives above, you may notice a few things.
How to Integrate Technology
When technology integration in the classroom is seamless and thoughtful, students not only become more engaged, they begin to take more control over their own learning, too. Effective tech integration changes classroom dynamics, encouraging student-centered project-based learning. Think about how you are using technology with your students. Are they employing technology daily in the classroom, using a variety of tools to complete assignments and create projects that show a deep understanding of content? If your answer is "No," is it because you lack enough access to technology? This article contains the following sections: Handhelds Go to Class: Teacher Josh Barron and one of his students go through the strange-looking rite of "beaming" information to each other. Getting Started The first step in successful tech integration is recognizing the change that may need to happen inside of yourself and in your approach to teaching. Back to Top Integrating Technology Across the Access Spectrum
Why We Need to Move Away from SMART Goals and Towards New Forms of Classroom Assessment
Every new school year breathes new life into my professional career. After a summer of relaxation and self-directed professional development (which is the most important type of PD), I’m ready to return to my classroom to help students discover and refine new skills. While that may be the case again this year, I also find myself becoming increasingly unsettled as my career progresses. My uneasiness is a culmination of years of reflection on my classroom mission. My district has taken on new initiatives the past few years (as all districts do) to solve the well-documented, disconnected nature between high school graduates and workplace preparedness. The reconfiguring and implementation of these two areas—curriculum and assessment—undoubtedly costs money and time. The research and literature discussing skill-building for today’s workforce mostly address the same reality: schools are missing the most important factors for encouraging future success. “I’m not anti-measurement.
Why Making Is Essential to Learning
Making is as old as learning itself. While the maker movement may only be about a decade old, the human desire to create dates back to the earliest forms of human activity, from making stone tools to drawing on cave walls (Halverson & Sheridan, 2014; Martinez & Stager, 2014). Thinkers such as Pestalozzi, Montessori, and Papert helped paved the way for the maker movement by stressing the importance of hands-on, student-centered, meaningful learning. Instead of viewing learning as the transmission of knowledge from teacher to student, these thinkers embraced the idea that children learn best when encouraged to discover, play, and experiment. More recently, maker education is being used as a way to connect do-it-yourself informal learning to classrooms. The Science of Hands-On Learning At the heart of making is the idea that all students are creators. Hands-on learning plays a key role in maker education. Research shows that hands-on learning is an effective way to teach students science.
