A Thematic Approach to Planning Your Maker Space
When schools talk about the Maker Movement and creating maker spaces, they often focus their initial thinking on purchasing the tools and materials. This resource-driven approach can create a buzz in your school for some time; however, that excitement will inevitably fade. While resources are an important part of any maker space, taking a thematic planning approach is much more effective. No two maker spaces are alike or should be alike. Developing appropriate and relevant themes for your space will ensure that your maker space is unique to the needs, wants, and interests of your students, and unique to your school community as well. While maker spaces often have a STEM orientation, they most certainly do not have to be limited to just those disciplines. To select themes for your maker space, it is important first to understand your learners. The next thing you should do is take time to evaluate the programs, offerings, and curricula within your school.
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!
5 Reasons Why the Flipped Classroom Works in Higher Education
Education research expert David Miller reveals 5 benefits flipped classrooms provide higher education. By David Miller February 10, 2015 The concept of “flipped classroom” is popular nowadays, and most people have learned that despite its name, the idea behind it is not very aerodynamic. However, it’s turning into a great movement. Instructors turn to flipped classrooms in several different combinations. Others begin a lesson by asking questions about the material students previously watched, and have students answer those questions via clicker technology. Flipped classroom also provides other benefits: 1. Although there are no studies to prove student engagement level in flipped classrooms, there’s plenty of other data that show students are more willing to use classroom time in a discussion-focused manner. Most professors who have already turned to flipping classes state that students are more willing to learn thanks to this new concept. 2. Page 1 of 2 12Next » Comments
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
Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts When Flipping Your Classroom #edchat
Produce material for YOUR students to engage them outside the classroom. Generic content works as a starting point but students have greater faith in their own teacher’s input.Decide on a workflow solution and stick to it. I use Edmodo to set assignments and annotate responses. Students are happy with this solution as it is cross platform and supports learning with library and backpack resources.Set specific deadlines for your students. Expect students to watch/read your material just because you tell them to. This post is in response to the success we have had with workflow and assessment for learning this academic year. Please contact me if you would like to discuss the ‘flipped’ class as I am very keen to hear any new ideas. Like this: Like Loading...
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.
Ten Questions You Should Ask Before You Flip Your Classroom
As the school year starts, many teachers are wanting to implement flipped learning into their classes. Before you begin, I encourage you to answer each of the questions below. The purpose of the questions is to help teachers BEGIN the process of flipping their class. What will you flip? This list should get you started. Screencasting Tools You Might Consider Tools for a Computer Tools for an iPad Your Video Camera Your iPhone or Video Camera: Don’t forget that you can directly film videos from your camera. Like this: Like Loading...
