A Beginner's Guide To Mobile Learning Google reported in 2011 that smartphone sales are set to grow at a rate of 30 percent per year. These web-ready, video streaming, image capture devices are a lot of fun — and what’s more, they can align perfectly with your classroom’s goals. Check out these tips and teaching resources before you take your first steps into the portable version of eLearning. Organize Before You Invest The first step to mobile learning for many parents and educators is to get schools on board. Another option for schools is the “bring your own device” (BYOD) movement, which allows students to bring their own phones and devices to the classroom. Plan Your Curriculum Around The 4 Cs Of Mobile Learning Mobile learning goes way beyond a few tailored apps. Utilizing all four C’s of mobile learning can help you focus lesson plans and expand the way in which students use the devices. The ways you can utilize a mobile device are as varied as the capabilities for the device itself. 4 Educational Apps To Get Started
36 Things Every 21st Century Teacher Should Be Able To Do What should every teacher in the 21st century know and be able to do? That’s an interesting question. After just now seeing this excellent post on educatorstechnology.com, I thought I’d contribute to the conversation. I added the twist of ranking them from least complex to most complex, so novices can start at the bottom, and you veterans out there can skip right to 36. 36 Things Every 21st Century Teacher Should Be Able To Do 1. Whether you choose a text message, email, social media message, Skype session, or a Google+ Hangouts depends on who you need to communicate with and why—purpose and audience. 2. Email won’t always work. 3. Hit the Print Screen button near your number pad on a keyboard on Windows. 4. Know what it means to be Rick Roll’d, the difference between a fail and an epic fail, why Steve is a scumbag, and who sad Keannu is. 5. Not everyone loves technology. An RT as an olive branch. 6. 7. Tone is lost when you type. 8. This is dead-simple, but you never know. 9. 10. 11. 12.
Great App Review Checklists for Teachers The more apps I review here in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning the better I become at recognizing and selecting the right educational apps to share with you. I have probably reviewed a little over 200 apps in the last couple of years but when I first started reviewing apps there were not many guidelines and checklists as is the case now. With the help of carefully crafted rubrics like the ones below, teachers can now follow a set of guidelines to select the apps that can work for them in their teaching. Parents too can use these checklists to sift through the piles and handpick the ones to give their kids. It is of paramount importance that you keep apps evaluative rubrics at your disposal to turn to whenever you want to recommend an app for your students . 1- App Review Checklist and Rating Chart Click Here to download it 2- Educational App Evaluation Checklist Click Here to download it 3- Critical Evaluation of an Content-based iPad App Click Here to download it
How Teachers Feel About The 10 Biggest EdTech Trends Figuring out the biggest edtech trends is a great first step. We’ve taken it many times . Figuring out how teachers actually feel or care about those particular trends is a whole other story. A new infographic sheds light on what 100 teachers from North America and Europe feel about edtech trends identified below. Granted, that’s a super small sample size but it gives a little insight into how teachers and admins feel these days. The EdTech Trends In the interest of explaining the infographic a bit more (some of the words are basically written upside down!) Web-Based Tools for Educational Purposes Online Educational Resources Digital Literacy Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) Blended Learning Social Media Education E-Moderation Mobile Learning Digital Games In Education Interactive Whiteboards How It Works So how do teachers (at least the 100 or so teachers polled) feel about these various trends? How do you fall in with these feelings? Click the infographic below to enlarge
In Cisco's Classroom Of The Future, Your Professor Is Just An Illusion There were a few strange things about the event I attended in a classroom at the San Francisco branch of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Instead of students, the room was filled with Cisco executives, professors, and journalists. There were cameras trained on us from all angles. But most noticeably, the man speaking to us in the front of the room wasn’t really there. Neither were the people sitting in the back of the room. The man was standing in front of a nearly identical classroom at the Wharton School in Philadelphia; the people sitting behind us were there as well. We were at Wharton for a demonstration of the Cisco Connected Classroom, a new way of using Cisco’s telepresence technology to make it possible for one branch of an MBA program to hold classes with another branch across the country in real-time—and even bring in guests from elsewhere. The result is a set-up that’s remarkably smooth and immersive. "We’re already seeing a lot of interest.
2 Simple Ways To Use QR Codes In Education QR codes are a great and easy way to share digital materials and resources within your classroom. I use it in 2 different ways. 1. From the teacher to the students: Since I have my assignment sheet as a live Google Document, I created a QR code and then printed them as stickers that students can easily put in their agenda or notebook. See Also: Why You Should Start Using QR Codes In Your Classroom I also use QR codes when I want to quickly share a video I created using Explain Everything or an online assessment created by Google Forms. 2. Using the QR code feature, my students created ‘mural portfolios’ where they can easily share and make available to the entire class their work for review and comment. Example of a QR portfolio:
The 7 Most Powerful Ideas In Learning Available Right Now Tomorrow’s Learning Today: 7 Shifts To Create A Classroom Of The Future by Terry Heick For professional development around this idea or others you read about on TeachThought, contact us. Let’s take a look at the nebulous idea of the “classroom of the future.” Below are some ideas that are truly transformational–not that they haven’t been said before. And the best part? But therein lies the rub: Tomorrow’s learning is already available, and below are 7 of the most compelling and powerful trends, concepts, and resources that represent its promise. The Challenge of Implementation It’s challenging enough to manage a traditional learning environment where the curriculum is handed to you, and meetings are set, and you’re simply there to manage; adding more ingredients to the mix seems like asking for trouble. The good news is, many of the elements of a progressive learning environment—e.g., digital literacy, connectivism, and play—conveniently, and not coincidentally, work together. 1. 2. 3. 4.
Augmented Reality or AR, the future of Education. Volcano 1. Magma chamber 2. Bedrock 3. Conduit (pipe) 4. 17th, March, 2013– 6:21PM (BHC) by Dwayne Ladd AR as demonstrated by the is the cutting edge of education. In a an example I saw, a model volcano was sitting on a table, it looked real enough as it sat on the table in the museum, it was about 24 inches tall, and dormant, but when you put on the AR goggles it came to life. A group of students were experience this example of AR and as I watched their faces their amazement was evident. The future of education is what I consider when I see these and other examples of AR, becoming more and more a standard in education. AR Digital Binocular Station brings Museum to Life AR-Museum (Augmented Reality for Museums) Copyright © 2013 AFP? News Tip?
8 Great Avatar Creation Tools for Teachers Avator tools are like the comic tools I have covered in an earlier post before, they both involve the use of images but in a funny and joyful way. Of course these tools can be used for a variety of educational purposes with our students in the classroom. Let us first see what is an avatar ? An avatar is a figure or character that you can create and customize the way you want. Why avatars in education ? A group of students in a history class could create an Avatar for different people in history (i.e., President of the United States, Governor of Alabama, African American students and families, White police officers, and Classroom teachers). Here are some of the best web tools to create avatars : 1- Voki This is a web tool that allows you to easily create speaking characters and customise them the way you want before sharing them with others 2- Build your wild self This web tool allows you to first design a human figure then add animal parts to it before you go wild. 3- DoppelMe 4- Frenzoo
@Westylish's Blog: Turning students into teachers - Socrative and student led learning Over the coming weeks @Rossett iPads are being introduced on a 1-1 basis. As a teacher there I am obviously looking for ways to incorporate them into the learning (that said everything discussed here can be done on 'normal' computers using the Socrative website). This week I looked to develop my use of the Socrative app. In the past I have created the quizzes, and whilst I have felt them to be a decent activity, I wasn't particularly blown away by them. Before they did this I emphasised how serious I wanted the 4 multiple choice answers to be. The students then produced the quizzes. Socrative allows you to share quizzes between teachers, it gives you a 'SOC number' which allows other 'teachers' to copy the quiz. In the next lesson the students took it turns to run their own quizzes. Reflections Throughout the process the students were completely engaged. Going forward Revision can often be really dull. When I walked out of my second lesson my head was buzzing.
An Excellent Collection of Educational Web and Mobile Apps I just came across this amazing graphic and thought you might be interested to have a peek as well. Tony Vincint did a great job and I must say that this is one of the best educational infographics out there. As you know Educational Technology and Mobile Learning always features only the best infographics and I am so proud to say this because the selections I share here are also posted in several other academic settings. Show What you Know Using Web and Mobile Apps will provide you with some handy tools and apps to use to foster students learning. What is even greater about this graphic is that the apps are clickable so you don't have to look for them in Google, just clikc on the title you want to try and you will be directed to its homepage. Have a look and share with us what you think. Click here to enlarge and access the PDF version where the apps are clickable, below is just a snapshot. Click here if you want to print it
5 Things To Consider Before Teaching An Online Course As one of the growing forces in the education sector, distance learning has taken an important position within the industry over the last few years, driving many universities to invest in platforms to deliver their courses online. One of the reasons for this increasing popularity is the growing demand of students looking for non-traditional tools that can give them the full experience, without having to sacrifice their full-time job. “Even though the education market has changed and distance learning has become increasingly popular, most institutions find themselves unprepared to face this worldwide phenomenon and lack the expertise to create a platform that makes online courses effective”, says Vitaly Klopot, Managing Director of the award-winning e-learning provider, InterActive , which partners with institutions such as the London School of Business and Finance (LSBF) and Finance Business Training (FBT) to offer a wide range of programs. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
18 Questions About Mobile in Higher Education Answered by University of Wisconsin Mobile is one of the hottest and most important topics in the higher education technology community today. Many colleges have reacted by launching mobile apps and websites to serve students, faculty and alumni. The University of Wisconsin, in particular, has a keen understanding of the mobile-computing landscape and a strong idea of what the future holds. Every college is dealing with the same questions, and in an exchange on Twitter, the University of Wisconsin agreed to answer our questions about their mobile strategy. In 2010, 45 percent of University of Wisconsin students were using mobile devices. We’ve included the conversation from the tweetchat, below. Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6 Question 7 Question 8 Question 9 Question 10 Question 11 Question 12 Question 13 Question 14 Question 15 Question 16 Question 17 Question 18