Society dictates the function of its schools in all regions of the world. It has in the past and it will again. To accurately determine the function of our schools we need to look to society and reverse edu-neer based on the needs of our time. For example, in the 1800’s schools were a place for the young to become educated thereby maintaining social stability and reducing crime and poverty. Societal needs in the early 1900’s created a school system that churned out hard working, punctual, and obedient adolescents primed for the industrial age. Sound familiar? (more…)
Imagine doing everything virtually or at least have the choice what we could do virtually versus actually having to do it. I would choose going to the dentist, getting my hair cut, and grocery shopping. I think grocery shopping can actually be done virtually, but I think I’ll be waiting a while for the other two.
Imagine being able to virtually attend school, sounds great doesn’t it. No early mornings, no bus to catch, no disappointing looks from the teachers when you show up late. Could this be the perfect learning environment?
I propose not. (more…)
Said in an gruff tone with a scowl on your face Flipping Education could be a not-so-nice commentary on the state of education in America, fortunately that is not the tone we will be taking in this article. Flipped Education or the Flipped Classroom is the product of two Colorado teachers, Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams, that were trying to meet the needs of their absent students. These two innovators began posting their recorded lessons online so the students who were not in class that day could watch, listen, learn, and not fall behind. What they found is that the absent students appreciated the ability to keep pace with the class and, in addition, students that were not absent appreciated the ability to review the days lesson or go back through the lesson at their own pace. Flipping their teaching worked so well Bergmann and Sams decided to change the way they went about their business. (more…)
The term blended learning conjures up notions of a classroom filled with students of different ages, genders, and ethnicity’s, but in this case the term refers to the learning environment not the learners. By definition a blended learning environment is a classroom that goes beyond the bricks and mortar. Blended classrooms are those that combine class time with lessons that reach beyond the classroom. You’re probably saying to yourself “We use to call that homework”, but there is more to it than being sent home with a worksheet. Blended learning requires the student to learn new material, collaborate with classmates, take quizzes and tests, create, analyze, and prepare for tomorrow’s class while online and all from the comfort of their home.
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is a nationwide celebration of innovative teaching and learning through digital media and technology that engages students and provides them with a rich, personalized educational experience. On Digital Learning Day, a majority of states, hundreds of school districts, thousands of teachers, and more than a million students will encourage the innovative use of technology by trying something new, showcasing success, kicking off project-based learning, or focusing on how digital tools can help improve student outcomes (from http://www.digitallearningday.org/). (more…)
It would be hard to find anyone connected to education that would not agree that a change is over due. Not to say that change hasn’t and isn’t already occurring, but the next steps will be more dramatic and, potentially, uncomfortable for all involved. Working off a model of education that was developed during the industrial age our system has changed to meet the needs of our changing society, but only from managerial standpoint. We have changed things like the length of the school day, the number or periods in a day, added extracurriculars to the schedule, integrated technology, developed specialized programs, included counseling services, developed school to work programs, and the list goes on. Although these changes have positively impacted our students they have not made us better at educating them. So how is it that nations that send their students to school significantly less have higher acheivement scores? (more…)
Life in the cloud
Soon will come the day when your computer will be a digital portal to the outside world with very little being stored on the hard drive. Actually, the day is here but most of us don’t view it that way. Most of us are creating documents, presentations, and spreadsheets that we save on our home computer so we can easily access them at a later date. But what if we could save all these files remotely, in the cloud, freeing up our hard drives and allowing 24/7 access from anywhere in the world? An added bonus is we would also free our home hard drives to run faster extending the life of our home computer. In the words of the immortal Chris Farley “That would be awesome”. (more…)
Technology Toolbox
What are the goals of technology in our classrooms? At first glance the list of answers to this question may seem a bit obvious, one that starts with research and ends with creating presentations. These are not goals, however, as much as they are outcomes. By “goals” I mean how do we want our students to use technology, what is the thought process? If technology is a tool how do we want our students to use these tools? Initially they would need help determining what the best tool was for each job, most of us learned this by taking on the role of gofer helping our parents around the house. Over time we learned the best use of each tool. Over time we were able determine which tool or tools were best fit for the task at hand. I suggest that we should have the same goal for technology in our schools. The inherent problem with this concept is that most schools can not afford to supply every student with a full technology tool box. (more…)
What is cyberbullying?
“Cyberbullying” is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones (def. from stopcyberbullying.org ). It can only happen between non adults, once an adult is involved it becomes harassment or stalking. (more…)
