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Matthew Lynch published in Best of the Best Lists, Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech

Tutoring/Test Prep Apps, Tools, and Resources That I Would Use If I Were Still in the Classroom

Back in 2001, when I started as a teacher, the technology boom was in its nascent stage. I remember toting a large bag filled with papers home most nights and going to sleep drowning under a vast sea of student homework that needed grading. My classroom was even worse, cluttered with books, manipulatives, globes, maps, and learning stations that left little room for anything else. However, as I write this in 2018, things have changed dramatically. Today’s teachers have edtech in their corners.

Digital teaching and learning tools have streamlined education processes and provide learning experiences that stretch far beyond the materials that were available for me back in 2001. Back in the day, teachers would have to tutor struggling students before or after school. Now, with the advent of artificial intelligence, teachers can use this technology to tutor students during class time. All they need is a tutoring app that uses artificial intelligence, and they are all set. The app will gauge the student’s present level of academic performance, and then present the student with learning experiences and assessments to help them achieve the desired level of academic performance. As a bonus, this technology can also be used to prepare students for classroom level and standardized exams. If I were still in the classroom today, I’d use these tutoring/test prep apps, tools, and resources:

iTalk2Learn– iTalk2Learn is a math tutoring app that uses cutting-edge technology to ensure that students learn more naturally. This app is the result of a three-year collaborative European project to create an open-source intelligent tutoring platform that reinforces math learning for 5- to 11-year-old students. This will enable educators to deliver the correct lesson at the right time.

LearnCube – This is a virtual classroom built for teaching and tutoring online. It helps to eliminate the distance barrier between teacher and students by bringing them together in a virtual classroom. It uses an online interactive whiteboard for teaching; users can draw, annotate, type, and switch to multiple boards while on the platform. The software makes use of high-quality audio and video encoders and compression algorithms for its virtual classes. Since all the content is web-based, there is no need for downloading and learning to use the software. LearnCube also provides the option for users to personalize the classroom.

MATHiaU– MATHiaU is math learning software is offered by Carnegie Learning. It provides college-level math assistance, including one-on-one tutoring. With this app, students take thorough assessments and are given feedback that includes a personalized learning path. MATHiaU provides affordable easy-to-use artificial intelligence based tutoring.

Chegg Tutors: Find tutors in every subject area for both high school and college students by looking at their previous reviews. This allows you to search for the person who is right for you based on your needs and possibly even personality. The best part is that they strive to make it affordable by offering a discounted weekly plan to help keep students on track.

Study Island: Since 2000, Study Island has been used by children in grades K-12 for learning in an entertaining fashion. It is relevant across different subjects including math, reading, writing, science, and social studies. It comes with interactive features and mini-games that aid learning and incentivize progress.

Study.com: This website carries over 1,000 courses made of short, fun videos taught by seasoned educators. The courses vary widely from psychology to calculus, food and nutrition education to PowerPoint lessons. They provide additional learning material for over a million monthly visitors, which include children and adults of all ages and educational status. The College Accelerator membership allows students to watch videos and gather credits that can be transferred to any of the thousands of colleges and universities that participate in the program.

EMsync – This platform helps with tutoring and mentoring of young people to help them succeed in school. This platform is designed to help ignite young people’s potential.

GradeSlam– GradeSlam provides online tutoring service with certified educators delivering interactive academic support to students whenever they think they need it to be successful. The service is unlimited, on request, and available on any device around the clock. The certified educators on this platform point out student’s mistakes during the learning process and guide them on how to avoid those mistakes next time.

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Matthew Lynch published in Gifted & Talented Education

Academic Enrichment Apps, Tools, and Resources That We Love

Are you looking for academic enrichment apps, tools, and resources that you can use with your students? If so, we have you covered. Check out our list below. Let us know if there are any that we missed.

Enriching Students – This platform helps to identify students’ weaknesses and provides suitable help for them. This tool can be used to schedule personalized enrichment or interventions for all your students. It also helps to track student performance, teacher participation, and the effectiveness of teaching techniques.

FlinnSTEM Powered by IMSA Fusion– IMSA Fusion is a complete STEM program that provides additional enrichment to students interested in science and mathematics. The name IMSA Fusion comes from the blending of inquiry-based student content and in-depth teacher content. Instructors who implement this program receive much more than teacher instructions with student pages and a box of supplies; they also receive hours of video-based, on-demand online training that truly sets IMSA Fusion apart from any other solution available. 

Splash Math – Good for catching up, regular practice, or enrichment, Splash Math uses games and a built-in reward system to make math fun. Real time progress reports are available for teachers and parents to pinpoint areas of concern or celebrate improvements. The app also has an option to email weekly progress reports. With three themes, space, candy, and jungle, Splash Math is customizable to students’ interests and includes all major math skills from Kindergarten through 5th grade.

Renaissance-U – is a blended service that pairs an expert coach with engaging and evolving on-demand content in best practices for Renaissance’s reading, math, and assessment solutions. The expert coach helps plan the implementation for the school year and provides ongoing expertise for conversations around data, implementation roadblocks, and facilitating collaboration among educators in the school. The on-demand content offers a variety of videos, tutorials, and activities that fit the flexibility of an educator’s schedule.

Mangahigh – This is a web-based platform that features a variety of math games and tutorials. It teaches students useful mathematical concepts from counting to algebra. To foster healthy competition, students earn medals, badges, and rewards for their hard work.

Monkey Word School Adventure – The Monkey Word School Adventure app uses six exercises to help children learn the basics of reading using phonics and word groups. The app allows children to enter their names to personalize the jungle-like experience, led by the Word Monkey. The completion of a round is rewarded with animals and plants that children can add to their terrarium. The app supports up to three accounts, so different children can use the same app.

Student Support Time – This is a complete solution for academic intervention and enrichment programs. Student Support Time also provides other tools such as teacher availability, academic resource center, college and career center, and after-school programs. It is easy to use and intuitive.

7 Speed Reading– This app can help you become a proficient reader in the English language while eliminating old habits that hold you back. With 7 Speed Reading, students can learn to recognize large clusters of words and read without first vocalizing in their heads

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Matthew Lynch published in Assistive Technology, Best of the Best Lists

Assistive Technology Apps, Tools, and Resources That I Would Use If I Were Still in the Classroom

Back in 2001, when I started as a teacher, the technology boom was in its nascent stage. I remember toting a large bag filled with papers home most nights and going to sleep drowning under a vast sea of student homework that needed grading. My classroom was even worse, cluttered with books, manipulatives, globes, maps, and learning stations that left little room for anything else. However, as I write this in 2018, things have changed dramatically. Today’s teachers have edtech in their corners. Digital teaching and learning tools have streamlined education processes and provide learning experiences that stretch far beyond the materials that were available for me back in 2001.

For instance, teachers can use assistive technology to help special needs students succeed in the classroom. Assistive technology allows Down Syndrome students to complete assignments quicker than if they had tried the tasks on their own. Assistive technology can help students with apraxia communicate with pictures, formulate sounds, practice sound production, and improve their communication skills. It can even to help students compensate for their developmental delays. Assistive technology is nothing short of magic. If I were still in the classroom today, I’d use these assistive technology apps, tools, and resources:

Proloquo2Go: Proloquo2Go is an augmentative and alternative communication app that uses symbols to help those who cannot speak for themselves. It uses pictures to help users choose the right words for their unique situation. Adults can easily customize the app for more convenient use.

Articulation Games Assistive Technologies– This app includes four entertaining games with a dynamic way of teaching sound production. The games were assembled by professional speech pathologists, and they contain over 40 phenomes arranged in order of sound placement. The app comes with flashcards and professional sound recordings. Children get rewarded for making progress on the game.

Voice4U: This is an easy-to-use app intended for ELL student, people with communication impairments such as Autism, stroke survivors, and traumatic brain injury victims. The app allows its users to express their ideas, thoughts, and feelings through alternative methods.

Memory Trainer: Because memory is so essential to everything else in the classroom, many teachers choose apps like Memory Trainer to help boost spatial and working memory. This program provides graphical progress so you can see the gains made in spatial and working memory. As an added perk, it also helps to work on focus and concentration.

Citelighter– Citelighter is an assistive research tool that lets you gather facts and materials and arrange them in an orderly fashion. It only takes three easy steps to use Citelighter in your research. Create an account and download the plug-in, begin a project with the toolbar or website, and you are good to go. Citelighter is also handy while you scour the Internet for suitable or appropriate information.

Natural Reader: This is considered to be one of the most powerful text-to-speech apps on today’s market. It can work with several different types of documents including PDFs, Docs, and TXT files. Perhaps the best part is that it reads with your choice from more than fifty natural voices, just as the name implies.

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Matthew Lynch published in Best of the Best Lists, Personalized Learning

Personalized/Adaptive Learning Apps, Tools, and Resources That I Would Use If I Were Still in the Classroom

Back in 2001, when I started as a teacher, the technology boom was in its nascent stage. I remember toting a large bag filled with papers home most nights and going to sleep drowning under a vast sea of student homework that needed grading. My classroom was even worse, cluttered with books, manipulatives, globes, maps, and learning stations that left little room for anything else. However, as I write this in 2018, things have changed dramatically. Today’s teachers have edtech in their corners.

Digital teaching and learning tools have streamlined education processes and provide learning experiences that stretch far beyond the materials that were available for me back in 2001. Back when I was a special education teacher, the only students who had personalized learning plans where special needs students. Individualized Education Plans (IEP’s) were created for them to satisfy the requirements of IDEA (Individuals With Disabilities Acts). They were notoriously time consuming, but we never complained because it was for a good cause.

Nowadays, with the advent of personalized/adaptive learning apps, teachers can create personalized/adaptive learning experiences for all students. If I were still in the classroom today, I’d use these personalized/adaptive learning apps, tools, and resources:

Socrative: Socrative is an easy way for teachers to identify how students are doing clearly. They can assess students or offer them prepared activities to see where they are at currently and help the system make a more personalized plan.

Newsela: Newsela combines major news and research with adaptive reading materials. Split your class up into their appropriate categories and give them an article to read. You can find relevant material for every subject area so you can incorporate literacy across your entire day.

ThinkCERCA: This is a personalized literacy platform that helps teachers convey critical reasoning skills by using argumentative writing. The platform focuses on helping students aged nine to eighteen prepare for life after high school by strengthening their analytical skills in every subject. The platform makes use of standards-aligned close reading and academic writing lessons to teach English language arts, science, social studies, and mathematics.

Cerego – Cerego is a personalized learning platform that helps people learn faster, remember longer, and objectively measure their knowledge using AI-assisted predictive algorithms. It helps organizations improve productivity as employees learn better and are better motivated and more capable. The app uses predictive learning features to deliver individual specific learning materials to its users. Available on Android and iOS devices

Flipick – This app creates a personalized learning experience for every student and helps to develop curricula. It also creates an interactive and collaborative learning environment for learning to take place.

Kytabu – A textbook subscription app developed in Kenya. The app provides access to digitized versions of all Kenyan textbooks from Standard 1 to Form 4 at rates that are affordable for African families. Kytabu uses machine learning to help provide personalized learning for learners. The learners can access educational content that includes books, videos, audios, tests, as well as exams. A great advantage of the app is that it can be used offline. This is a crucial issue in Africa where internet access is limited and often unreliable.

Quizalize: Make your subject matter fun again with the adaptive learning platform offered through Quizalize. Every assessment feels more like a game, giving students the motivation to do their best. It allows you to easily identify where students are struggling so teachers can be better equipped to make a more personalized learning plan or offer more assistance.

Knowre: When it comes to STEM, many students struggle with the math component. Knowre offers an adaptive learning experience that can help bolster a student’s mathematical abilities. They offer supported practice time, fill in the gaps with a personalized review, and offer actionable data to educators.

Scootpad: With Scootpad, students get a comprehensive adaptive learning experience. It starts with practice, allowing Scootpad to meet students where they currently are. It moves on to offer more instructional content, real-time remediation, and assessments.

Freckle Education– Students can easily fall in love with schooling again as this app enables them to work in various subjects at their pace. Teachers can monitor students’ progress across various subjects such as science, social studies, math, and English language arts.

SmartEd: With this tool, you can make relevant changes to textbooks and other learning materials to suit the needs of your students. This platform also allows you to be in direct contact with your students. It uses a game-like approach, which aims to make learning look less imposing.

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Matthias Lynch published in Global Education

How Covid-19 is Creating a Global Education Crisis

While the novel coronavirus has brought the entire world to a standstill, it’s the education sector that will suffer the most consequences. Almost all across the globe, the closure of schools, and universities, has darkened the clouds over the future of many young and adult students.

But if schools and colleges are allowed to open, the pandemic may continue for years to come. Besides, there are little to no preventative procedures in place to avoid this eventuality. Moreover, we are not even sure if fever detection will suffice, or if more is required to ensure the well being of children.

So, let’s dive into how the COVID pandemic has brought about an educational crisis.

Implications of COVID-19 for K-12

Many of the K-12 students educated from 2020 to 2021 will be missing up to 2 years of foundational academic skills. A lot of these babies will be 8-10 years old before they start to read picture books—what a sobering epiphany.

As per UNESCO, 1.6 billion children in 191 countries have been impacted by COVID-19. Though the closures are in the interest of safeguarding children’s health, it is also a reality that not every kid can learn via remote learning.

Besides this, there are K-12 kids from across various societal strata who are now deprived of nutritional school meals, which are otherwise unaffordable for them. And while there is a need to ensure connectivity, extra attention, and support for their parents, the task is easier said than done.

In the U.S., many schools are starting to reopen, either with an on-time or delayed start to the 2020-2021 school year. Some have decided to go back to all face to face courses, some have embraced a blended approach, and others have decided to start the school year with fully online courses. No matter how they start, most of their students will end up getting left behind.

For the college level students

College students are also negatively impacted by the pandemic. While their classes were shifted online, many were forced to go back home, with little to no internet connectivity. Some had no home to go to.

This fall, many of these students are gearing to go back to college, and just like K-12 schools, Some have decided to go back to all face to face courses, some have embraced a blended approach, and others have decided to start the school year with fully online courses. No matter how they start, most of their students will end up matriculating and then graduating without the skills that they need to succeed in their chosen profession.

Tapping into the power and promise of digital resources

However, hopefully, taken, this could mean that – now is the time to turn challenges into opportunities!

Though governmental and non-governmental bodies will have to strive hard to provide technological access, it may change the education paradigm. Before there was COVID-19, there were still millions of kids, who are deprived of formal education. Yet, the current pandemic has opened a pandora’s box where and shined a spotlight on these “savage inequities.” Many cash strapped schools have been turning to free digital and OER (Open Education Resources) to provide the curriculum and resources that they need to educate their students.

It’s not just the kids but also the teachers who need better training and access to quality materials. But while teachers must be encouraged via incentives, societal honors, and more, they must be selected through a thorough proper vetting process. And they must also be encouraged to continue learning via professional development.

With digital resources and online classes, we can tap into the power and promise of the internet. Who knows, remote learning may also turn out to be a novel medium to strengthen student-teacher interaction.

Concluding thoughts

We have established that the pandemic is creating a global education crisis. The question is, how do we respond to it in a way that will produce positive student outcomes?

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Matthew Lynch published in Neuroscience

I Bet You Didn’t Know This About Your Brain

Developments in neuroscience have significantly changed how we think about the brain. What we have learned in the 21st century about this organ had had incredible implications for education and the inclusion of technology in our instruction.

Educators have had to unlearn some of what they learned about brain theory in light of new developments. As a result, some of our education practices have had to change with them.

Technology alters the brain

Our love for technology has changed the way our brains work. Attention spans have shortened, and heavy tech users seem to be more forgetful than those who only occasionally turn to technology. In addition, we’re witnessing the atrophy of our socialization skills thanks to excessive technology use. Focusing exclusively on technology dehumanizes us.

This revelation requires more novel instructional approaches to learning. Educators must incorporate non-tech activities in less to help the brain rest and recover from excessive technology stimulation. Turn to discussion groups, nature walks, and collaborative activities that require socialization with others. Teachers who include other brain-based strategies are maximizing learning opportunities for their students.

Brain damage doesn’t have to be permanent

Researchers once thought that brain injuries were a permanent condition. In some cases, such as a stroke, they may be. The brain can heal from more minor injuries, however, like concussions. That’s because the brain has plasticity. The neurons firing inside the brain can be reshaped as necessary. These neurons are continually growing, pruning, and adapting themselves. Over time, they either heal or create new neural pathways for thinking, learning, and living. The brain compensates for the damage by working around it.

The implication for learning is enormous. Brain damage does not have to prevent anyone from being a student. Learning is a life-life endeavor, regardless of mishaps along the way. We can change not only how we think, but also the way we think.

Your brain is balanced

We once thought of the brain as two parts. We divided up tasks as left brain-right brain activities. The left brain was analytical and orderly, a quiet organ for lengthy calculations and problem-solving. The right brain was the eternal party room, where creativity experimented with innovation at all hours of the day and night. We even categorized people as left-brain or right-brain thinkers who had a neural preference for everything, including how they organized their closets and went about their work. 

Now we know that the brain works simultaneously in two ways. This flexibility is a balance between order and chaos. The brain relies on mathematical relationships, but it also uses flexible thinking to make inferences, deduce thoughts, and solve problems. This discovery may affect our ability to create authentic artificial intelligence.

The brain is responsive to positive stimuli

And finally, the best thing you can do for your brain (and your mood) is smile. UK researchers discovered that a smile could be just as effective in raising your levels of serotonin as eating 2,000 chocolate bars or getting $25,000.  Smiling improves your mood and your outlook.

That’s something to consider the next time you’re under a lot of stress or working hard on a project.

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Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education

What’s the Blueprint For a Smart College Campus

In order for college campuses to meet the needs of a changing society in the midst of countless concurrent technological revolutions, it is imperative that the universities of tomorrow boast “smart” campuses. A “smart” college campus needs to put students first and their interconnected learning experiences at the forefront.

In order for a “smart” college campus to stay relevant for upcoming decades and through a host of technological and learning paradigm shifts, the institutional norms of past universities must be left in the past. In their wake, a new type of campus that embraces community and immersive learning spaces will serve a student populace headed into a job market where soft skills are valued first and foremost.

Ending The Classroom In Favor Of More Adept Learning Spaces

The age of the traditional lecture hall has come and passed. The primary heartbeat of a “smart” college campus needs to eschew such an archaic model in favor of learning studios that facilitate group work and a sense of a learning community. 

To complement these learning spaces, comfortable furniture and teachers with adaptable teaching styles are imperative for making it work. We need to make the college of tomorrow inviting to students. In doing so, we can break down the walls that traditional education has built by giving students a safe space to really stretch their intellects.

Furthermore, all of the learning spaces and connected spaces within a “smart” college campus must be networked and connected to the Internet of Things. There is no use shying away from technology and the impact it has and will have on a changing student populace. 

Connecting Your Campus To Connect With Your Students

Every space on a “smart” college campus needs to be an intuitive rethink of the traditional spaces on a college campus. The library can’t simply be a place to check out books anymore.

Rather, a “smart” college campus will have a library that brings all the best elements of a traditional one and adds an interconnected element. Curating infographics, multimedia sources, and even providing a virtual study environment for students to immerse themselves in will be crucial in reimagining what a library could and should be for students of the future.

Even academic offices will need to be rethought in hopes of bringing professors closer to students by cutting down on the red tape that causes dissonance on traditional college campuses. A “smart” college campus will be an empathetic one. It will foster a sense of community among its professors, administrators, and students.

Rather than relying on office buildings, a “smart” college campus will have collaborative workspaces that serve to encourage free thought and discourse.

Concluding Thoughts

The blueprint for a “smart” college campus needs to put away traditional administrative ideals in favor of embracing the changing needs of society. For a college campus to survive and thrive in this new age, we must put archaic structures aside in favor of spaces that encourage active and interconnected modes of learning. 

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Matthew Lynch published in Assessment

7 Ways to Measure Student Growth

I define student growth as academic progress that is accomplished over a period, as assessed at the onset and end of a specified time. It can be calculated for countries, states, cities, schools, or students, and many variables and strategies can be used to determine if “growth” has occurred. Sounds easy, right. Not exactly. Many school districts and even state departments of education have difficulty measuring student growth. If you fall into this category, don’t worry, we have your back. In this article, we will discuss seven ways to measure student growth.

The Computer-Adaptive Approach

This approach allows educators to view student growth over a single year, as opposed to multiple years, on the same scale. Computer adaptive assessments will adjust their difficulty based on a student’s performance.

The Student Growth Percentile Approach

This approach compares a student’s growth to students with similar test scores. The benefit of this approach is that it allows us to fairly compare students who start at different levels with similar students.

The Value-Added Approach

This approach measures the teacher’s effectiveness in a given year by comparing the current test scores of their students to the scores of those same students in prior school years. Value-added models are considered fairer than other models since it takes confounding context variables like past performance, student status, or family income status into consideration.

The VAM – Covariate Adjusted Approach

In this approach, student academic growth is calculated by juxtaposing students’ predicted scores with their genuine scores. One of the drawbacks of this approach is that you will need several years of “matched” data for accuracy.

The Gain Score Approach

This approach measures year-to-year change by subtracting the year before an (initial) score from the current year (final) score. The growth of a teacher is averaged and compared to the overall average growth for other teachers. It’s easy to calculate and can be used with local assessments. The issue is that it doesn’t make accommodations for initial achievement levels; it’s just a run of the mill calculation of the change in score for students.

The Effect Size Approach

The effect size approach allows you to compute the amount of the difference between two groups. With this approach, if a teacher gets an effect size of +1.0, their students grew one standard deviation.

The Progress Monitoring Approach

This approach is different from your usual criterion-referenced assessments because they are not normed. They’re easy to administer, and the data can be shown to explain the difference between where the student is performing relative to the expected target or level.

Can you think of any additional ways that we can measure student growth?

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Matthew Lynch published in Best of the Best Lists

Social Networking Apps, Tools, and Resources That We Love

Are you looking for social networking apps, tools, and resources that you can use with your students? If so, we have you covered. Check out our list below. Let us know if there are any that we missed.

Edmodo– While social networking has received its fair share of criticism about the bad influence it tolerates, this app is unlike all that. Edmodo is a powerful tool that can be used to pool the creative thinking of students. It helps them think critically while fostering student-teacher partnerships to create projects.

EduStruct– This platform creates a virtual learning structure for elementary and higher learning institutions. The platform provides a social networking service for schools to create and manage their content to be globally relevant.

Quiz ME Online– QuizMe Online is a social networking website that allows students and teachers to come together to achieve success. The site is built on the belief that when students, teachers, and others with an educational interest come together to accomplish a common goal, each student has a better chance at achieving their resolutions.

Meetup– If you have a hobby or something you would love to share with others, you can use the Meetup app to get the word out. This is the largest group networking app available; all you do is collaborate with other members and meet up face-to-face for discussions or group outings. Whether you love archery, knitting, writing, or collecting rare Star Wars figurines, there may be hundreds of groups in your area just waiting for you to join.

Bookopolis Book Search– This is a social network for young readers with a built-in book discovery feature. Teachers can use this platform to build a society of readers and writers from their classes. Students can partake in book reviews and critical thinking to develop opinion writing. Teachers can track and critique a student’s work. The BookQuest option is useful for finding new book reading suggestions.

eChalk– A simple K-12 app platform used to guide and pass out information. It provides an enabling environment for users to have access to an all-in-one learning tool, encouraging teamwork in a professional level. Teachers can use this app to distribute information to parents and the community at large using email and a secured social network.

edWeb– A social network of school administrators, educators, and stakeholders. This is a forum where educators share, learn, and devise new ways to foster better education for students. Educators can join this platform for free, and they can create their network of people with whom they share ideas and innovations. The edWeb network has over 75,000 members and more than online 800 societies.

Mendeley– Mendeley is a social network that allows you to organize your documents, references, research, and papers with a quick click. You can even collaborate with other users through this software, making it your productivity hub.

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