Pedagogue Blog

Margaret Kristin Merga, Murdoch University and Saiyidi Mat Roni, Edith Cowan University

There is a common perception that children are more likely to read if it is on a device such as an iPad or Kindles. But new research shows that this is not necessarily the case.

In a study of children in Year 4 and 6, those who had regular access to devices with eReading capability (such as Kindles, iPads and mobile phones) did not tend to use their devices for reading – and this was the case even when they were daily book readers.

Research also found that the more devices a child had access to, the less they read in general.

It suggests that providing children with eReading devices can actually inhibit their reading, and that paper books are often still preferred by young people.

These findings match previous research which looked at how teenagers prefer to read. This research found that while some students enjoyed reading books on devices, the majority of students with access to these technologies did not use them regularly for this purpose. Importantly, the most avid book readers did not frequently read books on screens.

Why do we think children prefer to read on screens?

There is a popular assumption that young people prefer to read on screens. This was mainly driven by education writer Marc Prensky who in 2001 coined the term “digital natives”. This term characterises young people as having high digital literacy and a uniform preference for screen-based reading.

But young people do not have a uniform set of skills, and the contention that screens are preferred is not backed up by research.

Despite this, the myth has already had an impact on book resourcing decisions at school and public libraries, both in Australia and in the US, with some libraries choosing to remove all paper books in response to a perceived greater preference for eBooks.

But by doing this, libraries are actually limiting young people’s access to their preferred reading mode, which in turn could have a detrimental impact on how often they choose to read.

Young people are gaining increasing access to devices through school-promoted programs, and parents face aggressive marketing to stay abreast of educational technologies at home.

Schools are motivated to increase device use, with Information and Communication Technology being marked as a general capability to be demonstrated across every subject area in the Australian Curriculum.

The drivers toward screen-based recreational book reading are strong, but they are not well-founded.

Why are students more likely to prefer paper books?

Reading on devices through an application leaves more room to be distracted, allowing the user to switch between applications.

For students who already experience difficulty with attention, the immediate rewards of playing a game may easily outweigh the potentially longer-term benefits of reading.

Digital literacy could also be an issue. In order to use a device to read books, children need to know how to use their devices for the purpose of reading books.

They need to know how to access free reading material legally through applications such as Overdrive or websites such as Project Gutenburg.

Tips for encouraging your child to read

Research shows that reading books is a more effective way to both improve and retain literacy skills, as opposed to simply reading other types of text. Yet international research suggests that young people are reading fewer and fewer books.

While equipping children with devices that have eReading capability is unlikely to encourage them to read, there are a number of strategies, supported by research, that can help encourage children to pick up a book. These include:

• Be seen to enjoy reading. This study found that a number of students did not know if their literacy teachers actually liked reading. Teachers who were keen readers inspired some students to read more often and take an interest in a broader range of books.
• Create (and regularly access) reading-friendly spaces at home and at school. Loud noises, poor lighting and numerous distractions will not help provide an enjoyable reading experience, and are likely to lead to frustration.
• Encourage regular silent reading of books at school and at home. Giving children time to read at school not only encourages a routine of reading, but it also may be the only opportunity a child has to read self-selected books for pleasure.
• Teachers and parents should talk about books, sharing ideas and recommendations.
• Continue to encourage your child and students to read for pleasure. While we know that children tend to become disengaged with books over time, in some cases this can be due to withdrawal of encouragement once children can read on their own. This leads children to falsely assume that reading is no longer important for them. Yet reading remains important for both children an adults to build and retain literacy skills.
• Find out what your child enjoys reading, and support their access to books at school and at home.

Margaret Kristin Merga, Lecturer and Researcher in Adolescent Literacy, Health Promotion and Education, Murdoch University and Saiyidi Mat Roni, Lecturer, Edith Cowan University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

From as early as calculators and laptops, to as current as SmartBoards and virtual classrooms, EdTech’s entire purpose is to serve students in the best way possible. Technology is put in place to make tasks that were once complicated or time-consuming more efficient and effective. The calculator computes calculations that would take much longer by hand. The SmartBoard takes the chalkboard experience and makes it more interactive between teacher and student.

With each EdTech product that is dreamt up and put into production, there must be some need in the classroom that it’s looking to fill. Who would be more qualified to identify these requirements and propose possible EdTech solutions than teachers themselves? They are the ones that spend time in the classroom, day in and day out, trying to help their students succeed. Teachers may not have the specific skills to get a new education app or product off the ground, but they would be the single greatest resource in creating the concepts.

The next great EdTech app or product could be birthed by simply sitting down with a veteran teacher and asking the question, “What is your classroom’s biggest need?” That question alone will begin a brainstorming process that could change the landscape of not just their classroom, but all classrooms.

EdTech companies and startups may have the brainpower to bring it from idea to product, but they can’t bring the factual educational knowledge to the table that a teacher can. It would be in their best interest to partner with a teacher, a school, or a district to create a pool of ideas, then use that to move forward. Having a teacher as a consultant throughout their creation of the product could greatly determine their success or failure in the market. With each significant step of the process, getting feedback can steer their process in the right direction.

Aside from the creation of a product, EdTech companies also need to keep in mind who is going to decide whether their products to succeed or fail: teachers. At the end of the day, these companies are making products, apps, and gadgets in hopes that teachers will use them to help their students excel each day. If an EdTech company thinks that they can create a product for teachers to use, without consulting a teacher on whether or not it’s a good idea, they’re taking an enormous gamble on the success of their creation.

Teachers and EdTech companies need to work together to create the products that will create permanent change in classrooms across the globe. Teachers need EdTech companies to build great products to serve their students more effectively. EdTech companies need schools and teachers to buy into their creations so that they can find a successful home for their products. It needs to be a two-way street of communication and production. The authentic insight a teacher can provide, paired with the manpower and brainpower and EdTech company can bring to the table, the world of education could be changed massively, and for the better.

Imagine when the calculator was introduced into the classroom. A multiplication or division problem that used to take a few minutes to compute now only took seconds. This increased efficiency then opened up more time in the day to learn about larger, more complex math concepts. It minimized trivial calculations and gave teachers more time to focus on the big picture.

With each new product that EdTech companies come up with, that should be the goal. It needs to be a product that not only makes learning more efficient but creates more space for bigger and better things.

Who are the most qualified individuals to think up these products? Teachers. The more they are a part of the production process, the better served the educational community will be.

We all know how wildly popular Pokémon GO was when it first launched (and continues to be). With as many as $5.7 million spent daily on in-app purchase and 21 million active users, it’d be an understatement to say it is an overwhelming success. Augmented and virtual reality (VR) are the technologies behind Pokémon GO. It’s estimated that over the next several years the growth in VR will surpass that of smartphones. Up until now, virtual reality has been largely used for entertainment purposes. However, the applications extend to other facets, including that of education.

Virtual Reality in Educational Settings

VR allows for high-impact learning experiences and as this new age of affordable VR tech presents itself, the opportunities for improving education abound. Educators are well aware of the positive impact out of classroom experiences have on learning. From K-12 classrooms, to college internships, to undergrad research and studying abroad, high-impact experiences provide increased learning and retention. Unfortunately, these types of programs have traditionally involved a good deal of time, money and personnel. With both the availability and affordability of VR, students nationwide will have access to high-impact educational experiences.

From taking a guided tour of the Great Wall of China, to examining world-renowned art in a museum halfway around the globe, these micro experiences are able to shape student learning far more than an in-class lecture. Imagine biology students exploring the Great Barrier Reef firsthand or students in a history class having that ability to observe an ancient Mongolian tribe. Beyond travel, VR also supports training experiences via virtual labs in chemistry, biology and engineering. These sort of high-impact micro experiences will become standard practice with VR. Not every student can travel abroad, yet anyone is able to venture to the library, put on a VR headset and begin virtual exploration. By using VR, student experiences transform critical thinking.

Best Practices for Virtual Reality

As the potential for an educational revolution begins, it will be necessary for research to be completed in order to determine best practices and the most meaningful applications of VR for education. Students will need to learn the technical side of VR and how to navigate the relationship of virtual and real life. With the users being thrust into the subject matter, research and exploration into multi-sensory learning will be key. Educators need to know how the immersive learning environments are impacting students – for good or bad – and be able to adjust how the technology is used based on those answers.

In an effort to harness the potential of VR, institutions will need to think beyond the initial “wow” factor for students and determine how to capitalize on building knowledge.  Standards will also need to be determined in managing how students navigate between the physical and virtual world in relationship to coursework and communication via instructors and fellow students. The applications of VR outside education will progress and inevitably bring up additional considerations for instruction and learning. Like all technology, as it evolves so will the need for regulation and best practices by the educators who implement it.

VR presents a bounteous and untapped future for education. Learning will morph into something that becomes a full sensory experience available to all students, regardless of background. Students who may not have the means to travel the world may be able to get an up-close look at it anyway with virtual reality technology. Everything that is taught will be interwoven and embedded into their world. Real and virtual realities will melt together to offer high-impact experiences that immerse students in a way that no other educational resource previously has.

Today’s students are hard wired with innate abilities to network using technology. By far, their current ‘technology of choice’ is the mobile phone.

According to Cell Phone City Advocacy, “on average, an American receives his/her first cell phone at the age of 12.1 years old, just as he/she is starting middle school. In addition, 73% of teens, roughly 14.3 million, own a smartphone.” A recent study by Young Canadians in a Wired World, reveals that not only do 25% of Grade 4 students have their own mobile phone, but also, more than one-third of teens and pre-teens even sleep with their cellphone.

So how can classrooms take advantage of this ubiquitous affinity with technology and effectively incorporate smartphones into the learning environment? Some Teachers who do so point out that the smartphone ‘s array of functions and apps provides students in the classroom with a handy tool to do research, use as an e-reader alternative, share blogs, keep mobile diaries, and even allows them to track students’ behavior.

One such teacher, John Hardison, a blended learning specialist at East Hall High School in Gainesville, Georgia, groups the ways he and his students use the smartphone into what he calls “The Five C’s.”

1. Collaborate, communicate, create and coordinate/curate. He uses smartphones to:
2. Collaborate by having students peer-assess their classmates’ essays through a Google Form embedded on his teacher page, and allows them to view real-time constructive criticism.
3. Communicate by having students use FaceTime to add students, both in the classroom as well as others, even those from other schools, during class discussions or learning activities.
4. Create by writing with apps such as My Writing Spot and Evernote and using dictionary and thesaurus apps.
5. Coordinate/Curate by having students access their peers’ blogs by sharing a Symbaloo webmix on his teacher page. He even provides a sample.

Looks like this teacher is on to something. So is the use of the smartphone in the classroom warranted? Is doing so a help or hindrance to learning?

Why Should Schools Transition from STEM to STEAM? The answer is a ‘no brainer.’

Sure, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are basic academic subjects and are important aspects of many careers, but they are subjects that favor the left, or analytical, side of the brain. It is the brain’s right side that adds the ‘A,’ or Arts to STEAM. This is the side of the brain that deals with spatial awareness, visual imagery, art, music, and creativity – all attributes that support and enhance the application of STEM in the real world.

We talk about the importance of teaching “the whole child” and like to think that we are doing so. But neuroscientific research tells us that the typical practice today of devotes more time to teaching “the basics” (i.e., STEM) to the detriment of the visual and performing arts, is flawed. It is only a part of an educational experience.

Both sides of the brain function together through the corpus callosum that connects its two hemispheres through neuronal fibers that allow the two hemispheres to talk to one another. Allen McConnell, in an article in Psychology Today, contends that “creation of strong and effective neural networks is a product of more than just [left brain] focused … lessons.”

The arts help students build confidence, develop motor and visualization skills, and hone decision-making and problem-solving – all valuable aspects of the “A’ in STEAM that are necessary to support and enhance the application of the other STEM elements. The ability to apply STEM effectively isn’t the only value of involvement in the arts. According to PBS, what students learn from the arts spill over into academic achievement.

So why should schools transition from STEM to STEAM? A STEM program without the ‘A’ is a “half-brained” program. It focuses on just one part of a child’s education. What our children need is STEAM, a well-rounded, quality education that enables them to make informed decisions that will impact the world and the way they live. It’s about making every student a fully-literate 21st-century citizen.

Forget the books. Save your paper and pencils for Art Projects.

Generation Z students, born in the late 1990s to the present, have grown up with Laptops, iPads, and smartphones. Their brains have evolved to process more information at faster speeds than previous generations of learners. Getting and keeping their attention presents a challenge, yet we tend to ignore what triggers their motivation. We talk at them and hand them a thick textbook full of words.

What differentiates the human brain is its neocortex, the frontal lobe which can absorb and store more bits of information than the brains of any other species. An effective teacher will motivate their students to absorb what is taught into their cortex.

The technology used in education (EdTech) provides a powerful means by which to do this. When used appropriately, EdTech engages Gen Z students because it feeds directly into what their brains enjoy doing — learning.

Recently, there has been lots of interest in brain-based instruction. Supported by current research, neuroscience emphasizes how the human brain learns naturally and how it functions at varying developmental stages. For example, a beginning reader learns by connecting letters and letter strings to sounds. Graphogame is a technology-based game that attempts to address this basic first step in learning to read. It combines neuroscience with education. In Graphogame, a child’s efforts are analyzed by online algorithms and lessons are modified to match the learner’s ability. Studies have shown that practice with the type of game can initiate print-sensitive activation in regions that later become critical for mature reading.

There are other such neuroscience-based EdTech applications. One of these is Earobics, a computer-assisted training program which aims to improve reading skills by improving children’s sound perception, memory, and phonological awareness. Another, still in development by Lifestyle Learning, is called “Career Readiness Application.” This interactive program engages the neocortex by taking advantage of the fascination Generation Z has with playing online with avatars and tying motivation and course selection to career aspiration.

Another characteristic of human beings is that we are a social species. It has been shown that social learning experiences, as well as independent ones, can be informed by neuroscience. A study by Judy Willis in 2011 found that students who worked on a project in groups experienced a surge in dopamine, the chemical that is released during pleasurable situations and stimulates students to remember information better. So how can we combine what neuroscience tells us about collaboration among Gen Z students with learning through technology?

Jon S., an elementary teacher in California, did it this way. He provided a virtual workbench and blog format that enabled his students to create online portfolios.  As Jon describes it, “The kids anonymously publish their writing and art and share it online with an authentic audience. … As soon as the student publishes a new article, I get an instant email on my mobile device, enabling me to review and moderate the work. The parents can also get this instant email. Other readers (including other students in my class) comment too, but they won’t show up on the blog or be seen by the author until the comment has been deemed appropriate.” You can contact Jon for more detail.

ePals is commercial program for online communities of writers, that promotes teamwork and student collaboration and provides a collaborative writing space for kids to use during class. These products operate like Jon’s creation but do so on a global level. Students from around the world can send each other email (via a secure system that teachers can monitor), and where they can work together on projects that engage them in real-time video chats.

Such interactions involve Generation Z students partly because the part of the brain that is responsible for visual ability is more developed in generation Z than in other generations. Their brains of are physically different from earlier generations. Some researchers contend that because of these differences, the preferred use of technology for communication can be an indicator of a particular generation’s identity. For instance, baby boomers prefer communicating face-to-face. Generation X folks are fine with talking on the phone or using email. Millennials hang out in social media networks.

Generation Z would rather communicate in ways that don’t leave a paper trail. They prefer apps where communications are sent, and then users move on to the next stream of conversation. As a result, most Generation Z students prefer visual learning over kinesthetic or auditory.

Bottom line: rather than fighting the prewired preferences of Gen Z students, teachers can incorporate the findings of neuroscience into EdTech decisions and provide students with technology that sets their dopamine flowing and kicks up their motivation to learn.

Oh, and as for forgetting books, paper, and pencils – of course not. They are earlier EdTech implements, and the Gen Z brain can still appropriately and creatively use them.

For years, schools and education experts have debated whether technology belongs in the classroom. Now the discussion has shifted and even schools that had thus far resisted the educational tech revolution are being swept into what’s become a multi-billion-dollar market.

The question now isn’t whether technology has a place in schools, but which devices would work best: laptops, tablets, smartphones or something else entirely? However, maybe it’s not the device that schools should be preoccupied with – but rather how students use them to learn.

Leaning back or leaning forward

The “lean back” vs “lean forward” model was originally developed by Danish academic Jakob Nielsen in 2008. It considers the position people use when engaging with technology and the impact this has on its use.

For example, when I grab a laptop I naturally want to sit at a desk. This is lean-forward device usage. When I use my iPhone or iPad I am more likely to do so while sitting on a chair – lean-back device usage.

Using a lean-forward device typically leads to greater brain activity. This is associated with skim reading, searching and content creation. But it also shortens users’ attention spans.

Lean-back devices, on the other hand, encourage deeper reading and consumption of content, particularly during “dead time” when the user is commuting or waiting.

When it comes to learning, lean-forward and lean-back approaches have been around for centuries. The development of tablets and specifically the iPad has resulted in a return to lean-back engagement.

One of the problems that’s arisen from this shift is the phenomenon of “second screen” syndrome. This sees people simultaneously using their smartphones or tablets while watching TV. From a learning perspective, this practice is resulting in shorter attention spans and increased cognitive load.

While Nielsen’s model is useful, it predates the rise in the past five years of smartphones and tablets. As such it doesn’t consider other potentially important aspects, especially when it comes to education. A newer model may hold the answers for schools.

A new way of thinking about learning

Craig Will, a cognitive psychologist working for Cognitive Research & Design Corporation in California, has proposed what he calls the Mind:Engagement model.

Will maps activity and absorption. The middle area of this graphic is dominated by consumption. The upper right quadrant, which would be considered the goal of educators – high activity and high absorption – is where students are using their devices for search, curation and communication. In other words, activity.

Educators should be focusing on that upper right quadrant. It’s also where educational technology marketers ought to concentrate, too.

This is because it’s not the device – the mode of consumption – that matters. Instead, it’s how that device is put to use in a classroom. As my research has found, schools tend to simply replicate old consumption based approaches with new technology devices.

And so blackboards have become smartboards, books have become ebooks, and teachers have become YouTube videos. Approaches grounded in consumption are simply receiving a new silicon coating. What is needed are methods that encourage active engagement in the classroom, not passive content consumption. So which device is doing this best?

What’s the next big thing?

The rapid rise in tablets has prompted predictions that tablets will take over the classroom. But those analysts who favoured lean-back devices such as tablets over lean-forward devices have been surprised.

A recent report revealed that Google’s Chromebook makes up half of US classroom devices. Chromebooks – also called Netbooks – are lightweight laptops that have little onboard storage. Most of their applications and data reside on the web.

Has this shift arisen from the highly publicised failure of a massive school iPad program in the US? Or is it an organic move by schools from consumption-based approaches to more activated classrooms?

Whatever the reasons, technology giant Apple has already taken note, as indicated by the recent entry of the iPad Pro into the market. This new device, which combines a larger screen size plus an optional keyboard and pen, is clearly targeted at both content consumption and content production. That’s everything from the middle to the top right quadrant of the Mind:Engagement model.

Early reports suggest that the iPad Pro is already eroding Chromebooks’ dominance in US classrooms.

Don’t get distracted

These developments suggest that blogger Jason Saltmarsh was right when he warned Huffington Post readers to:

Forget the device. Focus on web-based applications that best meet the needs of your students and teachers … more schools will officially embrace what has already been happening under the radar for years: BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Students will bring in all kinds of technology ranging from smartphones to laptops.

I would add that when it comes to education technology, it’s important to focus on the education – not on the technology. Train teachers rather than choosing devices. It’s when we consider how technology is used that schools will have the best chance at transforming their classrooms.

Craig Blewett, Senior Lecturer in Education & Technology, University of KwaZulu-Natal

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Findings from a survey of Maine high school students and educators imply that the use of iPads for education purposes is not effective. A whopping 90 percent of teachers and 74 percent of students prefer using laptops over the iPad for teaching and learning, according to the survey.

Apple is partnering with Maine’s Department of Education to offer schools the opportunity to trade iPads from 2013 for new Macbook Air laptops, free of charge. Over 1,700 laptops will be distributed statewide later this year.

Teachers cite that the transition from laptops to iPads wasn’t properly planned in many districts and teachers weren’t appropriately trained in incorporating and utilizing the iPads. Educators felt the iPads were mostly a gaming device used as a toy by students, largely without the ability to word process. Quartz reports that one of the teachers surveyed stated, tablets provided “no educational function in the classroom.” Another elementary school educator found that though the iPads did enhance learning by providing more varied instruction and activities, communication and conversation skills were undermined with iPad usage.

Maine isn’t the only state that has had a difficult time incorporating tablet use within the classroom. The second largest school district in the U.S. based near Los Angeles recently axed their plan to distribute iPads to every student and teacher in the area. The $1.3 billion program launched in 2013 was tabled due to technical glitches and improper planning efforts. Districts in North Carolina and Texas have followed suit and aborted their tablet learning initiatives, as well.

Though Mac sales are at a record high, revenue from iPads is the lowest it’s been since June 2011. Even so, Apple recently launched the new iPad Pro, that is the largest iPad to date. Whether tablets will continue to be incorporated in classrooms, or will prove just a brief education fad, remains to be seen. The customization options available with iPads, for me, are hard to deny though.

Behind every successful adult is at least one person who pushed him or her to greatness. If you ask some of the world’s highest achievers what motivated them to keep going, they usually mention a specific person who inspired them along the way – a parent, a teacher, a mentor, a coach.

Think about the people in your own life who made a positive impact when you were young. If you are an educator, it was probably a teacher of your own who inspired you to take that next step and answer the call to teach. There were likely other less-direct influences on your career choice, and others who influenced other parts of the positive parts of your adult life.

Now imagine what it would look like if all of those mentors – those teachers, those coaches – had been able to combine their efforts for a singular purpose: guiding you on the road to successful adulthood. It’s a pretty amazing thought, right? But most of those people were probably from different circles of your life with you (a kid) being the only connection between them. Technology is changing that though, by better aligning the important relationships in a student’s life.

More specifically, Learning Relationship Management is delving deeper into how mentors like teachers and coaches help guide all students to success — both academically, and in other areas of life. The Learning Relationship Management Alliance is a leader in this student-friendly technology that can also be applied to other groups that benefit from mentor support, like senior citizens in assisted living.

The LRM Alliance created this infographic to summarize exactly what the vision is for this relationship technology, including a need to cultivate authentic relationships, personalize learning, streamline content, and connect networks in a student’s life. Take a look:

So how is the LRM Alliance progressing these ideas in a coherent way that any district can implement? By combining the strengths of several leading companies to raise awareness about the many benefits to this learning setup. This group of edtech innovators is changing the way students succeed through electronic means that extend beyond academic pursuits. The five companies that make up the LRM Alliance are:

• Epiphany Learning
• Fidelis Education
• XL Academics
• Fishtree
• Motivis Learning

Through community-enabled mentorship, the strengths of a variety of people associated with each student is tapped. This includes, and is not limited to, parents, teachers, sports coaches, and more. Even older siblings can be included in the community to help encourage, monitor and ultimately guide the student to positive learning outcomes.

When it comes to personalized and blended learning, LRM allows K-20 brick and mortar schools and online schools to move from small pilot programs to large, full-scale implementation. Teachers and administrators have more information on how students are progressing and can tailor lessons to better fit their needs and learning styles. Personalized learning paths are in turn supported through learning relationship management and strengthened by the mentors outside the classroom who are in the student’s network. Learning Relationship Management does not just setup personalized and blended learning lesson plans; it gives students the tools to execute those plans.

Learning Relationship Management is not just about prescriptive methods, though, or simply handing out assignments. The students themselves are an integral part of the process of goal-setting, intervention planning and the communication that takes place about them. Every student can benefit from LRM tools because it does not dictate what people must take part. If a student lives with grandparents, or has a drama teacher but no sports coaches, or even has a trusted teacher he wants to keep in the system even when class has ended, LRM technology makes all of that possible.

Learning Relationship Management has the potential to combine what schools are already doing right with a stronger support group outside the classroom. There can be numerous people (invited by the student and overseen by the lead adult administrator) who weigh in on the goals, benchmarks and activities of the student. There is a lot of power in the community-enabled coaching model and the more people who can contribute to the success of a student — in a streamlined, productive way — the better that student will fare in school, and in life.

You can learn more about the Learning Relationship Management Alliance and its member companies at the organization’s site.