EdTech & Innovation

Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Teachers

An education for the 21st century means teaching coding in schools

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

Leon Sterling, Swinburne University of Technology

Bill Shorten’s recent announcement that, if elected, a Labor Government would “ensure that computer coding is taught in every primary and secondary school in Australia” has brought attention to an increasing world trend.

Estonia introduced coding in primary schools in 2012 and the UK followed suit last year. US-led initiatives such as Code.org and the “Hour of Code”, supported by organisations such as Google and Microsoft, advocate that every school student should have the opportunity to learn computer coding.

There is merit in school students learning coding. We live in a digital world where computer programs underlie everything from business, marketing, aviation, science and medicine, to name several disciplines. During a recent presentation at a radio station, one of our hosts said that IT would have been better background for his career in radio than journalism.

There is also a strong case to be made that Australia’s future prosperity will depend on delivering advanced services and digital technology, and that programming will be essential to this end. Computer programs and software are known to be a strong driver of productivity improvements in many fields.

Being introduced to coding gives students an appreciation of what can be built with technology. We are surrounded by devices controlled by computers. Understanding how they work, and imagining new devices and services, are enhanced by understanding coding.

Of course, not everyone taught coding will become a coder or have a career in information technology. Art is taught in schools with no expectation that the students should become artists.

Drag and drop

A computer program is effectively a means of automating processes. Programs systematically and reliably follow processes and can be used to exhaustively try all the possibilities.

The languages used to program computers have evolved in the 70 years we have been building computers. Interfaces and programming environments have become more natural and intuitive. Language features reflect the applications they’re used for.

What is needed to easily express a business process, scientific equation, or data analysis technique is not necessarily the same as what is needed to rapidly develop a video game.

However, throughout the evolution of programming languages, the fundamental principles have remained the same. Computer programming languages express three essential things:

  1. The order in which a sequence of instructions is performed
  2. A means of repeating a sequence of instructions a prescribed number of times
  3. And tests as to whether or not a sequence of instructions is performed.

While personal preference influences which computer language a programmer uses, there is a greater understanding of which languages work well for teaching introductory programming. For example, Scratch is popular for primary school students and is quick to learn. Alice has been used to help students quickly build computer animations. Python is increasingly used for scientific applications. Visual programming languages – where students can drag-and-drop icons rather than type code – allow for rapid development of simple programs.

At Swinburne University of Technology we run workshops to introduce school students to program NAO robots. Students use the Choregraphe environment to link robot actions from a library.

Students previously unused to programming can develop interesting robot projects in a couple of days. More sophisticated development of the robot requires students to use a more detail-oriented language, such as Python or C++. The simpler options lead to positive student experience.

The Nao robot can be programmed easily to perform a range of tasks.
Brett Davis/Flickr, CC BY-NC

Computational thinking

Writing and then executing a program gives immediate feedback as to whether you have correctly expressed instructions for the computer. Ultimately, the understanding of how to express concepts so that a computer can perform tasks accurately and efficiently is far more important than the details of the programming language.

Underlying all computer programs are algorithms, which specify in a more abstract way how a task is to be done. Algorithmic thinking – also called computational thinking – underlies computer science, and there has been a growing movement on algorithmic thinking in schools.

The new national curriculum reflects algorithmic processes, and materials are being developed to help teachers with the new curriculum. Victoria has recently developed a new subject for the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) entitled Algorithmics.
There are even materials for teaching algorithmic thinking without computers. The Computer Science Unplugged movement, led by Tim Bell and colleagues at the University of Canterbury, has developed resources that teach students concepts through movement and fun activities.

Teaching for the this century

Teaching computer coding in schools is very different from initiatives that advocate for computers in the classroom. I was not, and am still not, supportive of compulsory laptop programs in schools.

The idea is not necessarily to expose students to the technology itself, which is almost inevitable these days with the wide penetration of mobile phones. Rather, students are exposed to the skills needed to develop computer applications.

While IT skill shortages is a contentious topic, there is no doubt that not enough of the best and brightest are studying computer science at university. A significant factor is insufficient exposure to the topic at schools. Teaching coding at schools is aimed at addressing the lack.

It might be said that whatever programming language is taught will be obsolete by the time the students enter the workforce. My experience is that, if taught properly, students can rapidly transfer the principles of one language to another.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the challenge was to understand the physical world, and harness force and energy. This understanding percolated into the school curriculum. In the 21st century, the challenge is to understand and harness data, information and knowledge. Computer programming is a necessary way of introducing students to these concepts.

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The ConversationLeon Sterling is Pro Vice Chancellor Digital Frontiers at Swinburne University of Technology.

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

Read the original article.

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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert, Current Ed News, EdTech & Innovation, Education Leadership, Education News,

Instead of textbooks, why not pay teachers for content?

By Brandon Wilmarth

As an English teacher in Oklahoma’s Moore Public Schools, I was recruited by some textbook providers to help them create content. It was a lot of fun, and I was happy to make some extra money doing it. But there are so many teachers in our district who are much more talented than I am. If I was developing curriculum materials that school systems across the nation were purchasing, they certainly could be doing this, too.

So when I became a technology integration specialist for the district, one of my long-term goals was to leverage the expertise of our teachers in creating high-quality digital content.

Teachers are already scouring the web for videos, articles, and other free instructional resources, then pulling these together into coherent lessons and adding their own valuable context to help students understand the material or promote deeper lines of inquiry.

My thought was, why don’t we take some of the money we’re hemorrhaging on expensive, print-based textbooks that aren’t interactive and don’t effectively capture students’ imagination—and use it to pay our teachers more money for their efforts instead?

Our vision is to create a central repository of exemplary digital content that is developed and curated by teachers, for teachers in our district. All teachers would have access to these shared instructional materials. Not all teachers would be required to contribute, but those who do could receive a stipend for their work if it’s approved as a district-vetted lesson or unit.

This would allow us to use our most powerful assets—our teachers—to their fullest potential, while also recognizing and giving value to teachers for the lesson planning and content creation they already do so well.

That’s important, because in Oklahoma, our teachers are among the lowest paid in the nation—and many leave the profession after only a few years. Honoring their talents and contributions could help stop this mass exodus of young teachers as well as veteran content experts and keep them in our schools.

To realize this vision, we needed to have a technology platform that would support teachers in creating and sharing digital lessons. We found this platform in Ogment, which helped us create curriculum by making it easier to grab digital content, including what we found on the web, and turn that into useable lessons for our classrooms.

Part of the problem is not the lack of resources, but rather the overabundance of resources. Every teacher knows how much great content exists online—but managing it all can be a nightmare. Ogment has let our teachers clip videos, articles, games, and other internet resources and put them into lessons or presentations with a simple drag-and-drop process. Then, they can embed questions within a lesson to check for students’ understanding or prompt further discussion—and they can easily share their lessons with other teachers.

Our teachers have used the service to “flip” their classrooms and even personalize instruction. For instance, Tiffany Truesdell, a math teacher at Westmoore High School, says she has used Ogment to make customized lessons for her students.

“I can assign a lesson that presents all the material, and as students go through the lesson, I can have questions that check for their understanding just as if I were presenting the material in class. I can pull videos from any website to enhance the lesson, and if I only want a small section of the video, Ogment lets me assign just that portion of the video in my lesson,” she says.

“Ogment also allows me to differentiate a lesson. For example, if I have a student on an IEP who needs multiple choice, but I want the other students to have a free response question, I can create the lesson once but with differentiated questions. When the questions come up, it will give the IEP student the multiple choice question instead.”

Mrs. Truesdell’s example shows that with the right technology, our district can build a shared repository of lessons that is truly usable. More importantly, a system like this allows our teachers to apply their talents and reignite their passion for creating great content.

We are working toward a model in which we pay teachers extra for the content they create and share through this tool. We’re not there yet; we’re still trying to free up the funding to be able to do this.

But when we come up with the funding to realize our vision, we’ll be able to pay our teachers extra for creating and sharing top-notch lessons—rewarding teachers for their work and restoring professionalism to the field.

Brandon Wilmarth is a technology integration specialist for Moore Public Schools in Oklahoma.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation

There’s a new addiction on campus: Problematic Internet Use (PIU)

Susan M. Snyder, Georgia State University; Jennifer E. O’Brien, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, and Wen Li, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

Problematic Internet Use is now considered to be a behavioral addiction with characteristics that are similar to substance use disorders.

Individuals with PIU may have difficulty reducing their Internet use, may be preoccupied with the Internet or may lie to conceal their use.

A recent study that I coauthored with UNC Chapel Hill doctoral students Wen Li and Jennifer O’Brien and UNC professor Matthew O. Howard examines this new behavioral addiction.

Perhaps not surprisingly, individuals with PIU have been found to experience several negative mental health problems which could include depression, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), hostility, social phobias, problematic alcohol use, self-injurious behavior and trouble sleeping (i.e., sleep apnea, nightmares, insomnia, and struggling to stay awake during the daytime).

Our study is the first to look at how PIU affects family relationships among U.S. university students. Intriguingly, we found that college students with PIU report effects that are both negative and positive.

Measuring PIU and its problems

To better understand PIU, we focused on students whose Internet use was excessive and created problems in their lives.

Study participants were undergraduate or graduate students enrolled at UNC Chapel Hill. We required that participants be individuals who were spending more than 25 hours a week on the Internet (time that was not related to school or work). Additionally, participants had to report experiencing at least one health, relationship or emotional problem due to PIU.

To recruit our participants, our team sent out an email on a Friday evening. We were not sure if this would be a good time to reach students, but we were surprised that within two hours, 39 students responded. Of those who responded to our email, 27 students attended our four focus groups and completed our questionnaires.

Roughly half (48.1 percent) of our participants were considered “Internet addicts.” These participants answered “yes” to five or more of our eight questions (e.g., preoccupation; inability to control use; lying about use; depressed or moody when trying to stop).

Half of the participants of the study were considered to be Internet addicts.
Southern Tier Advocacy & Mitigation Project, Incorporated, CC BY-NC-ND

Another 40.7% were considered to be “potential Internet addicts.” These participants answered “yes” to three or four items. All of the participants met the criteria for PIU using the Compulsive Internet Use Scale, a 14-item scale that included items like difficulty stopping; sleep deprivation; neglect obligations; feelings of restlessness, frustration or irritation when Internet is unavailable.

We used focus groups, which are group conversations guided by a facilitator, to discuss shared experiences or knowledge regarding PIU. Each focus group had six to eight participants.

Here is what we found

Three key themes emerged in the conversations: (1) family connectedness, (2) family conflict/family disconnection, and (3) Internet overuse among other family members.

We had examples of positive connections. Some participants reported that the Internet connected them to their families. For example, participants discussed using Skype, Facebook or email to maintain relationships with family while they were away at college.

A student we call Hannah explained:

But like using Skype helps keep you connected and also when we are at home we watch a movie together, it’s like family time, you know. And um, like you know, if we read the same, like article, then we can talk about it on Skype.

Another student, Lisa said:

I hate talking on the phone. So, that allows me a way to stay connected and especially with my mom who would… Normally, I would just not respond to her at all, but now we have an email dialogue going. That helps us stay more connected.

Despite the positive consequences that participants discussed, we found that across the focus groups, participants spent more time talking about the negative consequences of Internet use.

For these participants, Internet use caused family relationships to disconnect or become conflicted.

Instead of interacting with their family when they were at home, participants reported that they were “on the computer the whole time.” One participant described ignoring her family during her visits home as a result of her Internet use:

My grandma and my parents will complain about my Internet use because I will be sitting in front of the TV and I’ll have my laptop and so will my little sister. We’ll be sitting in front of the TV on our laptops not talking to each other. So, my parents will complain about that.

Andrew said,

I think for me, this year I went home and one of the reasons was just was to have more family time, but what I ended up really doing was staying on my computer pretty much the whole time, which was kind of defeating the purpose of actually going home.

Steve described how his Internet use affected a visit with his brother and his friends at a sports bar:

At one point we’re all watching the basketball game, and all four because we’re all on our phone, and he looked at us and he said, ‘Really guys, I am here for two days, you all just wanna [sic] be on Twitter and Facebook?’ So, while it can enhance with setting up social situations, it can also detract from them once you were actually in them…Yeah, he was very just like…He flew out for the weekend. You know he spent US$300 on an airplane ticket just to sit there and watch me on Facebook.

It’s not just the students

It may not be surprising that college students with PIU reported that members of their families also overuse the Internet.

Some participants expressed frustration at the lack of boundaries or rules in place for their younger siblings or other relatives. A participant we called Melissa shared about her little brother:

He just turned four, but they got him an iPad. Like, which I don’t agree with. I think it’s so stupid, but he is always, always on it. He gets really defensive if you try to take it away or put boundaries on it or something like that.

Small children are getting addicted to their devices as well.
Tia Henriksen, CC BY

Hannah, for example, described a cousin whose Internet gaming has impaired his vision, but he is unable to stop playing:

My cousin, he is addicted to video games. And he’s like, I think he is like 10, 12, something like that, I don’t remember. I feel like it’s a stupid game, there’s no deepness to it. You kill someone. They die. You get killed, it starts over again. He can play that for eight hours straight without moving. His eyes are really bad right now. He can’t control himself.

Participants described their parents’ PIU as well. Several participants described their parents as “constantly checking email” for their work. Others described their parents as regularly on computers, phones or iPads “on Facebook” or “browsing.”

Sarah likened her Internet use to her mother’s:

It’s not just the students who are addicted.
Chris Owens, CC BY-NC-SA

My mom talks about me using the phone at the table when we’re eating, cause like if there’s a break in conversation, ‘Oh, Facebook opportunity’ [others laughed and she laughed too]. And then, like, somehow in my mind [the] conversation is over, but it’s really not. So then she’s like ‘You’re always on your phone, what are you doing?’ But then, like two minutes later, she is checking the weather. So I don’t know [she laughed].

A few participants shared that they were the only ones in their family with PIU.

Cindy explained that her family was from another country, which may explain their low Internet use,

I find that I don’t really have family members with an Internet problem, and I am the only one who grew up here. So, that might be…

Gina said,

My parents are technophobes. They don’t even know how to turn on computers.

Although our sample size is small, we followed rigorous approaches to ensure that we obtained the best possible data. We conducted focus groups until we achieved data saturation, which means that when we reviewed the final focus group no new themes were discovered.

The conclusions come through loud and clear. PIU exists and it affects family relationships. While those effects may be both positive and negative, those who suffer adverse consequences from PIU may have difficulty addressing their PIU because of requirements to use Internet for classes via online assignments (e.g., writing blogs), online courses and materials accessed online.

All names have been changed to protect identity.

The Conversation

Susan M. Snyder, Assistant Professor of Social Work, Georgia State University; Jennifer E. O’Brien, Ph.D. Student, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, and Wen Li, Ph.D. Student, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

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

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Teachers

Why Teachers Should Embrace Technology in Their Classrooms

By Matthew Lynch

Teachers have a lot on their plate when it comes to measuring achievement. Student success is determined by assessments, graded materials and even technological savvy. The consensus seems to be that to give K-12 students a fighting chance in the real world, teachers and administrators must stay on top of any and all technology trends. While it’s impossible to use every piece of technology to the students’ advantage, there are some legitimate reasons (aside from the cool factor) that teachers should embrace technology in their classrooms.

At-risk students

Technology has made it possible for students who fall off the traditional path to jump back on and finish what they spent most of their childhood working towards. This may be in the form of taking remote classes from home, remedial classes in on-campus computer labs or even by enrolling in full-time online schools, public or private. The technology available for these options benefits students who face difficulties with a normal school schedule including teenage parents, students with short-term or long-term illnesses, teens with substance abuse struggles, or those who had poor academic performance due to learning disabilities or bullying.

Equality through Technology

Technology is also a great equalizer in K-12 classrooms. Students have the same access as their peers to whatever technology is available in their district and specific classroom. While there is certainly some technology discrepancies between one district and another, often based on the socioeconomic status of the families within that district, within each one, students have fair access to technology. In a way, things like computers and mobile devices in classrooms usher in the technology of the outside world and give students who may not otherwise have access a chance to use it for learning purposes.

Having in-classroom technology more directly impacts the graduation rate by providing customized learning experiences. A student who needs extra help on a particular topic need not hold up the entire class, or feel embarrassed asking for that help when there are computer modules and tablet apps available for individual learning experiences. Teachers who spot a trouble area with a particular student can gear that teen towards more exercises to master the topic. Of course, technology is not the magic wand to fix all problems, but it does allow for more flexibility of the learning process which in turn makes it easier for a wider group of students to stay in classrooms until the end of the K-12 journey.

College Prep

K-12 educators used to have the goal of helping their students reach high school graduation, but now the pressure is on to create students who go on to achieve college goals too. No matter how advanced the technology options in a particular school district, they are dwarfed by the reliance on and widespread use of technology on college campuses. High school students who become acquainted with technology for things like course selection, class management and actual learning modules are better.

Other Technology Perks

There are so many ways that academics are enhanced by technology that simply did not exist ten years ago. Today, students can benefit from online learning modules if a major illness or suspension keeps them at home. For students who are struggling under the academic and social pressures of traditional schooling, online learning provides a way to stay on track from the comforts of home. Online learning is just a brushstroke on the contemporary portrait of learning technology. Within classrooms, teachers can encourage students to work individually on a computer or mobile devices, freeing up some time to work in-person with those who might need the extra attention.

Teachers can also communicate more effectively with parents and students regarding upcoming assignments, supplementary lesson plans, and areas where students could benefit from extra practice. With browser-based technology, and cloud-based options, teachers can provide easy access to information and parents and students can log in at their convenience.

Technology is transforming the teaching process into one that is more interactive as well. Instead of waiting to see how much a student knows at the end of a term, progress can be measured in real-time – and adjustments can be made. Teaching is becoming less instructor-centric and more of a collective process.

What do you think? Did I leave any benefits of classroom technology out?

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation

Science achievement gaps start early – in kindergarten

F. Chris Curran, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

The annual back-to-school season is filled with high hopes for making new friends, meeting new teachers – and, from the view of many policymakers – promoting gains in science achievement. Scientific learning and research carry substantial economic benefits.

Historically, however, not all groups have excelled in science equally. Black and Hispanic individuals as well as women have been less likely to enter or persist in science-related studies or occupations.

These gaps have been well-studied at the level of high school and higher education. These gaps, however, actually start much earlier.

My recent research found that these gaps exist at the level of kindergarten. However, these gaps can also change significantly in the first two years of schooling.

Large gaps in science

In a recent study, my research assistant, Ann Kellogg, and I examined the science performance of over 10,000 kindergarten students who began school in 2010. We analyzed data from a national study called the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K) conducted by the federal government.

The data included science achievement tests that assessed concepts in physical, life and environmental science as well as scientific inquiry. Examples of science instruction in kindergarten includes studying how plants grow, experimenting with erosion on a water table or constructing a picture of the solar system.

Previous research had examined science gaps in early grades. Our study, however, looked at science gaps as early as kindergarten with newer data and better science achievement tests.

Our study revealed large gaps in science achievement in kindergarten between white students and racial or ethnic minorities. And, where science gaps existed, we found that they were generally larger than the gaps in reading or mathematics achievement. However, we did not find significant gaps by gender.

Achievement gaps are not stagnant

On average, black students and Hispanic students performed significantly lower than white students on the science achievement tests in kindergarten. Approximately 41 percent of black students and 49 percent of Hispanic students scored in the bottom 25 percent. In comparison, only 12 percent of white students were in this category.

The difference in science achievement between black or Hispanic students and white students is roughly equivalent to what an average elementary student learns over a period of nine months between kindergarten and the end of first grade. The gaps between black, Hispanic and white students might be expected given similar gaps in mathematics and reading.

Asian students performed lower on science. Jennifer Smith, CC BY-NC-ND

What surprised us was that Asian students in our study performed significantly lower than white students in kindergarten on the science achievement test. Approximately 31 percent of Asian students scored in the bottom 25 percent on the science test. In contrast, only 12 percent of white students did so. This gap was present even though Asian students performed as well as or better than white students in mathematics and reading.

Interestingly, unlike the black-white gap, the science gap between Asian and white students closed rapidly between kindergarten and the end of first grade. In fact, by the end of first grade, the gap had reduced by almost 50 percent.

It’s unclear what causes this rapid decrease in the Asian-white science gap. However, what it does show is that achievement gaps are not stagnant.

Prior research conducted by scholars David Quinn and North Cooc showed similar findings. By eighth grade, Asian student performance in science was equivalent to or higher than that of white students. Other researchers have also found Asian students’ performance in science increases rapidly relative to white students throughout elementary and middle school.

No gender gap

Additionally, we found no difference in science achievement between boys and girls in kindergarten. A small male advantage was evident only in first grade. This too is an important finding given the documented gender gaps in the later grades of elementary school.

Prior work has found that boys outperform girls in science at third grade. Similarly, results from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) show a male advantage in science in the fourth grade.

Study found no gender gaps in science during kindergarten years. Ars Electronica, CC BY-NC-ND

Our work shows, however, that these gaps in later grades do not extend back to kindergarten. Instead, boys and girls appear to begin schooling on relatively equal footing when it comes to science achievement. It is only as they progress through school that the gender gap emerges.

Science gaps larger

Finally, we found that the kindergarten gaps by race or ethnicity tend to be larger in science than in mathematics or reading.

For example, on the kindergarten achievement tests, the Hispanic-white gap was about twice as large for science as mathematics or reading. Similarly, the black-white gap was slightly larger in science than in mathematics and was about twice as large as the gap in reading.

It is possible that students lagging behind in math and reading struggle even more in science as it requires the application of language and mathematics to scientific content.

In sum, our findings point to the importance of the early elementary grades for equity in science achievement. We show that many gaps, such as the black-white gap, already exist when students start school. We also show, however, that these gaps can change significantly in the first two years of schooling as evidenced by the Asian-white gap and the emergence of a gender gap.

What’s happening in classrooms?

All this means that the early elementary years may be an appropriate point for addressing inequities in science achievement. However, science instruction has not been a high priority in the early elementary grades.

Recent research comparing kindergarten in 1998 to that in 2010 found that teachers cover fewer science topics than before and students spend less time using science equipment.

Is science instruction the problem? woodleywonderworks, CC BY

Furthermore, kindergarten classrooms today are much less likely to have science or nature areas. Indeed, in kindergarten classrooms, teachers spend only about a fourth of the amount of time on science that they do on mathematics or language arts.

What can we do?

Our findings point to the need for increased emphasis on science in kindergarten and first grade. I believe, for example, that teachers and school leaders should look for opportunities to incorporate science concepts into reading and math lessons.

Looking beyond the classroom setting, the findings of our work and that of others suggest the need to provide support to informal science learning opportunities. Visiting museums, interacting with nature and exploring novel tools all represent ways in which parents and caregivers can support early science inquiry.

Science achievement gaps begin early. It is important that our policies and interventions take steps in those early years to ensure increased science achievement for all.

The Conversation

F. Chris Curran, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

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

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Matthew Lynch

Educational Tech: What’s Next?

There is a lot of money tied up in educational technology. In 2012, $600 million was invested by venture firms into ed-tech startups. To put that in perspective, that is 400 percent more than what was invested in the same industry in 2002. It seems that a lot of faith is being placed in the technology that will soon arrive in K-12 and college classrooms and on campuses – but what is actually being created?

Not a whole lot, according to ed-tech industry insiders. Speaking to CNN, a senior financial advisor said that there are not many fresh ideas floating around ed-tech startups. He said:

“Do they have a product that’s actually a solution for someone’s needs, and will the decision makers recognize that it’s a problem? There are lots of gradebooks out there. Don’t tell me you’ve got the first digital gradebook, and also nobody is viewing that as a problem.”

To his point, it seems that most of the ed-tech “advancements” of the past decade have had more to do with utility than the actual learning process. Course management, online communication portals between educators and parents, and even continuing training for teachers have all seen some streamlining as a result of technology. Students can take courses online and that in and of itself is a major stride in individualized learning. Still, the concept of online learning is certainly not considered cutting edge anymore. What strides have been made in the actual process since it was first introduced?

For K-12, major course providers like K12 now offer more scheduled learning experiences where students are expected to be logged in to their courses at a certain time, and possibly even visible on a web cam, in order to get attendance credit. There are also many more course options than when online learning for K-12 students first emerged. K12 boasts 105 courses for high school students alone. But for $600 million – shouldn’t there be more?

Freemium models

Following the successful mobile gaming application business model, ed-tech companies are starting to offer free services with paid upcharges. Consider Candy Crush Saga way of doing business. Anyone with a smartphone, tablet or desktop Facebook access can download the game at no cost. As users progress through the addictive, sugar-laden levels, they are prompted to make small purchases (usually between 99 cents and $3) to gain access to higher levels, add more lives or buy level “boosters” to help their luck. But giving away a product for free? What sort of business sense does that make? In the case of Candy Crush, it has proven to be savvy indeed. The game’s owner King brought in $1.9 billion in revenue in 2013 and its initial public offering earlier this year was valued at $7 billion.

Ed-tech companies are taking notice. Online learning giant Coursera (with $85 million in venture financial support) is experimenting with free courses but a small fee for the certification at the end of the course. Udacity (backed by $20 million from investor Andreessen Horowitz) is looking into monetizing courses through sponsorship opportunities and programs that match employers with promising students. In both cases, the ed-tech companies are not asking for money upfront but instead getting students “hooked” on the offerings first. From a strictly knowledge standpoint, students are the beneficiaries because certificate or not, once learning has been attained it can’t be taken back. From a practical standpoint though, without proof of completed coursework, all the free education in the world won’t translate into better job opportunities or college admittance. So time will tell if the freemium approach to ed-tech offerings will prove as lucrative as other industries but it certainly has potential.

What would you like to see the $600 million in ed-tech investments create?

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation

More states moving towards virtual classes for K-12 students

According to KPK12.com, more states are implementing measures that require students to take virtual classes.

In 2014, “state virtual schools exist in 26 states as of fall 2014-one more than last year.”

Many states are moving towards mandating virtual education because students will likely be required to take a virtual course or two should they decide to attend college.

For instance, take Florida. KPK12.com notes that as of 2014, “Florida is the first state in the country to legislate that all K-12 students will have full- and part time virtual options, and that funding will follow each student down to the course level.”

Florida’s virtual school had over 400,000 enrollments in 2014, a number that is likely to at least maintain.

Another state in the south that’s primed to join the virtual party is Alabama. Lawmakers recently passed a bill “that requires each of its districts to provide virtual courses for high school students by the 2010-2017 school year.”

An issue that some states face when choosing whether to require virtual courses is the provider. What, if any, providers are available for local school districts to use?

For Alabama, the choice was easy as the state has selected Odysseyware, “an innovative, multimedia-enriched online curriculum.”

Jeff McClure, Director of Alternative Learning at Pike County Schools, took special note of Odyseeyware’s flexibility.

“Odysseyware provides flexibility outside the structure of a school master schedule,” McClure said.

In operation since the early aughts, Odysseyware continues to grow and expand its efforts to “meet the needs of 21st Century Learners…”

For more information on Odysseyware and services the company offers, please visit www.odysseyware.com.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Education Leadership, Matthew Lynch

Relating Resource Allocation to a Performance-Focused Agenda

As the focus on the improvement of learning becomes more central, what educational leaders are expected to do and accomplish through the allocation of resources has changed. Historically, supporters of education were more concerned with the dollar amount allocated per pupil, and they spent much of their political capital advocating for increases from one year to the next.

Educational leaders were responsible for creating balanced budgets with the dollars they had available and accounting for expenditures in a responsible manner– a complex task in large school districts. Little attention was paid to how resources were related to performance or what type of performance was expected. The standards-based reform movement of the past several decades changed the situation fundamentally, by prompting new questions about what the learning standards should be and how educators should be held accountable for improved performance.

In response, educators have become more focused on results, while taking the stance that higher performance cannot be accomplished without adequate resources. Thus, a sea change has occurred, prompting educational leaders to consider how resource allocation is related to building high-performing systems that work for all students. As they take seriously the charge to become more learning-focused, leaders critically examine the equity, efficiency, and effectiveness of existing resource allocation policies and practices and make decisions regarding ways in which resources might be reallocated in more productive ways.

This resource reallocation challenge is as important in the present era of standards-driven reform and accountability for results. Given the considerable variation in the needs, capacities, and contexts of schools, it is striking– though not surprising– that for the most part, resource allocation patterns in K–12 education are relatively uniform.

The uniformity of leaders’ responses to these varying needs may simply signal a safe course: the most easily defended set of decisions in a context of competition for scarce resources. Beneath the surface of this course of action, however, conflicting expectations, tensions, and barriers may be impeding leaders’ ability to think more creatively about how to organize and allocate limited resources and act strategically. These barriers exist at all levels of the educational policy system.

In such a situation, leaders might wish for definitive understanding about the impact of particular investments on student learning, yet the state of knowledge here is incomplete. The highly contextual nature of schools, the variations with which any particular improvement strategy is implemented, the motivational conditions that are present, and the need to adapt strategies to fit specific circumstances all interact with the resources brought to bear on learning improvement goals.

For districts wishing to commence anew with student-weighted allocation systems (whereby funds are allocated on the basis of student types), offering clear-cut guidance on what increments should be assigned to each student type is a crucial first step. However, a definitive response plainly cannot exist in the current state of fiscal allocation policy. The difficulty here is that currently there is no efficient resource allocation system whereby an answer can be reliably extrapolated.

Policymakers are consequently forced into determining fiscal policy without information relating to expenditure on student types. They are forced to do so with no understanding of the workings of allocation policies at different levels (federal, state, and local) either together or in conflict. Policymakers have little clarity on expenditure for different student types at the school level, nor awareness of the types of policies that would be more effective in guaranteeing that dollars reach students in the proposed ways.

School finance today works in opposition to the focused and effective utilization of resources that promote improved education of students. Just as an archaic computer can no longer function properly in a technological environment inundated with the latest software, this nation’s school finance system frozen by a combination of unrelated expenditure policies and administrative plans can no longer serve the needs of an educational system calling for reform.  A new model is required, to do one thing– ensure that every child receives instruction for his or her needs in order to become an involved citizen having total participation in this modern economy.

Current school finance systems fund programs, uphold institutions, and offer resources and staff employment so the school and district administrators can fully execute the multitude of laws and regulations that have become part of public education. However, the methods employed by today’s school finance systems– deploying expenditure levels based on habit and not need, covering up funds’ actual allocations, supporting institutions whether they are viable or not, hypocritically addressing equity, spending resources flippantly, attempting to make adults accountable by compliance and not by results– confuses the links between resources and academic aims that make finance relevant to student performance.

The school finance system evolved in a era in which programs were funded, and students passed or failed without much regard paid to the role of funding in student performance. This pattern was sustainable then, as jobs were available for people with low skills, and the vast majority of workers were not required to be well educated in order to maintain a healthy economy. Unfortunately, that legacy has proven unworkable in today’s highly technological, information-based economy, where low-skilled workers cannot rise above the poverty level and overseas workers are able to compete effectively in the market for skilled jobs, once available solely to Americans.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Matthew Lynch, Teachers

7 Ways Technology Is Impacting Modern Education

Technology in the classroom can be so much more and so much better than the stereotypical cell phone going off in the middle of class. With higher-learning institutions offering up programs like a BSN-RN/MBA completely online , technology can be a major tool, both regarding pedagogical resources and regarding connecting with the younger generation. But how does this work?

The top seven important concepts to understand when examining the use of technology for educational or instructional purposes include:

1) Active engagement with the learning material.
Technology is interactive, and students learn by doing, researching, and receiving feedback. This helps students become passionate about what they are learning. For example, they may study geography using interactive software such as Google Maps or Google Earth, instead of looking at a picture.

2) Use of real-world issues.
This model encourages the use of real-world problems in the classroom. By using the Internet, students can research real issues happening at that moment that are related to the classroom curriculum. This helps students understand that the lesson being taught refers to real problems and real people.

3) Simulation and modeling.
Simulation software helps to bring to the classroom real activities that would be impossible to see without technology. By using specific simulation tools, students can see planetary movements, how a tornado develops, or how dinosaurs lived. Modeling software offers similar features. Instead of the static models used in previous decades, these tools allow students to see the dynamic characteristics of models.

4) Discussion and debate boards and forums.
By using the Internet or software tools, students can create online groups, Web pages, and virtual communities that connect them in real time with students and teachers anywhere around the world. They can receive feedback from their teachers and share questions and concerns about their lessons. By listening to and reading about others’ opinions and feedback, students refine their thinking, reaching higher levels of comprehension and deeper understanding. Online communities also present the opportunity for students to interact with others around the world.

5) Working groups.
Technology-focused education doesn’t involve a class of students learning by themselves, staring at a book. Working groups foster group activities, discussions, and debates, and they encourage the establishment of democratic group dynamics.

6) Coaching.
Teachers play more of a coaching role these days. They aren’t just instructors who deliver a lesson. Rather, they support and guide student activities as coaches do. They provide feedback and coaching to the class so that students receive the appropriate information and academic training. Teachers guide students in developing skills in problem solving, research, and decision-making.

7) Formative assessment.
Teachers ensure that students are learning not only the concepts, but also how to use the technology resources they have. Technology-focused activities mostly require critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Teachers work as facilitators, providing constant feedback, enabling students to achieve deeper levels of understanding.

Teaching is all about introducing students to a whole world of concepts that they didn’t know about yet. Technology in the classroom is like a foray into modern invention – and you get to be the expedition leader. Rather than viewing digital devices and Internet spaces as a threat to your duties, view them as unexplored areas of growth for both you and the young minds trusting you to show them what’s out there.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation

Using twitter in the classroom – from the perspective of students

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A guest post by Craig Kemp

This year as I reflect on 4 terms of amazing learning within my school here in Singapore I asked the students about their highlights. Using twitter in the classroom was one of those.

This year we trialled the use of Twitter as a tool to support student learning in the classroom. One major impact was its use in the development of a new modern learning environment that is currently being implemented ready for the 2015 school year.

I asked the students involved a little bit about their use of Twitter to dig a little deeper into what makes them tick when learning through Social Media. Here are some of their responses:

  • I remember the thrill of getting instant replies
  • I loved the ideas that we got from people from all over the world
  • The ideas we got from other students and teachers were amazing because we didn’t think of them but they were so great and we are using them in the design of our learning environment
  • It was a great way to see other people’s opinions
  • It felt a little strange at first because we didn’t know who we were talking to, but once we read their profiles we felt more comfortable
  • It was really exciting because there were so many different ideas and opinions to choose from
  • People that replied to our questions were friendly and kind
  • Everyone was willing to help
  • Within an hour we got to ask more than 15 questions and get answers to all of them
  • We got several links, videos and articles to help us with our research in a 1 hour lesson
  • It was amazing to connect with other students and teachers who have been through the same situation as us
  • We made some connections that wouldn’t have been possible if we hadn’t used Social Media
  • We discussed ideas with a designer that we ended up connecting with via Google Hangouts
All in all this was an incredible experience that I highly recommend to all educators. WIth the support of my school and utilising the excellent digital citizenship skills of my students we were able to master Social Media use. Bring on 2015 and the successful use of social media to support a more diverse range of learning.

This post originally appeared on Mr. Kemp’s blog, and was republished with permission.

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Craig is a New Zealand born educator with over 10 years experience both in the classroom and in leadership. He is an enthusiastic, 21st century change agent that is passionate about every aspect of education and making a difference.

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