EdTech & Innovation

Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Teachers

Using EdTech to assess small group instruction

A panel discussion with the teachers of Richardson ISD in Richardson, Texas

PANELISTS:

Caroline Canessa, Merriman Park Elementary, 5th Grade Reading-Language Arts

Leah Janoe, Dover Elementary, 5th Grade Math

Ashley Scott, White Rock Elementary, 3rd Grade

Jennifer Looney, Wallace Elementary, 3rd Grade

Alyson Hollon, Dover Elementary, 6th Grade Science

 

For those who may not know, can you elaborate on what your state standards ask teachers to assess in terms of small group discussions?

Jennifer Looney: According to our third grade standards, students should be involved in teacher-led and student-led discussions.

Leah Janoe: Students should participate in small-group discussions by asking questions and answering questions appropriately, which includes answering the question thoroughly, giving enough detail, and most importantly helping the conversation build and continue through their input.

Ashley Scott: We’re also asked to determine if students can use proper verb tense and grammar through discussions with peers.

 

Why is it challenging for teachers to monitor small group discussions?

Alyson Hollon: The biggest challenge with small group discussions or team collaborations is being able to monitor each group’s discussions at once, so that any misconceptions are addressed.

Caroline Canessa: This area of teaching can be very challenging! Often times it is hard to know whether or not student conversations or focus on the task at hand, or completely off the mark. Also, students may pretend to be on task while the teacher is near, but then return to being off task as soon as the teacher leaves the area.

Jennifer Looney: Small groups are often spread out all over the class, so it is hard for a teacher to have the time to engage with all groups. It is also a challenge to talk to one group while also monitoring behavior in a group across the room.

 

RISD has found and is trying out a tool that allows teachers to monitor several discussions all at once. Can you tell us about it?

Ashley Scott: The Flexcat system comes with two teacher microphones and remotes, one large speaker, and six individual speaker pods. The microphones can be used to project your voice out of the large speaker or out of individual pods. The remote controls the volume of your voice. You can use your normal talking voice and it does a wonderful job making it louder for all students to hear. With the pods I can control which group I would like to speak to directly. The microphone comes with an earpiece, which allows for you to listen through the pod to that group. You can turn on the pod without the students knowing and listen. Students can also use the call button on their pod and speak to the teacher through their pod.

Jennifer Looney: The speaker pods allow you to have ears all over the classroom. From working with a small group at my teacher table, I can tell what a group in the hallway is discussing and talk to them directly to refocus them without interrupting precious teaching time.

 

How has the Flexcat changed the way you run your classroom?

Leah Janoe: The Flexcat allows me to hear students’ natural conversations with each other, especially when I can listen in and hear how students are explaining a concept to each other. As a math teacher, I can listen in and see what steps students are verbalizing during group work and help clear up misconceptions in that manner. With the ability to project my voice using the main speaker, I’ve noticed that my students can actually hear my from any point in the room without me having to yell while teaching.

Ashley Scott: My kids are highly motivated to share their thinking and “be the teacher” up at the front of the class wearing the microphone. I can also send a student into a breakout room with a pod to finish work or make up a test. I can pop in on the pod and make sure everything is going OK or they can call me if they have a question. There is also a place for headphones so you could send a child with a pod and headphones to another class to work and still be able to talk directly to the student. It provides so much freedom and flexibility.

 

How have students reacted to the Flexcat?

Caroline Canessa: The students think the Flexcat is a lot of fun! They always ask to use the microphone and love to push the call button.

Alyson Hollon: The students were shocked at first when they realize that I could listen to their conversations even when I wasn’t near them. This has really pushed them to remain on topic and have higher-level group discussions. It has also given students who normally don’t ask questions the opportunity to ask me direct questions, reducing their feeling of apprehension.

Leah Janoe: My students have loved using the Flexcat system because they can discreetly call me to ask for help on a problem. Students who normally would not ask for help feel more comfortable asking for help if they can do so without me having to walk over to address them.

 

Could you share an example of a time when the Flexcat allowed you to catch a student really shining that you would have otherwise missed?

Ashley Scott: This year I had a few students new to our school. Most of my class has gone to school with their peers since kindergarten, and it can be an intimidating situation to walk into. It took this student until the third week to raise her hand to share with the class. One day I called on this particular child to “be the teacher” and share her thinking with the class during math. I gave her the microphone and once she heard her voice from the back of the room, she immediately smiled and stood up straight. You could see how excited and proud she was. Without the microphone, there is no way anyone would have been able to hear her because she was so nervous about sharing with her new peers.

Jennifer Looney: I have a very intelligent student who prefers to only share a few words at a time whole group because she is so shy. When she is with her tablemates, however, she is very talkative. I am able to listen in on her responses in a more laidback situation. I know several students have anxiety about whole class answers and responding directly to a teacher. As this student was working through a table problem in math, she guided her peers to solve a multiplication problem. It was really great to witness her come out of her shell and collaborate!

Alyson Hollon: I have this one student who really struggles working with teammates. One day I was listening to his group as they were finishing up a lab and he explained to another teammate why the chemical reaction occurred and he explained it so well. At this time I was working with my small group students and if I didn’t have the Flexcat I would never have heard his wonderful explanation.

 

What are your thoughts on education these days?

Caroline Canessa: The world of education is just as challenging and rigorous as it has always been.

Alyson Hollon: Today’s education is changing from teacher lead to student lead. Our students need “21st century skills” to be successful today which changes the role of teacher in a 21st century classroom. Students are more motivated and want to be in charge in their own learning.

Leah Janoe: In these times, I am amazed at what students are learning and how they are being taught. The methods and topics that students are using are amazing and I cannot imagine having learned with so many technology tools when I was in school.

 

What are your thoughts on technology in education? Why?

Jennifer Looney: Technology is used, in some way, for every career out there. Students must graduate knowing how to use this technology. To exclude technology from the classroom would be a great disservice to our students.

Leah Janoe: I am so excited for (and slightly jealous of) the technology opportunities my students have to integrate into their classes and learning. I’m amazed at all the tools students can use to encourage their learning.

Caroline Canessa: Technology in education is critical. It allows students access to information that they may not otherwise be able to access at home. It also readies all students for the future – which is increasingly more and more digital world.

 

Any other comments or experiences to share?

Alyson Hollon: I honestly believe with all the technology that I have in my classroom, the Flexcat is essential and necessary. A Flexcat should be in every classroom.

Ashley Scott: I would not want to go back to teaching without the Flexcat!

Read all of our posts about EdTech and Innovation by clicking here. 

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Higher Education

What do American college students look like?

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding a 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 Jan Costenbader

Before I enter the classroom each quarter (sometimes virtually), I always wonder about what my class looks like. Sometimes there are more women than men, sometimes it is a very diverse group, sometimes there are adult students, but one thing is certain, every year the incoming freshmen look younger and younger. Certainly, this is not because of my own advancing age, but seeing their youthful faces embarking on a new journey in today’s technological age, leaves me with the question, “what do they look like technically?” As more and more of our courses rely on online components, you have to ask yourself, “are our students prepared to deal with the challenges of D2L, online quizzes, and video captured lectures?”

Every year, the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA conducts a nationwide study of incoming college freshmen. The study conducted by UCLA [1] includes survey responses from almost 166,000 freshmen representing 234 institutions. For the first time in 2013, the survey added two questions about the respondents’ use of Open Educational Resources (OER) such as Khan Academy, MIT’s OpenCourseware and other MOOC’s. These two questions were in addition to the recurring questions about using the Internet for research, social media use, video games. So, what does the incoming freshman class look like technically? How prepared are they to use the online tools? I found some of the results quite surprising.

First of all, what about using the Internet for research? Interestingly, the responses for ‘frequently’ was the only category reported. 81.8% of all students attending Baccalaureate institutions used the Internet for research or homework. The results were similar across all types of institutions with only Historically Black Colleges and Universities being slightly lower at 76.0%. So, one can, perhaps, conclude that these incoming students speak Google. Whether or not they can use the tools effectively or the research is valid is yet another story. I do know that some faculty instruct their students on the proper use of Internet search tools and how to determine if research is credible. Searching and researching strategies on the Internet may make a good introductory course for our Liberal Studies Program.

Online social networks like Facebook and Twitter have high participation rates with only 5.6% of the respondents saying that they never use these sites. On the other hand, 50% of the respondents spent between 1 to 5 hours per week on the sites and, of course, that means that roughly 43% spent more than 5 hours per week.

Anecdotally, the teen usage of Facebook has declined by 25% over the past three years. [2] Twitter and Instagram are becoming increasingly popular destinations for the younger generations. This is dramatically illustrated by this graphic from Piper Jaffray which portrays the decline in Facebook and the fairly dramatic increase in Instagram usage.

“Friends and the Internet dominate teen influences and combine in social media environments. Instagram and Twitter are the two most used social media sites, implying teens are increasingly visual and sound bite communicators.” [3]

Increasingly, faculty and various department and organizations are establishing a presence on these social media sites. For example, the College of Science and Health Advising Office is very active on Twitter @CSHAdvising with 397 followers, as is @DePaul Chemistry with 466 followers. Some faculty post a Twitter feed on their D2L homepage and regularly tweet course news and information. Of course, you are limited to 140 characters, but as indicated above, teens are sound bite communicators. This may lead me to establishing a Twitter or Instagram feed for my own Math 100 course, as I am finding that students don’t always seem to read or even get emails that I send to them.

One of the most interesting aspects of the UCLA study was the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) by incoming freshmen. Two new questions were added to the survey, asking how often students have “used an online instructional website (e.g., Khan Academy, Coursera): as assigned for a class, or to learn something on your own” in the past year.

“About four out of ten (41.8%) incoming students ‘frequently’ or ‘occasionally’ used an online instructional website as assigned for a class in the past year. Students were, however, much more likely to utilize these resources independently—almost seven out of ten (69.2%) incoming first-year students have used such sites ‘frequently’ or ‘occasionally’ to learn something on their own.” [4]

What was most surprising about the results was that freshmen bound for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) exceeded the averages significantly with 53.4% using these sites for assignments and a whopping 87.5% using the sites on their own. This speaks well to the abilities and interests of our incoming freshmen when it comes to preparedness to use online resources in coursework.

Finally, there was an additional piece of data regarding college choice. The students were asked about the reasons for making a college choice that were “Very important”. Of course, the academic reputation of the college was the top response. However, only 3.8% of the students would rate the ability to take an online course as “Very Important”. This does not say that students don’t want to take an online course, but it is not a factor in choosing a college. This, most likely, doesn’t bode well for those fully online institutions.

So then, our incoming freshmen are really digital natives. They not only look really young, but they are well versed in all things digital. Come to think of it, the World Wide Web went public on August 9, 1991! None of the incoming freshmen class were even born then. Perhaps, just perhaps, we need to meet them where they are.

[1] Eagan, K., Lozano, J. B., Hurtado, S., & Case, M. H. (2013). The American freshman: National norms fall 2013. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA. http://www.heri.ucla.edu/monographs/TheAmericanFreshman2013.pdf
[2] http://istrategylabs.com/2014/01/3-million-teens-leave-facebook-in-3-years-the-2014-facebook-demographic-report/
[3] http://www.piperjaffray.com/2col.aspx?id=287&releaseid=1975435
[4] Eagan, K., Lozano, J. B., Hurtado, S., & Case, M. H. (2013). The American freshman: National norms fall 2013. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA. Pg 8
 
This post originally appeared on Iddblog, and was republished with permission.
 
Read all of our posts about EdTech and Innovation by clicking here. 
____________________
 
Jan Costenbader came to DePaul from California State University, Chico in November of 2010. There, he taught Mathematics and developed an online hybrid Mathematics course for General Education Mathematics. He also assisted faculty in course design as an instructional designer. Currently, he provides instructional design consultation to the College of Science and Health, the Quantitative Reasoning program and several departments within the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. In addition, he teaches fully online developmental Mathematics and blended Quantitive Reasoning courses.
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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation

LMS software and the integration of technology in the classroom

**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 column by Anne Sampson

Gone are the days of strict division between school time and non-school time as well as the days when one used to quit preparing and growing after finishing college or leaving the high school classroom.

We live in a fast-paced world constantly shaped and reshaped by new discoveries and market forces. One has to be ready for the ever changing approaches, lifelong learning, along with permanent adjustments and technology updates. Technology is inextricably interwoven with our history, since the dawn of mankind – it is, actually, one of the core things that makes us humans.

Technological progress is an overarching and omnipresent process and classrooms are not and must not be exempt. Now, if we want to learn something new and enhance ourselves, we are not just restricted to conventional “black and mortar instruction” nor we’re confined to possibly mundane and for contemporary circumstances asynchronous and out-of-date manners of “one speaks while everybody else listens” method.

We should open our classrooms and work surroundings for tech devices that are beneficial up and train the teachers and educators how to create the best out of these.  The use of these gadgets can revolutionize both pedagogy and work ethics, and in the long-term the very world we live in.

Generation of our grandparents was confined to the old methods of both teaching and learning and even for our parents it is sometimes hard to keep pace with new stuff coming up our way every day. But this tendency is not likely to turn. You see kids nowadays who are what is called “Digital Natives”. They are born and raised in a world were modern technology and new devices are vital parts of the environment and they find it easy to navigate through hi-techrealm. This is precisely why we have to think through, implement and integrate technology in contemporary classrooms. We have to learn how to connect students’ everyday life and educational system.  

Learning Management Systems (LMS) are a great start, especially when you consider how much time an average student is spending daily in front of the screen of his or hers laptop, tablet or a mobile phone. But what are LMSs? As the name says, they are software application or web-based technology used to plan, implement and asses a specific learning process. They are made to help teachers and all kind of educators to create and deliver content, monitor student participation and assess student performance. They may have interactive features like discussion forums/threaded discussions or video conferencing. Many colleges, universities and schools from all around the world are using LMSs. Not only them, but many business companies use them for online training of their employees. Greatest asset for educational institution is that they can use LMS to offer courses to larger population of learners, besides enhancing and supporting old-school classroom teaching. Apart from delivering pure contest per se, LMSs also handle student registration, administration, analysis, they track and report.

Alright, so, LMSs are collaborative, (mostly) web based, user-oriented software products, but what difference do they make in practice, in and outside the classroom. They are definitely not (yet) complete substitution for traditional classroom setting but a supplement. They are great for universities in a world of ever-increasing demands, where facing declining or fixed budget and stuff is an everyday reality. Teachers benefit immensely from them, since they don’t have to pile documentation any more – there is no need for paper grade books, planners, attendance systems, student progress reports, different schedules (sports/arts/subject timetables/deadlines…) or print newsletters. By analyzing data generated from each connection to an LMS, teachers are able to bridge specific gaps in students learning. It also makes the process of evaluation more transparent.

Parents have instant access to their children’s grades and progress (most LMSs are fairly simple, with an interface that is easy to navigate and pleasant to look at, so they won’t be reluctant to approach it).

What is possibly most important is, what difference does it make to students? Today eLearning is a big industry that has revolutionized and changed the way we look at knowledge and skill acquisition. Learning is more flexible, more tailored and personalized and in the end – more fun. It’s not some compulsory activity that we are forced to do. We self-willingly look for step-by-step presentations, watch tutorial videos and listen to interesting lectures from universities half way around the globe.

In a 21st century you need to use technology to interest and educate a 21st century student. This means keeping students motivated and since digital world is their natural environment, good teacher should find a way to make LMS use a part of their daily routine. With LMSs there will be no more lost handouts, forgotten homework assignments, catching up after missing classes or lost classes due to a bad weather.

Today there are over 600 different LMSs and you are probably familiar with some of the most famous ones, namely Moodle, Edmodo or Blackboard, but there are others to be considered. Adobe released its Captivate Prime with unified playback experience. You have very affordable Learn Dash or Upside LMS, which is well suited for small enterprises. Canvas is cheap, easy to install and fits great for small and medium size organizations. It all depends on budget and size of the organization that uses LMS. No matter which one you opt for, you and your students will be learning more and will be more engaged in a learning process, especially due to the fact that they can track their own progress. There is something in the visualization of data that helps people sort things out and act upon the realization!

Read all of our posts about EdTech and Innovation by clicking here. 

_____________

Anne Sampson is a teaching associate, freelance business consultant, tech and e-learning enthusiast, driven by innovations and positive changes in e-learning industry. When not too busy with designing learning content, she enjoys hiking and taking photos. 

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation

Why we should teach our students digital marketing skills

**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 David Cutler

“It is time for schools to stop blocking Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social networks that students love and already use daily outside of school.”

So writes Mark Barnes in his book, Teaching the iStudent: A Quick Guide to Using Mobile Devices and Social Media in the K-12 Classroom. Ad nauseam, schools advertise how they use technology to prepare kids to excel in an increasingly global 21st century, as if no other school is doing the same thing. Meanwhile, too few schools teach students how to make effective use of not just Facebook and Twitter, but also other popular online tools, instead preferring teacher-friendly alternatives that few use in the real world.

It may be true that plenty of students know how to create digital media, but too few know how to produce high-quality content, the kind that makes them stick out to not only college admission officers, but also potential employers. If you think “marketing” is a dirty word, and that educators have no business teaching students how to do this, you need to reconsider your role. We need to teach and encourage students to post original, quality content to brand their unique identities in a sea of increasingly indistinguishable resumes—which are going the way of the typewriter.

In fact, right now I’m teaching my freshman European history students how to create and maintain a WordPress site. Throughout the year, they will post their thoughts and creative responses. Moreover, students will learn to feel more comfortable sharing their work, crucial for successful collaboration in the digital age. As a next step, students will register for a Twitter handle, to be used for sharing and discussing topics related to European history. If they choose, Tweets can be embedded on their sites.

When it comes down to it, I do more than just teach history. I encourage students to use evolving digital skills to explore, develop, and express their own passions and interests. Of course, I’m fortunate to work at a wonderful school, whose ace technology department allows and fosters digital creativity.

I recently spoke with Barnes, curious to hear his thoughts. Not surprisingly, he agrees, adding that WordPress is the most powerful blogging platform in the world. “I always say…make sure that you give them the opportunity to do some niche-blogging, too, because ultimately, that’s what they’re going to do,” Barnes says. “That’s what we do. Our niche is education—we tend to write about education. Who knows what theirs is going to be, but they’re going to be creating content that’s going to be really important. I think teaching them at a young age how to do that effectively is really important.”

For the most part, I’ve found that when students share their work online, the quality of that work improves. I noticed as much in 2011, when I helped students launch The Falconer, the student news site of Palmer Trinity, a terrific private school in Palmetto Bay, Florida. Before submitting stories to me, students carefully reviewed each other’s work. Once their stories were posted, students felt even more excited about receiving feedback, not just from the class, but also from the wider school community.

More than anything else, I think, student excitement for online sharing stems from wanting to make a difference and having their voices heard. Nothing fulfills that yearning quite like the Internet, which allows students to use not just writing, but also photographs, audio, and video to tell stories that can elicit an immediate response and make an immediate impact.

Barnes tells me of one former student who blogged about Google Glass before the invention took off. “Here’s a kid, 12- or 13-years-old, and he writes this amazing post and does his own review of it, and includes pictures and outside links. It was just, you can comment on anything you want,” he says. “He wound up getting…150 or 170 comments on this one post. People were coming to him like he was the expert. It was such a great opportunity to share that with kids across all my classes and just say, ‘This is what writing and curating content is really about. You become an expert at something, and people come to you.’”

Last week, I also spoke with Eric Sheninger, whose courageous book, Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times, echoes much of what Barnes and I believe so strongly in promoting. I asked Sheninger how best to serve students in the digital age, and his response leaves little to the imagination. “Adapting and evolving with the times and worrying more about learning than numbers,” he says. “When you focus more on learning, everything else falls into place.”

In that vein, more schools must develop the courage to teach how to leave behind a positive digital footprint.

This post originally appeared on spin.edu, and was republished with permission.

Read all of our posts about EdTech and Innovation by clicking here. 

____________________

David Cutler is a coach, history and journalism teacher at Brimmer and May, an independent school in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. He is the founder of Spin Education.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Higher Education

Diverse Conversations: The Technology to Successfully Connect College Students

By Matthew Lynch

Kim Rubenstein, Psy.D., is a faculty member at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and the co-founder of Compatibility, a program that attempts to increase student engagement and empowerment in their college experiences. The program does this through tools that look for the best compatibility when it comes to roommate, peer and mentor (peer/faculty/alumni) relationships, as well as club and organization involvement on campus or in the community.

Question: What are colleges and universities doing right when it comes to serving whole students, as opposed to just providing academics?

Answer: Assumed within this question are two very important statements: (1) Service matters and; (2) Students are complex, representing more than the cognitive mastery demonstrated to gain acceptance into the academic institution. In fact, those factors which may have most contributed to acceptance, may not ultimately represent what keeps them enrolled.

There is a paradigm shift occurring in higher education. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, nearly one-third of students who started college in 2012 didn’t return to a U.S. school the following year. Institutions of higher learning are listening to what is ultimately an informal call to action. Many are investing human capital and resources in the form of technologies and programming towards supporting student success even beyond the first year. They are holding themselves accountable, recognizing that the responsibility to the student goes well beyond recruitment and onboarding.

On the front end, there is a slow trend towards colleges and universities becoming either test optional or weighting less heavily, traditional standards for admissions. Students are being evaluated for entry based upon a broader range of criteria. These innovative methods may ultimately prove themselves as more inclusive models, providing expanded opportunities for students. Expanding admissions criteria may also help to diversify the campus population, lending to an enriched academic community of learners and contributors.

Colleges and universities are making progress towards alternative opportunities for learning and growth outside of the classroom. Curricular changes, such as service learning, immersion programs and community engagement not only serve the student’s potential, but provide opportunities for students to become engaged learners and leaders. In addition to competency-based learning, these changes are helping schools to reconsider the meaning of student learning outcomes and program effectiveness.

Schools are working to get smarter. They are asking better questions, such as, “From the inordinate amount of institutional and other student-related data, which is most meaningful?” Instead of feeling burdened by data, colleges and universities are learning to prioritize the most relevant information to create more impactful dialogue, enhance decision making, and ultimately, gain deeper insights into their student population.

Q: How is technology playing into a positive shift of better retention when it comes to college students (and how can it be used more effectively to do so)?
A: When technology is embraced as a means towards improving retention efforts, the impact can be substantial, particularly with regard to student yield, engagement and supporting a campus culture of innovation. Models for course delivery, such as Blackboard or Canvas, have demonstrated success as a means to engage both students and faculty. These systems provide open access of instructional materials, interactive pedagogical exercises and the facilitation of dialogue.

One positive impact towards engagement (and ultimately retention), is that the student has the opportunity for real-time performance feedback. Students are reminded that their contributions matter. In fact, they are expected to pull from internal resources to participate, being held (and holding themselves) accountable to maintaining a level of academic investment. Success therefore, demands consistently-applied effort. Additionally, students feel empowered in an environment that values their voice and associated contributions. For example, real-time feedback provided through mid-term course evaluations allows the student voice to be considered. In this regard, the technology serves as a developmental tool, supporting both faculty and student engagement. Ultimately, this type of relationship with technology can promote a sense of connection and progression towards course learning objectives and outcomes.

Other areas in which technology has become embraced can be found in various offices for retention and student success on campus. For example, Student Affairs at the University of North Texas at Dallas has recognized that students prefer to use their mobile devices as an optimal form of communication. In response, they’ve chosen to interact with students by making information accessible through technology. Events are posted on a shared calendar, as are online workshops, webinars and podcasts, each of which are intended to keep students engaged. Other schools are similarly rethinking first-year student experience by offering online first-year seminar courses and/or providing laptops for those who don’t have access.

The twofold challenge is where and how to best reach students. Some schools have observed that students may not always read and respond to email and have opted for systems that can text information, for others, the jury is still out.

Q: What was the motivation for developing Compatibility?

A: As a faculty member, I recognized the importance of student (and faculty) engagement and the mediating role played by relationships. Specifically, I was compelled by attributes of students who’d persist versus those who struggled or did not complete their studies. I was also a fan of Nancy Schlossberg’s theory of Marginality and Mattering (1989), which essentially posed the questions, “Am I central or marginal in a community and as a result, do I belong?”
Anecdotally, it seemed that students who felt a sense of belonging and connectedness to the program/institution appeared to engage with faculty, peers and course material. I admired how they took advantage of opportunities to participate in co-curricular and scholarship activity; whereas, I felt helpless when I’d learn of a student, who for one reason or another, did not complete the program.

I couldn’t negotiate in my mind how it could be that a student who appeared well-equipped upon entry may have lacked the intrinsic or external tools to support them in becoming engaged with the academic experience, specifically relationships beyond the classroom. Did we know if students felt as if they mattered to anyone on campus? Could it have changed the student’s trajectory?

Along comes Andrea Meltzer, a colleague and now co-founder/CEO of Compatibility. Andrea called me with a simple question, “Is there any scientific means to match college roommates?”

Given Andrea’s question and my curiosity about intrapersonal and interpersonal characteristics associated with student success, we embarked upon years of research to explore the connection between relational experiences and student success.

We’ve since learned that while similar personal attributes are important in student connections, elements of individual and cultural differences play a significant role. Sometimes it’s the differences that make all the difference.

Q: How do tools, like the Compatibility system, contribute to a more diverse college landscape?

A: The predictive analytics that Compatibility employs in its programs connect students based on elements of individual and cultural differences that are far more profound than surface level characteristics.

Students are in ongoing processes of identity development. We’ve learned from students who have used the Compatibility program that the experience has helped them meet and establish relationships with students who they may not have otherwise met. For example, when social media is encouraged as a method for students to meet, there tends to be an over-reliance on self-created profiles. Often, these profiles represent the student’s attempt at looking, “their best” or how they think they, “should” appear to others. Students may have a tendency to seek people who “look like” them. From what we’ve ascertained, this is not necessarily predictive of strong relational outcomes.

By incorporating methods that consider values, behavioral preferences, personality characteristics and attitudes, we can support students in their search for others on campus. Our method helps students make more deeply- informed choices. It’s still the job of the student to make any relationship work; however, we’re confident that our method will help identity those relationships most poised for success.

Through facilitating connections to students based on the science of successful relationships, whether to roommates, peers, mentors, and clubs/ organizations, Compatibility allows students to break out of the silos in which they’ve traditionally lived and explore meaningful relationships with others who on the surface, may appear very different. We are committed to learning, to the best of our ability, the degree to which we can help create a more diverse landscape of students that persist.
Q: How can colleges and universities up their graduation rates, particularly for disadvantaged students?

A: Increasing graduation rates for marginalized students begins first and foremost with values. The first step is to value and really know your student population within the context in which they are entering and exiting the academic system.

Simply recognizing that all applicants and admitted students enter the academic system with varied knowledge and ability isn’t enough. Disadvantaged students may have equal potential as their more privileged peers on campus; however, they face more barriers towards success. Therefore, the question becomes, “how do you identify and support a student’s needs and potential?” A nice place to start may be found in expanding admissions criteria to include more broad representations of a student’s life experience. This type of data can help schools prepare appropriate early interventions.

Colleges and universities should prioritize funding for initiatives that support disadvantaged students. For example, providing access to resources and experiences outside of the classroom in which students can establish relationships with faculty, alumni and professionals in the community, can help prepare them for internships and future employment. Additionally, creating opportunities on campus for students to exchange ideas and contribute to a culture of innovation and service can help disadvantaged students experience a felt sense of community, contribution and success.

In order to promote persistence and success for disadvantaged students, schools need to think outside the box. The campus community is a microcosm of a larger system that is in desperate need of change. If academic institutions change how they prioritize disadvantaged students, graduation rates for these students will soar.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Matthew Lynch

The 4 Biggest Ed Tech Stories of 2015

As expected, ed tech continued to be a hot topic of discussion in 2015. Because of its increased coverage, The Edvocate decided to create a list of the top 4 ed tech stories of 2015.

Are MOOCs the biggest ed tech story of 2015? With a steady stream of reporting that the price of college is quickly becoming too high for many Americans to afford, an alternative form of higher education seemed to be how some future students would learn. MOOCs, or massive open online classes, offer free lectures and web-based courses by some of the world’s best universities.

But according to NPR.com, MOOCs’ popularity never really took off. But because the courses are free and open to anyone with an internet connection, many believed that this type of offering would soon be the death of college.

Not so, or at least not yet.

According to a paper produced by Harvard and MIT on MOOC courses that both institutions offer, more than one million participants entered a HarvardX or MITx course between 2012 and 2014. While those numbers may seem high, it is important to remember that each course is free, though participants may choose to purchase a certificate of completion at the end.

The paper also found that nearly 40 percent of those surveyed who took one of the MOOC courses had a teaching background.

Overall, the study showed that MOOCs are growing at a steady pace but not enough to pose a serious or significant threat to brick and mortar institutions.
That doesn’t mean that these free courses will soon be de-funded or go away; this simply shows that more time is needed to figure out and cultivate their appeal.

MOOCs may still represent a new wave of how students will digest education in the future. Free may be good, but quality has to be attached to it. As long as institutions offering MOOCs continue to give valued information through these courses, our future workforce and economy may be better because of it.

Is online education affordable? According to U.S. News and World Report, online higher education options aren’t necessarily cheaper than the traditional brick-and-mortar schools.

The report attempted to “debunk” the myths surrounding the theory that online education may be a cheaper option for some students.
According to usnews.com, tuition costs for online courses, or degrees in some cases, are more expensive due to technology and faculty costs.

“Even if tuition for an online program looks appealingly low, students should be sure to look into whether they will be paying any additional fees, says Vickie Cook, director of the Center for Online Learning, Research and Service at the University of Illinois—Springfield.”

Depending on the type of school the student chooses, the cost of attending varies. Selecting a private higher education institution that offers online programs will certainly trend higher than a public university with controlled costs.

It’s also worth mentioning that many for-profit schools offer online programs. The costs associated with these programs and schools will sometimes rival that of some of the country’s best schools.

The importance of researching the type of school a student wants to attend and what costs may come with attaining one’s degree will be paramount.
The U.S. News and World Report’s article also suggested that students qualify for student loans and Pell Grants even for an online education—a myth that needs to be busted.

Is course customization the future of instructional tech? In an ever-changing online environment, course customization may soon reign supreme. As online education continues to grow and evolve, so will demands on the industry and one area in which this is especially true is course design — or specifically, the creating of courses that fit each classroom just right and move away from the “one size fits all” approach to curriculum.

It’s why Blackboard Inc., the once-popular company that provides software solutions and tools for learning for higher education, high school, and k-12 classrooms, is up for sale.

According to Reuters.com, the company’s growth and revenue have slowed due to upstarts and changes in higher education.

Those “changes” are coming mainly in the way of customization options.

Recently, Odysseyware, an up-and-coming software company that provides curriculum for online institutions, announced alterations to its system that will make teaching and learning much more personal.

The company’s software will now allow educators to completely customize standard courses, giving them the ability to “rearrange, add, and delete content, including assignments…and search curriculum by topic and standard.”

There are more changes, like the creation of search engines that give educators the unique ability to search and save content as well. More than anything, this shows how nimble and proactive Odysseyware is being in the face of a rapidly evolving education environment. For students to reach their full academic potentials, teachers must tap resources that best fit each individual class structure and customization options facilitate this.

I believe the way teachers create lesson plans will look much different in 5 years than it does today, thanks in part to the upsurge of customization technology.

Obama to invest $3 billion in ed tech. President Obama announced nearly $3 billion in education technology commitments from various private technology companies and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), according to U.S. News & World Report. The resounding goal is to “close the technology gap in our schools.”

The Department of Agriculture will provide more than $10 million in distance-learning grants for rural schools, according to documents shared by the White House. The FCC committed $2 billion that will act as a down payment for providing high-speed broadband Internet access to 15,000 schools, fulfilling part of the President’s promise to expand broadband access and wireless Internet.

Among the donations is an investment of $1 billion’s worth of Microsoft products, according to the software company. Microsoft also pledged to deeply discount several of its digital devices for all K-12 public schools. In addition, the company has offered more than 12 million free copies of Microsoft Office to students at low-income schools.

Teachers will also receive professional development to guarantee they know how to properly use the technology in their classrooms. Verizon pledged to provide increased professional development opportunities for teachers, says Rose Stuckey Kirk, president of the Verizon Foundation.

In a statement, she told U.S. News, “One key result we found from training teachers on mobile technology in the classroom is that their students learn better problem-solving skills. These skills are essential for 21st-century-education and an ability to compete internationally.”

During the announcement, President Obama stated that the commitments would help “put the world and outer space at every child’s fingertips, whether they live in a big city or a quiet suburb or rural America.”

Can you think of any ed tech stories that we missed?

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation

Coolcher launches virtual classroom platform

The new online creativity platform delivers live, online courses in the areas of language, arts, music, and STEM
(ATLANTA, GA) December 2, 2015 — Coolcher today launched its virtual classroom platform offering online classes taught by teachers from around the world. The classes can be scheduled to fit with any school’s calendar. For a one-time fee, schools and after-school centers get access to all courses for an unlimited number of classes for one year, giving students the opportunity to enjoy unique courses, and interact live with not just the teacher, but also with their peers from around the country.

“We created Coolcher as parents who were looking for courses that help our daughter learn more about her heritage, but were unsuccessful in finding anything,” said Jatin Grover, the founder of Coolcher. “With this new platform, we hope to bring the whole world to kids around the U.S.—a whole world of new and unique subjects, and a whole world of new cultures.”

The platform also connects homeschoolers with other students and homeschoolers who are taking the classes at the same time. The virtual classroom environment gives homeschoolers a connection with more students, bringing with it enhanced collective knowledge and creativity.

“More and more, every high-paying job requires not just skills but creativity, and to boost creativity the development of the right brain should begin at an early age,” said Grover. “Our unique courses in creative areas and multi-linguistics speed up the development of students’ right brain as well as giving them tools for college preparedness by teaching world cultures.”

Coolcher courses are community-led, and the company is always looking for teachers who bring a creative approach to their lessons. Teachers who would like to be added to the Coolcher portfolio to work with kids around the country and the world can share information about themselves and their courses at coolcher.com.

About Coolcher

Based in Atlanta, GA, Coolcher is a virtual classroom platform that connects kids at school and at home with teachers from around the world. Our teachers bring courses in subject areas like language, arts, crafts, and STEM for live, online classes. These teachers bring not just their knowledge, but also their cultural background to help expand kids’ worldview.

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2 Bold Moves Made By Pearson Education in 2015

Depending on your view of Pearson, described as “the world’s largest education company” by the Washington Post, any news about the company may serve as good or bad. Love it or hate it, Pearson is the top education company in the world. During 2015, Pearson made a series of bold moves, which are chronicled below.

Pearson picked education as its sole focus. In July, the Washington Post reported that Pearson was making a move to focus solely on education. “The company is selling its stake in the Financial Times to Nikkei Inc., a leading Japanese media organization, for $1.3 billion, a move that Pearson Chief Executive John Fallon said was precipitated by the changing journalism business model and by Pearson’s desire to focus entirely on education, according to Financial Times.”

Because credit-rating service Moody’s downgraded Pearson’s credit outlook to negative due to instability in the higher education arena, this move gave Pearson “nearly $1.5 billion in net proceeds;” providing the company the potential to improve its standing with Moody’s.

The article further stated that Pearson had lost a few “big testing contracts” in New York, Texas, and Florida. But the news wasn’t all bad for Pearson. The Post also reported that the education giant is the primary vendor for the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. It is also one of only two multi-state consortia charged with designing new Common Core specific exams — a task that comes with nearly $360 million in federal funds.

Many view Pearson as a monopoly because of its size and number of contracts it holds. But because of the recent losses, and news that it wants to reaffirm its standing within the education community, this may either signal the beginning of the end for Pearson or the start of something greater.

Pearson to spend $2.3 billion on education. It was announced in August that, after selling two media outlets for nearly $2 billion, Pearson had plans to spend over $2.3 billion on education across the globe. According NPR.org, Pearson’s chief executive John Fallon and North American CEO Don Kilburn plan to invest a considerable amount of money to strengthen its position as a global education leader.

“In recent years, we’ve developed an increasing focus on our biggest, most exciting opportunity — to help people make progress in their lives through learning … it’s become clear to me and the Pearson board that the scale of the challenge requires our undivided attention,” said Fallon.

The article further articulated the company’s position on education as it highlighted just how much Pearson spends on education annually. Pearson spends $1 trillion “each year on education—most of it public money” globally. That is an astonishing amount of money and an amount that most people are likely not aware of.

But Pearson has faced criticism as of late due to lost contracts and its relationship to Common Core. No matter to Pearson, though, as their plans will not change and they will just continue to roll out educational materials.

Kilburn said that the company plans to invest more into bringing education into underprivileged areas and continuing to develop public-private partnerships so that more students will have the ability to attend college. I sincerely hope that this is true and not just something said to generate good press.

This is, of course, just the start of the company’s strategy. But based on where Fallon and Kilburn want to take the organization, this certainly seems like a giant leap in the right direction.

What do you think of Pearson’s business moves in 2015?

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation

The Rachael Ray Show surprises Kindergarten teacher with Redcat Audio Systems

I just love a heartwarming holiday story – especially when teachers and students are the beneficiaries.

Kindergarten teacher Heidi Solivan got an early Christmas present when the classroom technology she was fundraising to buy was donated instead. Solivan had four Redcat audio systems from Lightspeed Technologies at the top of her classroom wishlist and was surprised with the fully-donated systems on an episode of The Rachael Ray Show that aired on November 24.

Producers from the show contacted Lightspeed Technologies, a leading provider of classroom audio solutions, after they found Solivan’s GoFundMe page that had about $775 raised so far in donations. Solivan teaches a full-day, full-inclusion class with special education students, English language learners, and students who struggle with attention or hearing difficulties. The speech pathologist at Solivan’s school purchased one Redcat system last year and Solivan had access to it for one week. That was enough to sell the Kindergarten teacher on the system, which includes a microphone on a lanyard so students throughout the classroom can hear the instructor without vocal or hearing strain.

The producers told Solivan that she would be doing a Skype session with them about the need for the Redcat systems but then surprised her twice: Rachael Ray was waiting on the other end of the Skype chat, and the postal worker delivered the systems right to Solivan’s door during the session.

Solivan has already put the systems to use, and says that they are “going to allow the students to hear every sound that we’re making, and it will allow us to slow down and be clear. We won’t have to raise our voices to get their attention, because we’ll already have it.”

Solivan added her thankfulness to Lightspeed Technologies and encouraged other classrooms to work towards incorporating the Redcat systems.

“Every classroom teacher should have this,” Solivan said.

You can check out the entire segment on The Rachael Ray show here:

A little more about Lightspeed Technologies

Lightspeed classroom audio systems allow teachers to speak in normal conversational tones while being assured that every child has an equal opportunity to hear all of the instruction. The no-installation Redcat provides clear, low-volume, highly intelligible sound that is evenly distributed throughout the classroom so every child hears every word. The company’s audio system for small group instruction, Redcat, gives teachers the ability to gain insights into small group interactions and learning. The Topcat has become the premier solution for new construction and renovations due to its ease of installation, wireless connectivity, and remarkable audio quality. For more information about Lightspeed classroom audio products, visit www.lightspeed-tek.com.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation

Technology and Multisensory Learning: A New Twist to an Old Application

Technology in K-12 classrooms is evolving at a rapid pace. Of K-12 teachers, 86 percent think that education technology is an essential in the classroom, and 96 percent say that the technology improves student engagement levels. Despite teacher support, only 14 percent use digital curricula and 31 percent use other technology resources. The disconnection between what teachers really want and actually have is a matter of access, money and time resource

In addition, any technology that is considered “cutting edge” often comes with some red tape. Getting new equipment approved takes more than just funding – it often takes convincing on the part of the teachers that it really is necessary, and that it will make a difference in their teaching outcomes.

I recently became acquainted with the company Peerless-AV and a wireless projector system that it believes is the key to overcoming technology obstacles in K-12 classrooms. Its Short Throw Projector AV System (projector not included) applies a modern take on the classroom technology of projection that has been around for a few decades. The projector system comes with a built-in wireless receiver and streams sound and HD content (up to 1080 pixels) from up to 131 feet. Teachers can connect up to five audiovisual input devices (all wirelessly) including their computers, tablets, DVD players, MP3 players and even VHS tapes. Instead of having to switch between media devices, and deal with all of the cords that accompany it, teachers have a streamlined way to project their content from many device sources. Teachers are also able to stream their own audio in real-time through a microphone, even with their backs to the class and audio playing from the source – making it possible for students to hear teachers over any audio being played.

Peerless-AV gave away one of its high-tech projector systems through a contest that saw 27 entries from teachers across the country. The winner was a special education teacher from Ludlow, Kentucky named Kristen Goodpaster. She reports that both retention and engagement of her students has risen after implementing the Wireless Short Throw Projector AV System and its audio-visual features. Goodpaster’s district saw just 72 percent of its high school graduates from 2011 pursue a college degree, something that she feels could be remedied with the right technology implementation in K-12 classrooms.

“For teachers looking to incorporate more technology into the classroom, my advice would be not to fear the change. For each lesson or chapter in the textbook, I would recommend thinking of the most effective way of displaying this information for students that learn best through physical activity or visual stimulation, whether it may be a video, an interactive game, an infographic or an image, and to work at least one of these elements into the classroom each day,” Goodpaster said.

To me, the Peerless-AV Wireless Short Throw Projector AV System is a smart way to blend all of the available audio-visual technology at a teacher’s disposal. Not only does it streamline many parts into one process, but it improves the engagement levels of students exposed to it. Research has found that the brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text alone, and that visual learning aids in classrooms improve learning comprehension by as much as 400 percent. It’s also widely accepted that students learn best through multisensory approaches to subjects. Simply reading about something on a page has a smaller impact than seeing the same information presented with visuals and sound. When possible, employing multisensory learning is an effective way to teach that taps into the best of how each student comprehends materials.

I like the idea of products that implement collective learning through technology. There is a big push to get an iPad or other tablet device into the hands of every individual student, and while I support this for some reasons, I also think too much segmentation of the learning process eliminates the inherent benefits of the classroom. If every student spends his or her classroom hours on a customized, individual learning track then why be in a classroom setting at all? Students could feasibly get all of the learning they need on their own, if the technology were right, but something becomes lost in that accomplishment: the ability to learn from others around you and receive other educational perspectives to enhance your own.

A product like this Peerless-AV Wireless Short Throw Projector AV System takes the best of available technology and multisensory learning and combines those things with a communal learning process. It allows for teachers to speed up or slow down lessons if needed but keep the attention of the class in the process. It is easy to use and cuts out the clunkiness of multiple audio-visual systems and their wires.

As more classroom technology is developed, I would encourage companies to look for ways to make the jobs of teachers easier. Instead of introducing something brand new, figure out how to simplify the technology that teachers already use – and streamline multisensory learning.

What technology makes teaching easier for you?

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