technology

Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Physical Fitness

How Interactive Play Can Improve Academic Performance

As the pressure to perform academically rises with each passing school year, students are seeing less time in their days for movement and physical activity. Teacher accountability for student test scores is at an all-time high — making it difficult to allow the creative play time researchers insist is important to developing minds. Finding creative ways to allow kids some physical freedom but keep them on academic tasks is something most teachers really try to do — but it comes with challenges.

One innovative concept that I recently learned more about is from MotionMagix™, a company that has developed an Interactive Wall, Interactive Floor and other engaging interactive teaching methods. The company offers many interactive options that implement gesture technology for floors and walls. The available items include games, quizzes, themes and alternative teaching tools that range in usefulness for preK, elementary and special needs students.

By projecting the learning material onto walls and floors, the company provides a hygienic, safe and reliable way to keep kids in all age groups engaged for hours of fun and learning. By using gesture technology, kids are able to be physical AND learn at the same time.

Gesture based interactive technology in a classroom is optimally used when educators pair academic subjects with  physical activity. There is a proven track record of success in deepening learner engagement. For example, Math Tentacle, a MotionMagix™ Interactive Floor game , gives kids the chance to learn Math in a very entertaining way. The audio visual game helps the kids learn numbers and counting in a really unique and engaging manner. The game also boosts motor activity and movement as it involves jumping and selecting the desired digits.

Schools that have already installed MotionMagix™ have found that statistically, student engagement and interaction has risen. Jumpstart, a preschool based in Pune, India, has observed 6 times higher engagement from kids using the interactive tools. The teachers say the games provide a healthy way of blending mental and physical activity, while improving collaboration, participation and cognitive skills in children.

The way teachers approach limited physical activities, like recess and PE classes, is important to keeping kids interested in learning while addressing the childhood obesity issue. Technology has made life more sedentary, but it has also provided for some innovative ways to get up and move. Ed-tech companies that combine academic pursuits with the movement that kids inherently love are in demand — both in the eyes of teachers and of the students they teach.

If you are an educator, how do you keep your kids focused on academics while enjoying some movement freedom?

Check out MotionMagix™ in action in this video:

 

 

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Education Leadership, First Year Teachers, Teachers

6 Best Practices for Internal Communication in Public Schools

Written by Eric Walters and Karen Gerberry

Internal communication may be more important than many think. 42% of communication is  delivered   through   other   people.  Whether  it  is  information   needing  to  be communicated  to  teachers,  students  or  administration  a  student  success  is highly dependent on the frequency and quality of communication. Successful communication between teachers and parents is most common in schools with well-informed, effective educators.

Schools, realizing this, have implemented practices to communicate valuable information within their school systems. What are some of these strategies and what benefits do they provide to these school districts?

  1. Developing New Policies

School systems can often be dispersed, making meetings and collaboration difficult. With advancements in technology, however, sharing thoughts and ideas is becoming increasingly easier. In the past, in order to make policy changes, the school board would have to coordinate meetings between all interested parties to develop new policies. Now, with the use of wikis, administrators can access information regarding changes in the school district and make adjustments accordingly.

Not only has technology made it possible for people to access this information from anywhere at any time, but it has also expanded the reach of this data. Before the use of wikis, many parents and faculty were left out of the policy­making process altogether. Whether the problem was logistical or time related, some would argue that there was not an accurate representation of all interested parties.

By using technology to streamline an antiquated process, school districts have afforded many people the opportunity to provide insights and opinions on some of their most important educational concerns.

  1. Schools Employing Internal Communications Managers

With all of the responsibilities involved with being an educator, it is easy to get caught up in day today activities and lose sight of larger issues within the school district. Schools are realizing that a disconnect exists in the communication process and are becoming more active in increasing engagement with employees.

To assist teachers in becoming more involved with internal communication, some districts are employing Internal Communications Managers. These managers act as facilitators of information throughout the school district. Their primary responsibilities are to keep employees informed on major initiatives, events, and news affecting the school district.

Although this method is slightly different than wikis, the idea is essentially the same. The Internal Communications Managers help teachers stay involved by gathering the information and releasing it to interested parties, thus reducing teachers’ time devoted to the discovery of this information.

  1. Developing Employee Portals

There are many facets and resources on school districts’ websites that provide valuable information to visitors.  But, often, what lies within these sites are valuable portals tailored for specific audiences.

At this point, it is commonplace for both students and teachers to have portals in the school district website. Portals are valuable resources for educators to find information that pertains strictly to the data that is important to them. With the obvious value that these portals provide, think of the value that may be added if every school made these resources available to their employees.

  1. Being Recognized by Leadership

Few things at the workplace are more satisfactory than hearing how much your boss appreciates you.  So,  when  we  talk  about  internal  communication  in  schools,  it is important that we address the interaction between the school board and the educators. It is vital that the school board keeps acknowledge educators that are making an extraordinary effort to enhance students’ education. When board members recognize these educators, they need to implement positive reinforcement practices to encourage future innovation.

On the other hand, if the school board notices teaching practices that are less than expected, they can communicate this to educators and push for corrective action.

  1. Using Digital Signage

The challenges of communicating with staff in a public school system are apparent. Whether checking and responding to emails or logging into portals, communication can require a great deal of effort.

Because of this challenge, we are now seeing schools take the “billboard” approach throughout their buildings. These digital signs are easily recognizable and don’t require additional effort to absorb the information. Schools are using these billboards to display both general and emergency information.

If these signs are placed throughout the school, educators will also see them as they pass by. This eliminates the need to have a phone conversation or to send out a memo

to all interested parties. The digital signage creates a platform to simultaneously provide all of the necessary information to the entire staff.

  1. Remembering that Communication is Key

If we want educators to be as effective as possible, we need to keep them informed. Parent­teacher communication is crucial to student success, and in order to maximize the effectiveness of teachers we need to master the internal communication process.

With these 6 best practices for better internal communication in public schools you are sure to see an improvement in overall employee communication. A school that is engaged together will have students that succeed together. To kick off your communication this school year sign up for your FREE trial of Ving here. It is time to start using a tool that allows you to be in control of your communication and start knowing what is and isn’t working at your school.

Ving

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education

Half of black college students graduate $25,000 in debt

A recent Gallup poll found that in the last 14 years, around half of black college students graduated with student loan debt exceeding $25,000. Only 35 percent of white students had loan debt that high.

Often the only way for black students to afford a college education is by taking on these loans. Four out of five black students take student loans to attend college and typically have nearly $4,000 more student loan debt compared to white students, according to a 2013 report by The Center for American Progress.

There is deep inequality here in the U.S. In 2013, the median income for black households was $34,600, and the poverty rate is 27%, nearly three times that of white Americans.

Michelle Obama visited Booker T. Washington high school in Atlanta in September. She had an important message to deliver: Do not drop out of school. Go to college. Get out of poverty. Giving up on education is not an option.

President Obama admits that loans helped finance his and the First Lady’s education, and the President tried to convey to America’s youth that he sympathizes with the burden of student loans – they just paid off their student loans ten years ago. He also shares that he and Michelle are saving money for their daughters’ tuition.

Higher education has long been considered the key to escaping poverty, but it doesn’t come without a price tag attached. For black students, the cost is often higher than their white classmates. It is unfortunate that the burden of loan debt often follows students for decades after their graduation. This cycle only reinforces the income and racial inequalities so prevalent today in our country.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Matthew Lynch

K-12 Online Learning as a Life Skill

Online learning is more than a fad. The facts are staggering: According to the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, there are nearly 1.9 million K-12 enrollments in online courses every school year, up from under 50,000 in 2000. The current number does not even include students enrolled in primarily online schools. Thirty-one states have full-time online schools that serve on a statewide basis.

The top reason that districts give for offering online options is for credit recovery, with 81 percent of urban schools citing this reason. Are online courses really equal to ones in the classroom though? It really depends who you ask. Recent news reports out of California show that high school graduation rates are at an all-time high of 78 percent, with even higher numbers in areas like San Francisco and San Jose. While some educators use these numbers to point to student success, critics say the rise in graduation numbers does not necessarily mean that students are college ready. The rise of online courses as a means to “make up” failed or incomplete classes are part of the reason more kids graduate – but do they know what they should?

It is of course impossible to answer that vague of a question but the debate rages on just the same. Just how rigorous is an online high school course? This is likely a cloudy area for those of us who grew up before the Internet forever changed the face of distance education. On a basic level, if a student reads the material, and is able to give correct answers on a test, that means he or she has “learned” the content. When an educator takes into account other influential factors like learning style, intelligence and work ethic, that basic definition becomes murky. The general consensus in the education community seems to be that even though online courses have merit, they are less rigorous than classroom settings.

Then there is the issue of online learning as an overarching ideology. Embracing the inevitability that online learning is a very real part of the average college education, the state of Florida began requiring in 2011 that high school students in the 24-credit graduation option to take at least one online course. The public, Internet-based Florida Virtual School leads the way in this innovation and is considered a national leader in the e-Learning model. So in this example, Florida is not simply offering online courses as a backup; the state mandates that students on a college prep path get early exposure to the type of learning they are likely to see in college.

This point really accents the two very different ways to look at online courses in K-12 education. On one hand, there is educational merit, though that education is debatable as to the actual extent of its effectiveness. On the other hand, there is the practicality aspect of exposing students to online learning long before the college years. The second point paints online learning as a life skill of sorts – something for kids to understand before entering the real world as adults, much like balancing a bank account or learning how to create a resume. Without a solid understanding of online learning before graduation, students are less prepared for what they will face academically following high school.

The K-12 online course dissenters are just wasting their breath, in my opinion. The momentum of online learning is gaining speed.

The educators I know love online courses, because they can teach online from anywhere. What are your thoughts?

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Higher Education

Education Should Begin with Problem-Solving

When schools compete, who wins?

That depends partly on how they compete. In the world of higher education, universities compete for enrollment: more students, and more funding. They compete for prestige: better students, and more acclaimed faculty. They compete for funding: more research, more graduate students. Do they ever compete to solve real world problems.

It is easy, amid all the competition for these benchmarks, to forget that the mission of any school–university or otherwise–should be to solve problems, and to teach students to do the same.

Solving Problems, or Hogging the Spotlight?

You can see the difference when it comes to the hype cycle that is so prevalent in today’s technology-obsessed reporting. Catching wind of the Next Big Thing in education–from the augmented reality classroom to the gamified lesson plan, the personalized learning system to the responsive test–may make headlines, but it may also drive us to lose sight of what all these new tools and old practices are really all about.

Online learning has been guilty of both in the past. MOOCs were heralded as the end of formal college education as we knew it, only to then be decried as non-starters that students were more likely to drop out of than use as a ladder to success. For-profit colleges, in the interest of maximizing enrollment (and profits), became synonymous with “online degrees,” even as major universities tried to bring their own curriculum and faculty into the internet age. Both are still struggling to win the credibility game.

All this, despite the fact that more and more students say they prefer online learning to traditional classrooms. It all can start to look like higher education is just a pie, and schools are just looking to get their slice, rather than ensure everyone is fed.

But between the breaking stories, there is some innovation quietly targeting not general acclaim or government-backed student loans, but the real world problems and challenges an educated populace is supposed to solve. When a program begins its life as a solution, rather than as a novelty or an obligatory offering, it makes an important difference–and not just to the students.

The UNProject

Several years ago, the state’s Department of Children and Family Services cut funding to travel training for agents working in the rural areas of Nevada. No longer could these welfare agents be compensated for pursuing professional training and continuing education by traveling.

Considering the geography of Nevada, as well as the socioeconomics of such a large, dispersed, and often underserved population, this put both the social workers and the families they served at a meaningful disadvantage.

Today it is easy to suggest that the circumstances clearly called for a distance education system to bridge the gap and keep rural social workers equipped with the best knowledge and practices available. That is the model used to deploy telehealth services like primary care to the nation’s rural and remote communities, after all.

But when the University of Nevada in Reno (UNR)’s social work department took on the challenge, they recognized that they had to do more than just digitize a curriculum–they had to make it practical, and accessible to people who would put their education directly into action.

This is what led to their UnProject: UNR’s attempt to broadcast training and learning opportunities using a new, online, education system that ran on the same Blackboard-based platform the university already used.

Blending Innovation with Accountability

Students, parents, professors, employers, and politicians all recognize the historical void of accountability in higher education. Graduates with exceptional records are still routinely seen as unprepared to do real work, and the growing burden of student debt is often cited as an example of waste and reckless spending when it doesn’t produce a growing economy or cutting-edge workforce.

Simply giving students material and holding them accountable for digesting it wasn’t a viable model. UNR was a stakeholder in the success of everyone who used their online classroom to serve real clients and their families around the state; outcomes were practical, not just grades and test scores. The faculty behind the curriculum of these programs were collaborating with the Nevada DCFS to determine areas of need, both on behalf of the clients, and of the social workers serving these families. They couldn’t drop the ball when it came to delivery.

The UnProject at UNR took questions of accountability head-on, because the very nature of the program was to solve a problem. Solving that problem required innovation, which meant the instructors were creatively designing course materials and accommodating their delivery platform in the interest of finding what worked best–not just adding bells and whistles for the sake of modernity or bragging rights.

Feedback was instant and continuous. The instructors learned what worked, what didn’t, and what had the biggest impact on the social workers in the field. They also helped these workers bridge the mental gap to see the new platform as a tool for them–not a novelty, and not a half-measure, but an evolving response to a felt need.

The best part was, their most effective tools weren’t something they had to purchase, or build from scratch: they were the basics already built-in to their Blackboard platform. They were free to focus on disseminating best practices and responding to their students, rather than troubleshooting with an unwieldy, untested new system.

Where You Start Informs Where You Go

This foundation in practice, in problem-solving, and in going from state bureaucrats to rural families and workers, underscores what is now the online social work degree at UNR.

Yes, it is still just another online degree–but the faculty and resources that power the program are as much a tool of the state government as they are a product delivered to paying students. The program grew from something solving a problem, to a pathway to certification. This is the broad sort of model that makes education meaningful and resilient–not just incorporating the latest gimmicks.

A focus on problem-solving answers more questions than simply format and packaging: rural child welfare workers are not looking to put feathers in their caps by taking online classes; these are professionals on the fringes of society (literally: Nevada is a huge state with many rural, impoverished, and marginalized communities and families). That means the curriculum, the materials, and the medium are all, by necessity, whittled down to what works.

It wasn’t a PR stunt. The people who benefited from the new system were in no position to publicize the success story. It was a case of educators doing what they do best, and the domino effect that results from effective instruction.

What is Valued

Online education can solve similar problems even for those who aren’t out in the field or limited by the realities of rural life. Non-traditional students–adults, working professionals, drop-outs, parents–have long lived and worked on the margins of higher education, unable to gain the credentials to validate and certify their skills, knowledge, and experience, to fully participate or reintegrate into the professional workforce.

When schools look at these potential students not just as enrollment figures and dollar signs, but real people with real needs and a capacity to solve problems themselves, the value of a degree and a school are maximized.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Matthew Lynch

Cheating and Technology – Unethical Indifference

Academic dishonesty is nothing new. As long as there have been homework assignments and tests, there have been cheaters. The way that cheating looks has changed over time though, particularly now that technology has made it easier than ever. Perhaps the most interesting caveat of modern-day cheating in U.S. classrooms is that students often do not think that what they are doing is wrong.

A study by the Josephson Institute of Ethics interviewed 23,000 high school students and asked them a variety of questions about academic ethics. Of the teens surveyed, 51 percent said that they had knowingly cheated at some point on an exam but that they had no qualms about the behavior. A Common Sense Media survey found that 35 percent of students had cheated via cell phone, though the parents surveyed in that particular study did not believe their kids had ever cheated. In many cases, students did not realize that tactics like looking up answers on a smartphone were actually cheating at all.

In today’s K-12 classrooms, students who cheat are rarely caught. There are no formulas written on in the insides of hands or students looking across the aisle, or whispering answers to their classmates. Today’s students use smartphones, tablets or even in-class computers to aid their cheating endeavors and leave no trace of their crimes. Since cheating through technology is not listed specifically as being against the rules in many school policies, students do not view the actions an unethical.

Consider the following ways that technology aids in modern-day academic dishonesty:

• Storing notes on a cell phone.
• Purchasing prewritten papers online, or ordering them to be customized.
• Writing a paper that is basically the same as something else found online, but changed enough to look original.
• Students text messaging each other answers.
• Using a smartphone camera to take a picture of a test or exam.
• Using voice recorders or virtual assistance programs to record or ask for answers.

Most of the tactics on this list were non-existent 10 years ago, or at least the technology was not in common use by young people. A Pew Internet survey found that 78 percent of teenagers have mobile phones, up from just 23 percent in 2011. The technology is being adopted so quickly that school districts cannot adequately keep up with cheating policies, or even awareness campaigns that alert students to the problem with using technology to find answers in a certain way.

From a young age, students learn that answers exist at their fingertips through search engines and expert websites. It is more efficient to just look up the answers through the hard work someone else has already done than to find the answers on their own. K-12 students are not the only culprits though. When was the last time you went to the library or dug through physical records or documentation to find the answer to something? Adults take advantage of the convenience of technology all the time – even in the workplace. The difference, of course, is that most adults grew up at least partially technology-free. Today’s students will not have that life experience and instead will have learned the quickest ways to find answers – not necessarily the right ones.

Schools must develop anti-cheating policies that include technology and those policies must be updated consistently. Teachers must stay vigilant when it comes to what their students are doing in classrooms and how technology could be playing a negative role in the learning process. Parents must also talk to their kids about the appropriate ways to find academic answers and alert them to unethical behaviors that may seem innocent in their own eyes.

What do you think can fix the technology/cheating issue?

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Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education, Matthew Lynch

Diversity at College Level Bolstered by Online Offerings

Each year online learning initiatives becomes less of a fringe movement and more of an incorporated, and accepted, form of education. More than 6.7 million people took at least one online class in the fall of 2011 and 32 percent of college students now take at least one online course during their matriculation. It is even becoming commonplace for high schools to require all students to take an online class before graduation as a way to prep them for the “real world” of secondary education.

The flexibility and convenience of online learning is well known but what is not as readily talked about is the way distance education promotes diversity of the college population. With less red tape than the traditional college format, online students are able to earn credits while still working full time, maintaining families and dealing with illnesses. Whether students take just one course remotely, or obtain an entire degree, they are able to take on the demands of college life more readily – leading to student population with more variety.

The Babson Survey Research Group recently revealed that while online college student enrollment is on the rise, traditional colleges and universities saw their first drop in enrollment in the ten years the survey has been conducted. This drop is small – less than a tenth of one percent – but its significance is big. A trend toward the educational equality of online curriculum is being realized by students, institutions and employers across the board. The benefits of a college education through quality online initiatives are now becoming more accessible to students that simply cannot commit to the constraints of a traditional campus setting.

A controversial experiment that could lead the way to even more college credit accessibility is MOOCs, or massive open online courses. As the name implies, these classes are offered to the general public at a low cost, or no cost, in the hopes of earning their students college credit. California-based online course provider Coursera recently had five of its offerings evaluated by the American Council on Education for college credit validity. Four of the courses were recommended for college credit by ACE, and one was endorsed for vocational credit, providing student work verification through a strict proctoring process.

These credits are not earned through community colleges or online-institutions; Duke University, the University of California at Irvine and the University of Pennsylvania are on Coursera’s list of places the courses will earn credit for students that pay a nominal fee. Students that obtain these credits through Coursera can approach any higher education institution and seek their inclusion in a degree program, but the final discretion is up to the particular school.

MOCCs are certainly in an infancy stage and do not provide a “sure thing” yet for students that participate. In the Babson survey mentioned earlier, only 2.6 percent of schools offer a MOOC, but an additional 9.4 percent are building a MOCC plan. The potential for further diversity and equality in education through MOCCs is certainly on the horizon. This form of online learning means that students do not have to commit to an entire course of study to obtain credits or even commit to a particular institution upfront.

MOOCs will further eliminate the socio-economic barriers that keep promising students from seeking out college credits. Students are given more flexibility in scheduling at an affordable price. Though the MOOC trend has its dissenters, I believe it will win over even the most skeptical and increase accessibility for all people that seek higher education. After all, at one time the mention of online courses raised a few eyebrows in the educational community and look how far the concept has come. Further development of online initiatives, specifically in the area of MOOCs, represents the next big step for enriching the diversity of the college student population in America.

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education

The shocking truth about competency based education

**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.**

By Kelly Walsh

The Rise of Regionally Accredited Competency Based Education in HigherEd

I’ve been a fan of the idea of Competency Based Education since I first heard of it. It seemed like such a positive development and a step ahead in the evolution of higher education here in the US and abroad. But I figured it would be quite a while (as in years, possibly quite a few years) before the country’s regional accreditors would become comfortable with assessing and approving CBE programs.

In the U.S., colleges and universities need to be regionally accredited if they wish for students to be eligible for the federal education funds commonly referred to as Title IV aid (in the form of grants and loans). Many students simply can’t afford tuition at even the least costly colleges without some help from federal aid.

So, getting back to CBE and accreditation … I knew that Western Governors University was a pioneer in CBE and that their programs had been regionally accredited, but they were well ahead of the game and seemed to be very much the exception, at least they were when I first learned about them a couple years ago. I also knew that EDUCAUSE was exploring CBE through their Breakthrough Models Incubator program last year, and this further influenced my perception that CBE had a lot of maturing to do before it was ready to take off (or so I believed).

Creating a New Higher Education Ecosystem

In his April, 2015 article, Higher Education 2.0 and the Next Few Hundred Years; or, How to Create a New Higher Education Ecosystem, Paul LeBlanc, President of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and EDUCAUSE 2015 New Business Models department author writes:

“Three important developments stand to dramatically change the way we think about degree programs and pathways:

  1. The rapid adoption of competency-based education (CBE) programs, often using industry and employer authority for guiding the creation of the competencies and thus programs
  2. An eventual move to suborganizational accreditation, with Title IV funds available for credits, courses, and microcredentials offered by new providers in new delivery models, part of the accelerating trend toward “unbundling” higher education
  3. Increasing recognition that postsecondary education will no longer be contained to the existing and traditional degree levels but will instead be consumed at various levels of granularity—less than full degree programs and continuing throughout lives and careers”

That statement about the “rapid adoption” of CBE got me curious, especially given the other statements being made here and the awareness that regional accreditation stands between several of these ideas and any sort of widespread proliferation of them. So I started searching the web for regionally accredited competency based education degree programs. I was quite surprised by what I found.

Accredited CBE Programs are Growing at a Faster Rate Than Many Would Have Anticipated. Is it Gradually Going Mainstream?

What has shocked me a bit (in a good way) has been learning that quite a few CBE programs have been accredited already, and that the regional accreditors have defined paths for CBE program accreditation.

First, I came across this regionally-accredited CBE program from the University of Wisconsin, the “UW Flexible Option“. Then I found this article explaining how a some of Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges are rolling out regionally accredited CBE degrees (with the help of advising from WGU). In this article, we learn that in addition to UW, two other “Big Ten” Universities having introduced CBE degree programs – the University of Michigan and Purdue University.

The article, Competency-Based Degree Programs On The Rise, not only confirms my perception, it also reminds us that big online players like Capella University and SNHU’s College for America have accredited CBE programs.

While I was at it, I figured I would confirm that the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (our accreditor at CW)  has a formal process for seeking accreditation for CBE programs, and learned that they do indeed (they announced the establishment of a “Direct Assessment” Approval Process in July of last year). Given this and the approved programs noted above, it seems likely that all of the regional accreditors now have a similar process!

While trolling the Web for this information, I also came across this organization and website – the “Competency Based Education Network” (http://www.cbenetwork.org/about/). “The Competency-Based Education Network is a group of regionally accredited colleges and universities working together to address shared challenges to designing, developing, and scaling competency-based degree programs.” There are dozens of colleges and universities in this group. 

CBE is becoming a meaningful part of the higher education landscape here in the U.S. much faster than I realized. Might President LeBlanc’s other “developments” also come about a lot sooner than many would think? What do you think?

(Okay, I’ll say it … sorry for the corny article title, but I’ve been wanting to use that classic headline ‘hack’ for years now and this was such a good opportunity! It really has been a bit of a shock to learn how quickly accredited CBE is evolving and changing the landscape of higher ed :)).

This post originally appeared on Emerging EdTech, and was republished with permission.

________________________

Kelly Walsh is Chief Information Officer at The College of Westchester, in White Plains, NY, where he also teaches. In 2009, Walsh founded EmergingEdTech.com. As an education and instructional technology advocate, he frequently delivers presentations on a variety of related topics at schools and conferences across the U.S. Walsh is also an author, and online educator, regularly running Flipped Class Workshops online. His eBook, the Flipped Classroom Workshop-in-a-Book is available here. Kelly also writes, records, and performs original music … stop by kwalshmusic.com and have a listen!

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Matthew Lynch

Strategies for Seamlessly Integrating Technology into Your Classroom

Words like “technology,” “digital devices,” and “modern media” sound flashy and attractive. Of course teachers want to have those buzzwords in the classroom! But when it comes from moving to virtual reality to concrete curriculum, what does introducing technology in the classroom actually look like? What do all those buzzwords really mean?

Technology-focused education is based on a constructivist approach to learning. As described earlier, the teacher in a technologically advanced classroom is seen as a facilitator rather than a pure instructor. A teacher’s function is to help students use the technological resources appropriately to find the information rather than presenting it to them. Students need to learn how to find the information they need and take ownership of their own learning. Working in small groups is also a crucial factor in acquiring these skills. Small-group instruction versus massive class instruction provides opportunity to develop a group dynamic, to make group decisions, and to share knowledge. Classes working under these principles promote cooperative rather than competitive group dynamics.

The degree of ease with which you’ll incorporate technology into your teaching methods will depend on how much technology you’ve been exposed to during the course of your life. You may have grown up in a home where a computer was used every day, or attended a school where learning was predominantly based on technology. Teachers who are less familiar with technology and have used traditional methods of teaching can also incorporate technology into their classes without having to change their entire teaching system. Teachers in schools commonly communicate via e-mail and text messages, incorporate the Internet into lessons, and encourage the use of productivity tools such as Microsoft Excel and Word.

This method of teaching also changes the way educators assess knowledge. The fact that students play an active part in knowledge acquisition implies a better understanding of the content provided. Formative assessment in this model of teaching becomes more important than ever, and teacher feedback is a crucial part of the process in order for students to achieve the content learning goals of the lesson.

If you’re interested in learning more about the ways that you can capitalize on today’s modern inventions to bolster your teaching, take some time to look through our other articles on specific resources available out there in realm of hardware and software.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Equity

Closing the achievement gap using iPads

**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.**

By Kristi Meeuwse, ADE

Where’s the Beef? Show me the money! What’s the bottom line?

In today’s results-oriented, data-driven mentality in education, we all fall under the large accountability umbrella of test scores. Certainly, there are skeptics who question putting iPads in the hands of young children. It is asked, “How can we justify the cost of this technology when school budgets and programs are being cut and teachers are being furloughed?” I too, asked those questions at the beginning of this pilot. After all, my pay has been decreased from furloughs and no step-increases for experience or cost of living. My answers came directly from the very people for whom I work…my students.

Let me say that I teach children, not tests. I want my students to find a love for learning that sustains them for a lifetime. In a previous post, I described what kind of reader I am. I want my students to be filled with wonder and inquiry and to find joy in reading and learning. A commentary written in USA Today states that the goal of education should be to prepare students to be competent and original in their thinking and that focusing on test scores hurts innovation. When we start focusing on scores, we often stop focusing on innovative teaching methods and divergent thinking. Don’t get me wrong…teaching involves assessment and assessment drives instruction. The problem comes when we stay focused on the one-dimensional scores and not look at the whole child. William Arthur Ward states “Wise are those who learn that the bottom line doesn’t always have to be their top priority” Sermon over.

All of that being said, I do understand that the purchase of the iPads was intended to close the achievement gap and raise scores. So far, they’ve delivered on that. I’ve been using the iPads for 13 months. Last school year, we began implementation in late January. My class results are here. ipad-data pdf We were thrilled! Systematic teaching in Reading and Writing Workshop, along with differentiated instruction with the iPads allowed all 30 of my students to end the school year reading on or above grade level. This year, with 12 weeks of school remaining, 92% of my students read on a first grade level or higher and the remaining 8% are on grade level. Interesting to note, the 8% are students who came to my class after Christmas from other schools. They have moved from being non-readers to reading on-grade level in 3 months.

While I don’t solely focus on test scores, I can’t deny the results I am seeing. These are results that can’t be overlooked. If good teaching, and iPads as educational tools, result in higher achievement, then how can we argue that our children aren’t worth the investment?

This post originally appeared on iteachwithipads.net and has been republished with permission. 

Click here to read all our posts concerning the Achievement Gap.

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Kristi Meeuwse teaches kindergarten in Charleston, South Carolina. In January, 2011, her kindergarten class started a 1:1 iPad pilot for the school district and the results so far have been very successful. You can read more about it on her blog iteachwithipads.net.

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