technology

Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Matthew Lynch

Classroom Technology: Does it Really Make a Difference?

Public school teachers have a lot on their plate when it comes to measuring achievement. Student success is determined through assessments, graded materials and even technological savvy. The general consensus seems to be that in order to give K-12 students a fighting chance in the real world, teachers and administrators must stay on top of any and all technology trends. Is it worth the effort though?

The National Center for Education Statistics reported in 2009 that 97 percent of K-12 teachers had computers in their classrooms every day. In addition, 54 percent were able to bring a computer into the classroom. The overall ratio of students to classroom computers was 5.3 to 1.

Well that was then and this is now. Since 2009, teachers have made the shift to include mobile devices like tablets and Smartphones as part of the classroom culture. Computers are still there, but are quickly playing second fiddle to smaller, faster and just-plain-cooler pieces of technology. While the inclusion of cutting-edge technology certainly grabs the attention of students, does it actually make a difference in academic success?

Does technology really provide more opportunities?

The problem with answering these questions is that not enough time has passed since the influx of Internet-based learning has stormed K-12 classrooms. At a technology summit in early 2012, Troy Williams of Macmillan New Ventures told a packed conference room that companies like his do not “have the outcomes yet to say what leads to a true learning moment.” He added that it would still be another three to five years before those numbers can truly be analyzed. Matthew Pittinsky, a co-founder of the popular Blackboard software, agreed with Williams, saying that “these are really early days” when it comes to truly integrated technology intended to improve student success in K-12 and higher education settings.

In its widest definition, though, technology has always been associated with the creation of a level playing field for students. Bernard John Poole of the University of Pittsburgh wrote ten pillars of technology integration in K-12 schools and his final point reads: Recognize that technology is for all, and involves all, in the process of lifelong learning. Poole talks about the way that teachers must receive ongoing training, and parents must be equally involved, in order to promote student achievement through technological advances. While his points sound good on paper, it leads one to wonder if he truly believes that technology is necessity of learning, or if it is only a means to capturing an ever-waning student body attention span.

At the public school level, all students have equal access to classroom computers and mobile devices. Even if these youngsters have no electronic access at home, upon entering a classroom they are able to interact with technology and keep up with their peers. That is all well and good – but does it matter? If all public K-12 classrooms got rid of computers and banned Internet-based learning, would it negatively impact academic success through college years? Would it affect graduation rates? Would American kids fall behind the rest of the world?

I think that truly depends on how you look at it. Does the technology itself provide heightened learning experiences? I’d argue that it does not. Instead, the implementation of the technology is a necessary move to keep students interested in the subject matter. I am not saying that I am against rapid adjustment to cutting-edge technology in learning and practice; I think there is no way to avoid embracing it and still turn out high numbers of world-ready graduates. I just think that there is a danger in relying on the technology to convey learning materials in a vacuum. Look at how much technology has changed since the 2009 report I referenced above. Does this mean that the students growing up in public school atmospheres in 2013 will be better prepared for life than those of 2009? What about the students of 2017, and so on?

What do you think? Does technology improve learning?

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Teachers

Energizing the collaborative classroom

How tech tools can help teachers peak into the thinking and learning of even their shyest students.

By Dr. Sheryl Abshire

I am in my 41st year in education, and I’ve spent the last 19 years as a CTO, so I have seen the evolution of educational technology. When I started teaching in 1973, the exciting new technology was a cassette recorder. Since then, I’ve seen ed-tech trends come and go. Right now, a noteworthy trend around the country—that I think is a long time coming—is the increased emphasis on using technology to individualize and personalize learning.

It’s a lot of work to do that. One of the things that has been particularly helpful in our school district has been pairing students up and having them work in teams to collaborate, cooperate, innovate, and create. Managing a collaborative classroom is hard work for a teacher who has 25 to 30 students. She’s trying to monitor these groups, she’s trying to pull students out and individualize, she’s trying to get her finger on the pulse of learning so she can direct, redirect, and help students feel confident.

We were fortunate to pilot the very first Flexcat systems. We had input into the development and design of the system, which includes a microphone that a teacher wears on a lanyard and pods that let her listen to and talk to small groups around the room. What we have seen is that this system gives teachers the ability to manage an active and engaged classroom in a way that was heretofore impossible.

Teachers can monitor groups in real time, interject feedback in real time, and focus groups that need to get back on the rails. Students are keenly aware that the teacher is monitoring them, so we’ve seen an increase in focused learning in these groups. Students are much less distracted and more productive, and the work in these collaborative groups is much richer. And it’s reduced the time it takes to get and stay on task. We have found that to be a real game-changer for education in our classrooms.

Shy students shut down in a large group. They don’t have the confidence to talk in front of 30 students, but they’re much more confident in front of four or five. Using this tool, a teacher can draw out that shy student from across the room.

Teachers aren’t comfortable with a new tool or strategy unless they’ve used it. For more then 30 years, there’s been this constant nagging conversation about how technology is something that you have to add on to what you’re doing. That’s a myth. Technology doesn’t add on; it’s a tool. When I was a teacher and they gave me a blackboard, it was a tool. If an activity requires collaboration, and we have a tool that makes that collaboration more effective, you can bet that we’re going to expose our teacher to that tool.

Our technology center introduces teachers to tried and true tools. We use the Flexcat in PD as teachers develop projects, brainstorm, and reflect. This lets them see the tool in action and see how it will work in their own classroom. We do a lot of collaborative work in our PD, and teachers use the system and say, “What is that? I need that.” We then train the teachers to use the system and it becomes embedded in practice. Teachers understand how it works and how it strengthens instruction.

We now have Flexcats in some but not all of our classrooms. Our schools and teachers are working towards a full deployment because they see the benefits. Teachers are writing grants and being very creative when it comes to funding. When they get the tool, they are fired up and ready to go. The work that we do in the technology department is to make sure that when they do get started, every tool is connected to student learning…every single thing.

Collaboration and cooperative learning are not new strategies in the classroom. When I began teaching 41 years ago, we were using these techniques. There has been an ebb and flow in pedagogical approaches, but it comes down to this: Individualized learning is the strongest learning, and in cooperative groups, you get to that quicker. In a group of three, you can see personalized learning happen. And with the Flexcat, I’ve seen and heard children coach each other, teach each other, learn from each other. It’s fascinating to me to have a tool that allows teachers to peek into the thinking and learning of children, because if we can do that, we are on the road to true personalized learning.

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Dr. Sheryl Abshire is the Chief Technology Officer for the Calcasieu Parish Public Schools in Louisiana. She has worked as a school principal, K-5 teacher, library/media specialist, classroom teacher, assistant professor at Lamar University, and as an adjunct professor at McNeese State University & Louisiana Tech University. She is a past chair of CoSN, the present Chair of the CoSN Policy Committee, and the past President of the Louisiana Association of Computer Using Educators. She also served on the FCC Universal Services Administrative Corporation Board representing our nation’s K-12 schools and libraries.

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

Technology and Graduation Rate: A Direct Correlation

There is a lot of talk out there about ways to raise the graduation rate. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan proudly wore #80 in the NBA All-Star celebrity game to tout the highest graduation rate the country has seen since 1974. Educators are collectively working harder to help students make it to the high school finish line and get prepared for college and the workforce. There is a lot of credit to be handed out for the successful graduation rates around the country (of course, there are still plenty of areas for improvement) but I think one shining area deserves a lot of the praise: technology.

The website DropoutPrevention.org singles out technology as a leader in high school graduation upsurge. The site states:
“Educational technology is needed for a variety of reasons. It provides an alternative method of learning for those who struggle to learn using traditional methods.

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

Equality through Technology

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

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

College Prep

K-12 educators used to have the goal of helping their students reach high school graduation, but now the pressure is on to create students who go on to achieve college goals too. No matter how advanced the technology options in a particular school district, they are dwarfed by the reliance on and widespread use of technology on college campuses. High school students who become acquainted with technology for things like course selection, class management and actual learning modules are better prepared when they arrive on college campuses. There is very little hand-holding when it comes to higher education (perhaps too little based on college dropout rates) and students need to be self-sufficient in life skills and technology ones when they cross the bridge to college life.

How big of a role do you think technology has played in high school graduation rates?

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation

Full involvement learning: A Jedi toolbox for the teaching of tomorrow

A guest column by Lucien Vattel

For too long, educators have focused on “what we learn” over “how we learn.” To unlock an understanding of how our consciousness most intuitively engages and comprehends, a thorough exploration of the learning process becomes key. Only then will we be able to fully understand the art of inducing electrified engagement, meaningful connections, deep illumination, awe, and even rapture through idealized modalities of learning.  Such explorations allow us to more reliably provide students with transformational encounters with their universe and themselves. In essence, we need a new kick-ass toolbox for facilitating the apex of cognitive ignition.

To pursue such a mission, we require a new taxonomy that supports a variety of high-engagement, deep-immersion methods, tools, and techniques.  In todays “edu-verse”, there are an infinite number of concepts for our minds to grasp and act upon. Moreover, there are a variety of ways to shine a light upon these various structures of knowledge. And so, the grand challenge becomes this: How can we shine the most illustrious, wavelength-appropriate, multispectral light upon these realities, art forms, scientific processes, stories, skills, and understandings of our age? What tools, what technologies, and what facilitations of experience best connect us to the content we intend to explore, to the ideas we wish to grasp, and to people we wish to know and understand? For each learning outcome, and within each educational domain, I believe that we will find certain “ways-in” (through teaching approaches, experiences, and technologies) that lend themselves most naturally to the attunement of each concept’s essence. What is the best and most fulfilling library of eureka moment potentiators? What’s in the “Jedi Toolbox” for teaching in the 21st century?

Five years ago, our company GameDesk, began experimenting with a variety of approaches, techniques, and technological tools to this end. We’ve explored at home, in-school, online, and in your pocket. We’ve gone high-tech, low-tech, and no-tech. Whether it is a chalkboard, lecture, game, video, story, experiment, simulation, buildable physical system, programmable environment, or role-played experience, each tool provided a unique lens of experience on the chosen subject of learning.

As we explored and developed,, we asked ourselves: What experiences enable learners to most intuitively and accurately grasp concepts? What visualizations, words and metaphors, narratives, objects, and interactions connect us most immediately and with the most perceptual fidelity to the subject at hand? What technologies best link certain actions and choices, interweave and intimately bind them to the world of knowledge? What learning modalities best allow for students to feel energized and focused, fully immersed in their involvement, and joyful in the process of the learning? Within these these methods, which work best for novices, journeymen, and experts?

To ground this exploration, let’s cite some examples. In our latest game experiences, Geomoto and Pangean, we linked specific hand movements through a consumer hand-tracking device (the Leap Motion controller) to continental and plate movements. This 1:1 movement relationship made learning about continental drift, tectonic plates, and their resulting phenomenon highly intuitive. Here, we leveraged the affordances of hand motion to naturally attune the mind to geoscience processes. As student observes that they could actually see and feel how the plates worked and the effects they had on the earth.

In another exploration called EDULARP, we used role-play to create deep engagement with historical systems. To help them learn history experientially, students role-played through various social classes that existed during different periods of ancient history. They became merchants, governors, astrologers, and priests. By both researching the social norms and practices of a specific culture and then interacting with one another in character, students fulfilled in-game objectives that provided them with an enriched and lasting understanding that persisted beyond the simulated reality. In this modality, role-play provides students with deep, personalized feelings and experiences of engaging in historical systems of thought, agriculture, culture, and politics.

Another tool is the ‘digital sandbox’. Sandbox technologies allows for creation-based simulations that students can manipulate to program and build objects, inventions, worlds, and even universes. Sandboxes, such as Minecraft, Scratch, Universe Sandbox, and the physics creator Algodoo, allow students to experiment and create their own mathematically driven architectural structures, galaxies, and physics-based inventions respectively. Within this learning vehicle, students are able to make predictions, design ideas, test hypotheses, and play out those predictions in simulated world environments.

There’s of course more to fully educating a person than guiding them to mastery of the core K-12 curriculum. Consider, for example, the ability to be connected, empathetic, supportive, and compassionately communicative. Let us look at what physical environments and interactive activities most facilitate human connection. What experiences inspire the imagination and assist us in redefining the boundaries of our understanding and beliefs? What are the fastest and most fulfilling methods of developing self-awareness, persistence, and flexibility? These questions lead us to designing more full-spectrum learning tools and experiences; new methods deeply needed in a society with a severe deficit in social-emotional skills.

If our teaching culture were to address the questions presented here, make a claim about what kind of learning activities fit best, and build a practice of designing experiences in this way, what would our teaching become? With such a toolbox fully realized, teachers of the future will no longer be disseminators of facts, concepts, and memorized skills; rather, they will become “experience designers.” Like Yoda, they will design encounters and challenges that are deliberately constructed to reveal what our minds, bodies, and spirits are capable of. Such constructed experiences empower us to explore, to rethink broken systems, and cultivate a daily spirit of innovation. Albert Einstein once said, “I never teach my pupils, I create conditions in which they may learn.” We are the condition-creators, the dreamers of dreams. So rise teachers of tomorrow, become the magic makers you were born to be.

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Lucien Vattel s the founder and CEO of GameDesk, a 501(c)3 Research and Technology Development Institute whose mission is to develop the next generation model of education, revolutionizing the tools we use and the way we teach.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation

Schools Should Shout Their Success Stories from the Rooftops

 

Consumer and social media are adept at sharing negative news about education. Here’s how administrators and teachers can get the good news out there, too.

A guest post by Christopher Piehler

When it comes to covering K-12 education, the consumer media does a fantastic job of telling the bad news. I understand why this is the case: Publications need to make money, and headlines like “FBI Seizes LAUSD Records Related to Troubled iPad Program” will always grab more readers’ eyeballs than, say, “Class Full of Happy Students Learns to Multiply.” But if you judged the success of this country’s public schools only by looking at “above the fold” articles in major newspapers and magazines, you would believe that K-12 education is nothing but one crisis after another. And from talking to educators and administrators around the country, I know that this is not true.

There is good news coming out of America’s classrooms every day. The challenge for schools and districts is to make their positive voices heard above the negative noise coming from consumer (and social) media. How can they do this? Here are four tips.

Know Your Story

Educational leaders need to shout their success stories from the rooftops, but before you speak up, you need to be clear about what your story is.

For example, through one of our clients I recently met Dr. Genevra Walters, the superintendent of Kankakee School District in Illinois, whose motto is “The transition to adulthood starts in preschool.” Dr. Walters backs this up by having each general ed grade in K-8 focus on a different career. So Kankakee’s story is clear: “We are the district that does everything we can to find the right career for our students, starting when they are five or six years old.”

Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that Dr. Walters herself is a graduate of Kankakee schools who rose to become superintendent of the district.

Have a Hook

Like I said before, “Class Full of Happy Students Learns to Multiply” is a nice story, but a tough sell for the media. To get your good news published, you need a hook—some aspect of the story that will grab editors’ and readers’ attention and keep them reading. In Kankakee’s case, there are two potential hooks. The first one is that the district starts career education when kids are so young. It’s unusual and unexpected, and it makes readers want to find out how the district does it.

The second hook is Dr. Walters herself, a classic “local girl made good.” Which brings me to another important point about storytelling for schools: People are better than programs. Yes, it’s amazing that your district has a teacher who is helping three- and four-year olds build a Mars rover, but who is that teacher? A former astronaut? A former “bad kid” who found his calling in the classroom? The “human interest” story is a cliché because it’s true. Humans are interested in other humans.

Connect Your Story to a Larger Narrative

Another great way to get positive attention from the media is to connect your school’s story to a larger national or international narrative. Right now, for example, the story of a Syrian refugee child who comes to a new school and teaches her classmates about Syrian culture would be a big hit. And it’s not just one-time events that you can connect with. Editors are always looking for stories that tie in with recurring events like presidential elections, the Olympics, or even the Super Bowl.

Tell Your Story Every Day

In today’s connected world, getting articles published in newspapers or magazines is only a part of telling your story. Whether you like it or not, part of your story is being told on social media every day, by students, parents, and pundits, all of whom have their own agenda. And though the temptation to respond to critics can be strong, I think we can all agree that engaging in a shouting match in the echo chamber of the Internet is worse than useless.

Instead, I suggest following the lead of Tom Murray, the State and District Digital Learning Policy and Advocacy Director at the Alliance for Excellent Education. In his former job as director of technology and cyber education in the Quakertown Community School District, Murray was in a meeting with 30 administrators who he wanted to enlist in telling the school’s story through Twitter. “Our goal,” he said, “became to highlight one great thing a teacher was doing and one great thing a student was doing each day, taking no more than five minutes.”

Two Tweets times 30 administrators times five days equaled 300 positive stories coming out of the district every week. Seeing how easy it was, teachers joined in, highlighting their successes on the district’s hashtag. With a little initiative and diligent follow-through, the Quakertown community collaborated to tell its story—one Tweet at a time.

__________

Christopher Piehler is the Lead Storyteller at PR with Panache! The former editor-in-chief of THE Journal, he has worked for a variety of consumer and B2B publications. He has been an ed tech commentator on both TV and radio, has served as a CODiE award judge, and has been a speaker at the FETC and CoSN conferences.

This is the first part of a two-part article. Part two will cover how schools can use local, national, and education-focused publications to tell their stories to a variety of audiences.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Matthew Lynch

Why Mobile Technology Enhances Instruction

As mobile technology continues to steal the spotlight in K-12 classroom methodology, certain areas of study tend to be gravitating towards the trends more strongly. Last week an Education Market Research report found that 28 percent of class time for math-based courses is spent using digital tools or interacting with digital content. The report goes on to outline a strong shift towards digital teaching methods for math since 2009. While students’ positive response is one of the reasons mobile technology is rapidly gaining speed, EMR’s report says that educator enjoyment of the technology is also a contributing factor to its snowballing implementation.

The conversation about the benefits of mobile technology for students is constant but should there also be a discussion about educator preference? It seems the debate is always student-centric but for these students to excel, teachers need to thrive too. This means administrative plans beyond simply purchasing mobile devices, or implementing bring-your-device policies, that include teacher empowerment of the technology.

Mobile technology has potential to change the student-teacher dynamic for the better but only if implemented correctly. Here are a few ways I think all teachers can benefit from smart mobile technology use:

Higher engagement levels. At least at the outset, use of mobile technology in K-12 classrooms will mean more students are interested in the class material. It remains to be seen what will happen once the novelty effect wears off, but perhaps by then mobile learning will be even more advanced than it is today, capturing students’ attention in new ways. Part of the interest in mobile learning from students’ perspectives is the flashy, fun element but the bigger attraction is empowerment. Lessons leave the blackboard and take place at the desk, giving students more control over it. Higher engagement from K-12 students who use mobile technology is a direct result of a feeling of ownership on the part of the student, whether perceived or not.

Convenient progress tracking. Mobile education applications keep electronic records of where students succeed and where they need more help. This provides a great service to teachers who lack the time and resources to create customized learning plans based on student work profiles (though there are certainly some teachers who do put in this time, painstakingly). When students learn through mobile technology, teachers benefit from the convenient reporting. There is no guesswork on what skills need sharpening, particularly in areas like math. If an entire class population is struggling with a skill, the technology reporting signals to the teacher that the topic needs to be revisited. On the flip side, excess time is not spent on topic areas that are already learned.

Less paperwork. Mobile learning gives copy machines a break and amounts to less paperwork for teachers. Instead of students waiting for an in-class assignment to be graded and then redone, mobile applications allow immediate opportunities to try again. This is a practical perk of mobile learning but one that makes the teaching AND learning process less cumbersome. In addition to less loose papers, mobile technology limits the amount of textbooks and other hard class materials that need to be carried around and stored in classrooms.

Anything that makes educators’ jobs a little easier, without sacrificing student achievement, benefits K-12 learning as a whole. The discussion of mobile technology in classrooms as it relates to students is vital but the teaching aspect matters a lot too. Schools need to provide resources for teachers to feel comfortable teaching though in mobile technology formats. This needs to happen in order for educators to really notice the positive impact it makes on their jobs.

In what ways will mobile technology positively change the teaching profession?

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Matthew Lynch

Educational Technologies that Every Teacher Should Know: Part II

Click here to read all the posts in this series. 

Technology continues to make its mark on K-12 learning and teachers need to stay abreast of the many new innovations. Today, I will continue my 5-part series on technologies and education concepts that every teacher should know about. I’m interested to hear your thoughts on these technologies and education concepts in the comment section as well.

Virtual Laboratories. Virtual laboratories are popping up in school districts and online learning curriculum across the country and making it easier and less expensive for students to do experiments remotely. Benefits of the virtual labs include: Flexible access. Perhaps the most often cited benefit of any online learning is convenience. The same is true of virtual laboratories if the experiments are on the student’s own time. In some cases, a virtual lab may be used during regular class time but still, in such instances, there is flexibility for the teacher who is not limited by using resources within a strict timeframe. Instant feedback. Students can redo experiments on the spot if needed. All the results are recorded automatically, making communication between teachers and students more efficient too. Experiments no longer have a “one chance” option and students can analyze what went wrong immediately and critically.

Schools and students using virtual labs have access to cutting-edge technology when it comes to experimentation. Companies that build and maintain virtual labs must compete with each other to stay ahead of technology progression and that raises the quality of student options. With a virtual lab, students do not have to settle on outdated, yet expensive, equipment because a school cannot afford to replace it consistently.

There is a fee associated with using virtual labs but the capital and maintenance costs are drastically reduced. Instead of one school footing the bill for resources, the cost is split among the clients of the particular virtual lab. This allows school to provide a better learning experience for students at a fraction of the cost. Like all classroom technology, virtual labs demand scrutniy to ensure that behind the flashy capabilities, their true purpose is being met. That will take some time and testing, of course, but I think it is possible with the right combination of in-person and remote lessons.

Autism and iPads. Depending who you ask, the iPad has varying effects on children with autism – but most parents and teachers would say that the device has made in-roads in their students’ attitude towards learning. Experts at Apple say that iPads “cure” sensory overload and give autism children control, along with opportunities for effective communication. Using less extreme language, researchers at Vanderbilt University say that speech-generating devices, like iPads, can encourage late-speaking children with autism spectrum disorders to speak. In other words, the basic technology that is readily available in classrooms and many households may also support learning initiatives for children with a specific disorder that impact traditional learning.

In coming posts, we will look at more technologies and concepts that every teacher should know.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Equity

Digital Early Learning Program in Napa County sees strong results

Submitted by Dr. Barbara Nemko, Napa County Superintendent of Schools

 “The children love [the program] and in fact they ask daily, ‘Is it my turn on the iPad today?’ Also … we as teachers are learning too.” – Marianne Stegman, Site Supervisor, St. Helena Child Development Center

Tackling Achievement Gap Before Kindergarten

Research has shown that children from low-income families come to school typically lagging two years behind their more privileged peers on standardized language tests. This achievement gap, which has been called a 30 million word gap (Hart and Risley, 2004), affects their ability to learn to read, and persists throughout their school careers. Identified as equally important in learning to read by researchers is access to books in the home. Again, children from low income families frequently have few or no books at home, and enter kindergarten not knowing that books in English are read from left to right, or being able to identify the letters of the alphabet.

To prepare these at-risk students for kindergarten, The Napa County Office of Education (NCOE) began collaborating with local non-profit NapaLearns to launch the first countywide offering in the nation of a digital early-literacy program. The program primarily uses the Footsteps2Brilliance “app” on tablets and other devices, and is provided at no cost to preschools and to parents of preschool age children in the county, including those not enrolled in a preschool program.  The digital early literacy tools include libraries of books that are engaging, animated, and capable of reading themselves to children in either English or Spanish.  These books teach the 1,000 most important Dolch words, as well as phonics and comprehension skills, through stories and games that motivate children to want to read the stories again and again.  Once downloaded onto a device these books can be opened with or without wifi.  For those families who cannot afford a device, NCOE has partnered with NapaLearns to offer a rent-to-buy HD Kindle for children.

The Results are Immediate and Impressive

NCOE’s Digital Early Learning program was piloted in 2011 as a 4-week summer boot camp for four-year old English language learners.  Impressive results in language use led us to administer the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, pre- and post, to kindergarten students the following year, producing statistically significant results in both expressive and receptive language.  The countywide launch for all preschool students came in February 2014, and Napa County preschoolers were challenged by me to read one million words by June 30.  Instead, they topped five million, and have continued their astonishing rate of growth. A kindergarten teacher recently administered the DIBELS test and discovered that the children who scored the highest were those who spent the most time reading their digital books at home. There are currently over 1,200 children enrolled who have been exposed to  over 12 million words, and have correctly answered the comprehension questions on their  first try 67% of the time. These children are using the program at home 55% of the time.

The Family that Reads Together…

The staff working on our Digital Early Learning initiative have conducted extensive bilingual and multicultural community outreach, and opportunities for parent training, to ensure the widespread participation in this free program.  In one year we have provided more than 30 parent workshops, as well as workshops for preschool and kindergarten teachers.  Outside of Napa, we were invited to the White House Summit on Early Literacy to share about the positive impact of digital early learning in our county.  Moving forward, we are excited to begin an ongoing five-year longitudinal study, to determine if children who use our digital early literacy in preschool are more proficient readers at the end of third grade than children who do not.

For more information on this program, contact Seana Wagner, Public Information Officer at [email protected] or 707-265-2351.

 

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Matthew Lynch

3 Technologies Bolstering STEM Learning

According to the STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Math) Coalition, there are 26 million STEM jobs in the U.S., comprising 20 percent of all jobs. By 2020, there will be 9.2 million STEM jobs in the U.S. Despite the need for these workers, only 45 percent and 30 percent of high school seniors are prepared for college-level math and science courses, respectively.

As the American K-12 system continues to look for ways to increase student interest and aptitude in STEM learning, technology is playing an increasingly pivotal role. Children who come to classrooms today have an inherent aptitude for technology and educators should encourage that skill set with resources that integrate STEM learning. Just a few of the ways to do that include making use of:

Virtual laboratories

Scientific experiments are no longer just reserved for physical labs. Through interactive technology, students can now do experiments remotely through use of virtual laboratories. The virtual labs at New Mexico State University, for example, give high school and college students access to food-based experiments. Students can test for corn mold, milk bacterial contamination and prevent C. Bot growth in salsa from a remote website. There is certainly something to be said of in-person experimentation, but student access is usually limited based on actual class times and resources. A virtual lab means that a student can do an experiment multiple times, and learn from mistakes in real-time and make adjustments. It also means that experiments are not limited to a determined class time and can be done on a student’s schedule. So students with an appetite for experimentation have greater access to it, and the others are not easily discouraged by “one shot” experiments.

In-class mobile devices

A student with a tablet or smartphone in hand has a portal to hundreds of apps that support STEM learning. There are a lot of things that students can do on basic tablets and phones, but there are also products like the einstein Tablet+ from Fourier Education that have a specific focus on STEM initiatives. Instead of going out and searching for STEM-centric lessons, the einstein Tablet+ comes preloaded with experiments and modules that cover physics, biology, human physiology, chemistry, and environmental science. This STEM-specific tablet can be connected to classroom projectors and monitors so that all the students can participate at once, or can be used as an individual tablet for customized learning in grades K-12. Teachers can search mobile apps for highly-reviewed ones, some of which are completely free, to use on the screens in their classrooms.

Television programming

While statistics show that too much television watching among children leads to higher obesity rates, behavior problems and less interest in things like reading, kids ages 8 to 18 are still watching television programs on various screens for 4.5 hours every day. It isn’t all bad news though. The value of children’s programming is increasing though. Programming is no longer created for the purpose of entertainment alone. On PBS alone, STEM-learning programs like Sid the Science Kid, Curious George, Cyberchase, Nature and Nova run the gamut of childhood ages and interests. In some cases, teachers are even able to incorporate some of these learning programs in classrooms and build entire lesson plans around the content.
Math, science and engineering are all intrinsically linked with technology. This gives educators an advantage with the current generation of K-12 students who arrive in Kindergarten classrooms with a technological edge. As learning technology improves, STEM education will continue to be the beneficiary if educators use it resourcefully.

What do you think can be done to improve student interest in STEM pursuits?

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation

10 ways to use Skype 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 post by Bevin Reinen

Skype is an instructional tool that provides boundlessopportunities for authentic teaching and learning.  It allows us to explore beyond the four walls of our classrooms.  As elementary teachers, we sometimes battle to hold our students’ short attention spans. Integrating Skype lessons brings the curriculum to life in ways never before possible.  You know that special moment when you announce a class activity, and it’s greeted with claps, screams, and cheers?  That’s Skype.  It brings pure joy, wonder, and intrigue to your students.

Here’s a list of ten ways to utilize it in the elementary setting, followed by some logistical tips for success.

1)  Take a Virtual Field Trip:  Is there some place you’d like your class to visit, but can’t swing the funds or it’s just not geographically possible?  Find a guide to ‘take’ you there by visiting a historical landmark, museum, zoo, etc.

2)  Invite an Author:  Set up a Skype session with an author you’ve been studying to discuss a book.  Or, set one up with any author so that your students can learn about the steps of the writing process.  No, real authors do NOT write one and done!  Here’s an awesome list of Authors Who Skype With Classes and Book Clubs for Free.

3)  Share a Project:  Have your students been working on some kind of a special project? Give them the chance to show/share it with a distant class.  This provides motivation and will help them develop confidence in the value of their work.

4)  Put on a Performance:  Is there a poem, song, skit, or reader’s theater script your students need to present?  Give them the opportunity to perform to a unique audience via Skype!

5)  Interview an Expert:  Invite an expert to speak with your class on a current topic of study.  Conduct a Q and A session.  This is definitely a step up from the basic Google search!

6) Cultural Exchange:  Learn about various cultures by connecting with a class from abroad. Check out the site ePals, which allows educators interested in Skyping or using other web-based tools to connect globally.

7) Meet Pen Pals:  To encourage meaningful writing opportunities, write back and forth with pen pals throughout the year.  Set up a culminating Skype chat so that students can finally meet their pen pals ‘face to face’.

8) Mystery Skype:  If you register for Skype in the Classroom (instead of regular Skype), you can play Mystery Skype.  Mystery Skype is an educational game that allows two classes to guess each other’s locations via questioning.

9) Including Students with Medical Issues:  If a student has to miss school for an extended amount of time, Skype is the perfect way for the class to connect with their classmate.  While not all class activities are workable on Skype, including the student in some key lessons will help prevent him/her from falling behind.

10) Share Travel Experiences:  If you have a special trip to attend during the school year, have your substitute connect with you on Skype to touch base, allow you to do a mini-lesson, or show/share about your location.

Tips:

1)  Install Skype on your computer.

2)  You’ll need a webcam, speakers, and microphone also.

3)  Be sure you and your person both add each other as Skype contacts.

4)  Run a test call to ensure everything is working properly.

5)  Outline a plan and discuss logistics with your Skype contact.

6)  Walk through expectations/procedures with your students beforehand.

*Remember, time is of the essence when working with little ones.  Make sure all kinks are worked out prior to the chat to maximize engagement.

Here are a few photos of my class chatting with our pen pals/digital learning buddies from a nearby school.  To launch our science unit on animals, we had each student bring in a stuffed animal and fact to show/share. Afterwards, I assigned her class to research and observe penguins on Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Live Web Cams, while she assigned my class to do the same for giraffes using Houston Zoo’s Live Web Cams.  This generated excitement and motivated students for the next fact/opinion pen pal writing to come!

This post originally appeared on teachtrainlove.com and has been republished with permission. 

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Bevin is Nationally Board Certified as an Early Childhood Generalist.  She considers herself a teacher by day, writer by night.  Some of her work has appeared in national publications including Chicken Soup for the Soul; Married Life, Hallmark’s Thank You, Mom book, and Boys’ Quest magazine for kids.

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