Jeff Piontek is an author, keynote speaker and teacher (most importantly). He has worked with many at-risk school districts nationally and is a thought leader in on-line and blended learning.
“This infographic was sent from Juliet Rich for Top Colleges Online. To MOOC or Not to MOOC—that is indeed the question. One wonders if online learning could possibly have helped Hamlet or any of Shakespeare’s tragic figures lead less tumultuous lives. We’ll never know, but what we do know is that today MOOCs have their share of supporters and critics alike. Looks like we’ll just have to make up our own minds, and this creative infographic should help a little.”
“The evolution of eLearning, much like the beloved Christmas song goes, doesn’t show signs of stopping. In fact, according to this infographic posted by Christopher Pappas on Open Education Europa, it’s poised to be bigger than ever in 2014. The infographic was created by eLearning Industry. ”
“Gaming is extremely popular. Marketers are wasting no expense in hooking children and parents on the benefits of learning games. However, teachers and schools have not been targeted in these marketing efforts, because it is a waste of time and money. Schools are slow to embrace new edtech trends because of money, and their historically slow adoption process of anything new. Dr. Matthew Lynch explores the potential of incorporating new digital initiatives such as gaming into the classroom and asks readers for strategies to help this process along. ”
Children are becoming acutely acquainted with mobile technology long before their K-12 classroom years. When they arrive at their first organized school experiences, they are often already savvy on basic computers and mobile devices. If their parents used this technology correctly, these kids have had at least some exposure to phonics and math through learning websites, downloads and other applications.
Research suggests that once these young learners enter a classroom, however, learning through tech “games” disappears. Families may still choose to buy the apps and use them at home but schools are slow to bring gamification of education into their classrooms.
A report by the market research group Ambient Insight found that edtech in the forms of learning games is not making its way into classrooms. Instead of educators making learning game purchases, marketers target parents because they are the ones who buy them. The North American edtech market is expected to grow over 15 percent in the next half-decade but company leaders have candidly said that they will focus marketing efforts on parents, not schools. To paraphrase, targeting schools is simply a waste of time.
So why are games developed for young learners having such a difficult time entering classrooms?
The reasons are simple enough. Money is a factor and it impacts more than the purchase of the games or applications themselves. K-12 schools are still in the process of creating mobile technology policies and finding the money in their budgets to fund these initiatives. There are also issues of slow internet speeds and low bandwidths that prevent too many students from flooding the network at once. If teachers do not have the right technology in their classrooms, they cannot purchase the games to enhance lessons.
There seems to be a distrust of games, and in some cases of technology in general, and their place in the classroom setting.
Regulations are another issue when it comes to the quick implementation of learning technology, including games. There seems to be a distrust of games, and in some cases of technology in general, and their place in the classroom setting. By the time teachers can prove the worth of the games they want to use, another game is available with more bells and whistles. For-profit companies that develop these learning games have no hoops to jump through with parents but the same cannot be said of schools.
Does all of this really matter, though? Are kids still learning what they need to know without inundation of education games? While the general consensus seems to be that screen time “rots” the brains of little ones, researchers have actually found benefits for young minds. In her paper “Children’s Motivations for Video Game Play in the Context of Normal Development,” Cheryl Olson found that games, even non-educational ones, improve decision-making and encourage self-expression in children. If there is an educational feature, children absorb the knowledge while finely tuning motor and strategic skills.
It stands to reason then that children with access to gaming technology at home are at an advantage. If there was no educational gaming at home AND no educational gaming at school, it would be a different story. Instead, parents that can afford the vehicles for the technology and the games themselves are able to better prepare children for the classroom and academic success – furthering a socio-economic achievement gap. Through educational technology that is readily available to consumers, the advantaged become more so and the disadvantaged fall farther behind.
For all students to benefit from edtech initiatives, schools need to find the funding for better technology suites and cut through red tape more quickly. Otherwise the educational opportunities presented through gaming will never be fully realized and the students will suffer.
Have you found ways to incorporate edtech, particularly when it comes to gaming, into your classroom?
Dr. Matthew Lynch is the author of the upcoming textbook, The Call to Teach: An Introduction to Teaching.
The Obama administration has issued a clear warning to the first state to drop the Common Core State Standards.
The U. S. Department of Education said in a letter to Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz that the state must prove its own standards are just as challenging, or else risk of losing its waiver from the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law and have its federal funding in jeopardy.
“Because the [Indiana Department of Education] will no longer implement those standards, IDOE must amend its [Elementary and Secondary Education Act] flexibility request and provide evidence that its new standards are certified by a state network of [Institutions of Higher Education] that students who meet the standards will not need remedial coursework at the postsecondary level,” the letter says.
Indiana is the first of the 44 states that adopted Common Core to repeal the controversial K-12 math and English standards.
Ritz said in a statement she is confident in the state’s new standards and said her department would “demonstrate full compliance with the flexibility waiver.”
“To address the issue of college and career-ready assessments, the department has undertaken the most extensive review and overhaul of academic standards in Indiana’s history,” Ritz said. “Moving forward, we will respond to USED within the next two months with amendments that capture steps we have taken to ensure full compliance with our flexibility waiver.”
The letter from the U.S. Education Department demonstrates “just how weak the phrases ‘state-led’ and ‘voluntary’ became when used to describe Common Core,” wrote Brittany Corona, a domestic policy researcher at the Heritage Foundation.
When the Indiana legislature passed the repeal of Common Core, the bill stated new standards would be in place by July 1, in time for the start of the 2014-2015 school year.
“The problem is that the administration does not view its new standards or testing regime as ‘meeting expectations’ – despite the fact Indiana’s pre-Common Core state standards were ranked among the highest in the nation,” Corona added.
Other Indiana education officials are concerned; Indiana State Board of Education member Brad Oliver said losing the waiver could be costly.
“Based on what I know right now, I am very concerned that our waiver could be in jeopardy,” he said. “The repercussions of losing our waiver are more than just financial. It would immediately have an impact on local districts.”
25 Trends Disrupting Education Right Nowby Terry HeickDisruption doesn’t sound like a pretty word, but in the long run, it can be a beautiful thing.
Disruption is about shifting power.
Eroding patterns.
Breaking the system.
In education, this can come from the most unlikely of sources. While brilliant folks struggle to their marrow every day to conjure ideas that will transform education, in other cases, it just seems to happen out of nowhere.
In these cases, small moves via modest platforms create large ripples.
It isn’t always from the most powerful technology, the most noble intents, or even the best ideas that disrupt. In fact, it is impossible to predict what will allow something to “catch”–there are simply so many moving parts.
So we’ve created a scale. This scale visually demonstrates the inherent disruptive potential of recent and current education initiatives or technological advancements.
It is not meant to be exhaustive, and it’s absolutely subjective, but maybe we’ll be lucky enough that it might spark a conversation.
And it is through informed conversation that more disruption can grow.
Note that this is not intended to be an evaluation of the quality of each of these initiatives. In that way, it’s not suggesting that “smartphone integration” has more educational value than MITx. Rather, it is strictly a look at the potential of that initiative to disrupt existing systems.
Re-balance power.
And catalyze new learning forms.
More Disruption
The Internet
New Learning Models
Informal & Self-Directed Learning Platforms
BYOD/Smartphone Integration
MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses)
Service-Based Learning/Place-Based Education
Growth of “Homeschooling”
Flipped Classroom
Project-Based Learning
iTunesU
Learni.st/MentorMob
TED-Ed
1:1 iPads
MITx/EdX and OCW
Social Media Integration
1:1 Laptop programs
MIT OpenCourseWare
Non 1:1 laptop-iPad programs
Apple Textbook Initiative
Professional Learning Communities
Teach for America
Charter Schools
Gender-Specific Classes
Race to the Top
Common Core Adoption (i.e., one set of national standards)
15 Internet Trends That Are Changing How We Connect by Tom Vander Ark first appeared on gettingsmart.com Mary Meeker from leading venture capital investors Kleiner Perkins presented on internet trends at Stanford last week. It’s worth reviewing.The money quote: “The magnitude of upcoming change will be stunning—we are still in spring training.”Meeker lists 15 trends in support of this claim:
Nearly ubiquitous high-speed wireless access in developed countries
Unprecedented global technology innovation
Ultra competitive markets for mobile operating systems + devices
Broadly accepted social +interest graphs/information transparency
Fearless (& connected) entrepreneurs
Difficult ‘what do I have to lose’ economic environment for many
Available (& experienced capital
Fearless (& connected) consumers
Inexpensive devices/access/services (apps)
Ability to reach millions of new users in record (& accelerating) time
Social emerging as starting distribution point for content
Aggressive (& informed) ‘on my watch’ executives at ‘traditional companies’
Unprecedented combo of focus on technology and design
Although Facebook may be losing steam with teenagers, as recent studies have claimed, young adults are still as active as ever on the social media site.
Harvard’s Institute of Politics polled over 3,000 18 to 29-year-olds, covering a wide range of topics from political affiliation to social media use. During the poll, participants were asked which social media platforms they currently had accounts for.
Surprisingly, the poll revealed that a stark majority of the participants were members of Facebook, but less than half of had accounts with other social media sites such as Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram.
The following chart, created by online statistic portal Statista, illustrates the percentage of reach for each social media site among young adults, as conducted in the poll.
Time will tell whether the stats will hold as today’s teenagers – many of whom eschew Facebook — grow up.
Originally posted on http://www.edutopia.org/blog/homework-sleep-and-student-brain-glenn-whitman
At some point, every parent wishes their high school aged student would go to bed earlier as well as find time to pursue their own passions — or maybe even choose to relax. This thought reemerged as I reread Anna Quindlen’s commencement speech, A Short Guide to a Happy Life. The central message of this address, never actually stated, was: “Get a life.”
But what prevents students from “getting a life,” especially between September and June? One answer is homework.
Favorable Working Conditions
As a history teacher at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School and director of the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, I want to be clear that I both give and support the idea of homework. But homework, whether good or bad, takes time and often cuts into each student’s sleep, family dinner, or freedom to follow passions outside of school. For too many students, homework is too often about compliance and “not losing points” rather than about learning.
Most schools have a philosophy about homework that is challenged by each parent’s experience doing homework “back in the day.” Parents’ common misconception is that the teachers and schools giving more homework are more challenging and therefore better teachers and schools. This is a false assumption. The amount of homework your son or daughter does each night should not be a source of pride for the quality of a school. In fact, I would suggest a different metric when evaluating your child’s homework. Are you able to stay up with your son or daughter until he or she finishes those assignments? If the answer is no, then too much homework is being assigned, and you both need more of the sleep that, according to Daniel T. Willingham, is crucial to memory consolidation.
I have often joked with my students, while teaching the Progressive Movement and rise of unions between the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, that they should consider striking because of how schools violate child labor laws. If school is each student’s “job,” then students are working hours usually assigned to Washington, DC lawyers (combing the hours of the school day, school-sponsored activities, and homework). This would certainly be a risky strategy for changing how schools and teachers think about homework, but it certainly would gain attention. (If any of my students are reading this, don’t try it!)
So how can we change things?
The Scientific Approach
In the study “What Great Homework Looks Like” from the journal Think Differently and Deeply, which connects research in how the brain learns to the instructional practice of teachers, we see moderate advantages of no more than two hours of homework for high school students. For younger students, the correlation is even smaller. Homework does teach other important, non-cognitive skills such as time management, sustained attention, and rule following, but let us not mask that as learning the content and skills that most assignments are supposed to teach.
Homework can be a powerful learning tool — if designed and assigned correctly. I say “learning,” because good homework should be an independent moment for each student or groups of students through virtual collaboration. It should be challenging and engaging enough to allow for deliberate practice of essential content and skills, but not so hard that parents are asked to recall what they learned in high school. All that usually leads to is family stress.
But even when good homework is assigned, it is the student’s approach that is critical. A scientific approach to tackling their homework can actually lead to deepened learning in less time. The biggest contributor to the length of a student’s homework is task switching. Too often, students jump between their work on an assignment and the lure of social media. But I have found it hard to convince students of the cost associated with such task switching. Imagine a student writing an essay for AP English class or completing math proofs for their honors geometry class. In the middle of the work, their phone announces a new text message. This is a moment of truth for the student. Should they address that text before or after they finish their assignment?
Delayed Gratification
When a student chooses to check their text, respond and then possibly take an extended dive into social media, they lose a percentage of the learning that has already happened. As a result, when they return to the AP essay or honors geometry proof, they need to retrace their learning in order to catch up to where they were. This jump, between homework and social media, is actually extending the time a student spends on an assignment. My colleagues and I coach our students to see social media as a reward for finishing an assignment. Delaying gratification is an important non-cognitive skill and one that research has shown enhances life outcomes (see the Stanford Marshmallow Test).
At my school, the goal is to reduce the barriers for each student to meet his or her peak potential without lowering the bar. Good, purposeful homework should be part of any student’s learning journey. But it takes teachers to design better homework (which can include no homework at all on some nights), parents to not see hours of homework as a measure of school quality, and students to reflect on their current homework strategies while applying new, research-backed ones. Together, we can all get more sleep — and that, research shows, is very good for all of our brains and for each student’s learning.
Since the launch of the iPad in 2010, we have seen a revolutionary transformation in how we create, consume, and communicate. Whether the iPad is an authentic educational tool is not relevant, because it’s not about the iPad.
Is the automobile an authentic education tool? What about the refrigerator? Revolutionary inventions are not about the invention itself, but what the invention gives use the ability to do. A truly revolutionary invention should, in time, become invisible. No longer is it viewed as something special, yet its effects are far reaching. The lightbulb changed the way the world functioned. The world was no longer bound to productivity during daylight, or the length of time it takes your oil lamp to burn up. It was about what you would be able to do because now there was a constant and stable source of light.
While the iPad does a little more than a lightbulb, its success in eduction is based on the principle that the iPad does the same for learners as the lightbulb: It liberates us from the limitations of creative tools, the challenges of access to quality content, as well as our source of inspiration, and innovation being based on geographic location.
But in conversations around learning, the iPad needs to be invisible because we’re searching for something deeper than a manipulative touch screen device. We are looking to start a conversation, create a personal expression, and to fashion a brick in a collaborative digital structure.
The iPad isn’t a great way to take a test, or read a book, or even create a movie. For progressive educators, it isn’t enough to change how we use the iPad, but why we use the iPad — or any other device for that matter.
We use technology to liberate ourselves from mundane robotic tasks that lack any sort of creative drive or purpose. A robot can memorize 100 vocabulary words. The question is now, what do we do with those words? Do we use them for creative expression, or do we let them collect dust in the deep recesses of our brain? Technology is not here to make us lazy, or to avoid basic communication skills, but it is here to make us think critically, solve problems, collaborate, communicate, create, and ideate. Unfortunately, these words have far surpassed cliché status in education, as if they are the key to tagging successful learning outcomes, but the truth is that when the iPad is invisible, you really get to see those words in action. As long as our focus is on learning outcomes and the experience it brings.
INVISIBLE TECHNOLOGY
The idea of invisible technology is powerful. Its practical application for educators can be challenging, frustrating, and fill even the most confident learning facilitator with doubt. Invisible technology empowers its user to be independent, collaborative, and truly upend learning. How do we measure its success? Is there a definitive technology yardstick to build confidence not only in the student, but in the teacher as well? What are our goals and skills we wish our students to acquire, develop, and reflect upon? If our goal is to create an army of app-savvy iPad aficionados then we have utterly failed.
We are not trying to create students that successfully use technology, because they don’t actually need us for that. We have seen the viral videos of toddlers successfully executing in-app purchases on their favorite game, and their digital literacy skills will only increase with their exposure to new technologies.
Yossie Frankel stated it simply: We cannot confuse digital literacy with 21st century competencies. If we do, we rob our students of what we really can offer them, which is the ability to communicate, think critically, collaborate, solve problems, and create dynamic ways of internalizing information and sharing it with others. This is what our place is in learning. Yes, we will need to support them with certain technology skill-building, such as keyboarding skills, app fluency, best practices of sharing and storing, and the certain nuances of utilizing technology tools, but this isn’t a class or a workshop. Students don’t need theoretical workshops, they want hands-on action with a purpose.
When we teach learners to effectively and properly use traditional tools, our reason is not for the tool itself but for what we are able to achieve. No one gets excited over using a welder, but its ability to connect difference pieces together to create something unique and useful from raw material is where its value as a tool really shines. Our challenge with technology like the iPad is that it has so many different abilities, that the user is faced with a real dilemma of losing sight of what the tool accomplishes, for the experience of using the tool.
Before we even begin to think about how and where we place the iPad in our learning process, we have to nail down our goals, possible challenges, and the planned path of process. If we reach a point during the project and hit a road block, we can become flustered if we do not have even a rough outline to backtrack to a clear point of success. This all starts with identifying which skills we will need to use. In elementary and middle school, these skills need to be clear and simple so students know that right now they are “collaborating” or “problem solving.” We can expect these skills to be subconscious as adults, but this is not realistic for most students below or even at high school level.
The challenge for educators, especially directors of educational technology, is not to limit how our teachers teach, but to focus on the foundational skills and provide a clear and concrete formula for how different technological devices and applications will enhance these skills in order to give a learner the ability to create a product that will change the world.
America is a country that has flourished based on innovation. The worlds of medicine, private industry, and nonprofits are now embracing innovation as a key to solving age old problems. Unfortunately, the policy makers in education are creating an environment where leaders in the areas of greatest need, our cities, are being left behind.
Can a leader in education be innovative, get results and stay alive in their job in today’s public education world of compliance and accountability? Yes, but it takes courage, commitment and focus! Our attention nationally has shifted to hiring and developing instructional leaders in order to ensure that the focus is clear on improving student achievement. The premise is that if all our leaders in education concentrate on the classroom we will finally straighten out the educational problems that have existed for many years.
We have once again focused too narrowly on symptomatic solutions. Yes, instruction is key to improving student achievement. However, our educational leaders need to broaden, not narrow, their leadership competencies to be successful in today’s world. Other sectors are emphasizing innovation, external partnerships and customer service. Is education that different that the focus needs to be so internal? I propose that we realize that the true instructional leaders are our teachers and we broaden the concept of leadership to improve our school districts and schools. Innovation and leadership have been separate terms for years as were instruction and leadership. If we broadened our viewpoint and begin hiring innovative leaders that are focused on sustainable results for customers (students), we would transform our educational system.
I have found in my research of 1000 leaders in education nationally that we have already begun to transform our cultures slowly. In fact, our most successful leaders have a broad base of skills and competencies. Yes, they realize the importance of instruction and are skilled at developing teacher leaders who inform decision making and create innovative opportunities for students. These high performing leaders embrace innovation and have the curiosity to learn from their teachers, colleagues, leaders in education and even other sectors about building truly creative learning environments for staff and students.
Unfortunately, too many of these high performing leaders are in our suburban districts. While there is great potential for innovative leaders to emerge in rural and urban districts they are often discouraged by the national obsession for accountability and compliance as the key to improving student achievement. They feel they can’t be innovative because their schools and districts are being declared under-performing and must focus on meeting state and federal requirements to survive, leaving no room or time to transform their cultures into exciting and innovative places for true sustainable learning.
The policy makers seem to think that leaders in urban districts can’t be trusted to find new ways to improve student achievement. They are wrong! The best leaders are the ones who are not afraid to try new ways to get results. In fact, these great leaders even reach out to both public and private sector partners to increase their bandwidth to include new opportunities for the students in their districts.
The following are 7 Competencies that will help produce innovative leaders that build creative, sustainable learning environments with high expectations and great results for students.
Seven Competencies for High Performing Leaders in Education:
Challenges the Status Quo
Builds Trust through Clear Communication and Expectations
Creates a Commonly Owned Plan for Success
Focuses on Team over Self
Has a High Sense of Urgency for Change and Sustainable Results in Improving Achievement
Commitment to Continuous Improvement for Self and Organization
Builds External Networks and Partnerships
Let’s change our focus now before it is too late and hire and develop leaders who can motivate our students and staff to achieving great results!
