The late Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. once famously said, “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.” Though he was speaking about the road to true equality for all people, I have often attributed this quote to the role of education in America, particularly public education for K-12 students. Despite the quickness with which our society has become accustomed to having everything, all at once, educational reform and progression is still a slow-turning gear in the great machine of time. The truth is that the face of K-12 education is in a …
The Slow Gamification of K-12 Classrooms
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 …
Peering Past the ‘Pixie Dust’ of Technology
How schools can ensure that technology is used effectively to transform teaching and learning By Jill Hobson When it comes to technology use in schools, a persisting tendency exists to believe that infusing classrooms with new technology will miraculously change teaching and learning. Unfortunately, education technology isn’t like Tinker Bell’s pixie dust. Sprinkling it in classrooms won’t magically transform instruction. The novelty of new technology simply doesn’t change instruction by itself. Teachers must have guidance and direction, as well as a model for effective edtech use, in order to truly transform teaching and learning. Today, many administrators expect technology to …
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Mainstream Technology Gives Lift to Assistive Learning
The concept of assistive technology to help special education students achieve more in K-12 classrooms is nothing new, but the portability of many of the devices is a relatively new trend that is making a big impact on the ways students with special needs learn. Assistive technology devices used to be big, clunky pieces of equipment that drew attention to learning and physical disabilities. Today, assistive devices are often the save types of technology K-12 students are using in traditional classrooms and there is a “coolness” factor in both instances. The way that assistive technology looks is just one aspect …
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Do Gamified Language Learning Apps Work?
Note: The following guest post comes to us courtesy of Santiago Montero, founder and director of Spanish Tutor DC. Santiago has spent more than fifteen years integrating the fields of education and mass media in Europe and Latin America. Gamified language learning applications are enjoying millions of downloads, and a certain degree of popular prestige, with Duolingo being named Apple’s app of the year for 2013. These apps use points systems, power ups and other game mechanics to make the memorization of foreign vocabulary and grammar rules more engaging and exciting, but are they able to make students proficient in …
10 online tools for better student research
**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.** A guest column by Antonio Tooley The biggest responsibility of any teacher is to equip students with the tools that they can use in everyday life. The content is of course important, but with information so easily accessible, it is more helpful to them in the end if they have critical thinking, analytic ability, and …
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3 Ways Mobile Technology Boosts Instruction
The conversation about the benefits of mobile technology is often centered on students. What do students get out of adopting mobile technology? But shouldn’t there also be a discussion about educator preference? After all, an Education Market Research post shows that educator enjoyment of technology is a major contributing factor to its ever-growing use in the classroom. 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 …
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Moving Beyond the “Cool” Factor in Mobile Learning
Note: The following post comes to us courtesy of Mike Broderick, Co-Founder & CEO, Turning Technologies. According to a Pew Internet survey on mobile device use, 35% of Americans age 16 and up own a tablet. K-12 districts, universities and corporate learning programs are also driving the tablet trend, with some purchasing iPads and other tablets to replace textbooks and expand education capabilities with the hardware students already use to communicate and access entertainment. But the experiment doesn’t always proceed as planned. A plan to distribute iPads to more than 30,000 Los Angeles students hit a speed bump last year …
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Using EdTech to assess small group instruction
A panel discussion with the teachers of Richardson ISD in Richardson, Texas PANELISTS: Caroline Canessa, Merriman Park Elementary, 5th Grade Reading-Language Arts Leah Janoe, Dover Elementary, 5th Grade Math Ashley Scott, White Rock Elementary, 3rd Grade Jennifer Looney, Wallace Elementary, 3rd Grade Alyson Hollon, Dover Elementary, 6th Grade Science For those who may not know, can you elaborate on what your state standards ask teachers to assess in terms of small group discussions? Jennifer Looney: According to our third grade standards, students should be involved in teacher-led and student-led discussions. Leah Janoe: Students should participate in small-group discussions by …
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Seven deadly sins of online course design
**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 Daniel Stanford I took my first online course in 2004 while pursuing my MFA. It seemed like a novel idea at the time, and I had no clue I’d be spending the next ten years up to my eyeballs in online courses. Since then, I’ve helped faculty design dozens of online and hybrid courses, …
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