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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 …

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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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3 Critical Questions We Must Ask about the K-12 Online Learning Trend

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. But is this trend, quickly becoming a permanent feature of our education, a positive one? Here are three questions to ask to determine whether online learning is changing the quality of education for the better or …

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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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Fostering Global Citizenship through Skype

Guest post by Sarah Byrne CHAT to the Future is a growing registered charity based in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada committed to education, global citizenship, and ending the cycle of extreme poverty. They unify these three concepts through the integration of technology into the lives of North American students. CHAT itself stands for Care and Hope through the Adoption of Technology. CHAT runs a small orphans’ home in Kasangati, Uganda and uses the power of North American schools to fully fund everything from rent to education.   The real power in what CHAT does comes from Skype and their …

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Why "anti-tech" teachers irk me

**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 Lisa Mims The conversation went something like this: Teacher: Do you know he suggested using Tagxedo at Reading Night? Me: What a wonderful idea! Teacher: I don’t see why they want to use technology. (said with disdain) Me: Why not? The kids and parents would have a good time. Teacher: What if it doesn’t work? What …

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Educational Technologies and Concepts that Every Teacher Should Know: Part IV

Click here to read all the pieces in this series.  By Matthew Lynch In the first three parts of my five-part series, I discussed educational technologies and concepts that every teacher should know about. Today I want to continue that conversation today and look at several more technology features.. Screen readers. This technology is slightly different from text-to-speech. It simply informs students of what is on a screen. A student who is blind or visually impaired can benefit from the audio interface screen readers provide. Students who otherwise struggle to glean information from a computer screen can learn more easily …

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