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3 Initiatives Designed to Help Minorities Succeed in College

It seems that graduating from high school is no longer the end goal of P-12 learning – earning a college degree has replaced it. By 2018, 60 percent of jobs will require a college degree. On Monday, I wrote about the nationwide average high school graduation rate being 80 percent – which is admirable but also means that at least 1 in 5 kids won’t make it to college classes. When you factor in the high school graduates that bypass college completely, it seems that at some point America’s workforce will simply not be able to meet the demands of …

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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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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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