10 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Trying New Technology

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

The drivers of blended learning was sort of buried towards the bottom of the infographic, and we thought it could use a little spotlight of its own, so we’ve taken that part of the original infographic and are showcasing it on its own below. Why? Because there are really good reasons to give it a shot. If you look at the ten reasons listed below, we’re pretty sure you’ll find at least a couple that you’ll benefit from, or are already trying to do in another way. If you read each item as a sort of question to yourself, they can also serve as a handy little go-to list that you should be asking when you’re implementing anything new in your classroom.

http://www.edudemic.com/new-technology-questions/

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How To Use ‘App Smashing’ In Education

By Nikolaos Chatzopoulos, Edudemic

The basic premise behind app smashing, sometimes referred to as “app synergy”, is to find a number of key apps that “play well” with other apps and can communicate information across platforms. Some of the native iPad apps have this capacity. Also, Explain Everything, arguably one the most comprehensive, Swiss-Army type apps ever created, is ideal for such tasks. However, the app that is the most powerful and is used in almost every app smashing activity is Apple’s Camera App. It allows the user to store pictures, video, and sound files, which can be accessed later by other apps, which is what makes app smashing possible.

http://www.edudemic.com/app-smashing-education/

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What Makes a Change Agent?

By shanehaggerty, Edudemic

There are some educators out there that make classroom technology integration look easy. For most of us, it’s a daunting task: converting your paper-and-folder, marker-and-poster classroom systems to mobile devices and the cloud. And the ones who dig right in, despite their reservations, to equip their students with the educational technology experiences they need for a 21st century education seem to have an invincible air about them. So what’s different about these teachers? What key traits do they have in common that make them stand out as leaders and technology whizzes in their communities?

http://www.edudemic.com/makes-change-agent/

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‘MOOCs have burst out of higher education into vocational learning. VOOCs have arrived.’

by Donald Clark, TES Connect

At the EMOOC (European MOOC) conference in Lausanne last week, the real buzz was about the way MOOCs have burst out of higher education into vocational learning. VOOCs (Vocational Open Online Courses) have arrived. The data shows that the vast majority of the millions of MOOCers are not undergraduate-age students, but older, life-long learners; people who work in corporates, government and other sectors. They are largely professionals who are learning for the sake of learning or up-skilling. Udacity has moved wholly into this market and Coursera and EdX are following suit. This is NOT about 18-year-old undergraduates, it is about almost everyone else.

http://news.tes.co.uk/further-education/b/opinion/2014/02/21/39-moocs-have-burst-out-of-higher-education-into-vocational-learning-voocs-have-arrived-39.aspx

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Canadian Sixth Annual State of the Nation: K-12 Online Learning Reports Continued Expansion

by Marketwired

The recently released sixth annual State of the Nation: K-12 Online Learning in Canada report finds the total number and proportion of K-12 students enrolled in blended and online learning courses and programs continues to increase from year to year, with British Columbia, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba leading the way. The annual report provides a unique and valuable insight into what is happening across Canada in each jurisdiction. In addition to provincial and territorial profiles, this year’s report provides several brief issue papers that shed light on some of the successes and challenges facing educators and government leaders as they continue to embrace technology-supported education.

http://www.itbusinessnet.com/article/Sixth-Annual-State-of-the-Nation:-K-12-Online-Learning-Reports-Continued-Expansion-of-Online-and-Blended-Learning-in-Many-Provinces-and-in-First-Nations-Metis-and-Inuit-(FNMI)-Programs–3073620

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E-learning should replace snow days, expert says

by CBC News

School snow days should be turned into e-learning days with students attending class online, a Halifax education expert says. Paul Bennett, director of Schoolhouse Consulting and adjunct professor of education at Saint Mary’s University, said the “throw away” days hurt students’ education. He said in 2008/09, Nova Scotia had a record high number of snow days — and test results fell in every board. Bennett said the lack of make-up days means students miss about two weeks of learning each year. In the U.S., some districts have introduced e-lesson days when snow days pile up. In Ohio, it kicks in after five snow days in one year.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/e-learning-should-replace-snow-days-expert-says-1.2544975

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Android Smart Phones To Approach 1 Billion in 2014

By David Nagel, Campus Technology

Smart phones running on Google’s Android OS will approach 1 billion units by the end of this year, according to a new forecast from market research firm Gartner. In 2013, Android phones accounted for 78.4 percent of all smart phone sales to end users worldwide, or 758.7 million units. In 2013, total worldwide smart phone sales were 967.8 million, by Gartner’s reckoning. (Note that we have reported different smart phone statistics in the last couple weeks. Gartner and International Data Corp. both provide worldwide statistics on technology shipments and sales, but the two often differ on their final numbers. IDC had total 2013 shipments at slightly more than 1 billion, with Android phones accounting for 793.6 million units. IDC reported “unit shipments,” while Gartner reported “sales to end users.” Not all devices that are shipped by manufacturers wind up being sold to end users, which may account for some of the variance in the figures reported by the two firms.)

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/02/14/android-smart-phones-to-approach-1-billion-in-2014.aspx?=CTMOB

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From Distraction to Learning Tool: Mobile Devices in the Classroom

By Toni Fuhrman, Campus Technology

Once banned in the classroom, mobile devices are becoming more accepted as a teaching and learning tool. Yet teaching methods have not caught up with mobile’s potential, according to Ron Yaros, assistant professor of new media and mobile journalism at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. “Under the current methods of teaching in higher education, a mobile device can be a distraction rather than a helpful tool,” said Yaros. “Nobody seems to be looking at how to teach with smart devices, while keeping students engaged.” His assertion is backed up by a recent University of Central Florida survey on mobile learning practices in higher education: Among students who owned a tablet, 82 percent said they used the device for academic purposes. But to improve mobile learning effectiveness, the study advised, “students and instructors need help adopting more effective learning and teaching practices across content areas.”

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/02/20/from-distraction-to-learning-tool-mobile-devices-in-the-classroom.aspx?=CTMOB

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A Tablet App from Invention Labs Helps Kids with Speech Disabilities

by Sramana Mitra, Huffington Post

Working with a team of 25 speech therapists and nearly 300 children, the Invention Labs team initially developed a tablet and then an application called Avaz that helped children with autism communicate by replacing words with pictures. FreeSpeech, on the other hand, represents information in a pictorial ‘map’ that captures meaning in a language-independent structure. A FreeSpeech sentence can be fed into a software algorithm called the “FreeSpeech Engine” to convert it into grammatical, well-formed, and meaningful English sentences. It could well revolutionize how language is taught to children with special needs. When Avaz is integrated with FreeSpeech, it addresses the problems not just of children with autism but also those with dyslexia or even aphasia.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sramana-mitra/a-tablet-app-from-inventi_b_4816237.html

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Learning by Extension

by Jonathan Harper, Language Magazine

The tools for language training are changing. Electronic media, such as online translators and individualized learning programs, are reshaping the learning environment. But for the global industry of language instruction, the nuances of language and culture often require more human interaction and mentorship to be successful. Not only are the tools for teaching language modernizing, the methods through which we train our future instructors are also evolving. One degree program that has stepped up to the demands of an increasingly digital educational landscape is American University’s TESOL Program. In response to the growing needs of an international student body, it has recently launched an online TEFL master’s degree.

http://languagemagazine.com/?page_id=32012

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Technology classes help girls build online skills

BY MEGAN ERBACHER, Evansville Courier & Press

A digital tattoo, just like a real tattoo, lasts forever and never goes away, even after pressing the delete button. That was a reminder DeLyn Beard delivered during a recent meeting of the Digital Divas, a girls only eLeader Academy club centered on young girls’ needs and interests. Beard, eLeader founder, coach and fourth-grade teacher at Oak Hill, told the girls ages 9 to 11 that the digital footprint is permanent and never leaves, so be aware of what you’re doing online. Throughout the course, Digital Divas will be encouraged to explore computer science-related careers and hobbies, including new techie tools, Internet safety, cyber bullying, Internet literacy and computer programming.

http://www.kansascity.com/2014/02/18/4831598/technology-classes-help-girls.html

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How to Jump Start a Flagging Discussion Class

by Natalie Houston, Chronicle of Higher Ed

If you teach a discussion-based course, you know that sooner or later, there comes a day when you notice that your students’ once-enthusiastic participation seems to have vanished. You can’t know exactly when that day might happen (though flu season and midterms both can be influential factors) so you will have prepared your course material and in-class activities as you always do. And nothing you try to do seems to be working. So what do you do next? Here are a few strategies I think of as akin to the jumper cables in the trunk of my car.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/how-to-jump-start-a-flagging-discussion-class/55653

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3 things to include in your digital learning strategic plan

by Nicole Krueger, ISTE Connects Blog

A school- or district-wide digital learning strategy provides a paddle to help steer your organization toward its learning and teaching goals. It’s the shared vision educators rally around to guide effective technology implementation. In Wisconsin, award-winning ed tech advocate Kurt Kiefer helped develop a statewide digital learning strategic plan that serves as a blueprint for schools as they transition toward digital age instructional models. He recommends addressing the following areas in your digital learning strategy:

http://blog.iste.org/3-include-digital-learning-strategic-plan/

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5 Top Tech Tools (And How To Use Them In Education)

By Jeff Dunn, Edudemic

What good is a nifty new device if you don’t know how to use it? What’s the purpose of loading up your new iPad Air with a gazillion apps if you never figure out how to properly use them in the classroom? What if there was a simpler way to figure out how to use the most popular tech tools in education? That’s the idea behind the new Global Education Database (GEDB) – it’s still in the very early stages but has an aim to be something akin to the ‘Yelp for Education’ thanks to the robust and brilliant education crowd around the globe. Each listing in the GEDB features expert reviews, pros, cons, tips on using each product in the classroom, what the product is good for (flipped classrooms, Common Core, etc.), and more. I’m proud to be one of the folks helping make the ‘Yelp for Education’ dream a reality as it’s something sorely needed in education.

http://www.edudemic.com/top-tech-tools-gedb/

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Blended learning Quality: Dimensions, Criteria and Pedagogical Approach

by L. Lima and V. Lima, EURODL

Measuring the quality of a b-learning environment is critical to determine the success of a b-learning course. Several initiatives have been recently conducted on benchmarking and quality in e-learning. Despite these efforts in defining and examining quality issues concerning online courses, a defining instrument to evaluate quality is one of the key challenges for blended learning, since it incorporates both traditional and online instruction methods. For this paper, six frameworks for quality assessment of technological enhanced learning were examined and compared regarding similarities and differences. These frameworks aim at the same global objective: the quality of e-learning environment/products. As a result we have create a new quality reference with a set of dimensions and criteria that should be taken into account when you are analyzing, designing, developing, implementing and evaluating a b-learning environment. Besides these perspectives on what to do when you are developing a b-learning environment we have also included pedagogical issues in order to give directions on how to do it to reach the success of the learning. The information, concepts and procedures here presented give support to teachers and instructors, which intend to validate the quality of their blended learning courses.

http://www.eurodl.org/?p=current&sp=brief&article=609

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4 Ways Digital Technology has Changed K-12 Learning

by Matthew Lynch, Huffington Post

Digital technology has taken the world by storm – particularly in the past decade. It makes sense that this trend would have an impact on K-12 learning because there is nothing in modern American society that digital technology has not touched. While the names of the mobile applications and computer programs may change, there are some foundational ways that technology has already changed the face of education forever.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-lynch-edd/4-ways-digital-technology_b_4802846.html

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Northampton Community College pilots high-tech classroom

by Sara K. Satullo, The Express-Times

A new classroom on Northampton Community College’s main campus may offer a glimpse into the classroom of the future. The college’s Innovation Lab in the College Center re-imagines the traditional college computer lab with touchscreen laptops for all students and four walls doubling as projection screens and blackboards. Students sit in pods to encourage collaboration and so professors can make sure students are on task. Professors teach from a high-tech pod that, with a swipe on an iPad, allows them to bring what is on their screen onto students’ screens.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2014/02/northampton_community_college_60.html

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West Virginia Falling Behind in Advanced Placement Classes

by WTRF

A study shows West Virginia is behind when it comes to making sure low-income students have access to advanced placement classes. The number of low-income students taking Advanced Placement courses around the nation has more than quadrupled in the last decade, according to the College Board. In West Virginia, nearly 52 percent of students receive free or reduced lunches – an indication of poverty – but such students make up only 16 percent of exam-takers. Students can take AP courses online in West Virginia, but being self-paced is often more difficult than a traditional classroom setting.

http://www.wtrf.com/story/24737728/west-virginia

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New England slow to adopt virtual schools

By PAIGE SUTHERLAND, Associated Press

While hundreds of thousands of students across the country attend virtual public schools, New England has been slow to adopt the high-tech education model as states weigh how to manage the schools and judge their performance. There are 310,000 students in full-time public K-12 cyber schools in 29 states across the country, but less than 800 of them are enrolled in two schools in New England. Ohio itself has more than 35,000 students in cyber schools, according to October 2013 statistics from Keeping Pace, a nonprofit focused on online learning.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/02/16/new-england-slow-adopt-virtual-schools/RUIpeBIdF9chS5HVBTMCRJ/story.html

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Olympic hopefuls go for gold with virtual school

by NW Tennessee Today

By 2019, 50 percent of all high school courses will be delivered online, according to Disrupting Class authors Clayton M. Christensen and Michael B. Horn. Online learning is very popular in the world of elite amateur athletics, where young competitors have to practice for multiple hours every day and travel around the world for competitions – while still doing their ABCs. “Virtual school is especially well suited to student athletes who desire to compete at the highest level in their sport, yet do not want to compromise on their academics,” observes Dr. Patricia Hoge, executive vice president of curriculum and instruction for Connections Academy. “In the short term, virtual schools offer the flexibility athletes and their families need. But even more important, in the longer term, quality virtual public schools deliver a world-class education that will serve the athletes beyond their athletic careers.”

http://www.nwtntoday.com/47813/2220/onlinefeature/217807/olympic-hopefuls-go-for-gold-with-virtual-school

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iPad users may get MS Office in 1st half of 2014

by GMA Network

Users of Apple’s iPad tablet can expect to get much more productive as Microsoft continues work on a version of its Office productivity suite for it. The Microsoft Office for iPad suite, presently codenamed Miramar, may even come ahead of Microsoft’s touch-first Office version for Windows, ZDNet reported. “Microsoft officials have acknowledged, in a somewhat roundabout way, that it exists and is coming. Last we heard, it sounded from the words of ex-CEO Steve Ballmer that it was going to arrive some time after Microsoft’s own touch-first, ‘Gemini’ implementation of Office. Gemini is Microsoft’s Metro-Style/Windows Store versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote,” ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley reported.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/348712/scitech/technology/ipad-users-may-get-ms-office-in-1st-half-of-2014

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Smartphone “Kill Switch” Proposed By New Federal Law

by Chad Buenaflor, the Droid Guy

The rise in the number of mobile device theft all across the United States has prompted several Senators to introduce a smartphone kill switch on the federal level. This past Thursday, a proposed law called the Smartphone Theft Prevention Act was introduced by Democratic Senators Barbara Mikulski (MD), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Richard Blumenthal (CT), and Mazie Hirono (HI). According to Sen. Amy Klobuchar who is the founder of the bill , “Cell phone theft has become a big business for thieves looking to cash in on these devices and any valuable information they contain, costing consumers more than $30 billion every year and endangering countless theft victims. This legislation will help eliminate the incentives for criminals to target smartphones by empowering victims to take steps to keep their information private; protect their identity and finances; and render the phone inoperable to the thieves.”

http://thedroidguy.com/2014/02/smartphone-kill-switch-proposed-new-federal-law/

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How To Use Smartphones For Language Learning

By Colleen Lee, Edudemic

I am working on trying to balance the need to know that my students ‘have it’ with the practical realities of a modern language class. For that reason I have been looking at more and more choice in not only what language students use to demonstrate learning but also in how they do it. This year I have been making more use of the ‘quick conversation’ as a means of measuring learning. So an interaction, recorded on the phone, and then forwarded to me is a new way to offer some formative assessment.

http://www.edudemic.com/phones-language-learning/

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Heavy snow can’t slow ‘virtual class’

by the Herald News

Heavy snow fell throughout the area Thursday prompting many schools to close. Like their peers throughout northern New Jersey, students in the Pascack Valley Regional High School District were likely home as well, but thanks to an innovative program they were not missing school. In fact, some students were working on a physics problem; others were completing a variety of other assignments — all from their district-provided laptops. Students were expected to “show up” or rather log in at the usual time, around 8 a.m., to get their assignments for the day. They had the whole school day to complete them and teachers were available online to offer assistance. Teachers also were able to detect whether students were really online.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/245652011_Herald_News__Heavy_snow_can_t_slow__virtual_class_.html

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9 Tips for Creating a Sense of Community for Distance Learners

By Chris Riedel, THE Journal

With ever-increasing opportunities for online learning, educators must find new ways to engage their students and create a sense of community in a virtual world. But just how do you, as an educator, do that? “Whether it’s in the classroom or in the virtual space,” said Dean Shareski, community manager for Discovery Education Canada, “educators need to actively engage the question ‘how do we really create this notion of community?’… How do we engage our students [and inspire them to engage one another]?”

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/02/12/9-tips-for-creating-a-sense-of-community-for-distance-learners.aspx

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IT Directions: ‘Change is the Only Thing We Can Count On’

By Bridget McCrea, THE Journal

Working with limited budgets and a seemingly endless pipeline of new technology tools, applications and equipment to test out and possibly implement, today’s K-12 IT directors have a lot on their plates right now. Add Common Core State Standards and growth of mobile devices on campus to the equation and the task of balancing student and teacher needs with available resources becomes that much more daunting. “Nothing is static around here when it comes to IT; everything is changing all the time,” said Steve Young, CTO at the Judson Independent School District in San Antonio, TX. “Half of the tools and applications we’re talking about today didn’t even exist a few years ago. At this point, change is the only thing we can count on.”

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/02/13/it-directions-change-is-the-only-thing-we-can-count-on.aspx

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Using Mobile Games in the Classroom and Living Room

by Angie Cullin, THE Journal

Teaching methods today are not the same as they were even just a few years ago. Technology as a teaching tool has come a long way. While overhead projectors and bulky desktop computers used to complement classroom instruction, iPads and mobile games are now being used to deliver teaching material in a way that was never before possible. Both students and teachers benefit from using technology in the classroom. From the captivating curriculum on mobile devices that keeps kids engaged to the immediate feedback about their performance, educational games help students better prepare for the always-evolving virtual world they live in. Instead of being intimidated by today’s technology tools, some teachers are embracing these resources to enhance teaching and learning.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/01/16/using-mobile-games-in-the-classroom-and-living-room.aspx

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Online courses trim billions in personnel training

By: Ellen Lee, CNBC.com

Massive online open courses (MOOCs) are supposed to change the face of higher education. Early success, though, has been easier to find among corporations.Yahoo! employees can take any classes from Coursera’s “Signature Track”—not even limited only to specific job function edification—from macroeconomic principles to genetics and evolution. Yahoo! employees can be reimbursed for the cost, around $30 to $100 per course. Udacity launched its “Open Education Alliance” last fall, partnering with businesses such as Google and AT&T to develop skills-based classes.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101415252

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OSU open textbook initiative aims to reduce student costs, enhance learning

by Oregon State University

Oregon State University is helping its faculty members develop textbooks in their fields that will be freely accessible online to any student in the world. The open textbook initiative is a collaboration between OSU Libraries, OSU Press and OSU Extended Campus that provides financial, technical and editorial support for faculty members to create “open” texts that aim to reduce costs for students and further position Oregon State as a leader in research and teaching. “I can’t remember a single year where I haven’t had a student advocacy group come to me and say we need to do something about the cost of textbooks,” said Faye Chadwell, the director of OSU Press and the Donald and Delpha Campbell University Librarian. “That’s really the driving factor here.”

http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2014/feb/osu-open-textbook-initiative-aims-reduce-student-costs-enhance-learning

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6 Ways To Tell If You’re Addicted To #EdTech

By Dawn Casey-Rowe, Edudemic

It’s been less than two years since I started my edtech journey. Before that, I was just a teacher looking for ways to give my students the technology they demanded without having a tech budget. Today, I’m in love with edtech. I’ve crossed the line. I’m one of them now. In my pre-tech mind, students using smartphones to take pictures of assignments on the board, or kids setting alarms for projects would have been a tech revolution. I had no idea what lie ahead. I didn’t even have a vocabulary to express what I wanted. I’d never heard the word “edtech,” and I had to look up what a “start up guy” was. I was totally green. A friend introduced me to Learnist after I began searching for “teachers who used computers but didn’t have any in the classroom.” It was all my techless vocabulary could handle.

http://www.edudemic.com/edtech-addiction/

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Microsoft suits up for the Internet of things

by Barry Levine, Venture Beat

What does Microsoft have in mind for the Internet of things? That question pops to mind following news that the tech giant is beefing up its Internet of things team. A report from ZDNet on Tuesday said that the team, formerly known as Microsoft Embedded, appears to be broadening its focus beyond it previous scope of enterprise/industrial customers to now include consumers — a sector research firm IDC predicts will reach $8.9 trillion by 2020. The evidence includes movement of the former Embedded team from the Windows Server group to the operating system division. Hints also come from the LinkedIn profiles of several new team members, including the Internet of thing team’s director of program management (as of December), Steve Teixeira who noted in his updated profile that the team’s role is to develop Internet of things software for “industry devices, wearables, automobiles, consumer electronics, etc.”

http://venturebeat.com/2014/02/11/microsoft-suits-up-for-the-internet-of-things/

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Is Flipped Education Worth Flipping For?

By Nancy Caramanico, School CIO

What is the early research telling us about the benefits or drawbacks of the Flipped Classroom? Flipped Learning is a popular trend discussed in many classrooms and faculty rooms today. With access to technology expanding daily, it is easy to understand the appeal of having students learn independently outside of class, with help from video-based lessons, and then collaborate and interact more directly with peers and teachers during classroom time. However, as with any new endeavor, it is important to ask questions: What does the research say? Are these learning models a surefire way to make learning more effective? What features are found in successful rollouts of ‘flipped learning’? What are the benefits? Are there any drawbacks? Here we take a look at a few studies, from both K-12 and higher ed settings.

http://www.k12blueprint.com/content/flipped-education-worth-flipping

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