Project-Based Learning and Gamification: Two Great Tastes That Go Great Together

by Heather Wolpert-Gawron, Edutopia

Times of flux should signal the A-OK for some experimentation in schools. Based on curriculum I developed for my new STEM-focused PBL book, I’m guiding students toward an Invention Convention, and I invited any interested teacher to participate. As a result, I now have approximately 500 students from every subject area ready to begin moving through this unit. But with such an enthusiastic response to the offer comes a happy problem to solve. How do I individualize each student’s learning process and pacing? I began thinking, therefore, about how gamification could potentially solve this challenge. I did my research and settled on a company called Rezzly (previously known as 3DGameLabs). It’s currently in beta mode and specializes in gamifying higher education and individualized teacher PD. I’m using it, however, to implement the lessons through my middle school PBL unit.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/project-based-learning-gamification-go-great-together-heather-wolpert-gawron

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13984

U of Toronto courses adopt the inverted classroom

by Joshua Grondin, THE VARSITY

In an age of technology and readily available information, course instructors are experimenting with the inverted classroom teaching format. Gaining popularity among academic institutions around the world, the inverted classroom model requires students to cover lecture material at home through online lecture videos, learning modules, and supplementary readings. During scheduled class hours, students then have the opportunity to actively engage with their professor to gain further understanding of the material. The purpose of this alternative approach is to give students the opportunity to improve their skills in a more interactive environment.

http://thevarsity.ca/2015/09/21/u-of-t-courses-adopt-the-inverted-classroom/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13950

EdCast launches “10 Minute Insight” series

by eCampusNews

“Share your insights, change our world” live-streamed on EdCast mobile app. Social knowledge network EdCast has launched a “10 Minute Insight Series” offering an interactive setting for global influencers to share their specialized insights to help better the world. The series’ mission is focused on letting knowledge seekers and lifelong learners interact and gain bite-sized pieces of knowledge from a wide range of specialists to help understand and answer global issues. Participants who join the series can ask questions and connect with influencers in real time—for free.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/edcast-global-insight-490/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13892

How to Start Developing Your eLearning Courses

by Entrepreneur

In Start Your Own eLearning or Training Business, the Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc. explain how to create a successful distance learning business from the ground up. In this book, you’ll find information on all the steps you need to start and run a distance learning business. In this edited excerpt, the authors offer a quick, four-step guide to developing courses your audience will be interested in.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249613

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13793

3 Key Trends in AV Technology for Schools

by David Pierce, THE Journal

In schools from coast to coast, classroom learning environments are becoming more active and collaborative. Students are contributing to discussions and presentations, and the days of the “sage on the stage” are waning. This change is having a profound effect on the deployment of audiovisual technology in education. According to Mike Tomei, an independent audiovisual consultant who designs and installs AV systems for classrooms, “Classroom AV technology plays a big part in facilitating active learning environments.” Makers of AV equipment have responded to districts’ needs by developing new products that support more active and collaborative learning. Here are three key trends that show how they’re doing it.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2015/08/11/3-key-trends-in-av-technology-for-schools.aspx

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13753

How High Schoolers Spent Their Summer: Online, Taking More Courses

By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS, New York Times

Massive open online courses, or MOOCs, were originally intended as college-level work that would be accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. But among the millions of people who have signed up for these classes, there are now an untold number of teenagers looking for courses their high schools do not offer and often, as a bonus, to nab one more exploit that might impress the college of their dreams. College admissions directors, as well as administrators of the Common Application used by many schools, say that such online classes — for which students are not likely ever to see credit — are popping up on college applications, adding to the list of extracurriculars, like internships and community service projects, that have helped turn summer vacation into a time of character and résumé building.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/26/nyregion/online-summer-courses-attracting-college-bound-high-schoolers.html?_r=0

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13667

Documentation, communication key to online summer PE class

by Grace Paine, Charlottesville Tomorrow

Does physical education need to take place in the school gym? According to staff and students at Charlottesville High School, the answer is “no.” Charlottesville High School recently wrapped up its second year of offering students the chance to fulfill their physical education credit by taking a virtual course over the summer. The program’s goal, administrators say, is to grant students greater flexibility in their schedules so that they can pursue individualized interests during the school year.

http://www.cvilletomorrow.org/news/article/21707-documentation-communication-key-to-online-pe/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13558

This drag-and-drop app teaches coding like a puzzle

by eSchool News

New version of ‘Blockly’ app helps teachers introduce coding, programming concepts into the classroom. While the economic demand for computer science skills continues to surge, introducing coding to the classroom can be an intimidating overture for teachers without a technical background. To ease this transition, Wonder Workshop, creators of smart robots that teach students the basics of coding, has developed a new version of the Blockly touch app in consultation with education experts. Through drag-and-drop programming and diverse puzzles, the app’s new content brings coding to life during STEM instruction. Students use the app to program Dash & Dot robots to sense and react to the world around them.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/07/30/coding-touch-app-652/

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CyberLink Launches State-of-the-Art Online Learning Center for Video and Photo Editing

By Business Wire

CyberLink Corp. today launched the CyberLink Learning Center to complement the use of its creativity software. The Learning Center provides educational and training materials in an easily accessible interface, with content searchable by subject, user skill level or software application. The CyberLink software covered in the new Learning Center includes PowerDirector, one of the most flexible and powerful video editing solutions available, and PhotoDirector, a professional quality photo editing and management solution. Additional tutorials are available for AudioDirector, ColorDirector, and CyberLink’s popular YouCam Makeup and YouCam Perfect apps for mobile devices.

http://news.sys-con.com/node/3372875

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New Waseca schools math curriculum shows greater focus on mastery, online learning

By JACOB STARK, Waseca County News

A new math curriculum coming to Waseca schools will offer a different approach for students from fourth through 12th grade, showing a shift toward more direct mastery of mathematical concepts. At the high school level, four different textbook series were examined. While the classes had online portions previously, Swanson said that they left room for improvement. “You really have to know the material and know the math to know what you’re looking at,” she said. The difference with the online portion for the new series is that the online lessons are aligned directly with lessons from the book, allowing students to have a lesson retaught if there was something they didn’t understand in class.

http://www.southernminn.com/waseca_county_news/news/article_9a879ef0-40ce-5e13-876f-ebe4d001354d.html

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Six Ways Continuing Education Can Close Canada’s Skills Gap

by Marie Bountrogianni, Huffington Post

Ask an employee from just about any industry in Canada, and they’ll tell you: there is a huge gap between the training required to move up the career ladder and the training provided by their employers. A recent survey found that while 71 per cent of employers agree they have a responsibility to provide career management programs for their employees, only 29 per cent actually offer them. So how do we close this gap in training needs? Continuing education can play a huge role. As Dean of The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University in Toronto, I meet and talk to professionals from all disciplines who are passionate about learning, and are looking for the newest information or skills that will lead them to the next big break in their career. Here are six continuing education trends that can help to close Canada’s training gap.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/dr-marie-bountrogianni/adult-education-second-career_b_7737592.html

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Report: Technology Purchases Driving up Back-to-School Budgets

By Leila Meyer, THE Journal

Parents are spending more on school supplies this year, mostly for technology purchases, according to a new Consumer Pulse report from Rubicon Project. The survey, “Back-to-School Consumer Pulse Poll,” was conducted online in mid-June 2015 and collected responses from 1000 parents of K-12 and college students. It found that 56 percent of parents plan to spend more money on school supplies compared to last year, with K-12 parents planning to spend an average of $873 per child, and college parents planning to spend an average of $1,124 per student.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2015/07/07/report-technology-purchases-driving-up-back-to-school-shopping-budgets.aspx

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Class to teach youth to be safe online

By Christina R. Garza, Brownsville Herald

A selfie -defense seminar will be held today at the Carlotta Kennedy Petrina Cultural Center for girls ages 12 and up interested in learning how to defend themselves against online predators. The class will be hosted by 15-year-old Alondra and 10-year-old Victoria Gonzalez, of Brownsville. Their mother, Franceli Villasenor , said the girls were looking for a way to help the community this summer. According to Villasenor , a special agent from the Department of Homeland Security Investigations will cover subjects such as safety tips and the permanence of photos on the Internet. “As parents, we might not see what goes on, but children need to know how to be safe on the Internet ,“ Villasenor said.

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/article_1fff788e-0b33-11e5-8196-c3b96998dc73.html

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What’s The Secret To Effective Learning?

by Nick Morgan, Forbes

What’s the secret to effective learning? A recent study by a group of neuroscientists from the University of California, the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University found that the less you work your brain when learning, perhaps, the better. The researchers studied subjects learning a simple game over a six-week period. Those who used the part of the brain least associated with conscious planning, the frontal cortex, did the best. It’s better, it turns out, just to practice and not over-think what you’re doing. You learn faster. The results were published in the journal Nature Neuroscience recently, and one of the researchers noted, “It’s the people who can turn off the communication to these parts of their brain (the frontal cortex) the quickest who have the steepest drop-off in their completion times. It seems like those other parts are getting in the way for the slower learners. It’s almost like they’re trying too hard.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorgan/2015/05/05/whats-the-secret-to-effective-learning/

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7 innovative 3D printers for the classroom

By Rebecca Lundberg, eSchool News

A snapshot of classroom-ready 3D printers available for eductors. These days, 3D printing is becoming a staple of the modern classroom, from K-12 to college and university campuses as well. Even as prices dip for some models, educational institutions and districts are also gaining financial support from outside sources for ventures into 3D printing. In fact, from 2011 to 2015, government business intelligence company Onvia awarded $1,809,298 in 3D printer and supply contracts to 44 primary, secondary and higher education institutions and school districts across the United States. David D. Thornburg, co-author of “The Invent to Learn Guide to 3D Printing in the Classroom,” said he would not recommend one specific 3D printer for classroom use because the constant advancement in the 3D printing industry can make choosing the best models a “moving target.”

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/04/13/3d-printers-classroom-539/

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