by Didjitale
Coding is not a thing only for geeks anymore. It has become part of everything that surrounds us, and jobs of the present and the future are in direct connection to it. One of the best things in the recent years is that you can learn to code even for free. Here’s a list of 5 resources to learn coding for free.
http://digjitale.com/2015/12/5-sites-that-teach-you-coding-for-free/
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by the Atlanta Journal Constitution
Forsyth County Schools officials have laid out their online learning plan for any weather-related school closings days this winter. The district said teachers will post all assignments by 9 a.m. on itslearning.com. Student work will be due in three days upon returning to school. Elementary schools will follow an “A” or “B” schedule to balance the student workload, but middle and high schools will follow the normal schedule for the day. Those students will finish lessons for classes they would have attended that day.
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/forsyth-schools-spell-out-learning-plans-for-close/npp5W/
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By Will Knight, Technology Review
One researcher has developed a simple way to let robots generate remarkably sophisticated behaviors. If they are to become useful assistants and workmates, robots will need to figure out how to do complicated things in unfamiliar settings. For all the talk of machines becoming intelligent, getting a sophisticated robot to do anything complex, like grabbing a heavy object and moving it from one place to another, still requires many hours of careful, patient programming. Igor Mordatch, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, is working on a different approach–one that could help hasten the arrival of robot helpers, if not overlords. He gives a robot an end goal and an algorithm that lets it figure out how to achieve the goal for itself. That’s the kind of independence that will be necessary for, say, a home assistance bot to reliably fetch you a cup of coffee from the counter.
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By JACOB RYAN, WFLP
Through the online learning program called Treehouse, offered at no cost by the Louisville Free Public Library system, she began learning the basics of coding. “Just teaching myself,” she said. She liked it, so she enrolled in Code Louisville — a free 12-week online coding workshop that anyone with a Louisville Free Public Library card can access — to further her learning. Then, things started clicking. “I started finding my niche, and that was new to me,” she said. “It was easier to work on my self-confidence. My view about me started changing.” She kept enrolling in Code Louisville sessions to learn the finer points of frontend and backend web development. Becky Steele, project coordinator for Code Louisville, said many of the program participants are like Johnson. They want to reinvent themselves. But Steele said Johnson has more — an “insatiable desire to improve.”
http://wfpl.org/escape-public-housing-louisville-woman-turns-to-coding/
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By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal
A public elementary and middle school has teamed up with a local college to deliver professional development to help teachers add computer science activities into their curriculum. Roosevelt Island Public School, a K-8 school, will begin working with Cornell Tech, a graduate school, to help deliver tech education to children in the New York City area. Teachers have already received a six-week introduction to computer science. And the two schools have co-hosted an event to introduce families of Roosevelt Island PS to the program and lay out the concepts their children would be learning. As part of that, family members took a coding workshop and learned how to create a holiday-themed game.
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by Monica Burns, Edutopia
Formative assessment is an important part of effective instruction. Teachers can use observations, checklists, and quick quizzes to gather data that will inform their instruction. Formative assessment identifies areas where students are excelling and struggling so that teachers can best alter their instruction to meet the needs of all students. Technology can make formative assessment a seamless part of everyday activities. Online tools and mobile devices can help teachers stay organized when collecting data that will make analyzing information easier and more meaningful. Formative assessment can take place throughout a unit of study during daily lessons that incorporate technology. As you examine the systems that work for you in your classroom, technology tools can make this process easier and seamless when used effectively.
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/tech-friendly-formative-assessment-tools-monica-burns
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by eSchool News
As leader of one of the poorest school districts in the US, Dr. Darryl Adams is undaunted and tireless. His charge? Support 20,000 preK-12–100% qualify for free or reduced lunches and 60% are English language learners–spread over 1220 square miles in the Coachella Valley Unified School District. Faced with alarming graduation and college competition rates, low achievement, and rampant poverty in his district, Dr. Adams took a step-by-step approach to devising a truly 21st century learning environment.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/ercs/creating-21st-century-learning-environments/
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by Marie Bountrogianni, Huffington Post
Online learning is “the new normal,” according to “The Future of Higher Education,” a report published by Contact North in November 2015. Most higher education institutions, including The Chang School, offer a mix of in-class and online programs so you can choose the format that works best for you. It’s important to note that online learning is particularly well suited to impart many of the skills required by tomorrow’s workplaces. Beyond “hard skills” – from learning a language to enhancing analytical abilities – it teaches students how to work on a virtual team. It can provide safe virtual environments to test approaches to problem-solving and overcoming adversity. And, because it attracts learners from across the country and around the world, it’s an excellent way to acquire an in-depth appreciation of the strengths of diversity. Furthermore, every year brings innovations that enhance online learning.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/dr-marie-bountrogianni/17-skills-employers-need_b_8776838.html
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By Laura Devaney, eSchool News
One hundred school districts across the U.S. have been honored for their use of online and digital learning resources to personalize learning. Knovation’s 2015 Digital Learning Awards program honors districts across the U.S. that use netTrekker or icurio to find, organize and share hundreds of thousands of standards-aligned resources that are professionally evaluated, tagged and maintained, ensuring students truly benefit from their digital shift.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/12/11/digital-learning-546/
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By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal
Most K-12 teachers involved in the transition to digital curriculum spend between two and five hours a week searching for digital resources for their lessons. Slightly fewer than half use digital content only a quarter to half of their time. And two thirds of schools and districts report that they’ve added new positions to deal with the expansion of the use of digital resources. Those are some of the findings in an extensive survey undertaken recently by the Learning Counsel to understand how schools are transitioning to the use of digital learning materials. The counsel is a for-profit organization that consults with schools — in both K-12 and higher ed — on the use of digital content in education. This is the second year the survey has been compiled. The latest research project was underwritten by Sprint.
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by SIBANI RAM, TH MEDIA
A rapidly growing program that offers courses, from art history to anatomy, is Iowa Learning Online. It is an enthralling experience in the virtual world for both middle and high schoolers. Though the program doesn’t resemble the quintessential classroom setup, students are assigned a teacher, with whom they communicate. Activities and quizzes are a consistent component of the curriculum, which eventually lead to unit tests. “It provides students with the opportunity, in many cases, to take courses that are not offered at school,” said Dr. Ryan Wise, director of the Iowa Department of Education. “Secondly, it allows for students to work around schedule conflicts, and therefore, offers more flexibility. Third, it provides students with an opportunity to try an online learning environment, which continues to grow it today.” With 1,400 enrollments across the state, Iowa Learning Online prioritizes convenience, while instilling conscientiousness in its pupils.
http://www.thonline.com/news/feature_stories/article_0d98190a-9ec5-5b84-9a58-ef232c8afffc.html
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By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal
Most K-12 teachers involved in the transition to digital curriculum spend between two and five hours a week searching for digital resources for their lessons. Slightly fewer than half use digital content only a quarter to half of their time. And two thirds of schools and districts report that they’ve added new positions to deal with the expansion of the use of digital resources. According to the “Learning Counsel Survey Report on Digital Curriculum Transition Strategy for 2015,” a third of educators spend under an hour each week doing searches for digital lesson planning; 9 percent spend six or more hours; and 58 percent spend between two and five hours. While 48 percent of respondents to the survey reported spending 25 to 50 percent of their time using digital content predominantly, 27 percent said they use it less than that and 24 percent said they use it more often.
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by Beth Stone, Brookings
The virtue of such electronic information is the greater control students have over their curriculum, allowing them to proceed at their own pace and in their own style. The digital revolution enables real-time assessment of student performance. Finally, mobile technology can transform learning and act as a catalyst for creating impactful change in the current system. West concludes by saying that connected learning through the use of technology is crucial to student development in the areas of critical-thinking and collaborative learning. Those are the skills that young people need in order to secure their place in the globally competitive economy.
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by Fox News
Turning Point is a program for young adults with intellectual disabilities— 80 percent of its participants are on the autism spectrum. “Every young adult should have the opportunity to reach for their dreams,” said Tracy Rand, Turning Point’s managing director, told FoxNews.com. “Why should someone be limited because of a disability?” Often options are limited for students like these, explained Bergen County Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi, who helps raise money for programs like Turning Point as a member of the college’s foundation board. “We have a lot of parents with children with a whole multitude of intellectual disabilities who once they age out of normal school programs have no idea of where to go or what to do,” Schepisi told FoxNews.com. “Having the program is a lifesaver both to the students and their family members.”
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by Associations Now
Online learning can encompass much more than certifications. Barry Kelly, CEO of Thought Industries, explains some of the added services associations can offer through an online learning platform. While certifications are essential components of an online learning program, associations can also consider a more comprehensive and strategic learning approach in order to drive conversion, bolster engagement and renewals, and increase member lifetime value. Think of learning experiences as engaging content. You can offer webinars, short-form courses, or presentations, as well as tips and guides on areas like new research, strategy, or technology updates. For audience development and conversion, add email capture or membership paywalls or cascade campaigns with learning content.
http://associationsnow.com/2015/12/talking-tech-leverage-online-learning/
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By Brenda Bernet, Arkansas Online
Two school districts are preparing to offer students free options for online instruction next fall, pending approval of the Arkansas Board of Education. A state Charter Authorizing Panel last week recommended the state board approve the Fayetteville School District’s plan to open Fayetteville Virtual Academy, as well as the Springdale School District’s plan to convert its School of Innovation into a charter school with options for online instruction. The state Board of Education is expected to consider the panel’s recommendations at its December meeting. The board can accept the panel’s decisions or conduct separate hearings on the applications. “This is very new for a traditional [kindergarten through 12th grade] school district to adopt this education system,” said Kim Garrett, Fayetteville associate superintendent for secondary education.
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2015/nov/24/2-districts-asking-to-go-online-2015112/
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BY CARLY NYMAN, Brown and White
The number of sheets of paper that the Office of Institutional Research consumed to conduct course evaluations last spring is 25,842. With only 22 percent of Lehigh faculty opting for the online evaluation form, Institutional Research is left with the lengthy and environmentally-unfriendly process of mass producing the forms and vibrant orange envelopes that land on professors’ podiums at the end of each semester. This process has created a debate between the use of online versus paper course evaluations. Faculty members that use paper generally believe they receive better response rates because they can administer the evaluation forms in person to students who are already sitting at a desk ready to fill them out. Students, however, are left feeling pressed for time and may not provide as thorough feedback as if they took it online at a different time.
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by Ashok Subramanian P, Financial Express
E-education is commonplace now. A new trend we notice is edutainment, where companies have started blending education with entertainment to ensure that the process of learning doesn’t become boring after a point of time. E-education is a commonplace notion. A new trend that we notice in this space is that of edutainment, where companies have started blending education with entertaining environment to ensure that the process of learning doesn’t become boring after a point of time. In fact, we at ConveGenius recently launched Battle of Minds, a social edutainment network, which is aimed towards doing exactly this by ‘appifying’ the paradigms of learning and making it fun and rewarding, all at the same time. The benefits of such app-based, edutainment-driven learning are numerous.
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By Stephen Noonoo, eSchool News
Looking to give students — or your colleagues — a way to hone their thinking and problem-solving skills while having fun? These free puzzles and games might do the trick. The website APPitic.com, an app resource site with more than 6,000 apps in more than 300 subcategories, offers a number of apps to help build student thinking skills. Here, we’ve gathered a handful of those apps, and you can access more on the APPitic site. All apps were originally curated by Apple Distinguished Educators.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/11/20/student-thinking-skills-173/
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By Cathie Norris, Elliot Soloway, THE Journal
In our blog post of Oct. 6, 2014 we panned blended learning, and now, in what follows, we are about to say blended learning is the greatest thing since sliced bread. If we were politicians we would be labeled as flip-floppers, a derogatory term in the political argot. But, thank goodness we are not politicians, but an educator (C) and a technologist (E) coming to a new understanding of what the future holds, amongst higher-minded colleagues who eschew fallacious ad hominem arguments.
https://thejournal.com/articles/2015/11/17/blended-learning-is-the-future.aspx
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