iPhone Apps to Use in the Classroom

by Matthew Lynch, tech Edvocate

Many schools support a Bring Your Device (BYOD) policy for teachers. Other schools provide products like iPads and iPhones for teachers to use in their classes. Either way, there are plenty of apps that can be used in the classroom on an iPhone or an iPad. Some apps work well for different things, but they all are designed to do one thing: make the teaching process easier and more productive at the same time. Here are some apps that are essential to use on an iPhone in the classroom to gain that easy productivity to meet all needs and desires a teacher may have.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/teach-iphone-apps-use-classroom/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=27156

Retiring Adelaide University Vice Chancellor wants devices banned in classes for students to focus better

by Tim Williams, the Advertiser

University students are graduating with the “attention span of a tweet” and tertiary institutions will likely ban smartphones and laptops from classes so they learn to focus, outgoing Adelaide University boss Warren Bebbington says. Prof Bebbington has warned universities against responding to cost pressures by shifting courses entirely online, because technology-obsessed students are losing the capacity to concentrate and absorb complex arguments. “Tangibly, our tweeting, blogging, app-loving students are in danger of losing the capacity to listen at length, absorb a complex argument and summarise, dissect and evaluate what they hear as they hear it.”

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=27136

Proceed Cautiously With Online School

by the Intelligencer Editorial

West Virginia students in grades 6-12 soon may be able to get at least some of their educations without leaving the comfort of home. A new state law permits public school systems to offer “virtual schools” online. They can begin July 1. Students in online classes also may participate in traditional classroom learning, as well as schools’ extracurricular activities. It requires little imagination to understand the boon that may be for many Mountain State students and their families. But with the wonderful opportunity goes an enormous responsibility — ensuring online students are not shortchanged in their educations.

http://www.theintelligencer.net/opinion/editorials/2017/04/proceed-cautiously-with-online-school/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=27166

Summer classes: worth the cost to get ahead

by Madison Heller, Denver University Clarion

Summer classes: are they worth the money, or the time? Summer is supposed to be a break from school. These months tend to be spent lounging by the pool, swimming at the lake or eating snow cones with friends: stress-free months that allow us to recharge for the fall. However, there are a lot of strong reasons that suggest summer classes are in fact worthwhile. First, consider the price. Summer classes boil down to $1,199 per unit. For a typical four credit class, this means $4,796 in direct costs. The cost could quickly add up if students need to stay in Denver while attending DU’s classes and then the additional cost of a textbook or two. The cost is definitely something to think about when considering online classes. If you are not going to take the class seriously or use it to further your academic progress, then don’t bother. But, there are a lot of reasons for taking summer courses that make the price tag worth it.

http://duclarion.com/2016/05/summer-classes-worth-the-cost-to-get-ahead/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=15783

UGA students create virtual worlds in class

by Lee Shearer, Online Athens

Students wandered around in a store, punched with boxing gloves, gave speeches, mixed chemicals and fenced with a rapier in a UGA classroom on Thursday. Nobody could see these things except the students who were actually doing them, however, and it all took place in a room was only about 10 by 15 feet. The students were actually demonstrating their final projects for a virtual reality class taught by Kyle Johnson of UGA’s College of Engineering. Computer science majors Dennis Law, Aaron Tharpe and Phillip McIntyre designed a fencing program — you could practice basic fencing moves, and watch your body’s movements on a screen to gauge how well you were doing.

http://onlineathens.com/mobile/2016-05-06/uga-students-create-virtual-worlds-class

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=15780

Employers placing lower value on grades, extracurriculars

By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

The fifth annual study of global employability found that, in 2015, employers cared less about grades and extracurriculars and focused more on skills like innovation, leadership, and networking. Pathik Pathak, founding director of the Social Impact Lab at the University of Southampton writes for World Economic Forum students are also better choosing extracurricular activities that will help them gain these soft skills. One avenue is through student societies connected to top corporate employers. Pathak urges universities to focus on employability, incorporating soft skills development and network building into the curriculum and making it a central responsibility rather than an afterthought.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/employers-placing-lower-value-on-grades-extracurriculars/418779/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=15777

University develops cyber security curriculum for middle, high schools

By Julie Ferrell, Ames Tribune

Free program aims to increase students’ awareness about security threats. Researchers at Iowa State University are hoping to bring the subject of cyber security to grade school classrooms. The team is releasing the nation’s first computer literacy curriculum aimed at middle and high school students, and it is expected to be ready as early as this fall. Teachers were introduced to the free program during a workshop at the IT-Olympics computer competition on ISU’s campus.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/05/05/university-cyber-security-784/

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/Bpz6yVbNRzA/

Quiz Scores Go up When Students Feel Physics

By University of Chicago

Students who physically experience scientific concepts understand them more deeply and score better on science tests, according to a new study. Brain scans showed that students who took a hands-on approach to learning had activation in sensory and motor-related parts of the brain when they later thought about concepts such as angular momentum and torque. Activation of these brain areas was associated with better quiz performance by college physics students who participated in the research.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1344919-quiz-scores-students-feel-physics/

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White House Calls for Big Data and Cloud Privacy Overhaul

By Kenneth Corbin, CIO

The White House yesterday issued a series of policy recommendations to better protect individual privacy in the era of big data, calling on Congress to write into law a consumer bill of rights for the digital age and update an electronic privacy statute that’s more than a quarter century old, among other measures. In outlining the new proposals, John Podesta, the counselor to the president who led a three-month study of privacy and big data, took pains to highlight the myriad ways in which data collected from sensors, smartphones and other networked devices and objects can yield valuable social and economic benefits. Big data functions like predictive analytics and continuous monitoring can help stem the spread of infectious diseases or provide advance warning about potential mechanical failures in jet engines, for instance.

http://www.cio.com/article/752302/White_House_Calls_for_Big_Data_and_Cloud_Privacy_Overhaul

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Initiating BYOT? Get advice from a PLN!

By Tim Clark, CIO Advisor

After spending a week observing classrooms at various stages of implementing BYOT, I reflected on how I could encourage the members of those schools to find new ways to learn with their technology tools. I turned to my own Personal Learning Network (PLN) in Twitter in #BYOTchat for suggestions regarding the components necessary for initiating and sustaining a schoolwide BYOT implementation. I’m sure that everyone has different opinions about the order of significance of the following recommendations, but please share your ideas by commenting at the end of this post. This compilation is ordered in the way I received them from my PLN, and I added some of my own ideas about each of the following areas:

http://www.schoolcio.com/Default.aspx?tabid=136&entryid=7590

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Homework, Sleep, and the Student Brain

by Glenn Whitman, Edutopia

At some point, every parent wishes their high school aged student would go to bed earlier as well as find time to pursue their own passions — or maybe even choose to relax. This thought reemerged as I reread Anna Quindlen’s commencement speech, A Short Guide to a Happy Life. The central message of this address, never actually stated, was: “Get a life.” But what prevents students from “getting a life,” especially between September and June? One answer is homework.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/homework-sleep-and-student-brain-glenn-whitman

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