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Monday, March 18, 2013

One Day To Go: Designing eLearning for iPads (Webinar)

This free webinar ‘Designing eLearning for iPads (tablets)’ is only a day away. But it’s not too late to register and join Amit Garg for this insightful webinar where you can learn about:
  • Tablets from a different perspective and their common usage
  • How eLearning on iPads (tablets) can open doors to Mobile Learning
  • The key factors to be kept in mind while designing new eLearning for iPads or while ‘mEnabling’ your existing courseware into a tablet compatible format
When:Tuesday, March 19, 2013
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM IST

Check your time zone 


Reserve your seat for this free webinar now!

Enjoy this free webinar!

One Day To Go: Designing eLearning for iPads (Webinar)

This free webinar ‘Designing eLearning for iPads (tablets)’ is only a day away. But it’s not too late to register and join Amit Garg for this insightful webinar where you can learn about:
  • Tablets from a different perspective and their common usage
  • How eLearning on iPads (tablets) can open doors to Mobile Learning
  • The key factors to be kept in mind while designing new eLearning for iPads or while ‘mEnabling’ your existing courseware into a tablet compatible format
When:Tuesday, March 19, 2013
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM IST

Check your time zone 


Reserve your seat for this free webinar now!

Enjoy this free webinar!

Sunday, March 17, 2013

24 iPad apps to support Bloom’s Taxonomy

Here's what's new on eSchool News site.
 
Photo:
Laura Devaney
Laura Devaney, Managing Editor writes, "Bloom’s Taxonomy, introduced in the 1950s as a system of organizing learning objectives into a pyramid, traditionally has started with creating at the top, followed by evaluating, analyzing, applying, understanding, and remembering".

Some educators today are flipping the triangle so that remembering is on top, followed by understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating on the bottom.

During an edWeb.net webinar, educational technologist Kathy Schrock presented a variety of apps for iPads that can boost student engagement and collaboration, and that can be used for teaching and learning according to Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Photo:eSchool News 

“Remembering” apps:

Diigo – A social bookmarking tool; teachers can use this app on an iPad to add relevant bookmarks, or create their own account and share. Lists can be organized into sub lists.
Evernote – A “must-have” app. Users can take notes, photos, create to-do lists, make voice reminders, and search their content.
Pearltrees – A curation tool with a social component. Users can search, link to other accounts, and organize their own content.
Idea Sketch – Users can create a mind map and turn it into a list or outline, and vice versa. It also offers organizational charts.
Read more...

Source: eSchool News 

24 iPad apps to support Bloom’s Taxonomy

Here's what's new on eSchool News site.
 
Photo:
Laura Devaney
Laura Devaney, Managing Editor writes, "Bloom’s Taxonomy, introduced in the 1950s as a system of organizing learning objectives into a pyramid, traditionally has started with creating at the top, followed by evaluating, analyzing, applying, understanding, and remembering".

Some educators today are flipping the triangle so that remembering is on top, followed by understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating on the bottom.

During an edWeb.net webinar, educational technologist Kathy Schrock presented a variety of apps for iPads that can boost student engagement and collaboration, and that can be used for teaching and learning according to Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Photo:eSchool News 

“Remembering” apps:

Diigo – A social bookmarking tool; teachers can use this app on an iPad to add relevant bookmarks, or create their own account and share. Lists can be organized into sub lists.
Evernote – A “must-have” app. Users can take notes, photos, create to-do lists, make voice reminders, and search their content.
Pearltrees – A curation tool with a social component. Users can search, link to other accounts, and organize their own content.
Idea Sketch – Users can create a mind map and turn it into a list or outline, and vice versa. It also offers organizational charts.
Read more...

Source: eSchool News 

Designing eLearning for iPads (tablets

Attend this FREE webinar and join Amit Garg as he helps you understand tablets.

Photo: http://www.upsidelearning.com/

Designing eLearning for iPads (tablets)

When:Tuesday, March 19, 2013
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM IST

Check your time zone

While designing eLearning for iPads (tablets) may appear relatively straight forward, given somewhat similar display areas to laptops and PCs, the context in which tablets are used, the ever increasing usage on the move and changing user preferences, makes designing for iPads different and challenging.

Join Amit Garg as he helps you understand tablets and their common usage, explains how eLearning on iPads(tablets) can be your entry point into Mobile Learning and finally highlights the key factors to be kept in mind while designing new eLearning for iPads or while ‘mEnabling’ your existing legacy content into a tablet compatible format.
Register Now 

Designing eLearning for iPads (tablets

Attend this FREE webinar and join Amit Garg as he helps you understand tablets.

Photo: http://www.upsidelearning.com/

Designing eLearning for iPads (tablets)

When:Tuesday, March 19, 2013
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM IST

Check your time zone

While designing eLearning for iPads (tablets) may appear relatively straight forward, given somewhat similar display areas to laptops and PCs, the context in which tablets are used, the ever increasing usage on the move and changing user preferences, makes designing for iPads different and challenging.

Join Amit Garg as he helps you understand tablets and their common usage, explains how eLearning on iPads(tablets) can be your entry point into Mobile Learning and finally highlights the key factors to be kept in mind while designing new eLearning for iPads or while ‘mEnabling’ your existing legacy content into a tablet compatible format.
Register Now 

Upside Learning Explains Why Mobile Learning is the Future of Workplace Learning Through an Infographic

The Upside Learning team has released an infographic that explains how the Mobile World and the Changing Workplace together indicate a need and, at the same time, a Great Opportunity to move towards Mobile Learning.
 
Photo: www.upsidelearning.com

Upside Learning is one the few learning technology solution companies that has believed in the potential of mobile devices for workplace learning, even when mLearning was in its nascent stage. The company has also taken steps in this direction by doing robust investments in mLearning R&D and offering a wide range of solutions and services that leverage the capabilities of mobile devices. To strengthen this belief further and to help organizations understand why Mobile Learning is the future of workplace learning, Upside Learning has released an infographic that demonstrates this in a visually appealing way.

The infographic is primarily divided into 3 sections – A Mobile World, Changing Workplace and A Great Opportunity, each having multiple sub-sections. The first section explains how the increasing sales of mobile devices, the whooping growth in the mobile share of web traffic, the growing adoption of mobile devices in the workplace, amongst other factors, has led to the evolution of "A Mobile World." While the second section details how the changing nature of work, increasing number of mobile workers and the influx of the millenials in the workplace is "Changing the Workplace." These two factors are together presenting a "Great Opportunity" for Mobile Learning, which is captured beautifully in the third and the final section of the infographic.

Amit Garg, Director of Custom Learning Solutions and Co-founder, Upside Learning, commented, “Not too long back I had presented ‘Mobile Learning: The Future of Workplace Learning’ at the 2012 CLO India Summit. Our Marketing folks got a little creative and converted this humble PowerPoint presentation into an infographic, a rather beautiful one. This infographic is a product of rounds of brain storming and iterations, and the efforts, patience and perseverance of the Marketing team.”
You can check out the infographic at the path below:
http://www.upsidelearning.com/free-infographic-why-mobile-learning-is-the-future-of-workplace-learning.asp

To learn more about Upside Learning, please visit http://www.upsidelearning.com

Source: PR.com 

Upside Learning Explains Why Mobile Learning is the Future of Workplace Learning Through an Infographic

The Upside Learning team has released an infographic that explains how the Mobile World and the Changing Workplace together indicate a need and, at the same time, a Great Opportunity to move towards Mobile Learning.
 
Photo: www.upsidelearning.com

Upside Learning is one the few learning technology solution companies that has believed in the potential of mobile devices for workplace learning, even when mLearning was in its nascent stage. The company has also taken steps in this direction by doing robust investments in mLearning R&D and offering a wide range of solutions and services that leverage the capabilities of mobile devices. To strengthen this belief further and to help organizations understand why Mobile Learning is the future of workplace learning, Upside Learning has released an infographic that demonstrates this in a visually appealing way.

The infographic is primarily divided into 3 sections – A Mobile World, Changing Workplace and A Great Opportunity, each having multiple sub-sections. The first section explains how the increasing sales of mobile devices, the whooping growth in the mobile share of web traffic, the growing adoption of mobile devices in the workplace, amongst other factors, has led to the evolution of "A Mobile World." While the second section details how the changing nature of work, increasing number of mobile workers and the influx of the millenials in the workplace is "Changing the Workplace." These two factors are together presenting a "Great Opportunity" for Mobile Learning, which is captured beautifully in the third and the final section of the infographic.

Amit Garg, Director of Custom Learning Solutions and Co-founder, Upside Learning, commented, “Not too long back I had presented ‘Mobile Learning: The Future of Workplace Learning’ at the 2012 CLO India Summit. Our Marketing folks got a little creative and converted this humble PowerPoint presentation into an infographic, a rather beautiful one. This infographic is a product of rounds of brain storming and iterations, and the efforts, patience and perseverance of the Marketing team.”
You can check out the infographic at the path below:
http://www.upsidelearning.com/free-infographic-why-mobile-learning-is-the-future-of-workplace-learning.asp

To learn more about Upside Learning, please visit http://www.upsidelearning.com

Source: PR.com 

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Don't miss out.

Stay up to date what's happening on Facebook and my twitter.


So, don't forget to "Like Me on Facebook" and "Follow Me on Twitter".

Articles released by The CITE Journal

I hope you would like to read these three interesting articles released by CITE Journal.
Photo:CITE Journal 

The Challenge to Situate Digital Learning Technologies in Preservice Teacher Mathematics Education
By
Susan McDonald
Australian Catholic University
AUSTRALIA

Abstract
This paper focuses on how preservice primary teachers can be supported to embrace digital learning technologies (DLTs) in their teaching of mathematics. The nature of the instruction and the assessment in the final mathematics unit of the bachelor of education program were changed. Despite being tagged as “tech-savvy,” preservice students use digital technologies primarily for social networking and information retrieval. These uses of digital technologies do not guarantee any facility for their utilization as learning technologies, which may result in early career teachers being unprepared to enact the effective use of expensive equipment in schools. The provision of a communal constructivism environment supported student learning as they met the challenges of creating interactive digital applications to teach a mathematical concept to their peers. This paper is likely to be of interest to mathematics educators who are trying to steer preservice teachers away from “worksheet maths” as well as other preservice teacher educators who wish to incorporate digital technologies into their content and methodology units.
Read more... 

An Examination of Teachers’ Ratings of Lesson Plans Using Digital Primary Sources
By Natalie B. Milman, George Washington University and Rhonda Bondie, Fordham University

Abstract
This mixed method study examined teachers’ ratings of 37 field-tested social studies lesson plans that incorporated digital primary sources through a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program for K-12 teachers. Each lesson, available in an online teaching materials collection, was field-tested and reviewed by at least three teachers other than the lesson’s author. The analysis illustrates that the majority of lessons (70%) utilized PowerPoint to show primary sources and pose questions to students about the primary sources examined. Qualitative analysis identified key factors that impacted lesson implementation and teachers’ analysis of student learning. This study raises several implications regarding the design and purpose of lesson plans available online for integrating digital primary sources into P-12 teaching, as well as the design and content of professional development whose purpose is to prepare teachers to integrate digital primary sources in their teaching.
Read more... 

Shared Viewing as an Approach to Transforming Early Field Experiences
By Tina Heafner and Michelle Plaisance
University of North Carolina, Charlotte


Abstract
Although early field experiences are touted as vital for providing a hands-on preview of how teaching unfolds in the classroom, these essential components of teacher preparation programs have consistently fallen short of the desired outcomes. In the spirit of Dewey, candidates need substantive experiences that transform their theoretical learning into pedagogical knowledge. Likewise, Darling-Hammond (2006a) asserted that these experiences are strengthened when a collective team embarks on a mutual commitment, comprised of the candidate, university faculty, and talented teachers from cooperating schools. This article describes a project that sought to create technology-mediated early field experiences that maximized candidate learning in online content methods courses. The Windows into Teaching and Learning (WiTL) project was conceived and actualized by researchers in a large, urban university in the southeastern region of the United States. The initial objective of the project was to explore a means by which technology might facilitate meaningful field experiences for candidates enrolled in distance education classes. Several other potential outcomes arose from the project, allowing researchers to expand the initial scope to encompass potential benefits for all university teacher candidates conducting early field experiences as a part of their path to licensure.
Read more...

Source: The CITE Journal

Articles released by The CITE Journal

I hope you would like to read these three interesting articles released by CITE Journal.
Photo:CITE Journal 

The Challenge to Situate Digital Learning Technologies in Preservice Teacher Mathematics Education
By
Susan McDonald
Australian Catholic University
AUSTRALIA

Abstract
This paper focuses on how preservice primary teachers can be supported to embrace digital learning technologies (DLTs) in their teaching of mathematics. The nature of the instruction and the assessment in the final mathematics unit of the bachelor of education program were changed. Despite being tagged as “tech-savvy,” preservice students use digital technologies primarily for social networking and information retrieval. These uses of digital technologies do not guarantee any facility for their utilization as learning technologies, which may result in early career teachers being unprepared to enact the effective use of expensive equipment in schools. The provision of a communal constructivism environment supported student learning as they met the challenges of creating interactive digital applications to teach a mathematical concept to their peers. This paper is likely to be of interest to mathematics educators who are trying to steer preservice teachers away from “worksheet maths” as well as other preservice teacher educators who wish to incorporate digital technologies into their content and methodology units.
Read more... 

An Examination of Teachers’ Ratings of Lesson Plans Using Digital Primary Sources
By Natalie B. Milman, George Washington University and Rhonda Bondie, Fordham University

Abstract
This mixed method study examined teachers’ ratings of 37 field-tested social studies lesson plans that incorporated digital primary sources through a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program for K-12 teachers. Each lesson, available in an online teaching materials collection, was field-tested and reviewed by at least three teachers other than the lesson’s author. The analysis illustrates that the majority of lessons (70%) utilized PowerPoint to show primary sources and pose questions to students about the primary sources examined. Qualitative analysis identified key factors that impacted lesson implementation and teachers’ analysis of student learning. This study raises several implications regarding the design and purpose of lesson plans available online for integrating digital primary sources into P-12 teaching, as well as the design and content of professional development whose purpose is to prepare teachers to integrate digital primary sources in their teaching.
Read more... 

Shared Viewing as an Approach to Transforming Early Field Experiences
By Tina Heafner and Michelle Plaisance
University of North Carolina, Charlotte


Abstract
Although early field experiences are touted as vital for providing a hands-on preview of how teaching unfolds in the classroom, these essential components of teacher preparation programs have consistently fallen short of the desired outcomes. In the spirit of Dewey, candidates need substantive experiences that transform their theoretical learning into pedagogical knowledge. Likewise, Darling-Hammond (2006a) asserted that these experiences are strengthened when a collective team embarks on a mutual commitment, comprised of the candidate, university faculty, and talented teachers from cooperating schools. This article describes a project that sought to create technology-mediated early field experiences that maximized candidate learning in online content methods courses. The Windows into Teaching and Learning (WiTL) project was conceived and actualized by researchers in a large, urban university in the southeastern region of the United States. The initial objective of the project was to explore a means by which technology might facilitate meaningful field experiences for candidates enrolled in distance education classes. Several other potential outcomes arose from the project, allowing researchers to expand the initial scope to encompass potential benefits for all university teacher candidates conducting early field experiences as a part of their path to licensure.
Read more...

Source: The CITE Journal

How to engage girls with gaming

Photo: Meris Stansbury
"In today's news, interactive educational games that are collaborative and focus on social good can boost girls' participation, say experts. According to 2012 data, almost 50% of all game-players are women, though their patterns of play differ from those of men", writes Meris Stansbury, Online Editor.




Photo: eClassroom News

Many people associate video games and gaming with boys, but researchers have discovered that girls become just as engaged when playing interactive educational games featuring certain motivating elements.

According to 2012 data from the Entertainment Software Association, 47 percent of all game-players are women, though their data patterns of play differ from those of men. Sixty-one percent of casual gamers, who play games such as “Words with Friends” and “FarmVille,” are women. Sixty-two percent of gamers play games with others, either online or in person.
“There’s a great social nature to games,” said Jayne C. Lammers, who has studied girls and gaming extensively and is an assistant professor at the University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education.
Interactive educational games also cover many 21st-century learning principles, such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation, the experts said.
Read more...

Related link

How mainstream video games are being used as teaching tools

Source: eClassroom News

How to engage girls with gaming

Photo: Meris Stansbury
"In today's news, interactive educational games that are collaborative and focus on social good can boost girls' participation, say experts. According to 2012 data, almost 50% of all game-players are women, though their patterns of play differ from those of men", writes Meris Stansbury, Online Editor.




Photo: eClassroom News

Many people associate video games and gaming with boys, but researchers have discovered that girls become just as engaged when playing interactive educational games featuring certain motivating elements.

According to 2012 data from the Entertainment Software Association, 47 percent of all game-players are women, though their data patterns of play differ from those of men. Sixty-one percent of casual gamers, who play games such as “Words with Friends” and “FarmVille,” are women. Sixty-two percent of gamers play games with others, either online or in person.
“There’s a great social nature to games,” said Jayne C. Lammers, who has studied girls and gaming extensively and is an assistant professor at the University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education.
Interactive educational games also cover many 21st-century learning principles, such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation, the experts said.
Read more...

Related link

How mainstream video games are being used as teaching tools

Source: eClassroom News

For Girls, Teachers' Gender Matters, Study Says

Greater impact seen for female students taught by women.

Photo: Sarah D. Sparks
"Female elementary school teachers' comfort with mathematics has an outsize effect on the girls they teach, according to new research", reports Sarah D. Sparks.

Education Week's blogs

Girls taught by a female teacher got a learning boost if that teacher had a strong math background, but had consistently lower math performance by the end of the school year if she didn't, according to a study presented at the American Economic Association's annual conference here.

By contrast, boys' math scores were not affected by having a female math teacher, regardless of the teacher's background in that subject, and there were no differences in math performance among male and female students of male teachers of different math backgrounds. The study adds to growing evidence that children's gender biases can significantly affect their own ability.
"Children's perceptions of gender start emerging between the ages of 7 and 12," said study coauthor I. Serkan Ozbeklik, an assistant economics professor at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif. "Positive or negative, the primary school experiences may shape the academic course of students, leading to long-term consequences like choice of study, choice of major, and occupation."
Read more...

Source: Education Week

For Girls, Teachers' Gender Matters, Study Says

Greater impact seen for female students taught by women.

Photo: Sarah D. Sparks
"Female elementary school teachers' comfort with mathematics has an outsize effect on the girls they teach, according to new research", reports Sarah D. Sparks.

Education Week's blogs

Girls taught by a female teacher got a learning boost if that teacher had a strong math background, but had consistently lower math performance by the end of the school year if she didn't, according to a study presented at the American Economic Association's annual conference here.

By contrast, boys' math scores were not affected by having a female math teacher, regardless of the teacher's background in that subject, and there were no differences in math performance among male and female students of male teachers of different math backgrounds. The study adds to growing evidence that children's gender biases can significantly affect their own ability.
"Children's perceptions of gender start emerging between the ages of 7 and 12," said study coauthor I. Serkan Ozbeklik, an assistant economics professor at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif. "Positive or negative, the primary school experiences may shape the academic course of students, leading to long-term consequences like choice of study, choice of major, and occupation."
Read more...

Source: Education Week

University students’ lessons go mobile by Sara Sabry

HCT to initiate paperless classrooms and learning environments.


Photo: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

"Abu Dhabi: Around 1,500 mobile devices will be provided to first-year bachelor degree students at several universities in efforts to take bold step towards paperless classrooms and learning environments in the capital", summarizes Sara Sabry, Staff Reporter.   

The move, which begin next month, will see the introduction of mobile technologies as learning tools for all Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) first–year students starting from the second semester in order to join more than 6,000 HCT foundation programme students, who are already using the tablet learning devices.  
“The introduction of the technology to students beyond the foundation programme was designed to assist with the gradual integration of mobile learning education into curricula as well as student’s learning experience,” said Dr. Mark Drummond, the provost of HCT, on Sunday.
 “The success of the initial mobile learning project, which has witnessed the introduction of about 6,370 mobile technology in the form of Apple iPads, has been the catalyst to include the technology for all first year bachelor programme students, starting in the second semester next month.”
A common response was the portability of the learning tools and environment and the savings on paper.
“It replaces books, pens, notebooks and laptops so the students come ready to class,” said another teacher. “The students like it. It is easy to carry everything around on one device.”
Read more... 

Source: gulfnews.com

University students’ lessons go mobile by Sara Sabry

HCT to initiate paperless classrooms and learning environments.


Photo: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

"Abu Dhabi: Around 1,500 mobile devices will be provided to first-year bachelor degree students at several universities in efforts to take bold step towards paperless classrooms and learning environments in the capital", summarizes Sara Sabry, Staff Reporter.   

The move, which begin next month, will see the introduction of mobile technologies as learning tools for all Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) first–year students starting from the second semester in order to join more than 6,000 HCT foundation programme students, who are already using the tablet learning devices.  
“The introduction of the technology to students beyond the foundation programme was designed to assist with the gradual integration of mobile learning education into curricula as well as student’s learning experience,” said Dr. Mark Drummond, the provost of HCT, on Sunday.
 “The success of the initial mobile learning project, which has witnessed the introduction of about 6,370 mobile technology in the form of Apple iPads, has been the catalyst to include the technology for all first year bachelor programme students, starting in the second semester next month.”
A common response was the portability of the learning tools and environment and the savings on paper.
“It replaces books, pens, notebooks and laptops so the students come ready to class,” said another teacher. “The students like it. It is easy to carry everything around on one device.”
Read more... 

Source: gulfnews.com

E-learning trends: what to expect in 2013 by Kirsty Chadwick

Photo: Kirsty Chadwick
Kirsty Chadwick writes, "E-learning is expected to be worth US$107 billion globally by 2015. Experts predict that digital learning is going to be increasingly mobile in 2013, which will open it up to a wide audience in South Africa where 2.4 million people have access to the internet via their cell phones alone".


Just like interacting with technology every day has changed (and is changing) the way we work, the way we shop, the way we socialise, and other aspects of our lives, increasingly using technology in education is going to change the way we learn, too.  
 
"Gamification" is the current buzzword in the digital sphere, and it's likely to be the biggest trend to affect digital learning in 2013. In 2011 gamers in the US spent $17bn on video games and the average gamer in the US spends 10 hours a week gaming. E-learning designers and developers are starting to harness what it is that keeps gamers coming back for more to design more effective training material.

One of the things that's most compelling about playing video games is that you can't fail. If you don't succeed, you simply haven't won yet and you will, in most cases, keep trying until you do. This positive approach to learning boosts confidence and makes grasping new information a challenge rather than a chore. Adding a progress bar that gives physical form to a student's achievements, as in a video game, reinforces their sense of achievement as they progress.

In my next piece I look at how social learning and learning on the go will influence learning in 2013.
Read more...

Source: Bizcommunity.com
 

E-learning trends: what to expect in 2013 by Kirsty Chadwick

Photo: Kirsty Chadwick
Kirsty Chadwick writes, "E-learning is expected to be worth US$107 billion globally by 2015. Experts predict that digital learning is going to be increasingly mobile in 2013, which will open it up to a wide audience in South Africa where 2.4 million people have access to the internet via their cell phones alone".


Just like interacting with technology every day has changed (and is changing) the way we work, the way we shop, the way we socialise, and other aspects of our lives, increasingly using technology in education is going to change the way we learn, too.  
 
"Gamification" is the current buzzword in the digital sphere, and it's likely to be the biggest trend to affect digital learning in 2013. In 2011 gamers in the US spent $17bn on video games and the average gamer in the US spends 10 hours a week gaming. E-learning designers and developers are starting to harness what it is that keeps gamers coming back for more to design more effective training material.

One of the things that's most compelling about playing video games is that you can't fail. If you don't succeed, you simply haven't won yet and you will, in most cases, keep trying until you do. This positive approach to learning boosts confidence and makes grasping new information a challenge rather than a chore. Adding a progress bar that gives physical form to a student's achievements, as in a video game, reinforces their sense of achievement as they progress.

In my next piece I look at how social learning and learning on the go will influence learning in 2013.
Read more...

Source: Bizcommunity.com
 

'Facebook meets the classroom'

Blended learning expands options for students.

"In North College Hill High School’s library, junior Gracie Carver-Dews recently finished a class project, designing a video game in which a frenetic birdlike creature jumps onto blocks to grab at coins", reports news.cincinnati.com.

Photo: news.cincinnati.com
Next to her in class, junior Anthony Ledgyard finished assignments in Latin I and his Human Body class, both of which he takes online, hoping they’ll someday help him get into medical school.

Elsewhere in the building, social studies teacher Keith Spangler squeezes his first online class, psychology, in between his regular classes.

“I describe it as Facebook meets the classroom,” said Spangler, who teaches 26 students from around the country online.

“A very key cog in the whole process is collaboration among the students online ... I don’t think it replaces face-to-face classes, but I know this online stuff is here and is only getting bigger.”

North College Hill, a district of mostly low-income students, is wading into a national educational trend called blended learning, which marries traditional classroom instruction with online learning and assignments. And it is spreading to all kinds of schools – public and private, higher education and K-12 grades – as educators face societal and governmental pressure to increase the use of technology while getting students ready for college or a career.

More than 15 schools and districts in the region are trying blended learning. Many are just getting started, but it’s clear that blended learning comes in many flavors.
Read more...

Source: news.cincinnati.com