Author Archive

18
Apr
2018

engage with Dungeons and Dragons

categories: announcement

Use Dungeons & Dragons to engage all students!

By Christopher Bugaj 3/14/2018 Assistive and adaptive technologies Gaming
https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=2156
Beyond scripted shows, Twitch streams like Critical Role and Girls, Guts, Glory along with podcasts like Godsfall help make learning the game more accessible to newbies. Creators, artists, and celebrities, such as Vin Diesel, Joe Manganiello, Deborah Ann Woll, Patton Oswalt, Wil Wheaton, Chris Hardwick, Matthew Lillard, Anderson Cooper and Stephen Colbert, publicly attest to how playing Dungeons & Dragons fosters creativity.
The ISTE Standards for Students provide a guide for the end game. The objective is to help individuals learn how to take ownership of their learning, make positive contributions to society, and analyze and use resources effectively while working together to build innovative new solutions to problems. What was once thought of as the R’s (reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic) have grown to include the C’s of creativity, communication, collaboration, cooperation, contribution, critical thinking, computation, compromise, and community. These new C’s aren’t meant to be accidental, ancillary byproducts of educational practices but, instead, are the focus and intention of the design of instructional experiences. According to the Every Student Succeeds Act and the National Educational Technology Plan, the charge and expectation is that these skills are meant for the masses. Dungeons & Dragons provides a platform for students of varying abilities to practice all of these skills in a safe, enjoyable environment.

17
Apr
2018

Education teched frenemies

categories: educational technology, instructional technology

Dr. Christopher Emdin Strikes US Education, Edtech and ‘Frenemies’ at SXSWedu

By Jenny Abamu and Sydney Johnson     Mar 7, 2017

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-03-06-dr-christopher-emdin-strikes-us-education-edtech-and-frenemies-at-sxswedu

When a student is brilliant on the street corner but falling asleep in class, something is wrong with the schooling system.

Emdin labeled financially-driven education entrepreneurs as “enemies.” And he took on the nonprofit leaders, policymakers and edtech do-gooders he believes have “good intentions but enemy executions,” dubbing them “frenemies.”

 

17
Apr
2018

teaching with technology conference

categories: announcement, teaching, technology

Magna Teaching with Technology Conference,

October 5, 2018, St. Louis, MO

https://www.magnapubs.com/teaching-with-technology-conference/plenary-sessions.html

  • Thriving Minds: What’s Working, What’s Not, and What’s Next in Teaching with Technology

Michelle D. Miller, director, First Year Learning Initiative, professor of psychological sciences, Northern Arizona University

Educational technology has survived its early challenges—but is it thriving yet?

take a look at some outstanding examples of what evidence-based, engaging, technologically-enhanced teaching can look like in practice. We will then consider approaches, resources, and techniques that could help us push past some of the biggest challenges faced by our movement. These approaches include making students our allies in the fight against distraction and disengagement; explicitly considering cognitive principles when developing, incorporating and evaluating new technologies; and nurturing faculty and instructional designers as an important—perhaps the most important—source of truly useful, truly innovative ideas for teaching and learning with technology.

  • What Role does/should the 3T’s of Technique, Tools, and Time Play in Modern Educational Practices?

Dave Yearwood, professor, University of North Dakota

What use are discussions about tools without some understanding about the techniques needed to maximize a tool’s effectiveness in multiple settings? What teaching and learning opportunities can educators and students take advantage of when technological tools are leveraged with proven practices to gain knowledge and understanding about what is possible? Furthermore, what factors should be considered regarding the efficient use of time in task achievement and task completion of identified learning goals in face-to-face and online settings? Tools, Technique, and Time, the 3 triplets of ePedagogy cannot be looked at in isolation. An examination of the 3t’s will be conducted with the intent of revealing through examples how the triplets can be applied/used in a complimentary fashion to help faculty and students achieve their collective identified educational objectives—increased learning and understanding with targeted applications.

  • Educators as Designers and the Architecting of Learning

Remi Kalir, assistant professor of information and learning technologies, University of Colorado Denver

design and create learning environments, learning opportunities, and learning technologies.

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more on teaching with technology in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=teaching+with+technology

17
Apr
2018

edtech implementation fails

categories: collaboration and creativity, Digital literacy, educational technology, information technology, instructional technology, technology

5 All-Too-Common Ways Edtech Implementations Fail

By Chris Liang-Vergara and Kerry Gallagher (Columnist)     Apr 6, 2017

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-04-06-5-all-too-common-ways-edtech-implementations-fail

On the surface, adopting technology to support teacher needs or student challenges isn’t terribly complex: define the problem you’re trying to solve, identify the right tools for the job, and implement the tools effectively and with fidelity.

challenges. End users are too often removed from the decision-making process during procurement. Educators argue that too many products don’t actually meet the needs of teachers or students. Still others worry that it is too easy to implement new and popular technology without considering whether it is research-based and effective.

Only 33 percent of parents surveyed by the Learning Assembly said their child’s school did an excellent job using technology to tailor instruction.

  • Understanding Purpose

Technology is just a tool, not a means in and of itself. Any school or teacher that sets out to use technology for its sake alone, and not in the service of personalizing learning or addressing specific needs, is on a mission to fail.

  • Insufficient Modeling of Best Practices

A survey from Samsung found that 37 percent of teachers say they would love to use technology but don’t know how, and 76 percent say they would like a professional development day dedicated to technology.

ideos that focus on scaling and modeling best practices (produced by places like the Teaching Channel and The Learning Accelerator) can help teachers and schools do this.

  • Bad First Impressions

Teachers face initiative fatigue: They are constantly being asked to implement new programs, integrate new technologies, and add on layers of responsibility. In one Wisconsin district, nearly half of teachers felt ongoing district initiatives were a “significant area of concern.”

Forward-thinking schools take the time to learn from the challenges of other schools, and recruit a coalition of the willing.

  • Real-World Usability Challenges

Relying on multiple devices (remote, clicker, iPad, computer mouse) to launch or navigate technology can be difficult. Additionally, teachers may start to use a tool, only to realize it is not flexible enough to meet their original needs, fit into the constraints of their particular school or classroom, or allow them to integrate their own content or supplemental resources.

  • The Right Data to Track Progress

Lack of useful data, problem definition, weak teacher buy-in, first impressions, and usability challenges all have the potential to torpedo smart technology products.

 

17
Apr
2018

practical about VR and AR in schools

categories: AR, Digital literacy, educational technology, instructional technology

Beyond the Hype: 5 Ways to Think About Virtual and Augmented Reality in Schools

By Jenny Abamu     Feb 7, 2017

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-02-07-beyond-the-hype-5-ways-to-think-about-virtual-and-augmented-reality-in-schools

1. Ask Yourself: Why VR or AR

AR and VR are mediums for the transmission of information, and many people will judge these mediums by the content that is produced within them. For educators seeking to gain buy-in from administrators and other colleagues it is critical for them to justify the reasons their content requires new reality media.

2. Just Dive In

Gartner Hype Cycle’s “slope of enlightenment”—meaning the technology is just entering public acceptance.

Given the newness of these mediums, it is no surprise that few curricular resources exist to support courses around VR and AR. Professional development sessions on new reality tools are almost non-existent, which means educators seeking to use virtual or augmented reality simply need to dive into the subjects.

3. Go Beyond Storytelling

Studies using VR demonstrate the ‘Proteus Effect’—taking on the psychology of inhabiting a different body and unconsciously changing our behavior to conform to it (learning empathy through VR)

4. Master the Machines

“The equipment matters. If there is a latency between the computer and the VR set that can cause a lot of problems,”
With VR equipment ranging from about $15 to $600 educators will have to check the budget or start writing grant proposals to gain access to the higher quality machines.

5. Understand Your Student’s Needs

described as a “quantum shift” in the way we interact, learn and experience.

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more on VR and AR in schools in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=virtual+rality+education

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