some of the findings in Kahoot!’s first-ever EdTrends Report : Google is gaining a stronghold in United States classrooms, with Chrome OS expanding its presence on school computers, while Apple’s iOS has been on the decline since the first quarter of 2015 among students and teachers.
Chromebook had the highest number of users among teachers (44 percent) and students (46 percent), when they were asked about their top devices used. Google’s Productivity Suite (G Suite or Classroom) was the most widely used productivity suite in U.S. classrooms, with 57 percent saying they used it, compared to 23 percent saying they used Microsoft Office 365.
a majority of educators (more than 60 percent) said the purpose of adopting education technology was to increase student productivity and efficiency. Their key educational priorities for 2017-18 are “to improve student learning and outcomes” (88 percent), and to “better leverage available time and motivate students” (71 percent).
Educators saw the top ed tech trends in the next school year as:
Digital platforms for teaching, learning and assessment;
Personalized learning;
Computational thinking, coding and robotics;
Increased understanding of data; and
Gamificiation.
Some other key findings in the report include:
A majority of U.S. public school educators surveyed said they are challenged with budget restraints and lack of resources when it comes to implementing education technology;
A majority of U.S. private school educators said they lack training to understand or adopt new technology;
Many public and private school educators said they saw the adoption of “technology for the sake of technology” as a challenge;
Educators in California struggle with lack of training and “technology for the sake of technology,” while teachers in Texas struggle with bureaucracy, budget constraints and a lack of resources.
MPS students will be receiving devices that come with 3GB of high-speed LTE data (with unlimited data available at 2G speeds if usage exceeds that amount). Students can keep their device up to four years while they are in high school no cost, according to initiative site. Additionally, devices are equipped with filters to block adult content that cannot be disabled and are Free Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) compliant.
The design of blended learning curriculum will be more diversified and personalized with the integration of creative in-class active learning strategies and innovative educational technologies, such as adaptive learning, virtual reality, mobile technologies
Quality assurance is the biggest challenge with implementing blended learning in the higher education environment today. I would propose institutions to adopt evidence-based standards for course evaluations. For instance, the OLC Quality Scorecard for Blended Learning Programs
App Smashing is the process of using multiple apps to create projects or complete tasks. App Smashing can provide your students with creative and inspired ways to showcase their learning and allow you to assess their understanding and skills.
Content created in one app transferred to and enhanced by a second app and sometimes third. Preferably the final product is then published to the web – remember, digital presence is the new résumé (CV).
Reasons to App Smash:
It demands creative thinking
It demands more from the technology (value for money)
It turns the issue of not having a ‘wonder app’ into a positive
It removes any restrictions to take a topic as far as it can be taken.
It often results in more engaging learning products
It’s a fun challenge for ‘digital natives’
Key rules for successful App Smashing:
Use the Camera Roll as your main conduit between apps
Leave the app choice to the students
Have a list of apps capable of smashing content together (See below)
MEL Science aims to release more than 150 lessons covering all the main topics included in K–12 schools’ chemistry curriculum. Later this year, MEL Science also aims to add support for other VR platforms, including Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR.
Augmented reality adds computer-generated content as a contextual overlay to the real world. This technology, often powered by devices we already carry, has enormous applications for training and development.
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality has existed for decades, but technology has finally emerged that makes it truly accessible. VR allows us to put learners in a truly immersive environment, creating entirely new opportunities for training and learning.
Expanded Realities
AR and VR are just the start of the alternate-reality conversation. There are additional technologies that we can use on their own or as part of a blend with AR and VR to increase the level of immersion in the experiences we create.
If you search Twitter effectively, there are not only great resources but great people to help you teach differently and keep the classroom more entertaining. You can grow your own personal learning network.
Code Builder is an extension for Minecraft that lets users perform typical Minecraft functions through code. It connects to ScratchX, Tynker and Microsoft’s new open source development tool, MakeCode.
