Mobile Learning

Lisa Johnson and Yolanda Barker (NEISD San Antonio Texas) visit with Kathy Burdick (Director of Development for Learning A-Z) about Mobile Learning. Kathy shares her passion for learning and how to connect with students. They also share valuable information on educational apps. I promise you this blogtalkradio session will get you excited about mobile learning and the use of apps in the classroom. Check out Kathy Burdick at Mobile iEducator and Lisa & Yolanda at Techchef4u

 

Listen to internet radio with Techchef4u on Blog Talk   Radio

The Value of Play

It seems education around the world has gone mad for testing and wanting kids to read earlier and earlier. Yes, a small percentage of four years are reading. I have a family member in that category but she is the exception not the rule. The age range for those beginning to read is very wide and getting wider. What’s the big rush! The best gift you can give a child is the gift of time and with this time hopefully comes some major time for play. Young children are learning through play! Play should not stop as children enter school. In fact, play time should be an essential part of the curriculum for children as they begin formal schooling. Play should continue through every young person’s school years. Hey, I would go so far as to say, play should also be an important part of our adult life. Now check out this video: Caine’s Arcade
I was reintroduced to the video with a blog post from Education Stormfront written by Andrew Barras. Here is the closing to his blog in titled “Caine’s Arcade – Teachers Should Watch This Video”: In this video Caine is learning the following skills: 1. Business 2. Marketing 3. Promotions 4. Math 5. Problem solving 6. Persistence 7. Creative thinking 8. Finances 9.
Things you can do with tape and cardboard. So the question you have to ask is how many of these skills will Caine learn in public school? Very few I bet. Even math will be learned in the abstract. I will wager that making this arcade will have more of an impact on his life than the 12 years he spends in a public school.

 What value do you see in play? Do you agree with the learning that Andrew Barras sees in Caine’s Arcade? Are you still playing and learning? At 73 years old I sure am!

Khan Academy

This guest post comes from Sean Gray. For those not familiar with the Khan Academy, Sean gives you a little history and a basic over view of the concept.

The Khan Academy and its methodology has become one of the hottest topics in the world of education. The reason it has become such a hot topic is because the Academy has “flipped” the traditional classroom and the way that lessons are presented to students. Traditionally, the teacher presented the material in a lecture format in the classroom and the students were assigned exercises that they were responsible for completing before the next day’s class. The Khan Academy, on the other hand, consists of lectures in video format that the students could watch on their own time and then go over the exercises with the teacher the next day in class.

The idea for the Khan Academy started simply enough. Sal Khan was tutoring his nephews long distance through phone calls. One day he got the idea to record the tutoring lesson and upload it to YouTube because he would not be able to connect with his nephews over the phone. The nephews enjoyed the lesson in this format so much that they asked him to continue recording the lessons rather than the phone calls. 

What Sal realized is that his nephews were able to use the videos whenever they needed. They could go back over the lessons as many times as they needed, including when they were doing their exercises. Their scores started to improve and word started to get around about the videos. The idea for these videos continued to grow until even Bill Gates of Microsoft fame invested in the Khan Academy.

The Khan Academy now boasts over 3000 videos on topics ranging from biology to physics. The videos themselves are simple enough, with hand-drawn explanations on a whiteboard with narration from the presenter. As the Khan Academy has grown, it has gained volunteers to present who are experts on these different topics. 
The Khan Academy itself is a non-profit organization with the simple goal of helping students achieve their academic goals. While even Sal Khan recognizes that the videos cannot replace a live instructor, the videos have proven to be a helpful resource for the students to use to help reinforce the teachings from their teacher's lectures. Some teachers have issues with the Khan Academy’s videos and its methodology. The technology is free and easy to use for those same teachers. They could take advantage and record their own lessons to help their students. \

What are your thoughts on the Khan Academy? You can leave a comment here or contact me, Sean Gray at sean-p@live.com.

Redefining Research

From Open-Site.org After 244 years, the Encyclopedia Britannica has decided to halt the presses and go out of print. Facing the realities and the stiff competition from Wikipedia, the Encyclopedia Britannica will now focus primarily on their online services. But even then, it might be too late. Wikipedia has grown to be the number one source for students. In fact, many students will stop research and change topics if it’s not on Wikipedia. Wikipedia provides a wealth of information with over 26 billion pages of content. Though the quality of Wikipedia has been questioned, the editors of Wikipedia, known as Wikipedians, are vigilant with ensuring the data in Wikipedia is current and accurate. Studies have even shown that Wikipedia is almost as accurate as the Encyclopedia Britannica. This infographic highlights how Wikipedia has revolutionized research and how it has become a reliable fountain of knowledge.
Via: Open-Site.org Do use Wikipedia for your research? If so, how often do you visit Wikipedia? Do you have a comment on the infographic from Open-Site?

Students Love Technology

Thanks to Cool Cat Teacher (Vicki Davis)  for calling this infographic on how students use technology to my attention.


Via: OnlineEducation.net

How Education is Being Changed by Technology

This Guest post is by Christine Kane from internet service providers, she is a graduate of Communication and Journalism. She enjoys writing about a wide-variety of subjects for different blogs. She can be reached via email at: Christi.Kane00 @ gmail.com.

When you think of a school setting what comes to mind? If you went to school anytime during the 1990’s or earlier you likely think of sitting in a classroom with your textbooks, pencils, notebooks, and backpacks. However if you’re a child of the 2000 era then your view of a traditional school setting is probably a little bit different. Technology has seeped into more and more aspects of the traditional school setting and slowly changed them to fit the emerging trends.

1.      From Libraries to the Internet

Before we had access to anything and everything at the touch of our fingers people did actually do research in books at libraries. However now that finding something is as easy as typing the topic into a search engine, it makes poring through books looking for the perfect morsels of information seem tedious and outdated.

2.      Online courses versus classroom setting

When online courses initially began being offered it was seen as a cop out, something that wasn’t nearly as challenging as a traditional class setting. However online education has taken the world by storm and now it’s become more the norm than the exception. It even helps cut back on spending for traditional schools, making it a win-win for everyone.

3.      Tablets taking over textbooks

Anyone who went to school before laptops and tablets took hold can attest to hauling around heavy backpacks laden with colossal textbooks. However more and more schools are adopting the practice of issuing each student their own laptop or tablet on secure networks so that they can submit homework and do research online.

4.      Lectures bring in YouTube

With the implementation of things like YouTube it has become easier than ever to make lectures more exciting by supplementing them with different short video clips. This is especially true for subjects like history because teachers can bring up all kinds of videos, such as old presidential campaigns or clips from movies. Being able to break up the monotony of lecturing helps keeps students more focused and engaged, and enables them to get more out of the whole learning experience.

5.      Shift in students

Before computers, tablets, and smartphones became the norm students came to classes ready to learn how to use computers, type, etc. However now children are exposed at a younger age to technology and many come into schools already being quite proficient with computers in every form. Students are becoming better at multi-tasking earlier on because of this constant exposure to computers, the internet, social media, and even video games.

Technology has been changing education steadily over the years, but recently has taken an even stronger hold in how the school systems work. We can only expect technology to continue to strengthen its footholds in education as it continues to grow. 

The Adventures of Annie and Her Boys: Phillip Island

Years ago, 1967-68 to be exact, I was a Fulbright Exchange Teacher in Australia. It was a wonderful year of making new friends and taking in the sights of the land down under. This year I was contacted by Annie Tunheim from Denver Colorado. Her husband is an art teacher and she shared with me they would spend a year in Australia. Chris will be teaching in small town just south of Sydney. Annie begins blogging about the year in Aussie land a few months before they departed. She is a marvelous writer and I know you will enjoy reading her blog The Adventure of Annie and Her Boys.

The Adventures of Annie and Her Boys: Phillip Island: We left Wilsons Prom, my heart full of wombats, and drove over to Phillip Island. On the way there, we stopped and saw the pelican feeding ...