Tech and Curriculum Development

In a poll of readers of SmartBrief and EdTech, teachers were asked what types of resources they used when developing curriculum.  Over 80% of teachers responded that they used online resources for developing core subject courses. Textbooks were used about 15%, with software programs, coming in at 4%. Only about 5% of the teachers in the poll said they did not use online resources in curriculum development.

As for how teachers share what they do in curriculum development, most suggested in-person meetings over professional networks and social media.

 

Thinking Like Philosophers

We don’t often think of middle schoolers as philosophers, but sixth graders at the JFK Middle School in Northhampton, Massachusetts are learning philosophy from the “What’s the Big Idea” site. Site content, created by a faculty member at the school, teaches students to listen to others and to think before speaking and acting. Included on the site are film clips, discussion questions, and handouts related to topics such as bullying, lying, peer pressure, friendship, and environmental ethics.

iPads Dominate School Market

According to the Education Week article, “Educators Weigh iPad’s Dominance of Tablet Market”, iPads claim nearly 94% of the school market in tablets. Keith Bockwoldt, Director of Technology, Township High School District 214 in Illinois, tells of a flood of visitors to his district who are anxious to learn about the 1-1 iPad initiative. Although, Bockwoldt says his focus is on transforming learning, not on the device used, those who observe the Township program go away “sold” on the power of iPads.  With the expense of iPads, some schools are looking to less costly devices such as Google Chromebook, Microsoft Surface, and the new Google Play. But, David T. Vinca of eSpark Learning says, “It’s our belief that the most engaging education experiences for students are being created for the iPad.”

While the market today is dominated by the iPad, with the fast-moving pace of technology, who knows what types of devices will be in our classrooms of the future?

Does Tech in Education Help Students Learn?

Carnegie Mellon University wants to know how educators can best use technology with their students, and to find out, the university has announced the Simon Initiative, called the “world’s largest database on student learning.” Researchers at Carnegie Mellon will use the data to find out what are actually the best practices in using technology in the classroom. Most educators are convinced that technology in classrooms works well in helping students learn. We see it every day in our schools; The Simon Project is designed to use a multitude of data to prove that we are right.

The project proposal has the following goals: “sharing rich data globally, helping teachers teach, acceleration innovation and scaling through start-up companies . . . .” This will be an interesting project to watch, since its outcomes will certainly be of use to all our schools, PK-college.

BYOD—Bring Your Own Disaster

Tech&Learning, together with Intel, offers the white paper, “Don’t Let BYOD Stand for ‘Bring Your Own Disaster’.”  To initiate a BYOD program, schools need to implement plans that include teacher training, student guidance, and an infrastructure that can handle a variety of devices. Although, it may sound good and may seem the reasonable and cost-effective path to allow students to bring their own devices, you’ll need to consider how teachers will handle the program in their classrooms. Are they prepared for BYOD? What content will they use? Is your network ready for BYOD? Are your tech people ready for BYOD? Will your administrators take the lead? What rules will you need? What professional development will be offered? The white paper covers all these issues and more.

Smithsonian’s Wiggle and Stomp

Send your youngest students on a virtual tour of the Smithsonian National Zoological Park with the free app, Shutterbugs: Wiggle and Stomp. Using the app, your students, with the help of Ada, the Zookeeper, learn about flamingos, lions, mole rats, pandas, and so many more animals. They use the virtual Shutterbug camera to snap pictures of animals they find on their journey throughout the game. The app is designed to be used by individual players; it will adapt itself to the level of the user.

If you like Shutterbugs, you’ll want to keep a lookout on the Smithsonian Science Education site for the upcoming games, Habitats and Memory Watch.

Typing with Thumbs and the “Wrong Fingers”

As often as teens message, you’d think they’d have really fast typing skills, even with their thumbs. Some type extremely fast this way, but many, when it comes to typing reports, papers, and projects, struggle. Usually the thumb-touch method is confined to smart phones and smaller digital devices, but many teens have developed their own unorthodox typing styles, often using just a few fingers when typing on full keyboards.

Parents agonize over slow typing speeds and urge schools to put traditional typing back into the curriculum. Common Core standards call for keyboarding, but to be sure, it is difficult to break teens of typing methods they’ve become accustomed to. Janqui Murray (Askateacher.wordpress.com) says that she teaches using correct fingers but that it’s a constant battle with her students who excel at their own techniques. Most students, however, according to Murray, need help and benefit from learning to type properly.

Top Ten Tech Skills for Teens

With all that teens are learning as they use digital devices and the Internet, it is difficult to sort through what they actually need to know. Cindy Donaldson in her article on Education.com (August 2013), polled companies in Silicon Valley to find what their leaders thought were skills all teens should master. The skills recommended are typing, word processing, spreadsheets, PowerPoint, eMail, electronic calendars, Netiquette, social networking, basic computer upkeep, using Internet searches properly for research, and use of databases. Other skills suggested are related to blog making, photo processing, and making a Web page. 

It seems to me that using critical and innovative thinking skills, learning to work collaboratively, and adapting to new technologies should be added to the list, because these skills will certainly be needed.

46 Tools for Creating Infographics

TeachThought, a site that has unique lists and information that you can use in your classroom gives you “46 Tools to Make Infographics in The Classroom”. Because visuals are important in learning, this list is a great one to browse as you look for tools and apps that will work for you. TeachThought tells us that there are an abundance of resources available, but that their personal favorite is the free Pictochart. Some of the others are iCharts, Dipity, Free Data, Google Chart Tools, Wordie, and Smile Widgets. The resources recommended offer different options, so you’ll need to look through the list for the ones that may be useful to you.

Daily Infographic: Condensed Visual Information

It’s fun to look at the exciting visuals produced by Daily Infographic. The group puts out a new “poster” every day, and although not all will fit your course needs, you’re sure to find excellent resources among the infographics.

You can sign up to get one each day through RSS, eMail, Facebook, or Twitter and/or you can search available infographics by categories such as Contests, Health, Politics, Education, Environmental, Tech, Mind Blowing, and Music. Some of the education offerings are Bring Food Education Back, Famous Personality Types, Do You Love Science, and Reading for the Future.