The iPad goes back to school

When Dr. Martin Ringle introduced the then-new iPad to Oregon’s Reed College in the fall of 2010, he was more than a little cautious. After all, he had seen educational-technology trends come and go—he even had an old Apple Newton gathering dust in a drawer somewhere.
Ringle, the chief technology officer at Reed, planned to try iPads purely as a test and not to get caught up in the hype. “We want students and faculty to have the devices in a live setting,” Ringle said, “and see what they discover.”
Two years later, after multiple pilot programs, Ringle has this to report: He is an iPad believer.

Education Technology Success Story – Carpe Diem Collegiate High School

This exciting institution is one of many success stories that have been enabled through expertly planned and executed uses of instructional technologies and other education innovations.

With the new school year off and running, it’s a great time to seek out and share inspiring stories about education technology successes in our schools. It’s also been a year since the New York Times kicked off a series on the value of education technology investments, and while a lot of the right questions were examined in those articles,

10 Emerging Education and Instructional Technologies that all Educators Should Know About (2012)

The technologies that can have the best impact on education are evolving quickly from year to year, and the pace seems to be quickening.

Naturally, as author of EmergingEdTech, I’m always keeping an eye out for education and instructional technologies that are emerging from the seemingly endless array of tools and concepts that are out there – which applications and ideas are rising to the fore and best positioned to enhance engagement and impact learning? This year I’ve also been working with constituents at The College of Westchester to develop a Strategic Technology Plan for the next 3 years, so it’s never been more important for me to be aware of those impactful education technologies and concepts that are on the horizon or are already in use and pulling ahead of the pack.

How Are iPads Changing Education?

Do you use Apple’s iPad for educational purposes, one-on-one and/or in the classroom? How do they help students learn better, and/or help you teach better? What do you do with them that you couldn’t do with other tools, like a chalkboard or a laptop?
In the roughly two years since the iPad was first released, Apple has sold about 65 million of them! Perhaps no other product of any kind – let alone something costing 400 US dollars – has sold so many units so quickly.

The Problem with Design Education

Peter Belanger

 

Design—central to successful technologies—is too isolated from science education, argues design guru Don Norman.


University industrial design programs are usually cloistered in schools of art or architecture, and students in such programs are rarely required to study science or technology. That bothers Don Norman, former head of research at Apple and an advocate of user-friendly design. Having traditional design skills—in traditional artistic pursuits like drawing and modeling—isn't enough, he says, because the creators of good products and services also must have a working knowledge of everything from the technical underpinnings of microprocessors and programming to the policy aspects of information security. 

The Crisis in Higher Education

Online versions of college courses are attracting hundreds of thousands of students, millions of dollars in funding, and accolades from university administrators. Is this a fad, or is higher education about to get the overhaul it needs?

Nicholas Carr

Infographic on Technology in the Classroom - What Teachers Want

 

An interesting infographic from PBS on what teachers want for technology in the classroom:

3 Reasons Why Linear E-Learning May Be the Best Solution

It would be cool if every course we build was highly interactive with decision-making branches. But the reality is that not all elearning courses need to be that way.

Despite the complaints we hear about linear, click-and-read courses, there are plenty of times when linear is the best solution. This isn’t a defense of bad elearning (that often is linear). Instead it’s an acknowledgement that there’s a place for linear content.

12 EdTech Tools to Know and Use This Year 2012

Free online resources offer options for integrating technology in the classroom.

I am a big believer in routines. My first task each morning, after I sit down at my computer and settle in for the day, is to scour my favorite education blogs and websites for information that I think our readers might find useful.

iPads (and tablets) in K12 - When will we get it together?

Summary: An interview with John Martellaro over at the Mac Observer got me thinking...why can't we get this right?

By Christopher Dawson for ZDNet Education

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of talking with John Martellaro over at the Mac Observer. He had written an article a couple weeks ago about "The Real Reason Apple Wants a 7-inch iPad" which, in part, inspired my own post on the new Kindle Fire HD and its inability to change the game in education. My problem with tablets in education has, for the relatively short time tablets and e-readers have been floating around, always been one of ecosystem (or the lack thereof).

Einstein’s brain is now an interactive iPad app

The brain that revolutionized physics now can be downloaded as an app for $9.99. But it won't help you win at Angry Birds.

While Albert Einstein's genius isn't included, an exclusive iPad application launched Tuesday promises to make detailed images of his brain more accessible to scientists than ever before. Teachers, students and anyone who's curious also can get a look.
A medical museum under development in Chicago obtained funding to scan and digitize nearly 350 fragile and priceless slides made from slices of Einstein's brain after his death in 1955. The application will allow researchers and novices to peer into the eccentric Nobel winner's brain as if they were looking through a microscope.

8 Amazing Ways Google Glasses Will Change Education

Education is already seeing some major changes in light of new, cutting-edge technologies. Students can now access educational information from virtually anywhere at any time, and mobile devices are influencing some to flip their classrooms, changing the educational experience altogether. While current technologies are making waves, further changes linked to upcoming technologies may be on the horizon.

History of Educational Technology

There is no written evidence which can tell us exactly who has coined the phrase educational technology. Different educationists, scientists and philosophers at different time intervals have put forwarded different definitions of Educational Technology. Educational technology is a multifaceted and integrated process involving people, procedure, ideas, devices, and organization, where technology from different fields of science is borrowed as per the need and requirement of education for implementing, evaluating, and managing solutions to those problems involved in all aspects of human learning.
Educational technology, broadly speaking, has passed through five stages.

50 Education Technology Tools Every Teacher Should Know About

Technology and education are pretty intertwined these days and nearly every teacher has a few favorite tech tools that make doing his or her job and connecting with students a little bit easier and more fun for all involved.
Yet as with anything related to technology, new tools are hitting the market constantly and older ones rising to prominence, broadening their scope, or just adding new features that make them better matches for education, which can make it hard to keep up with the newest and most useful tools even for the most tech-savvy teachers.

Sweden’s Newest School System Has No Classrooms

Architect Rosan Bosch designed the school to encourage both independent and collaborative work such as group projects and PBL. Even the furniture is meant to get students learning. Bosch says each piece is meant to “aid students in engaging” while working.

There’s a whole new classroom model and it’s a sight to behold. The newest school system in Sweden look more like the hallways of Google or Pixar and less like a brick-and-mortar school you’d typically see.

How Students Can Create Their Own e-Textbooks On An iPad

Two of the most powerful apps on the iPad may be completely invisible: iBooks and the Camera Roll. However, when used together, they have the potential to create powerful learning experiences and dynamic projects.

Dynamic Math Portfolios

In July, Greg Kulowiec and I taught a workshop on Creating Digital Course Content. One of our participants, a high school math teacher, initially set out to create his own textbook. However, as we started exploring BookCreator, he realized that the real value may be in the students creating their own collection of books over the course of the year.

How An Amsterdam School Uses Facebook Timeline In History Classes

Facebook, despite its massive size, is one of the least talked about social media tools in the education technology world. But a high school class in Amsterdam has started using it for educational purposes and you can check out the hard work they’ve done!

Students at Het 4e Gymnasium Amsterdam have had their history class infused into their digital lives thanks to school principal Hans Verhage and the creative agency THEY.

The Flipped Classroom

The Flipped Classroom is an interesting concept in blended learning, focussing on literally 'flipping' the traditional model of education...

As Karl Fisch identified, regular homework requiring students to apply theory to problems/activities, highlights three groups;

Educational Resources debuts LearnPad

Educational Resources® (“ER™”) is releasing the LearnPad™ tablet solution to the US market. The LearnPad™ is a customized school-based tablet solution that supports a wide range of curriculum resources, including tablet “apps”, websites and Flash-based learning content. It contains easy-to-use tools expressly designed to support effective teaching with out-of-the-box utility. “Contrast the LearnPad™ with various brands’ consumer tablets, and it is easy to see they are overtly lacking any embedded instructional utility. The LearnPad™ addresses rather than over-simplifies everyday school challenges.” says Kevin Shupenia, VP of Tablet Solutions for Educational Resources®.

New technologies for schools: September 2012

A new way to measure the color brightness of projectors, a messaging service that could boost parent engagement in their children’s lessons, and math software that targets “perceptual learning” are among the latest ed-tech tools described in the September 2012 edition of eSchool News.
Our September edition is now available in digital format on our website. You can browse the full publication here, or click on any of the headlines below to read these highlights:

Tablets, laptops and mobiles in the classroom: top tips from teachers

Tablets, laptops and mobiles aren't there to replace traditional teaching tools, but designed to complement them. Our panel of education experts share advice on using one to one devices in schools .

This week we've been exploring how technology is being used to educate and engage in the classroom and our piece on using mobile phones in the classroom caused quite the stir, attracting comments from enthusiasts, skeptics and those teachers in between.

Intro to Online Course Design

"Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." 
— Steve Jobs
As an online instructor, you may find yourself involved in numerous roles related to online course design. Whether you are responsible for the conversion or adaptation of a traditional course for online delivery, assigned to teach courses that were previously designed and developed by others, or relied on for content expertise as a member of a design and development team, your understanding of the online course design process is crucial to the development of an effective learning environment for future students.

Teaching With Tablets

Tablets can be used for much more than playing games and reading the latest e-books. Learn more about how tablets are also changing the face of education.

How to Make Your Own Infographics

Website provides 10 tools for educators to make shareable online graphs and diagrams.

Of all the content we post to this site, infographics, without fail, get the most love from our readers.
Given the increasingly visual — and, for that matter, social — world in which we live, it’s no wonder that educators and administrators have an affinity for our more colorful, data-driven resources. Infographics are at their best when they combine an interesting topic with clear visuals and statistics to tell a compelling narrative. Consider these examples: