Boom. Loved this. Rule #1:
Do not set out to “fix” anyone’s teaching
If you’re working with veteran educators, this is especially important. They have been successful in their field for many years, often decades. Perhaps they teach an AP course and are used to a high percentage of 4’s and 5’s on the AP exam. Maybe they teach a writing class and feel that they are effectively preparing their students with advanced writing skills. Regardless of their specialty, approaching a hesitant teacher with an eye to radically change their curriculum and pedagogy can feel threatening and critical.
Instead, try this: observe what they do in the classroom that’s made them successful and build out from there. Offer suggestions on how to make their good teaching practices more efficient or effective, using tools that clearly make tasks easier to accomplish. Perhaps DropBox will facilitate distributing handouts in the classroom, Google Drive is a better alternative to emailing drafts back and forth, or Google Earth can provide more interactive exploration of the Grand Canyon. Tailor your approach to each faculty member, with specific ideas to facilitate and/or enhance their teaching. As they become comfortable with new tech, they will very likely be open to conversations about other digital tools you are using in your own work.
MIT Media Labs’ Mitch Resnick | Everyone Should Code (via courtenaybird)
I’m a huge supporter of encouraging students to use technology to create things, and then to share them in some way with the world around them. Aside from encouraging them to be global citizens, I think it has the positive side effect of giving them ownership of content, and the experience of actively wanting other people to share their work with proper attribution (which helps reinforce the importance of not plagiarizing others).
(via world-shaker)
(via world-shaker)
Watch: How this $40 tablet (DataWind’s super-cheap Ubislate 7ci) aims to revolutionize education in India and developing countries »
The lastest version of the Indian-designed Aakash tablet could shake up education in developing countries and double the number of people who have access to the Internet. Will DataWind deliver? […] It has the basic functionality of a smartphone, Wi-Fi connectivity, rear and front-facing cameras, and a micro-USB port (!). The parts are assembled in China and India (a sort of nebulous supply chain). It runs Android 4, like many high-end smartphones, but Tuli (Suneet Singh Tuli, the CEO of DataWind, a British based company) plans to sell the tablet at a fraction of what many of those cost.
(via courtenaybird)
Einstein’s Brain Now an Interactive iPad App
The brain that revolutionized physics now can be downloaded as an appfor $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.
Cartoon of the day by Matthew Diffee. For more from this week’s issue: http://nyr.kr/QQfAIp
OK Go teaches about Primary Colors »
I tell you… those people at sesame street know what they are doing. Always relevant.
good:
‘Girls Who Code’ Graduates Its First Class
The New York City-based nonprofit is closing the computer science gender gap.
Students Urge Teachers to Embrace Digital Tools – SchoolBook (via infoneer-pulse)
Argh! You won’t be replaced, you’ll be enhanced. And you’ll be a leader in showing them the potential of the technology they take for granted, as well as how to use it in a way that promotes healthy citizenship.
(via world-shaker)
(via world-shaker)
Reinventing the Classroom (by HKTDC)
A colleague of mine, Claus Nehmzow, a Hong Kong-based entrepreneur… has come up with an innovative way to make learning fun. 3D Avatar School combines the benefits of face-to-face learning with an online gaming experience.
Pretty cool stuff
(via gerdfuturist)
Many parents remain reluctant to buy their children e-books, preferring the prospect of a few crinkled pages to that of a cracked iPad screen. But that is rapidly changing.
Though picture books didn’t translate well to the black-and-white screens of the original e-readers, beloved titles like “The Cat in the Hat” now have their own iPad apps. Indeed, publishing revenue in the juvenile e-book category, which tracks books for children up to 18 years of age, jumped 233% to $64 million in the first quarter of 2012. “It’s the fastest growing category in trade,” says Andi Sporkin, a spokeswoman for the Association of American Publishers.
» via SmartMoney
