Eclectic Technology

PowToon allows learners to create animations...and they recently released a new version, Simple Mode, that makes it easier to use. Click through to the post to learn all the details.

You may also be able to get a free account with PowToon if you are an educator. They are giving away $10 million dolllars worth of free accounts. For information on this go to this link.

Jackie Gerstein shares nine questions that you might consider asking yourself as you design new units. Two are listed below. The infographic she designed, with nine questions is in the image above, and you can access a list of the nine questions as well as the infographic in her post.

* Will the learners get the chance to share their work with other learners with a more global audience?

* Will the learners find the learning activities engaging? interesting? relevant? useful?

Gerstein's questions help you focus on the learner.They may help you transform lessons in ways you had not envisioned.

There may not be apps for good teaching but there are ways to think about how you use technology that will improve the classroom. This post provides 8 recommendations. They are listed below but check out the post for additional information.

1. Keep learning goals ahead of the technology.

2. Opt for the open ended.

3. Don't let tech make learning easy.

4. Take feedback seriously.

5. Stay skeptical of individualized learning - for now.

6. Bring in students interests, authentically.

7. Start conversations

8. Make it open, make it better.

There is a lot of food for thought in this post.

What are the engaging techniques? Below are five. More are in the post and many have links to specific tools (many of which are free) that will help you.

* Interactive Collaboration

* Active Learning

* Student Created Presentations

* Embedding Questions in Videos

* Digital Maker Spaces

Learn much more by clicking though to the post.

The good news is that Socrative will remain free! According to this post by Richard Byrne MasteryConnect. At this point MasteryConnect and Socrative will run independently. In the future Socrative will be merged within MasteryConnect.

What are the ten blended learning design principles?
* Teacher at the Center

* Shared Vision and Strong Center

* Teacher Support

* Appropriate Technology to Match Learning Goals

* Ease of Use (Learner Experience)
* Rigorous and Engaging Curriculum

* Student Progress and Data-Processing

* Large and Deep Searchable Content Catalog

* Tools that Give Instant Access

* Open Online Platform That Does Not Limit

This infographic is geared to secondary education, but most of the principles listed above (and explained in more detail when you click through) also apply to schools whom would like to begin blended learning in the elementary school. The infographic also includes descriptions of a number of school districts that have implemented blended learning.

This infographic looks at both technology and education over the last four decades. Are there connections between these two themes? Take a look and see what was going on in the 1980's, 1990's, 2000's and today. This infographic provides geat depth in these two areas, noting that the:

* 1980's was the Age of Processing, the beginning of the Digital Age and a time when tech was a peripheral tool.

* 1990's was Hardware 2.0, the World Wide Web came into being and a time when tech begins to supplement.

* 2000's was the move to connectivity, to an age of sharing and portable devices and technology supplements instruction.

* Today - Perhaps this is yet to be written but a few years in we see multifunctional devices, personalization and technology as an integrated tool.

What would your students think of this chart? What conversation might arise in faculty meeting or with sharing this with the PTO or other stakeholders in your community? It does provide food for thought.

Richard Byrne shares six science games that are available online through Rice University. The games include:

* CSI Adventure - six adventures that allow students to become forensic scientists and solve a crime.

* Cool Science Careers - students may explore five STEM-based careers. Students take an interest survey and their adventure will be guided by their interests.

* MedMyst - learn about microbiology with a focus on infectious diseases and how they spread.

* Reconstructors allows you to "gather evidence and data to solve drug-related cases." (3 games)

* Virtual Clinical Trials - become a research scientist and help develope treatments for spinal cord injuries, depression and brain injuries.

* N-Squad - "investigate the effects of alcohol on the digestive, circulatory, and nervous systems."

These games are geared to middle and high school students and these adventures are also available in Spanish!

Here is a tool you might want to try with students whom have difficulty reading complex passages. Rewordify rephrases passages (simply cut and paste text into a "yellow box" or type directly into it). Users may select setting so they only see the "easier version" (although they may see the more difficult words as they mouse over the word) or have this option in reverse. You may also enter in a website and have them rewordify the site. There is much additional information on the site including a teacher and student demo. The site is free, and also works on tablet and smartphones. As we move to more informational text and more complex (think Common Core) this site may be quite valuable for many students.

Take a new look at PowerPoint after you view this table that helps you think about new ways you might use PowerPoint in your classroom. Find ideas on how you might connect Bloom's Taxonomy with PowerPoint in the table created by Aditi Rao.

This report is based on a survey done by Gallup for Microsoft Learning and the Pearson Foundation. There are many findings of interest in this report. Three are below (quoted from the report).

* The majority of respondents (59%) reported that they agree or strongly agree that they developed most of the skills they use in their current job outside of school. Only 15% disagree or strongly disagree, indicating they felt that they developed these skills in school.

* Developing 21st century skills in the last year of school is positively correlated with higher perceived work quality later in life. In fact, those who have high 21st century skill development are twice as likely to have higher work quality compared to those who had low 21st century skill development.

* Across the 21st century skills included in this study, real world problem-solving is the significant driver of higher work quality; however, less than two-thirds (63%) of respondents reported developing this skill often in the last year of school and that number drops to less than half (39%) for high school graduates

Is your school providing students with these skills? The survey also noted that 59% of participants reported learning these skills outside the classroom. To go directly to the report: http://www.gallup.com/strategicconsulting/162821/21st-century-skills-workplace.aspx.

Where will technology make the biggest impact on education? This post shares nine areas, based on research, where the use of technology is making an impact.

What are the ten areas? Below is a list of the top five. Find additional information on each by clicking through to the post, as well as links to other resources.

1. Critical Thinking - In this area four kinds of thinking are discussed: Analogical, Expressive Experiential, and Problem Solving.

2. Mobile Learning

3. Access to Education

4. Continuous Feedback

5. Unlimited and Immediate Learning

Please note that the title on the post days there are ten areas, but number four is missing in the document (or there are only nine areas). I renumbered the areas above so that they are consecutive.

Richard Byrne has updated his Best of the Web presentation. This version provides over 40 great websites/tools that you may want to check out. You should be able to find more information about each resource on this website also. Below are a few of the tools that may be new to you.

* Kahoot

* Canva

* Lucid Press

* Too Noisy

* JellyCam

There are many more in this post. As you watch the embedded presentation you may click on a link and go directly to the website (which opens in a new window).

Richard Byrne (of FreeTech4Teachers) has created a new slideshow of his top picks of web tools for 2014. He states "I shared only tools that are new-to-me since last year's NCTIES conference and or have released significant enhancements in the last year."

As always it is worth looking through this lengthy slideshow, which is embedded in the post and also available through Google docs so you may choose to save a copy. He notes that he will continue to add speaker notes to include "more links."

Some of these tools have been mentioned in this Scoop.it but there are quite a few that are new to me that I will be checking out.

This infographic provides a range of information including:

* A look at the various skills students are expected to master

* Definitions of the 21st century skills

* Identifying skills strengths

* A look at assessments and current trends

* How to bridge the gaps

Have you seen an RSA Animate video? Are you interested in learning how to make one or better yet, have your students make one? This post provides an in-depth look at how to go about have your students create an animated video that provides them with the opportunity to  practice 21st century skills (quoted from post below):

* collaborate with one another

* synthesize ideas

* create content

* communicate ideas clearly

* use technology

This activity is designed to have your students create content, providing you with materials to use in future classes as well as helping your current students understand the materiial.

The author, Jordan Collier, provides a detailed five-day plan. Day 1 would have you dividing students into groups of three, assign them a section of a chapter in a textbook, and determine the key facts that need to be taught. To read about how to assist them with this and the tasks for Day 2 - 5 click through to the post.

This infographic shows you the 7-Phase Model and the 7 Essentials of Project-Based Learning. The 7 Phase Model information comes from an article published by Edutopia (and is linked to in the post) and The 7 Essentials is based on a PBL GUide: A Resource for Instructors and Program Administrators, published by the National Academy Foundation and the Pearson Foundation. For more information on this topic be sure to check out these two resources.

One look at how iPads may be used in the classroom with suggestions of apps to use. Some additional apps are suggested in the post with explanations on why you might choose to use them. All to often when rolling out new tools teachers become overwhelmed. This diagram was developed with the author stating: "The point is that less than 15 apps can be a starting point for learning, with the substitution of applications based on the learner’s needs and educator’s requirements."