Articles In The Technology in the Classroom Category
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Awesome Infographic Tools for Teachers
image from iStock
Infographics seem to be everywhere—and if you are on Pinterest as often as I am, then you have most likely seen them peppering your home page too. We (Pearson K-12 Technology) have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to awesome infographics that I love to check out every once in awhile.The description under the board says, “Information graphics (or what are better-known as infographics) are visual representations of information. In short, they make learning more fun!”
I agree with the last part—that they have the ability to make learning …
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Four Video Projects for Your Classroom
Educators are always looking for new ways to energize their classroom while enhancing their students’ learning experience. One way teachers can achieve this is by incorporating video projects into their curriculum. When constructed correctly, video projects can impart to students several different learning skills including writing, researching, producing, and revising.
Video projects can benefit teachers as well. Not only do teachers enjoy watching them, but they also provide a new medium that can be viewed by administrators and parents too. This is a unique way to showcase what students have …
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How to Flip the Younger Grade Level Classroom
At first glance, flipping the classroom seems only suitable for upper grade levels; however, it can also work for the younger grade levels too. The key difference between flipping the older versus the younger is the amount of supervision and assistance required. As you can probably assume, the younger-aged students will require more teacher or parent management, but don’t let this shy you away from trying it—it can be very effective and may be worth the extra time and effort.
image from iStock
Here is how you can successfully flip the younger … -
Six Advantages of Cloud Computing in Education
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There is a lot of buzz about cloud computing right now—in fact, it is said that within one year, cloud computing in K-12 schools is expected to consume a quarter of the entire IT budget; four years from now, that figure will grow to 35 percent. But what exactly is cloud computing and why are so many people using it?Simply put, cloud computing entails using a network of remote servers hosted on the internet as opposed to a local server. This helps cut IT costs as well as …
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Using iPads to Align with the Common Core
Digital literacy is integral component to the Common Core Standards. The skill of critically navigating, consuming, and producing digital text and media has increasingly significant influence on a student’s success as an adult. In fact, it is even mentioned in the Standard’s portrait of students who are college and career ready, which states,
“Students employ technology thoughtfully to enhance their reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language use. They tailor their searches online to acquire useful information efficiently, and they integrate what they learn using technology with what they learn offline. They … -
Implementing a Successful 1:1 Learning Environment
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1:1 learning environments provide students with anywhere, anytime portable devices to enhance their learning experience. While this may seem like an inaccessible goal for some, the rise in mobile technology (iPod, smart phones, tablets, etc.) is making it much easier for classrooms and schools to access it.
In fact, many educators have even encouraged students to “bring-your-own-device” (BYOD) into the class to use for an assignment, which is one cost-effective way for schools to do 1:1 learning.
Chances are, you will use a 1:1 teaching method as some point. So … -
Better Schedules = Better Schools = Better Student Outcomes
A school’s master schedule directly impacts student achievement. It’s a careful blend of data-driven decision making and systematic, manual construction methods. Did your eyes just glaze over? You’re not alone.
Building a master schedule takes hours and hours of careful construction, review, feedback, deconstruction, reconstruction, and sometimes a good amount of banging one’s head against one’s desk—that is until you’ve been to a Master Schedule Building Workshop (MSBW).
Here’s what it is and what you learn in a nutshell:Gain valuable insights from a 2-day intensive workshop with the most experienced group of …
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Five EdTech Tools that Support the Common Core
The Common Core State Standards are in place to help students become confident in solving real world problems, strengthen their ability to grasp ideas, understand other perspectives and cultures– just to name a few. But did you know that the Common Core State Standards also seek to advance students’ technology and digital media skills?
In this day and age, it’s critical for students to practice using applicable technology so that they can prepare for life beyond high school. In fact, the Common Core states, “Just as media and technology are integrated …
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Technology Tool for the Classroom: Wordle
Wordle is a free tool that squeezes any section of text into a “word cloud.” The generated visual illustration highlights the most-used words in the text by increasing their size, and decreasing the less-frequent ones. You can also customize these clouds with various fonts, layouts, and color schemes.
image created from Wordle
I was first introduced to Wordle by a Professor at a University who had been using the tool with her undergraduate students. It instantly dawned on me that it would be perfect to use with K-12 students too. Here are …
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Four Gaming Resources for Learning
Most educators view games as a way to incentivize students for good behavior, or to play during excess time in the class. However, using video games for learning purposes has caught fire in the classroom, and I don’t see it burning out anytime soon! In fact, MindShift just posted a video this week about How Games Are Being Used for Learning that I highly recommend checking out. Not convinced? Head on over to Mashable for another article about Why Education Needs to Get Its Game On.
The great thing about this …