Learning where you are

I shared this concept video a few months ago to illustrate just one broad aspect of mobile learning. But it has been misinterpreted by at least one administrator that I know.




The point of the video is not about knowing where you are. The point is is learning where you are and using what you (and your students) already have.

This article was originally posted at http://ashleytan.wordpress.com/2011/01/19/learning-where-you-are/

Online learning in 2011

As the new year takes off with a flying start, this is a great time to look forward to what's in store for online learning and learners in 2011.

2010 saw the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) become the second largest in the country, second only to Florida's Virtual Public School program. Many North Carolina school districts are finding it more economical and efficient to pay the NCVPS rate of $600/per student per class rather than hiring teachers for courses that fall outside the standard curriculum but remain crucial to providing NC students with a quality, well-rounded education.

NCVPS will continue to grow in 2011 as NC school districts deal with a new round of budget cuts, and a increasingly diverse and demanding student population that expects all schools to offer high quality courses in a variety of subjects.

Educational applications for smartphones like the BlackBerry and Apple's iPhone (and associated products) will continue to grow in number and variety. Look for more foreign language apps, more apps aimed at all ages (especially younger users), and more apps aimed at learning specific skills "in time". Learning available when you need it.

Beware though of "in app purchases" which can cost substantial amounts of real world money. See: Smurf app fees leave parents steaming. While children become more and more tech savvy, parents still need to be aware of exactly what their children are doing online. A lapse in a attention can cost parents a lot of money.

Free or low cost online learning options will continue to increase. In October iTunes U started offering e-books to support lectures  and other resources from Oxford, Rice and the Open University. The Khan Academy continues to bring subjects as diverse as molecular biology and high finance to online learners for free. Khan Academy tutorials run the gamut from elementary school math topics to graduate level economics. Making it a great resource for parents and students.

Perhaps, most important for online learners and online learning providers, consumers will continue to become more knowledgable about accreditation and diploma mills . Information is power and in this case it will empower learners to make informed educational choices, which will improve consumer satisfaction with online education and the quality of online higher education offerings.

The future of online learning is bright and 2011 is sure to bring the changes listed here and many more. Find an online learning option that intrigues you and meets your needs and give it a try.

This article was originally posted at  http://www.examiner.com/online-learning-in-raleigh/online-learning-2011

THE TOP 3 EDUCATION TRENDS OF 2010

This a guest post By TeachStreet. Teachstreet is a website that provides online and local classes, including SAT Prep Classes.
2010 was a year of experimentation, change and flux, as educators scrambled to lay a foundation for a 21st century style of learning. Among the top trends in education were:

1. Mobile Devices in the Classroom

This year, Notre Dame set up an experimental classroom where every student was given an iPad. While some critics said that introducing mobile devices would be a distraction to students (as they can play games on the devices), others pointed out that iPads in the classroom may help the teacher make the classroom experience more interactive and engaging. The verdict is still out on whether or not mobile devices are a help or a hindrance, but this trend shows no sign of slowing down.



2. Emphasis on Teacher Evaluation

The “Race to the Top” program announced by the Obama administration last year had a big effect on how teachers were evaluated. Each state that competed for the $4.35 billion in funding had to make serious reforms in order to qualify for the program. A big part of meeting those qualifications were to create more merit based incentives for teachers who did well. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation jumped on the teacher evaluation bandwagon and provided over $335 million dollars in funding to place webcams in classrooms to better understand just what “star teachers” did in order to create a great learning experience.

3. Remote Learning

Although remote learning has been around for a while, many more universities are offering remote learning courses, including prestigious Universities like Stanford and Columbia. As webinars and other streaming video technologies become more reliable and ubiquitous, it only seems natural for this trend to continue. This is going to be especially handy for working students who will be able to fit their coursework around and between shifts.

As usual, technology was a big driver for changes in education in 2010. It’s still unclear where these changes will lead us, but that many will point to 2010 as a key year of change.

This article was originally posted at http://www.eduinreview.com/blog/2010/12/the-top-3-education-trends-of-2010/

Mobile will become our gateway to the world

2010 marked the year in which infrastructure, technology and design finally intersected in the mobile space. For the first time, sales of smartphones outpaced sales of desktops and laptops, iPhone and iPad applications were downloaded more than 7 billion times and research shows e-mail access is now on the rise on the iPhone while declining on the computer.

With the foundation in place, in the coming year we will witness the scales tip: Mobile device users will interact with content, companies and the Web more on their phones and iPads than on their computers, and IT and service providers will create solutions that are defined by our mobile consumption and use behaviors. "The highway has been there but until now we needed a special car to get us to our destination, so the average pedestrian was not going to get there. Now that technology barriers have been lowered, mobile will become an extension of who we are," said Philippe Suchet, CEO of MyShopanion, and the recipient of the Web2.0' Summit 2010 award for most innovative startup in the mobile shopping category.

From social shopping on the go, to easy paperless transactions and check-ins, to watching (and creating) videos with friends abroad, to in-class learning and collaboration, to managing our health real-time - prepare for an explosion of connected experiences across all points of interactions between people and people, people and companies, and people and information in the cloud.

Source: edustange.posterous.com

After one semester, students and staff love iPads at St. Cat's

Students in a sixth grade science class in the middle school program at St. Catherine's High School use their iPad tablets rather than pens, pencils, and notebooks, Thursday December 9, 2010. / Mark Hertzberg mhertzberg@journaltimes.com Buy this photo at jtreprints.com

RACINE - Seated at his school desk Thursday, sixth-grader Nicholas Rodriguez placed his fingers on an Apple iPad touch-screen and began typing the findings of a group science experiment onto a slide for a class presentation.

At a desk across from Nicholas, fellow sixth-grader Sam Letsch used another iPad to search the Internet for photos to be included in the presentation. Upon finding them, he quickly e-mailed them to Nicholas who placed them in the presentation file.

Around Nicholas and Sam, 25 other sixth-graders in the Middle School Program at St. Catherine's High School did similar work on iPads, which are very thin, light and portable single-panel touch-screen computers.

Students in St. Catherine's Middle School Program, which started this fall with 54 sixth- and seventh-graders, have been using iPads all school year in place of textbooks, spirals and standard computers. Students and staff said after some adjustment at the start of school the iPads are now working well and they'd never go back to classes that use regular textbooks, paper and pencils.

"All our books are on (the iPads). We don't have to carry around our big books anymore. Instead of writing everything down you can type in notes, e-mail them to our teacher and they can grade it right at their computer," said Nicholas, 11, adding that means assignments are returned quicker so students know sooner if answers are right or wrong and if they need help. "The old way is slower."

The old way is also less engaging, said Diane Putra, middle school science and math teacher at St. Catherine's, 1200 Park Ave. Petra said the iPads keep her class lessons moving faster and keep students attentive because they allow for so many interactive activities that can involve each and every student.

"I couldn't go back to the other method," Petra said of teaching with regular books, paper and pencils. "This has so much to offer."

Using the iPads, students can access electronic versions of their textbooks that include online activities and video tutorials. The iPads also have a word-processor program, an electronic dictionary, a drawing program, school-appropriate Internet access, interactive learning games and a calendar for recording homework assignments, explained Sam, 11, clicking through the programs on the iPad Thursday.

St. Catherine's is the only school in Racine County and in much of the country to provide iPads for individual students, a decision made to expose students to the latest technology - for a per student technology fee of $400, which replaces a textbook fee.

St. Catherine's plans to increase iPad use among students to include eighth-graders next school year and high schoolers the following year.

So far no iPads have been stolen, damaged or lost and the new machines have caused only a few problems, including occasional screen glares and students sometimes getting distracted during lessons by all the iPad features. Petra said those problems have been largely fixed by closing blinds in classrooms, the wearing off of the iPads' novelty and rearranging student desks so teachers can see their screens.

Petra also said her students picked up the new technology fast. Watching them in class Thursday the students typed with ease on the iPads and quickly switched from program to program with no difficulty or confusion.

"It was hard at first," Sam said. But the iPads include a typing program that taught students to use the iPad keyboard and frequent iPad use has accustomed students to the machines. "It really does get a lot easier as the year goes."

Source: journaltimes.com

Mobile devices and mlearning in 2011

In case you had any doubts about where mobile technology stands, this video points to the tremendous increase in mobile device and app sales and forecasts what 2011 will look like.

• In January to March of 2010 alone, 314.7 million phones were sold and 54.3 million of these were smart phones.
• A somewhat depressing statistic is also noted: while 85% of children own a mobile phone, only 75% are likely to own a book.
• The most common data sharing “app” reported is SMS (perhaps not surprising, since people who don’t own smartphones remain the majority of mobile device users).
• The video predicts that the Android OS (with a growth rate of 886% year on year) will be the leading smart phone OS in 2011.

The rapid growth of mobile devices means that a majority of learners will be accessing the internet via their mobile phones. This also means there’s a tremendous opportunity to connect people to resources and capabilities at time of need via their mobile devices.

As noted by Pachler, Bachmair & Cook (2010), mlearning “is about understanding and knowing how to utilize our everyday life-worlds as learning spaces.” This doesn’t mean that mlearning is always the best way of providing instruction and/or performance support, but mobile devices certainly extend the reach of teaching and learning.

Mobile device affordances include:

• on demand learning
• opportunistic, context-dependent learning
• one-on-one, personalized learning (pull-based)
• location-based learning
• decision-making, performance support
• authoring
• communication (and connectedness to personal learning networks)
• collaboration

The “range” of these affordances will very much depend on the type of mlearning device used (e.g., mobile phone, smartphone, or tablet). Thus, the range of learning is also very much subject to a digital divide between those who can afford devices with enhanced capabilities and those who cannot, and between those who are more confident about the use of technology and those who are not. While exploiting the promise of mlearning, we shouldn’t leave behind those who have less access to mobile devices for whatever reason.

Source: digitalbuzzblog.com

3 Ways To Get iPads in Your Classroom

How can you get a classroom set of iPads in your classroom?

Although there are many options available, below are three methods that have succeeded in the past for educators who have sought to integrate new technology in their classrooms.  Keep in mind that these methods don’t only apply to receiving iPads.  They can be used to receive any type of desired technology; however, iPads are hot right now, and for good reasons.

If you’ve had success with other methods, please leave your ideas in the comments section at the end of this post.

Method 1: Create a Classroom Project at DonorsChoose.org

Public school teachers across America can post classroom requests on DonorsChoose.org.  People from all walks of life can browse the directory of projects and may freely determine to fund a project.  Typically, the projects that receive the most funding are the ones that are inspirational.

That being considered, you probably won’t receive funding for a classroom set of iPads by writing “I want iPads because they are cool and they can do neat things.” How can you appeal to the hearts of donors?  This isn’t encouragement to be manipulative, but rather to make sure you express your intents with clarity.

Method 2: Submit Grant Proposals

Grant money is in circulation for projects like these; unfortunately, that funding is limited.  Priorities for submitting grant proposals should be (1) meeting deadlines, (2) meeting grant criteria, and (3) ensuring quality submissions.  The following links provide a directory of technology grants available to K-12 teachers:

• Technology Grant News
• Teachers Network: Technology Grants
• Grants @ TeachersCount.org

As mentioned above, your grant proposals need to look good in order to be a considered recipient.  Grant writing isn’t easy; fortunately, there’s help available.  The following links will help you create the best grant application possible:

• Grant Guru Tips
• How to Write Grant Proposals from about.com
• How to Write Educational Grants from ehow.com

Method 3: Visit with Your Technology Coordinator About Budgeting for iPads

As it is in most facets in life, success hinges on positive relationships.  What’s the status of the “relationship bank account” you share with your technology coordinator?  Are you continually making deposits, or is the bank account overdrawn?  Here is some recommended reading that will help ensure you’re making consistent deposits and not writing hot checks:

• How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• Relationships 101 by John Maxwell
• Enthusiasm Makes the Difference by Norman Vincent Peale
• Winning with People: Discover the People Principles that Work for You Every Time by John Maxwell

Certainly, the aforementioned methods aren’t just limited to receiving iPads, and there are definitely other options available for receiving technology in your classroom.  However, these methods seem to have garnered success for educators seeking to fund technology projects in their classroom.
What other methods are you aware of?  Feel free to leave your comments and questions below.

Source : k12mobilelearning.com