By Sean Scarpiello
While technology continues to advance at such a fast rate in the United States, schools are struggling to keep up with these fast paced changes. So, many schools in the United States continue to invest in the newest and fastest computers and tablets. Most teachers, students, and parents feel that as technology changes in the real world it is only natural for technology to progressively move into classrooms. But while most education professionals support technology in education, there are still others which feel that all of the new integrative technology in classrooms will hinder students.
One of the major fears of education professionals is complete reliance on technology. Some believe that as computers are being used more and more in our everyday lives, that schools will eventually dismiss the old fashioned pencil, paper, and textbook. I feel that this is very unlikely. Young students will always need to be taught how to write legibly, spell, and read from books. Plus, everyone continues to use these basic skills in their daily lives. Since members in society continue to handwrite notes, and read newspapers or menus there will always be a need for these skills. One problem I can see with too much technology in classrooms would be that students can often become too dependable on computers. For example, students may become too accustomed to spell checking applications on computers. These dependencies can then resurface in handwritten notes where students forget how to spell certain words simply because spell check was always there to correct it in the past.
Other professionals feel that when students learn from computers, the technology turns learning into a game rather than a sequence of problem solving. This argument may hold some water; however, I think that it is important to make learning interactive and fun for the students. This then allows students who typically lose interest or become frustrated with learning to keep trying. No one ever said that learning needs to be a long and tedious process. In fact, if students enter school with a positive mindset and are anxious to learn because it is fun, then they may learn even more. When compared to a classic pencil and paper worksheet, worksheets on an iPad allow students to check their work and see not only what they answered incorrectly, but why they were wrong. Technological “worksheets” may also allow students who excel in an area to be challenged more, while giving extra support to those who struggle with certain material. Technology essentially allows for a more individualized lesson, where as traditional education can appear cookie-cutter or not as tailored to every student’s needs.
One last problem that too much technology can cause in classrooms is the lack of personal interaction. As I have stated in past blog articles, large amounts of technology can also breed hermits. While social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter connect us, they equally disconnect us as people. In general, I feel that most education professionals recognize this idea and are ensuring that curriculums are set up so that there are enough teacher-student and student-student interactions.
Ultimately, we can see that while there is opposition to computers in classrooms, there is a lot of support for technology well. This essentially allows us to conclude that there should be a steady balance of instruction from teachers and technology. Society should never reach a point where a class is completely individualized technology based or a completely cookie-cutter education. Education needs to find a medium between the two extremes and in the next few generations of students we will be discovering exactly what works with education and technology and what does not.
Sources:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2009/10/02/f-vp-smol.html
http://www.cultofmac.com/68757/computers-in-schools-are-a-failure-apple-fellow-alan-kay/
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Saturday, June 30, 2012
CINCH Learning
By Sean Scarpiello
This past week at the International Society of Technology in Education conference in San Diego California, McGraw Hill Education unveiled one of their newest and most innovative programs called CINCH Learning. This program is designed to teach students from K to12 math and science through a projector screen or computer. Also, CINCH Learning is cloud based, so students can access it from any laptop, tablet, or other device with an internet connection. So far, CINCH Learning sounds like a great piece of technology for any class room, but it has even more benefits to improve math and science education.
First, the CINCH Learning comes with hundreds of lessons for each grade level. The lessons are designed to meet each state’s curriculum requirements. The program also works alongside the textbooks in class, so teachers can use the program to teach an entire lesson, review lessons before tests, or even use the available lessons as enrichment. In addition, CINCH Learning comes with features like videos, tutoring, animations, labs, assessments, and problems. These extras are great because teachers can assign homework through the program. Assigning work would not only be simple for teachers and students, but fun for the students if the teacher assigns an educational video for students to watch.
This kind of program also allows teachers to spend less time planning lessons and more time focusing on individual students. CINCH Learning prides itself on being fully customizable. This lets teachers pick and choose exactly what kinds of work to assign and put on tests. It also gives teachers the ability to focus in on certain students having difficulty with the work so educators can hone in on each student’s weak areas. The program also allows students to easily ask questions to their teachers. Teachers can then gauge what problems to spend more time on in class and during reviews for tests.
CINCH Learning makes learning simpler and less time consuming for both the teacher and the student. Therefore, teachers can make sure that each minute spent in class is used effectively and efficiently. If students and teachers can identify weakness outside the classroom, schools can guarantee that time spent in the classroom is productive and valuable. This program also makes learning fun, so students can be interactive during their learning process instead of being discouraged or bored by reading thick textbooks.
Overall, this new digital program looks to be a great way to make learning easier for both teachers and students. This allows learning to be fun for students, while being efficient and effective for teachers. By keeping education interactive using technology, teachers can judge which concepts need to be reviewed in more detail and which students struggle with the material in class. CINCH Learning will definitely make an impact on students in all grades as schools across the country being to invest in the program.
Sources: http://www.mhcdi.com/cl_about.html
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mcgraw-hill-makes-digital-waves-at-international-education-technology-conference-2012-06-25
This past week at the International Society of Technology in Education conference in San Diego California, McGraw Hill Education unveiled one of their newest and most innovative programs called CINCH Learning. This program is designed to teach students from K to12 math and science through a projector screen or computer. Also, CINCH Learning is cloud based, so students can access it from any laptop, tablet, or other device with an internet connection. So far, CINCH Learning sounds like a great piece of technology for any class room, but it has even more benefits to improve math and science education.
First, the CINCH Learning comes with hundreds of lessons for each grade level. The lessons are designed to meet each state’s curriculum requirements. The program also works alongside the textbooks in class, so teachers can use the program to teach an entire lesson, review lessons before tests, or even use the available lessons as enrichment. In addition, CINCH Learning comes with features like videos, tutoring, animations, labs, assessments, and problems. These extras are great because teachers can assign homework through the program. Assigning work would not only be simple for teachers and students, but fun for the students if the teacher assigns an educational video for students to watch.
This kind of program also allows teachers to spend less time planning lessons and more time focusing on individual students. CINCH Learning prides itself on being fully customizable. This lets teachers pick and choose exactly what kinds of work to assign and put on tests. It also gives teachers the ability to focus in on certain students having difficulty with the work so educators can hone in on each student’s weak areas. The program also allows students to easily ask questions to their teachers. Teachers can then gauge what problems to spend more time on in class and during reviews for tests.
CINCH Learning makes learning simpler and less time consuming for both the teacher and the student. Therefore, teachers can make sure that each minute spent in class is used effectively and efficiently. If students and teachers can identify weakness outside the classroom, schools can guarantee that time spent in the classroom is productive and valuable. This program also makes learning fun, so students can be interactive during their learning process instead of being discouraged or bored by reading thick textbooks.
Overall, this new digital program looks to be a great way to make learning easier for both teachers and students. This allows learning to be fun for students, while being efficient and effective for teachers. By keeping education interactive using technology, teachers can judge which concepts need to be reviewed in more detail and which students struggle with the material in class. CINCH Learning will definitely make an impact on students in all grades as schools across the country being to invest in the program.
Sources: http://www.mhcdi.com/cl_about.html
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mcgraw-hill-makes-digital-waves-at-international-education-technology-conference-2012-06-25
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Backpack TV: A New Educational Video Site
By Sean Scarpiello
Backpack TV is an up and coming website which is trying to build off of the success of other educational websites such as Khan Academy and Just Math Tutoring. The goal of the site is to quickly bring educational videos to students in various academic subjects. Backpack TV mentions that their goal is not to completely teach a full course from beginning to end, but rather to help students study by offering videos for review of complex topics. So how exactly does Backpack TV hold up against its popular and highly successful counterparts?
First things first, I looked at some of the videos that Backpack TV had to offer. The site has hundreds of videos and the content of the videos were also very clear, relevant, and reliable. In fact, the site contained videos from teachers and websites I have used in class and recommended to others in the past. All of the videos on the site looked as if they could be accessed somewhere else online and there were no videos that belonged solely to Backpack TV. I feel that this is great because not only can students come to Backpack TV for help, but they can also use the site to help them find more educational videos. The site also provided a list of teachers that are in each video. This allows individual students to look at videos from several different teachers in a subject and then pick which specific teacher is the clearest or most helpful for the individual.
Although the content of the videos on Backpack TV is spectacular, I did find some weaknesses with the site. The main flaw was that the videos were difficult to access. The videos were grouped into subjects clearly, but after clicking on a subject, there was little or no organization of each of the different videos. For example, after clicking on the calculus subheading, I was brought to a “gallery” of videos which were not organized in any specific manner. The “list” option was not helpful either, as I was scrolling through lists of videos randomly chopped up into hundreds of different pages. Sites such as Khan Academy and Just Math Tutoring are successful because they are extremely easy to navigate. If I am looking for a video on find the slope of a tangent line, I can easily find it at Khan Academy or Just Math Tutoring, without having to search through several pages of material. If the entire list of Calculus videos were found on a single webpage and organized by specific headings and subheadings, Backpack TV would be much more effective as an educational video site.
Something else I noticed which was flawed with Backpack TV was a Backpack TV Plus option which will be available in the future. This option would cost viewers $4.99 a month to view the same videos without advertisements. Unless this Plus option has much more bonus material or contains videos that are not available elsewhere for free, I think the Plus option would be a mistake. No one is going to pay to have access to videos they can find elsewhere without commercials. Even if the Plus option does have a lot of extra material, students will avoid spending money by simply finding other sites which offer educational videos at no cost.
Overall, Backpack TV has a fantastic collection of education videos available at no cost. However, the site can be improved drastically if the hundreds of videos were organized into an order which would allow users to navigate through lists of videos easier.
Source: http://backpack.tv/
Backpack TV is an up and coming website which is trying to build off of the success of other educational websites such as Khan Academy and Just Math Tutoring. The goal of the site is to quickly bring educational videos to students in various academic subjects. Backpack TV mentions that their goal is not to completely teach a full course from beginning to end, but rather to help students study by offering videos for review of complex topics. So how exactly does Backpack TV hold up against its popular and highly successful counterparts?
First things first, I looked at some of the videos that Backpack TV had to offer. The site has hundreds of videos and the content of the videos were also very clear, relevant, and reliable. In fact, the site contained videos from teachers and websites I have used in class and recommended to others in the past. All of the videos on the site looked as if they could be accessed somewhere else online and there were no videos that belonged solely to Backpack TV. I feel that this is great because not only can students come to Backpack TV for help, but they can also use the site to help them find more educational videos. The site also provided a list of teachers that are in each video. This allows individual students to look at videos from several different teachers in a subject and then pick which specific teacher is the clearest or most helpful for the individual.
Although the content of the videos on Backpack TV is spectacular, I did find some weaknesses with the site. The main flaw was that the videos were difficult to access. The videos were grouped into subjects clearly, but after clicking on a subject, there was little or no organization of each of the different videos. For example, after clicking on the calculus subheading, I was brought to a “gallery” of videos which were not organized in any specific manner. The “list” option was not helpful either, as I was scrolling through lists of videos randomly chopped up into hundreds of different pages. Sites such as Khan Academy and Just Math Tutoring are successful because they are extremely easy to navigate. If I am looking for a video on find the slope of a tangent line, I can easily find it at Khan Academy or Just Math Tutoring, without having to search through several pages of material. If the entire list of Calculus videos were found on a single webpage and organized by specific headings and subheadings, Backpack TV would be much more effective as an educational video site.
Something else I noticed which was flawed with Backpack TV was a Backpack TV Plus option which will be available in the future. This option would cost viewers $4.99 a month to view the same videos without advertisements. Unless this Plus option has much more bonus material or contains videos that are not available elsewhere for free, I think the Plus option would be a mistake. No one is going to pay to have access to videos they can find elsewhere without commercials. Even if the Plus option does have a lot of extra material, students will avoid spending money by simply finding other sites which offer educational videos at no cost.
Overall, Backpack TV has a fantastic collection of education videos available at no cost. However, the site can be improved drastically if the hundreds of videos were organized into an order which would allow users to navigate through lists of videos easier.
Source: http://backpack.tv/
Monday, June 18, 2012
More about Teacher Evaluation -
From the TN Report -
Did you know, for example, that “many teachers are not yet convinced of the benefits of the evaluation system”? Well, duh.
From the TN Report -
Did you know, for example, that “many teachers are not yet convinced of the benefits of the evaluation system”? Well, duh.
It’s a jargon-laden mess to read.
Take this sentence:
“A near-term focus for this work will be
to review and
revise the
rubrics
where appropriate
to align with and
reinforce the
Common Core State Standards to
create a coherent and
integrated set of expectations
for teaching and learning.”
“A near-term focus for this work will be
to review and
revise the
rubrics
where appropriate
to align with and
reinforce the
Common Core State Standards to
create a coherent and
integrated set of expectations
for teaching and learning.”
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Traditional Textbooks versus eBooks
By Sean Scarpiello
I was recently emailed a link to the article “10 Reasons Why Students aren’t Using eBooks,” and before I read this article, I decided to make my own list of why students simply aren’t buying eBooks. There are a handful of different reasons why students shy away from using these newer and often times cheaper alternatives to textbooks. Regardless of some of the obvious advantages to eBooks, I also found there are just as many disadvantages to eBooks.
First off, one of the main reasons I myself do not buy eBooks is because they are all computerized and integrate technology. This technology is not a bad thing, but I do not feel comfortable when we rely completely on technology. If, the device breaks or runs out batteries at an inconvenient time or place, the student is in trouble. College students already rely on technology too much, and to rely on a device which carries all of their textbooks and coursework is just too risky. Another aspect of the device which carries all of these eBooks is that students are reading their text for classes on a computer screen. Whenever I work on a computer too long or read too much off of a computer, I feel like my eyes are fried. Reading off of a computer screen also seems to make students tired and uninterested in the material. For me personally, I feel as if I do not grasp the material as well if I read my textbooks on a computer or other device. This is mostly because I do not feel comfortable studying on a computer.
This leads me to my next point that today’s college students are simply not accustomed to having their textbooks in digital form. Today’s college students all had the traditional paper textbooks and simply have become very accustomed to this form. On the other hand, I think that students that are being raised on iPads and laptops in elementary school will be more likely to buy eBooks as they go to college. College students these days have always used regular textbooks and do not want to change their habits. Plus, many students highlight, take notes, and scribble in their textbooks, so they know what is important and what their professor emphasizes in class. This cannot be done with eBooks. Thus students will shy away from this technology.
Another factor which plays into the textbooks versus eBooks debate is cost. College tuition is already very expensive. Once parents and students buy laptops, school supplies, and all the other necessities for college, there is no money left for a device to hold these eBooks. For some majors, regular textbooks alone can cost $800. If these sorts of students were to buy an iPad, they would spend $800 before having a single textbook. Also, once the student has the iPad or other device to hold the eBooks, they need to make sure they have enough memory to hold all of these textbooks. I can’t imagine that a 16 or 32GB iPad can hold more than a full year textbooks. Some eBooks are huge and take up a lot of space on a device. This limits college students.
Ultimately, it is easy to see that there are several reasons why college students are shying away from eBooks. I feel that in the future, as technology and students advance, we will see a change in this trend. For now though, I think college students are going to stick with what they know best – traditional textbooks. The article “10 Reasons Why Students aren’t Using eBooks,” (see link below) supports many of my ideas, plus incorporates some new ideas.
Source: http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2012/06/10-reasons-why-students-arent-using-etextbooks/
I was recently emailed a link to the article “10 Reasons Why Students aren’t Using eBooks,” and before I read this article, I decided to make my own list of why students simply aren’t buying eBooks. There are a handful of different reasons why students shy away from using these newer and often times cheaper alternatives to textbooks. Regardless of some of the obvious advantages to eBooks, I also found there are just as many disadvantages to eBooks.
First off, one of the main reasons I myself do not buy eBooks is because they are all computerized and integrate technology. This technology is not a bad thing, but I do not feel comfortable when we rely completely on technology. If, the device breaks or runs out batteries at an inconvenient time or place, the student is in trouble. College students already rely on technology too much, and to rely on a device which carries all of their textbooks and coursework is just too risky. Another aspect of the device which carries all of these eBooks is that students are reading their text for classes on a computer screen. Whenever I work on a computer too long or read too much off of a computer, I feel like my eyes are fried. Reading off of a computer screen also seems to make students tired and uninterested in the material. For me personally, I feel as if I do not grasp the material as well if I read my textbooks on a computer or other device. This is mostly because I do not feel comfortable studying on a computer.
This leads me to my next point that today’s college students are simply not accustomed to having their textbooks in digital form. Today’s college students all had the traditional paper textbooks and simply have become very accustomed to this form. On the other hand, I think that students that are being raised on iPads and laptops in elementary school will be more likely to buy eBooks as they go to college. College students these days have always used regular textbooks and do not want to change their habits. Plus, many students highlight, take notes, and scribble in their textbooks, so they know what is important and what their professor emphasizes in class. This cannot be done with eBooks. Thus students will shy away from this technology.
Another factor which plays into the textbooks versus eBooks debate is cost. College tuition is already very expensive. Once parents and students buy laptops, school supplies, and all the other necessities for college, there is no money left for a device to hold these eBooks. For some majors, regular textbooks alone can cost $800. If these sorts of students were to buy an iPad, they would spend $800 before having a single textbook. Also, once the student has the iPad or other device to hold the eBooks, they need to make sure they have enough memory to hold all of these textbooks. I can’t imagine that a 16 or 32GB iPad can hold more than a full year textbooks. Some eBooks are huge and take up a lot of space on a device. This limits college students.
Ultimately, it is easy to see that there are several reasons why college students are shying away from eBooks. I feel that in the future, as technology and students advance, we will see a change in this trend. For now though, I think college students are going to stick with what they know best – traditional textbooks. The article “10 Reasons Why Students aren’t Using eBooks,” (see link below) supports many of my ideas, plus incorporates some new ideas.
Source: http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2012/06/10-reasons-why-students-arent-using-etextbooks/
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
University of Minnesota's Open-Source Textbook Catalogue
By Sean Scarpiello
In an attempt to lower education costs, the University of Minnesota has started a new program where students have access to textbooks at low costs. With this program, students will be able to use a catalogue of online, open-source books. These books are much cheaper and easier to use than traditional textbooks. In addition, many educators feel that open-source books are currently being underutilized in schools. But what exactly are open-source books and why are they cheaper and sometimes easier to use?
Believe it or not, we use open-sources of information every day, sometimes without even knowing it. In fact, Wikipedia is an open-source. These sources have different licenses and copyrights which allow people to access these materials at low or no cost. Open-source books also have special licenses which lower the costs of publishing companies to print the books, so these books can be sold at cheaper prices. These books can also be copied without crediting the author. Since these books can be copied so easily, they are available in mediums other than print. Therefore, students with access to the University of Minnesota’s catalogue would have a wide variety of online textbooks available to them at the tips of their fingers for a very low cost. So far, the catalogue has more than 90 textbooks available and continues to grow.
Up until now, this idea sounds great – a wide variety of textbooks available online for little or no cost. However, if we look at other open-sources of data, we may find that this new catalogue may have some flaws. One of the most famous open-sources everyone on the internet uses is Wikipedia. Many people do not realize that Wikipedia is an open-source encyclopedia updated by everyday people like you or me. Because of this, some college professor love open-sources like Wikipedia, while others absolutely despise them. Open-source textbooks are often licensed in similar ways as Wikipedia, where readers can update any obsolete data within a textbook, which can be both good and bad.
Open-sources are good in that textbooks are dynamic. For example, as different scientific studies discover new breakthroughs and discredit old material, textbooks can be updated accordingly. This makes the information we learn about in books just as engaging in material as professionals on the cutting edge of the field. On the contrary, open-sources can be bad when those updating the material are not reliable or experts in the material. There is a reason textbooks are expensive -- credibility. You wouldn’t want your lawyer or doctor to study from books written by just anyone. Therefore, the University of Minnesota needed to find a low cost method of only allowing credible sources into its catalogue.
The University of Minnesota found the solution to this problem by employing its professors to review open-source books. By utilizing its professors, the school is able to expand the catalogue with only the books deemed reliable by experts in the field. In some of these open-source books, any material that is outdated can be fixed by the professor as they review it. This is a great idea because the catalogue is composed of credible information cleared by experts in the subject.
Overall, this online open-source catalogue is a fantastic idea and has a lot of potential. It finds the perfect medium between sources like Wikipedia, which is free but not necessarily reliable, and traditional textbooks which are expensive but credible. The program is improved in that it takes advantage of a cheap and underutilized resource and will be able to lower the costs for students exponentially. Last, it incorporates technology, so people all over the world can easily navigate through this entire database of textbooks.
Source: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/05/10/university-minnesota-compiles-database-peer-reviewed-open-source-textbooks
In an attempt to lower education costs, the University of Minnesota has started a new program where students have access to textbooks at low costs. With this program, students will be able to use a catalogue of online, open-source books. These books are much cheaper and easier to use than traditional textbooks. In addition, many educators feel that open-source books are currently being underutilized in schools. But what exactly are open-source books and why are they cheaper and sometimes easier to use?
Believe it or not, we use open-sources of information every day, sometimes without even knowing it. In fact, Wikipedia is an open-source. These sources have different licenses and copyrights which allow people to access these materials at low or no cost. Open-source books also have special licenses which lower the costs of publishing companies to print the books, so these books can be sold at cheaper prices. These books can also be copied without crediting the author. Since these books can be copied so easily, they are available in mediums other than print. Therefore, students with access to the University of Minnesota’s catalogue would have a wide variety of online textbooks available to them at the tips of their fingers for a very low cost. So far, the catalogue has more than 90 textbooks available and continues to grow.
Up until now, this idea sounds great – a wide variety of textbooks available online for little or no cost. However, if we look at other open-sources of data, we may find that this new catalogue may have some flaws. One of the most famous open-sources everyone on the internet uses is Wikipedia. Many people do not realize that Wikipedia is an open-source encyclopedia updated by everyday people like you or me. Because of this, some college professor love open-sources like Wikipedia, while others absolutely despise them. Open-source textbooks are often licensed in similar ways as Wikipedia, where readers can update any obsolete data within a textbook, which can be both good and bad.
Open-sources are good in that textbooks are dynamic. For example, as different scientific studies discover new breakthroughs and discredit old material, textbooks can be updated accordingly. This makes the information we learn about in books just as engaging in material as professionals on the cutting edge of the field. On the contrary, open-sources can be bad when those updating the material are not reliable or experts in the material. There is a reason textbooks are expensive -- credibility. You wouldn’t want your lawyer or doctor to study from books written by just anyone. Therefore, the University of Minnesota needed to find a low cost method of only allowing credible sources into its catalogue.
The University of Minnesota found the solution to this problem by employing its professors to review open-source books. By utilizing its professors, the school is able to expand the catalogue with only the books deemed reliable by experts in the field. In some of these open-source books, any material that is outdated can be fixed by the professor as they review it. This is a great idea because the catalogue is composed of credible information cleared by experts in the subject.
Overall, this online open-source catalogue is a fantastic idea and has a lot of potential. It finds the perfect medium between sources like Wikipedia, which is free but not necessarily reliable, and traditional textbooks which are expensive but credible. The program is improved in that it takes advantage of a cheap and underutilized resource and will be able to lower the costs for students exponentially. Last, it incorporates technology, so people all over the world can easily navigate through this entire database of textbooks.
Source: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/05/10/university-minnesota-compiles-database-peer-reviewed-open-source-textbooks
Monday, May 21, 2012
Rita McGrath: On Digital Tech's Effects on Education
In a recent blog post, Columbia Business School professor Rita McGrath predicts seven changes that will upend traditional education. The bullet points:*Unbundling
*Accessibility
*Upending traditional teaching
*Upending traditional grading
and three more. McGrath lives in Princeton, travels worldwide as a consultant, and always impresses me with her 'I wish I'd thought of that first' wisdom. Here is the post.
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